Introduction
The Transparency Act is a law passed by the Storting, which entered into force on 1 July 2022. The Act is intended to promote companies' respect for fundamental human rights and decent working conditions, and to ensure public access to information. Pursuant to the Transparency Act, Act 2021-06-18-99, Section 5, ANTIMA GROUP is obliged to publish an annual report on the due diligence assessments the company has carried out pursuant to Section 4 of the Act. The period covered in the following statement is the financial year from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
Statement pursuant to the Transparency Act
Organization and Operational Areas
ANTIMA GROUP has existed since 2015, primarily working with residential property, and has recently initiated commercial property activities, in addition to buying and selling. The head office is located in Marbella, Málaga. Today, the ANTIMA GROUP consists of 13 companies with more than 30 luxury homes sold and a high-value commercial asset in a prime location ready for opening. All companies associated with the ANTIMA GROUP are covered by this report, regardless of whether they are individually obliged by law or not.
We have our main focus in Marbella, despite having developed interior projects in other areas of Spain and abroad.
Our business can mainly be divided into the following categories:
Property Development:
Interior Design and Production of Furniture:
Maintenance:
Management and Administration of the Group and Projects:
Operation of the Commercial Center:
Our Approach to Due Diligence
As a company, we have a responsibility to ensure that we are not involved in incidents that negatively affect people, society, and the environment. Our responsibility and commitment to respect human rights require us to conduct and incorporate due diligence in our operations, and to encourage the same from the suppliers and stakeholders. Based on the national and international guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct, and our internal Code of Conduct, we consider our responsibility to be inspired by the following:
The due diligence process is carried out in accordance with our own Business Partner Check, which, among other categories, analyzes the administrative strength, integrity, and capability to comply with regulations of each supplier.
Our business relationships are many. It is difficult to trace the operational performance of each and every subcontractor, but we make sure to have strong contracts that address the main guidelines to follow for contractors that subcontract at the same time. This way, we set the framework in which the group works so that the rest of the line has the opportunity to follow.
Our due diligence work is risk-based, and we focus on integrating the work into relevant processes and business activities. We therefore carry out analysis where we prioritize our risk areas according to how likely it is that the negative impact will occur and the severity of that impact.
To assess risks related to our environment and action area, we use, among other things, national tools such as the National Institute of Statistics, official and approved valuation entities, and specific tools such as reports drafted and issued by trusted local and national partners. For example:
To assess risk in different parts of the supply chain, we use national regulations related specifically to construction and the recommendations issued by the local authorities and associations set up in the different urbanizations where the group operates, which are a thermometer that ensures smooth and correct development of the activity.
Evaluation of risk and due diligence are both very high on the internal agenda of the organization, with a particular focus on the company areas that are closest to the areas we consider to be of elevated.
Our Account of Due Diligence
In the framework of the high level of the Group’s transactions throughout the year, our main suppliers are contractors related to construction, which at the same time subcontractors such as electrical, plumbing and other installations, fire consultants, as well as insurance or waste management.
Despite the fact that the total supplier base is huge, a high percentage of our purchases are made from less than 10 trusted suppliers with whom we have established good, long-term agreements. We have agreements with all of our trusted suppliers for each of the projects, which helps us ensure a solid collaboration over time and increases our capacity to set our preferred procedures to operate.
Our suppliers and business partners are mainly well-established, Spanish companies that are subject to the same laws and regulations as the group and thus have a lower inherent risk than if we were to purchase large volumes of goods and services from foreign players. In some isolated cases, some materials can be purchased abroad from internationally renowned brands, although this is not the regular habit.
Assessment of Risk Internally in ANTIMA GROUP
ANTIMA GROUP currently has 36 employees in Spain, the majority of whom are located at the company's headquarters in Marbella. We are constantly working on internal focus areas to improve our employees' working conditions and well-being:
Assessment of Country Risk
Antima Group’s operations are mainly connected to the Spanish market, more specifically to Costa del Sol. The countries we have minimal activity in are Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The Real Estate market in Marbella has shown along the activity of the ANTIMA GROUP to be a healthy and fruitful area to develop activities, in which the authorities have a great commitment to security, high standards of maintenance in the city, and local and foreign investment. Spain and Costa del Sol are considered areas with a low risk when it comes to political and financial stability or environmental risk. Fortunately, Spain is a healthy and growing area to develop our activity, with a strong capacity to attract wealth and well-being.
Based on an overall assessment of our associated risk, we consider our activity in Marbella to be very safe when it comes to potential instability of the country or the continent as this area has shown a high resistance to the uncertainty of other locations in the country and out of it.
Assessment of Risk in the Construction Site
Given that our processes involve different subcontractors on the construction sites, a Health and Safety coordinator is appointed in every project to make sure that no violations of the regulation regarding labor are allowed on the construction site. The coordinator for Health and Safety is entitled to request all the necessary documentation to avoid non-compliance, risky, or inadequate practices on the site, as well as to dismiss from the site any team of workers that does not comply with the regulations, or whose practices are not in line with the required conduct, whatever the motivation is. This is applicable to all agents that participate in each of the projects: carpenters, painters, tile setters, masons, workers dedicated to electricity, plumbing, cleaning, or any other involved.
When it comes to the main contractor, a full Due Diligence is conducted prior to the signing of the contract. As stated before, the signed contract contains the main regulations to follow and the main requested documents to be able to start the works.
Assessment of Risk in the Services Offered
Although the main focus of the risk assessment is placed on suppliers and business partners, the capacity of the ANTIMA GROUP to influence people and the environment through the activities and customer’s attitude is not to be underrated. This is something we at ANTIMA GROUP very much recognize and which is part of our risk reduction work. The majority of our clients and tenants are established Marbella with Spanish companies that are subject to the same laws and regulations that we, as a company, are subject to.
To ensure that our customers and tenants uphold requirements for human rights, we offer them the Maintenance services to avoid illegal employment practices in vulnerable industries such as cleaning or gardening. Our business model is characterized by having a close dialogue with our customers so that we can easily identify risks and suspicions of any potentially damaging practices, which also affect our reputation as trusted developers in the area. Our construction managers have good control over renovations in the commercial premises in our commercial assets, as well as other decoration works parallel to our operations in private villas, to avoid any non-compliance under our watch. They maintain ongoing dialogues with our tenants, including through physical visits to the locations.
Identified Challenges and Violations
We have not registered any actual adverse impacts or harms on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions. At ANTIMA GROUP, there is a serious commitment to the protection of the workforce and the land that allows its operations.
Status, Measures, and the Way Forward
The work with due diligence assessments and the work that is conducted for the detection of risks and observation of the regulations is performed daily and is at the core of ANTIMA GROUP values. We place high demands on all our affiliated suppliers and business partners. We consider ourselves to be implementing the right measures to not only comply but excel when it comes to the protection of Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, and other international guidelines.
Implemented Measures:
Initiatives for Implementation:
With the measures we have implemented, as well as those that will be implemented in the coming periods, we have more robust routines for identifying, assessing, and managing risks associated with our Group. We expect this to help reduce risk, as well as increase the chance that we will uncover any breaches and negative impacts.
Responsibility for the implementation of measures and ongoing work on due diligence lies with responsible resources in operations and administration. Compliance with the Transparency Act within the group has been a priority for all the companies that integrate the group from the beginning of the operations and is infiltered in all departments at all levels, making each one of the employees aware and vigilant in this sense.
If actual violations of human rights or decent working conditions are discovered, we undertake to deal with this in accordance with the requirements of the Transparency Act.
Information Requirements
Where the public has a right to information from a company about how they handle actual and potential negative consequences pursuant to Section 4 of the Transparency Act, ANTIMA GROUP has a duty to provide information to respond to requests.
In 2023, ANTIMA GROUP did not receive any information requirements related to the Transparency Act.