A listed company appoints an individual as its statutory auditor at its annual general meeting. Under s.139 of the Companies Act 2013, he can hold office for a maximum of:

Section 139 of the Companies Act 2013 governs appointment of the statutory auditor. Under s.139(1), the auditor appointed at an annual general meeting holds office from the conclusion of that meeting until the conclusion of the sixth annual general meeting, effectively a term of about five years. For companies covered by s.139(2), that is, listed companies and such other classes of companies as are prescribed, the term is expressly limited to five consecutive years for an individual auditor and ten consecutive years for an audit firm. Mandatory auditor rotation applies, with a five-year cooling-off before reappointment in the same company. Ten years is the limit only for an audit firm; one, three and seven years are incorrect for an individual auditor.