Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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COMPANY INFORMATION
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CONTENTS
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STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The directors present the strategic report in respect of eBlast Limited ("the company") for the period ended 31 December 2023.
Principal activities The principal activities of the company continued to be that of material subsurface preparation and specialist coatings for the construction and oil and gas industries. The company is a member of the eGroup Services Limited group.
The company's business model is to consolidate its position within Scotland and beyond, with a focus of expanding its customer base and ultimately returning value to its shareholder.
The results for the company show turnover for the period of £9.5m (2022 - £7.6m), with gross margin of 43.6% (2022 - 43.2%) and profit before tax of £1.1m (2022 - £1.8m). The company's net asset position for the period end was £12.6m (2022 - £11.4m). The turnover period on period has increased in real terms, which is primarily due to a return in customer demand experienced as a result of global market affairs. Gross margin has increased both as a result of the market activity but also as a result of continued efficiency increases, operational processes and careful cost control applied by management. At the year end the company continued to have a strong balance position, underpinned by working capital and fixed asset investment.
The directors regularly review the principal risks and uncertainties affecting the company and assess the controls and mitigation strategies required to reduce the potential impact to the business. The principal risks and uncertainties are listed below.
Project risk and return
Selecting the correct projects at bid stage, taking account of delivery risk and opportunities, and balancing this with contractual and project management requirements is critical to ensuring that projects deliver positive margins. One of the key areas of focus of the continuous improvement plan put in place by management included end to end project lifecycle management.
Health and safety
The workforce engages in health and safety activity as part of the operations and service delivery. This continues to be a risk for the business and a focus for the board of directors to ensure continued investment in equipment and safe systems of work, in order to safeguard our valued workforce and the business. Our HSEQ team has deployed a clear improvement strategy.
Supply chain
Diversification of the supply chain is a contributor to success in any business. The company relies on several critical path items in service delivery which requires wide and diverse supply lines (among others, steel, paints, cladding, and magnetic film). Through more direct and strategic management of the supply chain partners and close organisational management of projects, business continuity will be guaranteed.
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STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The key financial performance indicators of the company are considered to be turnover, gross margin, profit before tax, EBITDA and net assets, which are monitored on a monthly basis.
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £1,151,224 (2022 - £1,805,996).
The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 (2022 - £nil).
The directors who served during the year were:
The auditor, Anderson Anderson & Brown Audit LLP, will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic report, the Directors' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'. Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:
∙select suitable accounting policies for the company's financial statements and then apply them consistently;
∙make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
∙prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EBLAST LIMITED
We have audited the financial statements of eBlast Limited ("the company") for the year ended 31 December 2023, which comprise the Statement of comprehensive income, the Balance sheet, the Statement of changes in equity and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our Auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EBLAST LIMITED (CONTINUED)
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
∙the information given in the Strategic report and the Directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
∙the Strategic report and the Directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic report or the Directors' report.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EBLAST LIMITED (CONTINUED)
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosure in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, employment and health and safety legislation.
We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities including fraud to be:
∙Management override of controls to manipulate the copany's key performance indicators to meet targets;
∙Timing and completeness of revenue recognition;
∙Management judgement applied in calculating provisions; and
∙Compliance with relevant laws and regulations which directly impact the financial statement sand thse that the company needs to comply with for the purpose of trading.
Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included:
∙Testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness;
∙Evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business;
∙Reviewing judgements made by management in their calculation of accounting estimates for potential management bias;
∙Enquiries of management about litigation and claims and inspection of relevant correspondence;
∙Reviewing legal and professional fees to identify indications of actual or potential litigation, claims and any non-compliance with laws and regulation; and
∙Performing a disclosure checklist on the financial statements to ensure Companies Act 2006 requirements are satisfied.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor's report.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EBLAST LIMITED (CONTINUED)
This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
for and on behalf of
Statutory Auditor
Kingshill View
Prime Four Business Park
Kingswells
AB15 8PU
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STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 12 to 26 form part of these financial statements.
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STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
eBlast Limited ("the company") is a private company limited by shares incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Tumulus Way, Midmill Industrial Estate, Kintore, Aberdeenshire, AB51 0TG, which is also its trading address. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of eGroup Services Limited (collectively known as "the group").
2.Accounting policies
The company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by the FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland":
∙the requirements of Section 7 Statement of Cash Flows;
∙the requirements of Section 3 Financial Statement Presentation paragraph 3.17(d);
∙the requirements of Section 33 Related Party Disclosures paragraph 33.7.
This information is included in the consolidated financial statements of eGroup Services Limited as at 31 December 2023 and these financial statements may be obtained from https://www.gov.uk/government /organisations /companies-house.
The directors, having made due and careful enquiry, are of the opinion that the company has adequate working capital to execute its operations for a period of at least 12 months following the date of approval of these financial statements. The directors, therefore, have made an informed judgement, at the time of approving the financial statements, that there is a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
As a result, the directors have continued to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Functional and presentation currency
Transactions and balances
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, on a reducing balance basis.
Depreciation is provided on the following basis:
The assets' residual values, useful lives and depreciation methods are reviewed, and adjusted prospectively if appropriate, or if there is an indication of a significant change since the last reporting date.
Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in profit or loss.
Fair values are determined from market based evidence normally undertaken by professionally qualified valuers.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Provisions are measured as the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation, taking into account the related risks and uncertainties.
The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 “Basic Financial Instruments” of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the company's Balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Basic financial assets
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables, cash and bank balances, are initially measured at their transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at their amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any provision for impairment, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.
Discounting is omitted where the effect of discounting is immaterial. The company's cash and cash equivalents, trade and most other receivables due with the operating cycle fall into this category of financial instruments.
Impairment of financial assets
Financial assets are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting date.
Financial assets are impaired when events, subsequent to their initial recognition, indicate the estimated future cash flows derived from the financial asset(s) have been adversely impacted. The impairment loss will be the difference between the current carrying amount and the present value of the future cash flows at the asset(s) original effective interest rate.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
If there is a favourable change in relation to the events surrounding the impairment loss then the impairment can be reviewed for possible reversal. The reversal will not cause the current carrying amount to exceed the original carrying amount had the impairment not been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in the profit or loss.
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instruments any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after the deduction of all its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, which include trade and other payables, bank loans and other loans are initially measured at their transaction price after transaction costs. When this constitutes a financing transaction, whereby the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Discounting is omitted where the effect of discounting is immaterial.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at their amortised cost using the effective interest rate method.
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods and services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Trade payables are classified as current liabilities if the payment is due within one year. If not, they represent non-current liabilities. Trade payables are initially recognised at their transaction price and subsequently are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Discounting is omitted where the effect of discounting is immaterial.
Derecognition of financial instruments
Derecognition of financial assets
Financial assets are derecognised when their contractual right to future cash flow expire, or are settled, or when the company transfers the asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another party. If significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained after the transfer to another party, then the company will continue to recognise the value of the portion of the risks and rewards retained.
Derecognition of financial liabilities
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Analysis of turnover by country of destination:
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
12.Tangible fixed assets (continued)
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Revaluation reserve
Profit and loss account
The company operates a defined contribution scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the company to the fund and amounted to £
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
24.Financial commitments and contingent liabilities
There is a floating charge held by the company's bank, over the company's assets. A cross guarantee has been provided by the company to the group's bankers in relation to it's fellow group companies.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of
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