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REGISTERED NUMBER: 09449978 (England and Wales)



















Strategic Report, Report of the Directors and

Financial Statements

for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

for

ESSEM Ltd

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)






Contents of the Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023




Page

Company Information 1

Strategic Report 2

Report of the Directors 3

Report of the Independent Auditors 4

Profit and Loss Account 7

Balance Sheet 8

Statement of Changes in Equity 9

Cash Flow Statement 10

Notes to the Financial Statements 11


ESSEM Ltd

Company Information
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023







DIRECTORS: S M Chalmers
Mrs M T Chalmers



REGISTERED OFFICE: 33 Hispano Avenue
Whiteley
Farehman
Hampshire
PO15 7DS



REGISTERED NUMBER: 09449978 (England and Wales)



AUDITORS: Bates Weston Audit Ltd
Statutory Auditors
Chartered Accountants
The Mills
Canal Street
Derby
DE1 2RJ



BANKERS: HSBC Bank
Market Place
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S40 1TN

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Strategic Report
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

The directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31 December 2023.

REVIEW OF BUSINESS
During the course of the period, the company's principle activity continued to be that of processing of raw tobacco.

The results for the year show a profit of £381,701 (2022: £144,574). The total shareholders funds have increased to £372,527 (2022: £9,174 overdrawn).

The performance of the company is encouraging, considering the pressures from the current economic climate and the competitive environment it operates in.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The company's principal financial instruments comprise bank balances and trade creditors. The main purpose of these instruments is to raise funds for the company's operations and to finance the company's operations.

Trade debtors are managed in respect of credit and cash flow risk by policies concerning the credit offered to clients and the regular monitoring of amounts outstanding for both time and credit limits. Trade creditors liquidity risk is managed by ensuring sufficient funds are available to meet amounts due.

The company is exposed to a moderate level of price risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and cash flow risk. The company manages these risks by financing its operations through retained profits. There is a risk resulting from foreign exchange due to the international trade. These risks are managed by having bank accounts for the relevant currencies so no exchanges are made unless necessary.

The management objectives are to retain sufficient liquid funds to enable it to meet its day to day requirements, minimise the company's exposure to fluctuating exchange rates, with the future cash flows expected to rise with the company's trading activities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:





Mrs M T Chalmers - Director


23 September 2024

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Report of the Directors
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 December 2023.

DIVIDENDS
No dividends will be distributed for the year ended 31 December 2023.

DIRECTORS
The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from 1 January 2023 to the date of this report.

S M Chalmers
Mrs M T Chalmers

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES
The directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors 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 United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). 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 and then apply them consistently;
-make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-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 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.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS
So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the company's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:





Mrs M T Chalmers - Director


23 September 2024

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of
ESSEM Ltd

Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of ESSEM Ltd (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity, Cash Flow Statement and Notes to the Financial Statements, 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:
-give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its profit for the year then ended;
-have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
-have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion
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 Auditors' 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 UK, including the FRC'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.

Conclusions relating to going concern
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.

Other information
The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors thereon.

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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of
ESSEM Ltd


Matters on which we are required to report by exception
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 Report of the Directors.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of directors
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page three, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
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 a Report of the Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the company and sector in which it operates, we considered those laws and
regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies
Act 2006. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

- Enquiry of management around actual and potential litigation and claims;
- Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess
compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
- Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal
entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant
transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias.

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 Report of the Auditors.

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of
ESSEM Ltd


Use of our report
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 a Report of the Auditors 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.




Wayne Thomas FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of Bates Weston Audit Ltd
Statutory Auditors
Chartered Accountants
The Mills
Canal Street
Derby
DE1 2RJ

23 September 2024

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Profit and Loss Account
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

2023 2022
Notes £    £   

TURNOVER 37,073,999 26,929,593

Cost of sales 36,427,063 26,618,412
GROSS PROFIT 646,936 311,181

Administrative expenses 198,372 166,607
OPERATING PROFIT and
PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION 448,564 144,574

Tax on profit 5 66,863 -
PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 381,701 144,574

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - -
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR

381,701

144,574

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Balance Sheet
31 December 2023

2023 2022
Notes £    £    £    £   
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 6 51 350

CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks 7 11,983,246 6,711,269
Debtors 8 6,235,437 7,292,588
Cash at bank 873,194 805,131
19,091,877 14,808,988
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 9 18,719,401 14,818,512
NET CURRENT ASSETS/(LIABILITIES) 372,476 (9,524 )
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES

372,527

(9,174

)

CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital 10 100 100
Retained earnings 11 372,427 (9,274 )
SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 372,527 (9,174 )

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 23 September 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:





Mrs M T Chalmers - Director


ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Statement of Changes in Equity
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

Called up
share Retained Total
capital earnings equity
£    £    £   
Balance at 1 January 2022 100 (153,848 ) (153,748 )

Changes in equity
Profit for the year - 144,574 144,574
Total comprehensive income - 144,574 144,574
Balance at 31 December 2022 100 (9,274 ) (9,174 )

Changes in equity
Profit for the year - 381,701 381,701
Total comprehensive income - 381,701 381,701
Balance at 31 December 2023 100 372,427 372,527

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Cash Flow Statement
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

2023 2022
Notes £    £   
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 13 61,620 375,879
Net cash from operating activities 61,620 375,879

Cash flows from financing activities
Amount introduced by directors 6,443 -
Amount withdrawn by directors - (244,001 )
Net cash from financing activities 6,443 (244,001 )

Increase in cash and cash equivalents 68,063 131,878
Cash and cash equivalents at
beginning of year

14

805,131

673,253

Cash and cash equivalents at end of
year

14

873,194

805,131

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Notes to the Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

1. STATUTORY INFORMATION

ESSEM Ltd is a private company, limited by shares , registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found on the Company Information page.

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Turnover
Turnover represents net invoiced sales of goods. Turnover is recognised in the year in which the goods are provided.

Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Computer equipment - 33% on cost

Stocks
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for slow moving and obsolete items. Cost represents the invoiced cost of goods on a first in first out basis.

Foreign currencies
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of transaction. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.

Going concern
The accounts have been prepared on the going concern basis. The directors have confirmed the continued financial support from the related undertakings.

3. EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS
2023 2022
£    £   
Wages and salaries 179,000 131,000

The average number of employees during the year was as follows:
2023 2022

Directors 2 2
Administration 1 1
3 3

2023 2022
£    £   
Directors' remuneration 130,000 87,000

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

4. OPERATING PROFIT

The operating profit is stated after charging:

2023 2022
£    £   
Depreciation - owned assets 299 573
Auditors' remuneration 6,600 6,670
Auditors' remuneration for non audit work 3,420 3,400

5. TAXATION

Analysis of the tax charge
The tax charge on the profit for the year was as follows:
2023 2022
£    £   
Current tax:
UK corporation tax 66,863 -
Tax on profit 66,863 -

Reconciliation of total tax charge included in profit and loss
The tax assessed for the year is lower than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK. The difference is explained below:

2023 2022
£    £   
Profit before tax 448,564 144,574
Profit multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of
23.520% (2022 - 19%)

105,502

27,469

Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 49 -
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances 72 109

Utilisation of tax losses (38,760 ) (27,578 )
Total tax charge 66,863 -

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

6. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Computer
equipment
£   
COST
At 1 January 2023
and 31 December 2023 2,531
DEPRECIATION
At 1 January 2023 2,181
Charge for year 299
At 31 December 2023 2,480
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 December 2023 51
At 31 December 2022 350

7. STOCKS
2023 2022
£    £   
Raw materials 7,495,244 6,196,424
Goods in transit 4,488,002 514,845
11,983,246 6,711,269

8. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2023 2022
£    £   
Trade debtors 6,031,955 7,286,062
Other debtors - 83
Directors' current account - 6,443
Prepayments and accrued income 203,482 -
6,235,437 7,292,588

9. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2023 2022
£    £   
Trade creditors 18,644,089 14,810,063
Tax 66,863 -
Accruals and deferred income 8,449 8,449
18,719,401 14,818,512

10. CALLED UP SHARE CAPITAL

Allotted, issued and fully paid:
Number: Class: Nominal 2023 2022
value: £    £   
100 Ordinary £1 100 100

ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

11. RESERVES
Retained
earnings
£   

At 1 January 2023 (9,274 )
Profit for the year 381,701
At 31 December 2023 372,427

12. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

SM Tobacco Trading is a related company owned and controlled by S M Chalmers.

There was total sales in the year of £35,620,392 (2022: £24,749,391). The remaining balance at the year-end was £5,936,211 (2022: £5,236,213). The balance is included within trade debtors.

13. RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION TO CASH GENERATED FROM
OPERATIONS
2023 2022
£    £   
Profit before taxation 448,564 144,574
Depreciation charges 299 573
448,863 145,147
Increase in stocks (5,271,977 ) (2,824,600 )
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other debtors 1,050,708 (2,829,139 )
Increase in trade and other creditors 3,834,026 5,884,471
Cash generated from operations 61,620 375,879

14. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The amounts disclosed on the Cash Flow Statement in respect of cash and cash equivalents are in respect of these Balance Sheet amounts:

Year ended 31 December 2023
31.12.23 1.1.23
£    £   
Cash and cash equivalents 873,194 805,131
Year ended 31 December 2022
31.12.22 1.1.22
£    £   
Cash and cash equivalents 805,131 673,253


ESSEM Ltd (Registered number: 09449978)

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued
for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

15. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.1.23 Cash flow At 31.12.23
£    £    £   
Net cash
Cash at bank 805,131 68,063 873,194
805,131 68,063 873,194
Total 805,131 68,063 873,194