Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
CONTENTS
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
The company's principal activity during the year was that of childcare services.
The director aims to present a balanced and comprehensive review of the development and performance of the business during the year and its position at the year end. The review is consistent with the size and non-complex nature of the business. The director considers the key financial performance indicators to be net profit and net assets. Net profit provides a good measure of the performance of the company, whilst net assets demonstrate the financial strength of the company.
During the year, turnover has increased by 5.8%, gross profit margin has increased to 50.7% from 50.5% in the prior year. Net profits before tax have decreased to £207,742 (2023 - £422,438). The decreases have been driven by increases caused by general inflationary pressures impacting the industry. The directors are satisfied with the results for the year. The financial position of the company continues to be strong at the year end with a healthy cash balance of £347k, while net assets remain in excess of £1,994k. The Board are confident in its assessment of going concern, and have put measures in place to protect their staff and continue to operate as normal in the period ahead.
The management of the business is subject to a number of risks. The key business risks and uncertainties are considered to relate to the current economic climate.
The company operates in a sophisticated market and its performance is related to ensuring it provides a high quality of childcare to satisfy all of its customers requirements.
The company regularly reviews its exposure to credit risk. Management closely monitor outstanding debts and and make provisions in the accounts for customers considered to be at risk of non-payment.
The cash balance at the year end was £347k which provides the company with adequate working capital. The directors recognise the importance of funding and liquidity under the current economic climate and will continue to monitor the company's financial resources to ensure that the company is able to support its activities and future growth
The company has both interest bearing assets and interest bearing liabilities. Interest bearing assets include cash balances, which attract interest at the prevailing market rate. Interest bearing liabilities include obligations under finance lease and hire purchase contracts which attract interest at fixed rates.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
This report was approved by the board on 22 February 2025 and signed on its behalf.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2024.
The directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic report, the Directors' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
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;
∙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.
The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £194,989 (2023 - £343,951).
During the year directors declared dividends of £Nil (2023 - £281,000).
The directors who served during the year were:
Looking ahead, the company's business environment is expected to remain challenging but promising. The directors consider that the company's strong financial position should provide a platform which is conducive to capitalising on both current and future opportunities.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
There have been no significant events affecting the Company since the year end.
Berringers LLP resigned as the auditor during the year and Barnes Roffe LLP were appointed in their place.
The auditor, Barnes Roffe LLP, will be proposed for appointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board on
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
We have audited the financial statements of Little Elms Daycare Nursery Limited (the 'Company') for the year ended 31 May 2024, which comprise the Statement of income and retained earnings, the Balance sheet 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 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 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.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED (CONTINUED)
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' 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.
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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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY 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 Auditors' 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:
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
∙The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
∙We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the relevant sector;
∙We focused on specific laws and regulations, which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, Ofsted standards and food hygeine regulations;
∙We assessed the extent of compliance with laws and regulations identified above through making enquires of management and inspecting legal correspondence and identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
∙Making enquires of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual suspected and alleged fraud; and
∙Considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
∙Performed analytical procedures to identify and unusual or unexpected relationships;
∙Tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
∙Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
∙Investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial statements, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect that those that arise from errors as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED (CONTINUED)
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 Auditors' 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 an Auditors' 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
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditor
Leytonstone House
3 Hanbury Drive
London
E11 1GA
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND RETAINED EARNINGS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 06908541
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MAY 2024
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on
The notes on pages 11 to 23 form part of these financial statements.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
Little Elms Daycare Nursery Limited is a private company, limited by shares, registered in England and Wales. Its registered office address is 29 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4PR. The company's principal activity is that of providing childcare services.
2.Accounting policies
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention unless otherwise specified within these accounting policies and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the Companies Act 2006.
The preparation of financial statements in compliance with FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise judgment in applying the Company's accounting policies (see note 3).
The following principal accounting policies have been applied:
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 Little Elms Daycare Nurseries Property Holding Company Limited as at 31 May 2024 and these financial statements may be obtained from Companies House.
The directors have reviewed and considered the company working capital requirements and the
directors are of the opinion that the company will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements. They therefore consider it appropriate to continue to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.
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.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
The Company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 “Basic Financial Instruments” of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
The Company has elected to apply the recognition and measurement provisions of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (as adopted by the UK Endorsement Board) with the disclosure requirements of Sections 11 and 12 and the other presentation requirements of FRS 102.
Financial instruments are recognised in the Company's Balance sheet when the Company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets
Basic financial assets, which include trade and other debtors, cash and bank balances, are initially measured at their transaction price (adjusted for transaction costs except in the initial measurement of financial assets that are subsequently measured at fair value through profit and loss) 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 debtors due with the operating cycle fall into this category of financial instruments.
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is 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 creditors, bank loans and other loans are initially measured at their transaction price (adjusting for transaction costs except in the initial measurement of financial liabilities that are subsequently measured at fair value through profit and loss). When this constitutes a financing transaction, whereby the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments 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 creditors are obligations to pay for goods and services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Trade creditors are classified as current liabilities if the payment is due within one year. If not, they represent non-current liabilities. Trade creditors 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.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Critical judgements in applying the entity’s accounting policies No significant judgements have had to be made by management in preparing these financial statements Critical accounting estimates and assumptions (i) Useful economic lives of tangible assets The annual depreciation charge for tangible assets is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are reassessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on technological advancement, future investments, economic utlisiation and the physical condition of the assets. See note 12 for the carrying amount of the property, plant and equipment, and note 2.9 for the useful economic lives for each class of assets. (ii) The company makes an estimate of the recoverable value of trade and other debtors. When assessing impairment of trade and other debtors, management considers factors including the current credit rating of the debtor, the ageing profile of debtors and historical experience. See note 13 for the net carrying amount of the debtors.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
10.Taxation (continued)
There were no factors that may affect future tax charges.
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
At the balance sheet date the company had entered into a group guarantee in relation to bank loans held
by Little Elms Daycare Nurseries Property Holding Company Limited, the parent company. The loan is secured by way of a fixed charge over property, other debts, chattels, goodwill and uncalled capital and a floating charge over all assets.
Profit and loss account
The Company operates a defined contributions pension scheme. 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 £37,535 (2023 - £36,630). Contributions of £8,431 were outstanding at the balance sheet date (2023 - £7,519).
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LITTLE ELMS DAYCARE NURSERY LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2024
The ultimate controlling party is M Lancaster and S Lancaster.
The ultimate parent company is Little Elms Daycare Nurseries Property Holding Company Limited. Its registered office is 29 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent, England, BR3 4PR.
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