Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
CONTENTS
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The principal activity of the company continues to be the provision of linen and workwear rental and laundry services into London and throughout the South-East of the UK. These services are delivered 24/7 to satisfy the customer needs.
During this latest year ended 31 March 2024, it has been encouraging to see the level of sales recovery particularly whilst the company has remained affected by the slowing economy.
The company has managed to navigate these challenges and retain market position and provided a healthy platform for growth in the underlying medium to long term strategy. The current financial reporting period is 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Turnover for the year stands at £22.4m and the company has worked hard to mitigate the effect of the National Living Wage (NLW) and a slow-moving economy on company costs. Gross Profit is now £4.4m providing a pre-tax profit of £0.7m. During this period of reporting, the effects of a cost-of-living crisis has been managed well considering the high levels of inflation. However, the underlying effects of the economic climate continue to be present. The operating environment is still significantly more difficult than pre-COVID, with the sourcing of all key resources, including recruitment, engagement and retention of staff, proving challenging. Alongside these sourcing challenges, cost inflation has played its part in the profitability of the business in the year.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The principal trading risks facing the business are the sourcing of textiles, a suitable workforce, continuing cost pressures and a further cost of living crisis impacting our customer demand.
Due to the nature of the financial instruments used by the company, there is no real exposure to price risk fluctuations. The company’s approach to managing other risks applicable to the financial instruments concerned is as set out below. The company’s principal financial instruments and working capital components comprise bank balances, bank overdrafts (when needed and appropriate), trade debtors, trade creditors, loans to the company and finance lease agreements. The main purpose of the instruments is to raise funds for the company’s operations and expansion and to provide ongoing working capital. The company has in place the following measures in order to manage financial risks arising from these financial instruments: •In respect of bank balances, the liquidity risk is managed by maintaining a balance between the continuity of funding and flexibility through the use of bank loans and overdrafts, again where needed and appropriate, and finance at floating rates of interest. •In respect of loans, these comprise loans from financial institutions. The interest rate on the loans are variable and the company manages the liquidity risk by ensuring there are sufficient funds to meet the repayments as they fall due. The current volatility in terms of open market interest rates is monitored closely in the context of its impact on the company finance arrangements. •The company uses finance leases to assist in the purchase of some fixed assets. The liquidity risk is managed in the same manner as for the loans above. •Trade debtors are managed in terms of credit and cash flow risk, by regularly reviewing credit terms given to customers and strict controls over the collection procedure. •Trade creditor liquidity risk is managed in the same way as the loans above and is constantly monitored.
The company uses real time KPI monitoring across both its sites as well as having an appropriate set of commercial, operational, compliance and financial related KPIs for monthly management review. Turnover and gross margin, being the main KPI's, are disclosed under Introduction above.
There are no other key performance indicators other than those already disclosed above.
This report was approved by the board on 28 March 2025 and signed on its behalf.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 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 £581,426 (2023 restated- £585,714).
Dividends of £nil (2023: £nil) were paid in the year. However dividends in specie of £nil (2023: £824,000) were declared in the year in relation to property transfers which took place in the year to the parent company, Moore Bros Holdings Limited.
The directors who served during the year were:
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The company is reliant upon hospitality within the region it serves and believes demand will remain despite the current cost of living crisis.
The board of directors remain confident about the future. The business has two modern and flexible facilities, which in turn provide a strong platform to quickly adapt to market requirements and so there is a reasonable optimism about the return to, and growth beyond, historic levels of trade and performance over the coming years.
After the reporting date, the company secured a new loan facility of £2.36 million with HSBC Bank. This facility replaces existing loans amounting to £2 million that were outstanding at the balance sheet date. The new facility has a lower interest rate and extends the repayment period by four and a half years. This event does not impact the financial position reported as of 31 March 2024, but it is expected to improve the company’s liquidity going forward.
In September 2024, an investment property was sold for £420k by the company to a related party Pension fund. The carrying value as at 31 March 2024, included in the above accounts, was £400k.
The auditors, FLB Audit LLP, will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board on
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
We have audited the financial statements of Eastern Counties Laundries Limited (the 'Company') for the year ended 31 March 2024, which comprise the Statement of comprehensive income, the Balance sheet, the Statement of cash flows, 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 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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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES 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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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES 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:
• enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation claims; • performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual results that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; • reading minutes of meetings; • assessing any management override of controls by testing journal entries and other adjustments and reviewing accounting estimates for indications of potential bias; • evaluating any transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business; and • maintaining alert to any fraud risks throughout the audit. 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 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.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED (CONTINUED)
for and on behalf of
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
1010 Eskdale Road
Winnersh Triangle
RG41 5TS
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 00249950
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on
The notes on pages 16 to 42 form part of these financial statements.
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STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
14.Tangible fixed assets (continued)
Tangible fixed assets (continued)
Freehold Property at 31 March 2024 has a carrying amount of £2,814,460 at cost with the revaluation portion being £2,995,540 based on the 31 March 2024 valuation. Thus a total of £5,810,000. The 31 March 2024 valuations were made by an independent valuer, being Nicholas Percival RICS, on an open market value for existing use basis. If the Freehold Property had been accounted for under the historic cost accounting rules, the properties would have been measured as follows: -31 March 2024: Historic cost of £3,845,228 and accumulated depreciation of £1,030,767 -31 March 2023 (restated): Historic cost of £3,139,377 and accumulated depreciation of £957,318
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Eastern Counties Laundries Limited is a designated member of Moore Bros 1815 LLP, having 66% control. Moore Bros 1815 LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in the United Kingdom and registered in England and Wales. The registered address is Middlebrough House, 16 Middlebrough, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1QT and the registered number is OC355032. Moore Bros 1815 LLP had no profit or share capital and reserves at 31 March 2024 and is a dormant entity.
The 2024 valuations were made by an independent valuer, being Nicholas Percival RICS, on an open market value for existing use basis.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Revaluation reserve
Capital redemption reserve
Other reserves
Profit and loss account
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Following the review of electric and gas charges, management identified that they had been overcharged by their service provider for the current and prior year. As a result, a credit has been claimed which has resulted in a prior period adjustment being made. This has resulted in the prior period profit increasing by £185,652 and other debtors increasing by the same amount. Therefore, the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Balance Sheet and Statement of Changes in Equity, Taxation and Debtors notes are all impacted. This restatement has no impact on tax.
It was noted during the 2024 financial year that there were Tangible Assets which should have been transferred to the parent company in the 2023 financial year. Therefore a prior period adjustment has been made to correct this, which decreases Tangible Assets by £125,883 and decreases the amount owed to group companies by the same amount. This impacts notes 14 and 19 respectively and the Balance Sheet. This restatement has no impact on tax. It was noted after the 2023 accounts were filed that the accounts had not included interest on the loan with the parent. The value being £50,055. Therefore interest expense for that period and the loan owing to the parent was understated. Therefore a prior period adjustment has been made to correct this. Therefore, the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Balance Sheet and Statement of Changes in Equity, and notes 11 and 19 are all impacted. This restatement has no impact on tax. As a result of the above it was noted that £133,665 of amounts owed from parent had been set off against the amount payable to parent which was not correct to net off. As such this has been grossed up for the 2023 figures included in these accounts. This restatement has no impact on tax, but impacts the Balance Sheet and notes 17 and 19. It was also noted during the 2024 financial year that a capital deposit of £150,002 was included in Tangible Assets in 2023, which should have been allocated to prepayments. As such a prior period adjustment has been made to correct this. This results in a decrease of Tangible Assets of £150,002 and an increase in prepayments by the same amount, impacting notes 14 and 17 respectively and the Balance Sheet. This restatement has no impact on tax. Following a review of the historical costs of the tangible assets held by the company, it was noted that incorrect historical costs were used which required a prior period adjustment to be posted to correct the revaluation reserve and profit and loss account in the accounts, to reflect the actual difference between revalued amounts and historical costs of these assets. This has resulted in the opening revaluation reserve and profit and loss account at 1 April 2022 increasing and decreasing by £846,297 respectively. The revaluation realisation of tangible assets has increased by £31,985 between the revaluation reserve and profit and loss account in 2023. Deferred tax movement on OCI therefore decreased by £70,732, with a deferred tax credit amount of £70,732 increasing the profits for the period. This impacts the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity and note 12. The directors have made these restatements as they believe that they enable the financial statements to provide a true and fair view.
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 £129,873 (2023 - £123,488) . Contributions totalling £31,656 (2023 - £28,503) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in other creditors.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
In September 2024, an investment property was sold for £420k by the company to a related party Pension fund. The carrying value as at 31 March 2024, included in the above accounts, was £400k.
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EASTERN COUNTIES LAUNDRIES LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Moore Bros Holdings Limited is the immediate and ultimate parent company, with Mr T W Moore remaining the ultimate controlling party due to him having 100% shareholding in Moore Bros Holdings Limited. Mr T W Moore sold 25% of his shareholding in Moore Bros Holdings Limited to Mr O T Moore on 3 January 2024.
Copies of the consolidated financial statements of Moore Bros Holdings Limited can be obtained from 28 Robjohns Road, Chelmsford, England, CM1 3AF. This is the largest and smallest set of accounts for which consolidated accounts are prepared and to which the company is included in.
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