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Registered number:
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
CONTENTS
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
The directors present the strategic report for the period ended 29 March 2025.
The company has been able to continue the strong performance experienced in the final months of the previous financial year.
Early on in the year, the procurement team was able to secure a range of raw materials at competitive prices as the industry entered a period of significant inflation, resulting in an increase in gross margin profit from £10,731,438 in 2024 to £13,151,837 in 2025. These circumstances have helped the company to deliver an above budget performance, with increased revenue in 2025 to £86,856,655 from £76,800,288 in 2024. The senior team has been further strengthened during the year with the appointment of new heads of department in Technical and Ingredients. Due to the companies trading performance, finances have been further supported by our banking partner, Praetura Corporate Finance with an additional £6m being provided. This enabled the company to deliver excellent levels of service throughout the all important Christmas and Easter trading periods. Under the ownership of Vesta SA, the company has been able to pursue new opportunities whilst being able to enjoy the security of supply in a challenging environment. The company has continued to invest in the UK site and personnel to enhance competitiveness and efficiency. The company remains well placed to grow and prosper in the year ahead, whereby we look to grow revenue, and diversify our product offering with a renewed focus on NPD and valued added products.
Going Concern
The directors have adopted the going concern basis in preparing these accounts after assessing the principal risks. The directors considered the impact of the current environment on the business for the next 12 months, and the longer term, and deem that the position of the business is well placed to continue its growth trajectory. The directors have produced forecasts which suggest that the company will continue to operate with sufficient liquidity and will meet its financial covenant obligations with its lenders. The directors believe that the company is well placed to manage its financing and other business risks satisfactorily and have a reasonable expectation that the company will have adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12 months from the signing date of these financial statements. They therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. Principal risks and uncertainties The directors have assessed the main risks facing the company as being credit risk, liquidity and cash flow risk and an exposure to foreign exchange currency movements: Credit risk The company’s principal financial assets are trade receivables and the recoverability of trade receivable balances represents the principal risk facing the business. Trading account limits are set for all customers based on a combination of payment history and third-party credit agencies in order to manage credit risk. Credit limits are reviewed by management on an ongoing basis and in conjunction with current receivables age profiling and an ongoing monitoring of receivables collection history. The business currently insures all of its receivables book through a leading market insurer.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
Liquidity and cash flow risk
The company seeks to manage liquidity and cash flow risk by arranging sufficient working capital finance facilities which are in place to enable the company to meet foreseeable requirements. The company's policy throughout the period had been to achieve this objective through management's day-to-day involvement in business decisions. Currency risk The company is also exposed to translation and transaction foreign exchange risk. The company enters into forward exchange contracts including cashflow hedging arrangements with its bankers in order to protect the business against adverse currency movement in both GBP/USD and other currency pairings. Foreign exchange differences on retranslation of these liabilities are taken to the statement of comprehensive Income. Food Safety Risk Food safety is a key operational risk that could have significant reputational, legal, and financial consequences for the company. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of food safety and compliance across all areas of our business. To mitigate this risk, we implement rigorous quality assurance procedures, including regular supplier audits, employee training, and adherence to recognised food safety standards. We continuously monitor regulatory developments and maintain robust traceability systems to ensure rapid response in the event of a safety concern. These measures help protect our consumers, brand integrity, and long-term operational resilience.
The board of directors of Community Foods Limited, in line with their duties under s172 of the Companies Act 2006, act in a way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company having regard to its stakeholders in the decisions taken during the financial period ended on 29 March 2025.
Shareholders
The company’s shareholders are vital to the future success of the business providing support when needed to aid business growth and the generation of sustainable returns.
Customer and clients
The board of directors regularly review client relationships to ensure they are acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders. The company continuously strives for new ways to add value to its client engagements.
Employees
The company’s people, including its employees, contractors and consultants, are key to its success both individually and collaboratively as a team. The company engages with its staff through regular meetings, including formal partnership meetings, and briefings. The directors have implemented policies and procedures and provide training to ensure that staff understand their obligation to act with integrity, due skill, care and diligence as well as paying due regard to the interests of clients and the requirement to treat them fairly.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
Suppliers
The directors aim to act responsibly and fairly in how the company engages with its suppliers and service providers. The company considers its suppliers as important business partners to its strategic success.
Government regulators
The directors believe it is of utmost importance to behave responsibly, to operate with high standards of business conduct and lead by example. The company therefore acts in a transparent and cooperative way with all government bodies.
Community and the environment
Given the nature of the company’s operations, the impact of its operations on the community and environment is considered. The company has now adopted scope 3 carbon reporting and is working with its suppliers of services and materials to further improve the supply chain wherever possible. During the course of the year a substantial amount of the companies sales are now collected on a “backhaul” basis, vastly improving vehicle utilisation.
Gross profit
For the period under review, a gross profit of £13,151,837 (15%) was achieved compared to £10,731,438 in the prior year (14%). Operating profit For the period under review, the operating profit was £3,960,412 (2024: £1,638,919). Inventories Inventories are not only perishable with a defined life but tie up working capital. Inventories have increased to £12,877,516 from £10,539,785 in the previous period. This increase in inventory levels was primarily due to enable the business to service its customers at the right optimum service levels. Headcount The head count increased slightly compared with prior period, 166 in the current period compared to 153 in the prior period. Shareholders’ funds Shareholders’ funds have increased to £5,840,960 from £3,796,721 in the previous period. The Board and management look forward to continuing the path of profitability and growth, as it looks to invest in new initiatives.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the period ended 29 March 2025.
The directors who served during the period were:
The profit for the period, after taxation, amounted to £3,049,986 (2024 - £276,884).
A dividend of £1,000,725 (2024: £nil) was declared and paid in the financial year.
The auditor, Blick Rothenberg Audit LLP, will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
As permitted by s414c(11) of the Companies Act 2006, the directors have elected to disclose information, as required to be in the directors' report by Schedule 7 of the 'Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008', in the strategic report.
In accordance with the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 the company’s greenhouse gas emission and energy use are set out below:
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
Emission intensity per metric tonne finished goods for the year 15.7kg (2024 - 16.9kg).
Quantification and reporting methodology
Reporting has taken into account all activities undertaken at our site in Witham, Essex, where Community has full financial control. The reporting timescale is from April 2024 to March 2025, in line with our financial year. All emissions data was calculated using the UK Government’s Emissions Factor Database 2023. There are no omissions from the mandatory reporting scope.
Measures taken to improve energy efficiency
The focus of our 24/254 financial year has been:
∙Improving communication to staff around our environmental responsibilities and commitments - using internal newsletters, video screens and site visits to illustrate the measures we action as a company.
∙Data gathering for our scope 3 reporting has been a process of continual improvement. This year we have been able to use more in-depth data specific to our customers, which in turn delivers a more robust view of our impact rather than relying on industry averages.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
The directors intend to continue Community Foods Limited as a merchant of food products for the retail and manufacture for the foreseeable future. The directors aim to maintain management policies and to undertake continual investment to identify and develop opportunities for new and existing product offerings to grow market share further.
In order to manage its exposure to foreign exchange risk, the company enters into foreign exchange forward contracts. Some of these have been treated as cash flow hedges.
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 judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
∙state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
∙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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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
We have audited the financial statements of Community Foods Limited (the 'company') for the period ended 29 March 2025, which comprise the income statement, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of financial position, 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.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
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.
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 period 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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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
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:
∙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 company's wholesale and retail business 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, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;
∙we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries 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 enquiries 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 any unusual or unexpected relationships;
∙tested a sample of journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
∙assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias; and
∙investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
∙agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
∙reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
∙enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
∙reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators including the company’s legal advisors.
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required 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 than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
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.
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
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditor
16 Great Queen Street
Covent Garden
WC2B 5AH
Date:
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
INCOME STATEMENT
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 29 MARCH 2025
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COMMUNITY FOODS LIMITED
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 29 MARCH 2025
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 18 to 37 form part of these financial statements.
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