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Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The principal activity of the company during the year was the provision of investment advisory services.
The firm enjoyed a second full year of income from the four investment company clients it advises. Total income for the year rose in line with budget and with net assets under advice to £1,580,945 (2023: £1,490,376).
Total expenses for the year increased to £1,058,617 from £884,881 in 2023. The firm’s principal expenses, accounting for 91% of 2024 total expenses, are staff costs, mostly advisory salaries, which accounted for 60% of total expenses, and information costs, which accounted for another 31%, the main component of which is outsourced research, which increased from £152,644 to £224,099 as the firm built up its research capability. This planned increased in research expenditure was the main reason the firm’s operating profit fell to £489,681 from £600,084 in 2023.
The limited activities of the firm (it has only five non-retail clients, it does not handle client money or assets, it provides investment advice only and does not manage investments, trade securities or place orders for clients) mean that many of the risks normally associated with investment firms are unlikely to arise. The principal risks faced by the firm are as follows:
Losing investment advisory mandates The principal reason why the firm might lose its investment advisory mandates would be as a result of poor performance as an investment adviser. With five investment advisory clients the firm is now much less exposed to this risk than it was before July 2021 when it had a single fund as its only advisory client. Total client assets increased to c. £217.2m at 31 December 2024 from c. £173.1m at the end of 2023 and the directors believe clients are happy with the performance of their investments after another year of steady progress. Regulatory risk The firm depends on its continued authorisation by the FCA to carry on its business and it devotes considerable resources to ensure that it stays compliant with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and does not endanger this authorisation in any way. Operational risk - business continuity The firm’s data is backed up to the ‘cloud’ in real time as well as periodically to duplicated offsite storage. The directors are able to focus on providing investment advice because most other activities of the firm have been carried out by a single key employee. This overdependence could become a risk to business continuity, a possibility which was addressed during the year by hiring a part-time employee to take over some accounting and compliance tasks. External compliance consultants carried out an analysis of the firm’s compliance requirements and will implement an online compliance management system and provide regular ongoing support, introducing a level of redundancy to the firm’s compliance function. The directors expect that these initiatives will significantly reduce the current risk created by overdependence on a key individual. Market risk - insufficient assets under advice In a market downturn the total value of assets the firm advises could fall to a level where its income will not fully cover the firm’s overheads after any practicable reductions. The firm would start to make losses under this scenario which would threaten its ability to continue as a going concern, as indeed occurred in the wake of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Ashik Shah, the firm’s principal shareholder, has indicated to the board his willingness to support the firm should such a situation occur again. With assets under advice of c.£217m at 31 Dec 24 producing a healthy operating profit, and a strong balance sheet with very substantial liquid assets, the firm is confident that it has the resources to ride out even a severe and prolonged market downturn.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The key performance indicators of the company are the total client assets under advice and the growth in value of those assets in their reporting currencies, which are the US dollar for the fund advised and sterling for the four investment companies advised.
Our clients know that the value investment strategy we have agreed with them aims to achieve medium to long-term growth; our agreements with them recommend an average holding period for investments of at least 5 years and a minimum holding period of 3 years. At 31 December 2024 we had been advising 65% of assets under advice for only 30 months and 31% for only 42 months, so it is still too early to judge performance over the recommended holding period. Having a long-term investment perspective permits investment in unlisted securities or in funds and partnerships investing in unlisted securities, and such assets comprise a significant proportion of the assets of our advised clients.
Following amendments made to the Act in 2018 the Directors have a duty under section 172 to act in the way they consider ‘most likely to promote the success of the company’ and to explain in their strategic report how in doing so they have had regard inter alia to a number of other matters set out in section 172(1)(a) to (f) of the Act:
(a) the likely consequences of any decision in the long term As value investors, who admire legendary investor Warren Buffett’s statement that his favourite holding period for an investment is “for ever”, every material decision of the directors is made with regard to its potential long--term effects. (b) the interests of the company's employees Apart from the directors themselves the firm has only two part-time employees, one who only joined in September 2024, while the other has been with the firm for seventeen years, which suggests to the directors that he is content with the way in which they have considered his interests during his employment. (c) the need to foster the company's business relationships with suppliers, customers and others · The firm has always had a policy of paying suppliers not just on time, but as soon as possible, which is key to maintaining a relationship with any supplier and which was particularly important during the pandemic. · Strong, long-term relationships with the firm’s investment advisory clients (and in the case of the fund advised, the fund’s investors) are critical to the firm’s business and the directors communicate and meet with them frequently to nurture these relationships. · The directors do not believe in chopping and changing for temporary business advantage but in building personal relationships for the long term. Such relationships have been established with the firm’s compliance consultants, the administrator of the fund advised, the trust company administering the investment companies advised, investment analysts carrying out research for the firm, and others. The directors attach particular importance to ensuring returns to HMRC and the FCA are always made on time. (d) the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct The firm’s chief executive has a high profile in the UK’s Jain community, is much involved in charitable activities, and is aware that any damage to the firm’s reputation could negatively impact his own. Of particular importance to maintaining the firm’s currently spotless reputation is the independent oversight of and challenge to the executive directors provided by the firm’s unpaid non-executive chairman, a chartered accountant and the CFO of a significantly larger firm, and also by the firm’s part-time compliance officer, another qualified accountant employed as compliance manager at an FCA regulated investment manager, a position which gives him a certain independence that a full-time employee of this firm might not necessarily have. (e) the need to act fairly as between members of the company Section 172 of the Act requires directors to promote the success of the company ‘for the benefit of its members as a whole’. As the firm’s chief executive owns all the firm’s shares, it is clear that no conflict between the interests of its members can arise. Instead the focus of the firm is on identifying and if necessary avoiding or mitigating potential conflicts between the firm, its directors and its clients, particularly where they have holdings in the same underlying investments.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The regulatory environment
After the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (“IFPR”) which came in to force in 2022 and the ‘Consumer Duty’ which came in to force in 2023, the firm enjoyed a respite from burdensome regulatory change in 2024. New legislation coming in to force this year, such as the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”) and the UK’s Consumer Composite Investments Regime (“CCI”) is of interest to the firm but peripherally, rather than directly applicable to it; so from the regulatory perspective we expect 2025 to be a relatively quiet year. The economic environment As value investors who take a long-term, even generational view of investments, we are not overly concerned by short-term events – pandemics, wars, or rumours of wars, and lately, executive orders – which disrupt economic activity. We follow the famous Warren Buffett maxim “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful”. Like Buffett, we identify well-managed companies with entrenched market positions and simple to understand businesses which we would like to own and then wait to buy them when panic is in the air and markets oversold. Business development Having built what it intends will be long-term relationships with individual analysts and research providers the firm is now generating significant original research to inform and support its investment recommendations, helping clients deploy capital by direct investment rather than doing so mainly through fund managers as in the past.
This report was approved by the board on 25 April 2025 and signed on its behalf.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £395,289 (2023 £462,185).
The directors have not recommended a dividend.
The directors who served during the year were:
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;
∙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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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
Under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006, Blick Rothenberg Audit LLP will be deemed to have been reappointed as auditor 28 days after these financial statements were sent to members or 28 days after the latest date prescribed for filing the accounts with the registrar, whichever is earlier.
This report was approved by the board on
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
We have audited the financial statements of Ashik Shah & Co Limited (the 'Company') for the year ended 31 December 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 Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditor's Report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor's Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following: enquiring of management
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
concerning the Company’s policies with regards to identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance; enquiring of management concerning the Company’s policies for detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; enquiring of management concerning the Company’s policies in relation to the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; discussing among the engagement team where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud; and obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the Company operates in and focusing on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the Company. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act 2006, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and applicable tax legislation.
One particular focus area was the risk of fraud through management override of controls. Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following: performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; reviewing the bank statements of the Company for evidence of any large or unusual activity which may be indicative of fraud; enquiring of management in relation to any potential litigation and claims; and testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments. Another focus area was non-compliance with the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (‘the FCA’). The Company was authorised and regulated by the FCA throughout the period. Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following: reviewing correspondence between the Company and the FCA, performing analytical review to detect receipts of client money and remaining alert to the possibility of accidental receipt of client monies; and discussion of regulatory matters with the appointed officers of the Company. 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
Statutory Auditor
16 Great Queen Street
WC2B 5AH
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on
The notes on pages 13 to 19 form part of these financial statements.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
Ashik Shah & Co Limited is a private company limited by shares, incorporated in the UK and registered in England and Wales.
The company's registered address is 33 Foley Street, London, England, W1W 7TL. The company's principal activity is the provision of investment advisory 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 directors do not consider there to be any critical accounting estimates or judgemental areas.
The following principal accounting policies have been applied:
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:
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Functional and presentation currency
Transactions and balances
determined using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The ultimate controlling party is A A Shah.
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ASHIK SHAH & CO LIMITED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
The company faces the following risks in relation to its financial instruments which consist of cash, short-term debtors and creditors:
Market risk Market risk consists of price risk, interest rate risk and currency risk. The company is no longer exposed to price risk as its remaining fixed asset investments were sold in 2021, and it holds no financial instruments which would expose it to interest rate risk. The company has exposure to currency risk, but this exposure has decreased considerably since two new advisory clients which hold almost all their assets in sterling were taken on in July 2022. The company’s reporting currency is sterling but its income now comes from advising clients which have c.34% of their assets denominated in US dollars and small amounts of other non-sterling currencies (EUR and NZD) and c.66% in sterling. As the company's income is proportionate to the assets it advises on, this means that in 2024 34% (2023: 40%) of the company's income was based on the value of non-sterling investments. On the other hand c.87% of the company's expenses were in sterling (some expenses - notably data feeds and research - are charged in US dollars or other currencies). The company’s policy is to accept these exposures to currency risk, which it would be impractical to attempt to hedge against. Credit risk Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty to a financial instrument will fail to discharge an obligation or meet a commitment which it has entered into with the company. The company's cash is held at National Westminster Bank PLC which has been given a short-term credit rating of A-1 by Standard & Poor’s. Typically the company's debtors are represented by accrued or invoiced advisory fees and various prepayments; the risk of any of these debtors defaulting on their obligations to pay or failing to provide the services paid for is considered to be very low. Liquidity risk This is the risk that the company will encounter difficulty meeting obligations associated with liabilities or with holding financial instruments. The company has no borrowings. The company has no long-term liabilities. A quarter of the company's short-term liabilities is corporation tax not due for payment until 10 months from the financial year-end, while almost all the rest is income for the first quarter of 2025 paid in advance. The company's current assets (which as already noted above consist almost entirely of cash, advisory fees accrued or receivable, and prepayments) are very liquid and exceeded the company's current liabilities by a ratio of 3.3 to 1 at 31 December 2024.
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