The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 December 2024.

The group comprises of Direct Food Ingredients Limited and its subsidiary Direct Food West Indies Ltd.

Direct Food Ingredients Limited is a leading supplier of functional ingredients and raw materials, serving the food manufacturing, beverage, sports nutrition, and animal feed industries. With deep expertise in sourcing high-quality materials from manufacturers and suppliers around the globe, the company has established itself as a trusted partner across these sectors.

Strong, long-term relationships with both internal and external stakeholders have been central to Direct Food Ingredients’ sustained success. This commitment to collaboration has helped secure its position in the market and continues to drive business opportunities.

Customer service, quality products, and dedicated people remain at the heart of the company’s strategy. These core principles not only underpin Direct Food Ingredients' current reputation as a reliable distributor but also form the foundation for its ongoing development and future ambitions.

Commercial

During FY24, the UK’s food ingredient trading landscape faced significant challenges and underwent notable strategic shifts, driven by post-Brexit trade dynamics, evolving global market trends, and the reshaping of international agreements. Ongoing political instability in the Middle East, coupled with political turbulence in the United States, continued to exert pressure on global supply chains, particularly impacting cost of raw materials and lead times for materials sourced from the Far East.

These disruptions have affected lead times, hindered order fulfilment, and created contractual supply challenges. As a result, Direct Food has experienced increased difficulty in maintaining turnover and protecting profitability.

FY24 saw meaningful advancements in the company’s CRM capabilities with the continued rollout and optimisation of Salesforce, which was initially implemented toward the end of FY23. Significant improvements to the system have enhanced its efficiency and alignment with the business’s operational needs. This has notably improved usability for the sales team, particularly while working remotely or on the road, resulting in increased productivity across both internal processes and external engagements.

The product categories introduced in 2024 have begun to take shape, supported by the onboarding of several new team members. These additions have strengthened each category, leading to more customer visits, an increase in quotations, and greater business generation. This boost in commercial activity is expected to play a key role in driving the company’s future growth.

At the start of FY25, the Commercial Director, who had served on the board for two years, departed from the business. While this initially caused some short-term disruption within the commercial department, a new Head of Sales was appointed within weeks. This swift leadership transition has stabilised the team, and the renewed focus on growth and performance is expected to contribute positively to turnover and profitability in the year ahead.

Quality

In FY24, the business continued to place quality, safety, and sustainability at the core of its operations, building on a strong and well-established foundation. Direct Food were proud to achieve an AA grade once again, in the BRCGS Agents and Brokers accreditation, marking its 14th consecutive year of successful certification. This milestone reflects the company’s steadfast commitment to operational excellence, food safety, and supply chain integrity.

The culture of quality and safety was further strengthened through participation in the BRCGS Professional programme, with key members of the quality team achieving accredited status. Ongoing training across advanced HACCP, auditing, and food operations, ensures the team remains fully equipped to uphold the highest industry standards. Additionally, internal communication around quality metrics was enhanced, fostering greater transparency and a shared sense of accountability across the business.

This year also saw Direct Food Ingredients achieve an improvement in its EcoVadis sustainability score, reflecting strengthened policies across environmental impact, labour practices, and business ethics. The company also remained an active member of the SEDEX platform, further reinforcing its commitment to ethical trade, transparency, and responsible sourcing throughout its global supply chains.

Sustainability continues to be a core element of the company’s strategic focus; particularly as global instability and climate-related disruptions place increasing pressure on supply chains. To address moisture-related shipping risks,

Direct Food Ingredients is working closely with partners in the Far East, implementing desiccant technology, enhanced packaging solutions, and precise humidity monitoring to protect the integrity of materials during transit.

To support future resilience, Direct Food Ingredients is actively approving manufacturers across multiple countries of origin, reducing reliance on any single region. This strategic approach strengthens supply chain security and helps ensure continuity of service for customers, even amid global disruptions.

In 2024, Direct Food Ingredients launched a strategic working group comprising team members from the Purchasing, Sales, and Quality departments to support the expansion of its FEMAS and UFAS-assured animal feed portfolio. This cross-functional collaboration ensures the business continues to meet the highest standards of feed safety, traceability, and regulatory compliance, while aligning both commercial and technical priorities.

In the post-Brexit landscape, the company has placed increased focus on deepening its understanding of evolving legislation, particularly concerning products of animal origin. Direct Food Ingredients continues to work closely with expert third-party import clearance agents to ensure full compliance and seamless navigation of customs procedures, helping to minimise disruption and maintain the integrity of its supply chains.

IT

Over the past 12 months, the company has continued to invest significantly in its IT capabilities, implementing a range of new applications and infrastructure improvements to support business operations.  The business remains committed to enhancing the tools and applications available across the organization.  Both commercial off-the-shelf solutions and in-house applications are regularly reviewed to ensure the most effective and efficient technologies are in place.

Currently, an on-premises IT infrastructure continues to offer the most cost-effective and flexible solution for the company’s processing and development needs.  This setup supports tailored software development environments and seamless application integration.  The company benefits from a long-standing relationship with an external IT support provider, who proactively monitor and maintain the systems.  Additionally, a dedicated internal IT team provides first-line support to users across the business.

The long-term IT strategy continues to prioritise on-premises infrastructure, while selectively adopting cloud services for non-critical functions, where they add value without compromising system control or performance. As part of this balanced approach, there will be a dedicated focus on enhancing disaster recovery capabilities and strengthening business continuity procedures.

Looking ahead to the next 12–18 months, Direct Food Ingredients plans to roll out several new applications aimed at improving operational efficiency and enhancing collaboration with customers and suppliers. This includes expanding the use of mobile applications to provide field-based and office-based teams with improved access to business data, supporting flexibility, productivity, and responsiveness across all functions.

Employee Matters

Direct Food Ingredients prides itself on fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture that promotes equal opportunities and encourages employees to continuously develop their skills and technical knowledge at every level of the business. The company has continued to strengthen its workforce through a structured training initiative, with numerous employees enrolling in and completing a variety of relevant qualifications across all departments. In addition to formal learning, the business provides consistent on-the-job training and holds regular departmental and individual reviews to support professional growth.

The company operates an ‘open door’ management style, promoting an open, transparent, and communicative environment. This approach encourages employees to share feedback, raise concerns, and contribute ideas for operational improvement. The result is a supportive and collaborative workplace, where staff are engaged and invested in the company’s ongoing success.

Direct Food Ingredients recognises and values the talented team behind its operations. Team members work in alignment with the company’s ethos, to consistently deliver a high standard of service to customers, suppliers, and colleagues alike. At the heart of all trading activities lies a strong emphasis on teamwork and outstanding customer service, which continues to drive the business forward.

The principal risk and uncertainties for the company are mainly financial and the board has measures in place to mitigate such risks where necessary.

Liquidity risk – The company operates a multiple-currency invoice discounting facility to fund its book debts. It maintains robust credit control procedures and conducts regular reviews of debtors to ensure trading remains within the facility’s limits. Cash flow is monitored frequently alongside stock trends and customer credit limits to maintain financial stability.

Foreign exchange rate risk – As the majority of products are purchased internationally and invoiced mainly in USD and Euros, the company is exposed to currency fluctuations. To mitigate this, Direct Food Ingredients follows a currency purchasing policy designed to hedge against exchange rate volatility. Additionally, trading in multiple currencies and exploring alternative currency options help maintain an acceptable level of risk aligned with business needs.

Credit risk – Tight credit control processes are continuously reviewed and enforced to minimise the risk of bad debts, safeguarding the company’s financial position.

Supply chain constraints – Ongoing geopolitical conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have created supply constraints and fluctuations in the cost of raw materials. The company mitigates these risks through a strategic purchasing approach that includes sourcing from alternative suppliers, monitoring stock holdings, and strengthening supplier relationships.

Technological changes – Recognising the importance of reliable and secure IT systems, Direct Food Ingredients employs multiple security measures to prevent unauthorised access. Its IT infrastructure includes automatic offsite backups to enable rapid system recovery in the event of hardware failure, thereby preventing data loss and ensuring high system availability.

The company operates a range of financial KPI’s which are monitored on either a weekly basis by different staff or monthly at Board level. These include the following:

On behalf of the board

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

The principal activity of the company and group continued to be that of import, storage and distribution of functional foods, nutritional and sport ingredients along with vitamin and mineral premixes.

The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:

The results for the year are set out on page 10.

Ordinary dividends were paid amounting to £705,315. The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.

The auditor, Josolyne LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

So far as each person who was a director at the date of approving this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor of the company is unaware. Additionally, the directors individually have taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor of the company is aware of that information.

The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and company, and of the profit or loss of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• 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 group and company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the group’s and company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the group and company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the group and company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We have audited the financial statements of Direct Food Ingredients Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the group statement of comprehensive income, the group statement of financial position, the company statement of financial position, the group statement of changes in equity, the company statement of changes in equity, the group statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group's and the parent company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of the group's profit for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

The directors of the parent company have not included the results of its subsidiary Direct Food Ingredients West Indies Limited in the group accounts as the records are incomplete for the period. As the subsidiary’s accounting records are insufficiently maintained and time has elapsed since the reporting date, there were no complete records to audit. We have therefore not audited the subsidiary.

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 group and parent company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our 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 group and the parent company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the parent company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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.

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

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and its industry, and determined that the most significant are those that relate to breaches of health and safety regulations, data protection, employment laws and tax legislation. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the financial statements such as FRS102 accounting principles and the Companies Act 2006. We have considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements and also evaluated management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements.

We established that the principal risks related to revenue recognition, management bias in accounting estimates and management override. Audit procedures performed included:

• Reviewing a selection of sales with reference to delivery/collection dates to ensure income is reflected in the correct accounting period.

• Designed our audit procedures in order to incorporate unpredictability around the nature, timing or extent of our testing.

• Identifying and testing journal entries to consider the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments.

• Assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluated the business rationale of significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

• Challenging assumptions made by management in making their significant accounting estimates.

• Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in 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.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions relating to medium-sized groups.

As permitted by s408 Companies Act 2006, the company has not presented its own income statement and related notes. The company’s profit for the year was £96,887 (2023 - £431,298 profit).

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions relating to medium-sized companies.

Direct Food Ingredients Limited (“the company”) is a private limited company domiciled and incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is .

The group consists of Direct Food Ingredients Limited and all of its subsidiaries.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

The company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements for parent company information presented within the consolidated financial statements:

• Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;

• Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues: Interest income/expense and net gains/losses for financial instruments not measured at fair value; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;

• Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’: Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements;

• Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’: Compensation for key management personnel.

In the parent company financial statements, the cost of a business combination is the fair value at the acquisition date of the assets given, equity instruments issued and liabilities incurred or assumed, plus costs directly attributable to the business combination. The excess of the cost of a business combination over the fair value of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired is recognised as goodwill. The cost of the combination includes the estimated amount of contingent consideration that is probable and can be measured reliably, and is adjusted for changes in contingent consideration after the acquisition date. Provisional fair values recognised for business combinations in previous periods are adjusted retrospectively for final fair values determined in the 12 months following the acquisition date. Investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates are accounted for at cost less impairment.

Deferred tax is recognised on differences between the value of assets (other than goodwill) and liabilities recognised in a business combination accounted for using the purchase method and the amounts that can be deducted or assessed for tax, considering the manner in which the carrying amount of the asset or liability is expected to be recovered or settled. The deferred tax recognised is adjusted against goodwill or negative goodwill.

The consolidated group financial statements consist of the financial statements of the parent company Direct Food Ingredients Limited together with all material entities controlled by the parent company (its subsidiaries) and the group’s share of its interests in joint ventures and associates.

All financial statements are made up to 31 December 2024. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by other members of the group.

All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.

At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Revenue is recognised at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, and is shown net of VAT and other sales related taxes. The fair value of consideration takes into account trade discounts, settlement discounts and volume rebates.

Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods have passed to the buyer (usually on dispatch of the goods), the amount of revenue can be measured reliably, it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the entity and the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be measured reliably.

Property, plant and equipment are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the income statement.

Equity investments are measured at fair value through profit or loss, except for those equity investments that are not publicly traded and whose fair value cannot otherwise be measured reliably, which are recognised at cost less impairment until a reliable measure of fair value becomes available.

In the parent company financial statements, investments in subsidiaries, associates and jointly controlled entities are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the group. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

At each reporting period end date, the group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

The carrying amount of the investments accounted for using the equity method is tested for impairment as a single asset. Any goodwill included in the carrying amount of the investment is not tested separately for impairment.

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.

Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition.

Inventories held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured at the lower of cost and replacement cost, adjusted where applicable for any loss of service potential.

At each reporting date, an assessment is made for impairment. Any excess of the carrying amount of inventories over its estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell is recognised as an impairment loss in profit or loss. Reversals of impairment losses are also recognised in profit or loss.

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The group has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the group's statement of financial position when the group becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and 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, which include trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method 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. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through profit and loss, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date.

Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the group transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.

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 group after deducting all of its liabilities.

Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payables, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade payables are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.

Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as being measured at fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the group's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

Equity instruments issued by the group are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the group.

The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the income statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting end date.

Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all timing differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the timing difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit.

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or non-current assets.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.

Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.

In the application of the group’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the group and company during the year was:

Their aggregate remuneration comprised:

The number of directors for whom retirement benefits are accruing under defined contribution schemes amounted to 5 (2023 - 5).

The actual charge for the year can be reconciled to the expected charge for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:

Direct Food Ingredients West Indies Ltd has not been included in the consolidation for the years ending 31st December 2023 and 31st December 2022, as the business has kept insufficient records to do so.

The capital and reserves at the year end, together with the profit and loss for the year are unknown due to the insufficient records.

Details of the company's subsidiaries at 31 December 2024 are as follows:

Other payables includes £1,065,181 (2023 - £496,375) due to HSBC invoice discounting which is secured by a fixed charge over certain of the group's assets.

The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the group and company, and movements thereon:

A defined contribution pension scheme is operated for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund.

At the reporting end date the group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Dividends totalling £705,315 (2023 - £0) were paid in the year in respect of shares held by the company's directors.

The company pays rent to S D Loake who owns the property the company operates from. The rent paid during the year amounted to £36,000 (2023: £36,000).

The company owes directors £32,126 (2023 - £81,203) at the year end.

During the year the group entered into the following transactions with related parties:

The following amounts were recognised as an expense in the period in respect of bad and doubtful debts due from related parties:

The ultimate controlling party is S D Loake, a director of the company.