REGISTERED NUMBER: 04304495 (England and Wales)

GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT, REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

FOR

CHARING CARE LIMITED

Page

Company Information

1

Group Strategic Report

2

Report of the Directors

4

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

5

Report of the Independent Auditors

6

Consolidated Income Statement

10

Consolidated Other Comprehensive Income

11

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

12

Company Statement of Financial Position

13

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

14

Company Statement of Changes in Equity

15

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

16

Notes to the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

17

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

18

DIRECTORS:

C Osman

C E Osman

S Osman

REGISTERED OFFICE:

368 Forest Road

London

E17 5JF

REGISTERED NUMBER:

04304495 (England and Wales)

SENIOR STATUTORY AUDITOR:

Nicholas Jeffrey Klein

AUDITORS:

Klein Evangelou

Chartered Certified Accountants

368 Forest Road

London

E17 5JF

The directors present their strategic report of the Company and the Group for the year ended 31 December 2024.

REVIEW OF BUSINESS

The principal activity of the group during the year was to own and manage residential and nursing care homes for the elderly. The homes are principally located in Kent. At 31 December 2024, the Group operated 5 homes with 235 beds.

The group operated in line with expectations. Consolidated sales, gross profit and profit before tax increased/ (decreased) by £1,024,446, £384,002 and £484,440 respectively in 2024 reflecting the continued demand for the group's services.

Both the level of business and the year end financial position were satisfactory and the director expects that the general level of activity will be sustained for the foreseeable future.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The group faces a number of risks and uncertainties and the director believes that the key business risks are summarised below. In view of these risks and uncertainties, the director is aware that the development of the group may be affected by factors outside their control.

Competitive risks

The senior living sector is a growing market and competition from both national and local care home providers is forever prevalent. If a competitor develops a home in the location of one of the group homes this may have an impact on occupancy and the potential revenue generation at that home. The director is confident that the positioning of the brand and offering, the quality of buildings, market leading care provision plus the demographics of the ageing population will protect future income streams for the group.

Legislative risks

The homes from which the group earns revenues are subject to licensing and inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The director recognises that as regulations continue to change and evolve this may have the potential to impact the revenue of the homes if an inspection leads to a negative report. However, the director is confident that the strength of the internal care governance procedures and quality of management put in place by the group will have a positive impact on overall CQC compliance over the long term such that the regulatory landscape will not have a material impact on the group's revenue.

Financial risk management

The group has a normal level of exposure to price, credit, liquidity and cash flow risks arising from trading activities which are largely conducted in sterling. The group does not enter into any formally designated hedging arrangements.

The group continues to be financed from the sources shown within the financial statements including third party lenders and continues to be required to meet their ongoing lending requirements, in the normal way. The group does not use financial instruments to hedge against interest rate risks.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The director anticipates the business environment will remain competitive and believes that the Group is in a good financial position and that the risks that have been identified are being well managed, including any ongoing risks associated with Covid-19.

The Group continues to benefit from good levels of activity in the market. The focus of the business will be on maintaining and developing the existing homes.

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

The skill and support from its employees is extremely important to the Group. The director acknowledges the importance of good communications and employee relations and the Group devotes time and effort ensuring that all employees are well informed about those aspects of its business which may affect them. Employees are briefed on all matters relevant to their areas of operation and their views are sought and taken into account. The Group remains committed to employee involvement and equal opportunity.

FINANCIAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Group's key financial and other performance indicators during the year were as follows:

Unit

2024

2023

Turnover

£

11,705,644

10,681,198

Gross profit margin

%

40

40

Profit before tax

£

2,570,231

2,085,791

Other performance indicators such as occupancy, staffing and other operating expenses are monitored closely by the Directors.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

C Osman - Director

25 September 2025

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the Company and the Group for the year ended 31 December 2024.

DIVIDENDS

The total distribution of dividends for the year ended 31 December 2024 was £9,060,000.

EVENTS SINCE THE END OF THE YEAR

Information relating to events since the end of the year is given in the notes to the financial statements.

DIRECTORS

C Osman has held office during the whole of the period from 1 January 2024 to the date of this report.

Other changes in directors holding office are as follows:

C E Osman - appointed 30 June 2024

S Osman - appointed 30 June 2024

DISABLED EMPLOYEES

Applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered, bearing in mind the abilities of the applicant concerned. In the event of members of staff becoming disabled every effort is made to ensure that their employment with the Group continues and that appropriate training is arranged. It is the policy of the Group and the Company that the training, career development and promotion of disabled persons should, as far as possible, be identical to that of other employees.

DISCLOSURE IN THE STRATEGIC REPORT

The principal activity of the group, a business review, likely future developments, description of employee involvement policies, financial instruments and the principal risks and uncertainties facing the group have not been included in this report as they are disclosed in the strategic report.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the Group's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Group's auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Klein Evangelou, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

C Osman - Director

25 September 2025

The directors are responsible for preparing the Group Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors 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), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'. 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 Company and the Group 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 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 and the Group's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and the Group 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 Company and the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Charing Care Limited (the 'Parent Company') and its subsidiaries (the 'Group') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Consolidated Income Statement, Consolidated Other Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, Company Statement of Financial Position, Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, Company Statement of Changes in Equity, Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and Notes to the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, Notes to the Financial Statements, 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the Group's and of the Parent Company 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

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group 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 the 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 directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Group Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors and the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors thereon.

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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 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 the audit:

-	the information given in the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the Parent Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Group Strategic Report or the Report of the Directors.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where 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.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page five, 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 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 Group's and 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 Group or the Parent Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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 a Report of the Auditors 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:

Based on our understanding of the company and the care services sector, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to Care Act 2014, Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulations, UK tax legislation, pensions legislation, employment and health and safety regulation, fire safety, anti-bribery, corruption and fraud, regulation regarding professional responsibilities and, money laundering and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Therefore, if a breach of operational regulations is not disclosed to us or evident from relevant correspondence, an audit will not detect that breach. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006.

We evaluated the directors' and management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to the risk that management may be in a position to make inappropriate accounting entries, management bias through judgements and assumptions in significant accounting estimates, in particular in relation to revenue recognition, and significant one-off or unusual transactions.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to those identified risks, including non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) and fraud that are material to the financial statements. Our audit procedures included

but were not limited to:

- Discussing with the directors and management their policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations;

- Communicating identified laws and regulations throughout our engagement team and remaining alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout our audit; and

- Considering the risk of acts by the company which were contrary to the applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.

Our audit procedures in relation to fraud included but were not limited to:

- Making enquiries of the directors and management on whether they had knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;

- Gaining an understanding of the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud;

- Discussing amongst the engagement team the risks of fraud; and

- Addressing the risks of fraud through management override of controls by performing journal entry testing.

The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of irregularities including fraud rests with management. Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

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 Report of the Auditors.

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 a Report of the Auditors 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.

Nicholas Jeffrey Klein (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Klein Evangelou

Chartered Certified Accountants

368 Forest Road

London

E17 5JF

25 September 2025

TURNOVER

3

11,705,644

10,681,198

Cost of sales

(7,075,339

)

(6,434,895

)

GROSS PROFIT

4,630,305

4,246,303

Administrative expenses

(1,671,574

)

(1,774,060

)

2,958,731

2,472,243

Other operating income

120,900

195,250

OPERATING PROFIT

5

3,079,631

2,667,493

Interest receivable and similar income

72,836

2,838

3,152,467

2,670,331

Interest payable and similar expenses

7

(582,236

)

(584,540

)

PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

2,570,231

2,085,791

Tax on profit

8

(711,957

)

(568,159

)

PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

1,858,274

1,517,632

Profit attributable to:

Owners of the parent

1,858,274

1,517,632

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

1,858,274

1,517,632

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

-

-

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR

1,858,274

1,517,632

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Owners of the parent

1,858,274

1,517,632

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

11

1

1

Tangible assets

12

8,014,564

7,973,236

Investments

13

-

-

8,014,565

7,973,237

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

14

3,190,119

11,014,424

Cash at bank and in hand

5,336,181

4,910,144

8,526,300

15,924,568

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

15

2,784,812

2,458,211

NET CURRENT ASSETS

5,741,488

13,466,357

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

13,756,053

21,439,594

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

16

(5,869,855

)

(6,426,549

)

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

20

(507,098

)

(432,219

)

NET ASSETS

7,379,100

14,580,826

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

21

1,700

1,700

Retained earnings

22

7,377,400

14,579,126

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

7,379,100

14,580,826

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 25 September 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

C Osman - Director

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

11

-

-

Tangible assets

12

-

-

Investments

13

400

400

400

400

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

14

1,210,579

11,022,023

Cash at bank and in hand

1,247,524

122,643

2,458,103

11,144,666

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

15

411,637

15,221

NET CURRENT ASSETS

2,046,466

11,129,445

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

2,046,866

11,129,845

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

21

1,700

1,700

Retained earnings

22

2,045,166

11,128,145

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

2,046,866

11,129,845

Company's loss for the financial year

(22,979

)

(20,757

)

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 25 September 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

C Osman - Director

Called up

share

Retained

Total

capital

earnings

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 1 January 2023

1,700

13,121,494

13,123,194

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(60,000

)

(60,000

)

Total comprehensive income

-

1,517,632

1,517,632

Balance at 31 December 2023

1,700

14,579,126

14,580,826

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(9,060,000

)

(9,060,000

)

Total comprehensive income

-

1,858,274

1,858,274

Balance at 31 December 2024

1,700

7,377,400

7,379,100

Called up

share

Retained

Total

capital

earnings

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 1 January 2023

1,700

11,208,902

11,210,602

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(60,000

)

(60,000

)

Total comprehensive loss

-

(20,757

)

(20,757

)

Balance at 31 December 2023

1,700

11,128,145

11,129,845

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(9,060,000

)

(9,060,000

)

Total comprehensive loss

-

(22,979

)

(22,979

)

Balance at 31 December 2024

1,700

2,045,166

2,046,866

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

3,138,711

3,046,423

Interest paid

(582,236

)

(584,540

)

Tax paid

(573,371

)

(283,137

)

Net cash from operating activities

1,983,104

2,178,746

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(339,103

)

(650,788

)

Sale of fixed asset investments

-

1,889

Interest received

72,836

2,838

Net cash from investing activities

(266,267

)

(646,061

)

Cash flows from financing activities

Loans to connected undertakings

8,265,000

(429,200

)

Loan repayments in year

(498,300

)

(388,760

)

Amount withdrawn by directors

2,500

(400

)

Equity dividends paid

(9,060,000

)

(60,000

)

Net cash from financing activities

(1,290,800

)

(878,360

)

Increase in cash and cash equivalents

426,037

654,325

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

2

4,910,144

4,255,819

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

2

5,336,181

4,910,144

1.	RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR TO CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS

2024

2023

£

£

Profit for the financial year

1,858,274

1,517,632

Depreciation charges

297,776

293,574

Profit on disposal of fixed assets

-

(1,889

)

Finance costs

582,236

584,540

Finance income

(72,836

)

(2,838

)

Taxation

711,957

568,159

3,377,407

2,959,178

Increase in trade and other debtors

(440,695

)

(17,606

)

Increase in trade and other creditors

201,999

104,851

Cash generated from operations

3,138,711

3,046,423

2.	CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The amounts disclosed on the Statement of Cash Flows in respect of cash and cash equivalents are in respect of these Statement of Financial Position amounts:

Year ended 31 December 2024

31.12.24

1.1.24

£

£

Cash and cash equivalents

5,336,181

4,910,144

Year ended 31 December 2023

31.12.23

1.1.23

£

£

Cash and cash equivalents

4,910,144

4,255,819

3.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.1.24

Cash flow

At 31.12.24

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank and in hand

4,910,144

426,037

5,336,181

4,910,144

426,037

5,336,181

Debt

Debts falling due within 1 year

9,684,437

(8,323,395

)

1,361,042

Debts falling due after 1 year

(6,426,549

)

556,694

(5,869,855

)

3,257,888

(7,766,701

)

(4,508,813

)

Total

8,168,032

(7,340,664

)

827,368

1.	STATUTORY INFORMATION

Charing Care Limited is a private company, limited by shares , registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found on the General Information page.

The presentation currency of the financial statements is the Pound Sterling (£).

2.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Basis of consolidation

These financial statements consolidate the financial statements of Charing Care Limited and all of its subsidiary undertakings.

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

The results of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included from or to the date that control passes.

For the disposed subsidiaries, the results for the period up to the disposals are immaterial and have not been included in the consolidated group accounts.

All intra-Group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation.

Turnover

Turnover is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the Company and the turnover can be reliably measured. Turnover is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes. The following criteria must also be met before turnover is recognised.

Care related services

Turnover from a contract to provide care related services is recognised in the period in which services are provided on an accruals basis. Turnover recognised is dependent upon the type of care and funding that a resident receives. Any fees invoiced in advance are included within deferred income until the service is completed.

Goodwill

Amortisation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful life of that asset as follows:

Goodwill - Straight line over 10 years

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are initially measured at cost. After initial recognition, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Freehold property

-

2% on cost and Straight line over 50 years

Fixtures, fittings and equipment

-

25% on reducing balance and 15% on reducing balance

Financial instruments

The Company only enters into basic financial instruments transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors, loans from banks and other third parties and loans to related parties.

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the Company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Taxation

Taxation for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity.

Current or deferred taxation assets and liabilities are not discounted.

Current tax is recognised at the amount of tax payable using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the statement of financial position date.

Deferred tax

Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the statement of financial position date.

Timing differences arise from the inclusion of income and expenses in tax assessments in periods different from those in which they are recognised in financial statements. Deferred tax is measured using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the year end and that are expected to apply to the reversal of the timing difference.

Unrelieved tax losses and other deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits.

Hire purchase and leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The group operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the group's pension scheme are charged to profit or loss in the period to which they relate.

Investments in subsidiaries

Investments in subsidiary undertakings are recognised at cost.