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

During 2024 the loan book experienced a small contraction in aggregate value, albeit with a slightly higher number of loans compared to prior year.

Whilst the business was particularly impacted by the uncertainty around tax treatments leading up to the budget, the whole property market was also subdued for much of the year as developers, investors and homeowners all grappled with economic and political volatility. Although interest rates started to ease in the latter part of the year, most of 2024 saw base rates at 5.25%, and it was only in August and November that rates dropped to 4.75% then 4.5%, still elevated compared to recent history. These higher rates meant that profitability was squeezed, leading to fewer new development starts compared to long term averages, leading to fewer opportunities for the company.

Despite the uncertainty, new strong development facilities were added to the loan book, supported by strong borrowers.

The slower housing market and commercial investment market typically resulted in extended timescales to complete and sell or refinance developments, which meant that the loan book didn’t see the level of repayments expected, and a number of loans were extended as a result.

Further provisions of £29.9m were added during the year to reflect adverse movements in some historical loans. It remains the Directors’ view that those affected loans are secured against assets that either have been or are likely to be acquired by newly formed group companies. At the year end, two such assets had been directly acquired.

Whilst the company’s funding costs are not directly linked to base rate, the company remains exposed to the wider property markets which are directly impacted by rates and rate expectations. As base rate remained elevated through the year, commercial investment values didn’t recover the falls experienced since 2020 and housing transaction volumes remained depressed. This led to some decreases in underlying property values, and additional interest costs as loans didn’t repay as expected, but overall the LTV levels within the portfolio remain within tolerance.

The higher base rate did enable the company to remain competitive in the wider market and to secure those new deals that were attractive in the face of less competition.

As rate cuts started to be implemented in the latter part of the year, market expectations became more positive and the outlook more stable. This has led to an increased confidence in our underlying borrowers' ability to sell or refinance their completed developments and also an increase in demand for funding from other developers going forward.

The directors carry out a robust and thorough assessment of the risks faced by the company, this defines the strategic objectives and long-term viability of the company and allows it to remain in a healthy and stable condition.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG)

The Company’s now established sustainable lending policies are now recognised in the market as developers delivering highly sustainable product benefit from reduced interest rates, reflecting the company’s view that more sustainable buildings will be more attractive to occupiers and investors, and consequently reflect less risk. All new loans are screened against ESG factors to ensure that the loans Lyell funds deliver benefits to their respective communities. Lyell is committed to remain a responsible lender and will continue to enhance the ways in which ESG factors are built into its investments

The results for the company show a pre-tax loss of £23.4m for the period (2023: pre-tax loss of £31.7m) on turnover of £13.3m (2023: £17.2m).

The total loan book size (gross of provisions) stands at £172.7m (2023: £190.6m) with the total number of loans being 33 (2023: 31). Management performs monthly impairment reviews of loan receivable balances and carries provisions of £69.6m (2023: £42.3m).

The weighted loan-to-value (LTV) of all loans is 64.9% (2023: 68.3%).

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 continued to be that of the provision of secured loans.

The results for the year are set out on page 8.

No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend.

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

Johnston Carmichael LLP were appointed as auditor to the company and in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, a resolution proposing that they be re-appointed will be put at a General Meeting.

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 company’s auditor 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 company’s auditor is aware of that information.

The directors are responsible for preparing the strategic report, directors' 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 company and the profit or loss of the company 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;

• 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 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.

We have audited the financial statements of Lyell Trading Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity 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 company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its loss 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 Auditor 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 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 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 and financial statements other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report and financial statements. 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 our 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 and 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, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the 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 set out on page 4, 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 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 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.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

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 assessed whether the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence and capabilities to identify or recognise non-compliance with laws and regulations by considering their experience, past performance and support available.

All engagement team members were briefed on relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks at the planning stage of the audit. Engagement team members were reminded to remain alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the company and the sector in which it operates, focusing on those provisions that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The most relevant frameworks we identified include:

• Companies Act 2006;

• Corporation Tax legislation; and

• UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

We gained an understanding of how the company is complying with these laws and regulations by making enquiries of management and those charged with governance. We corroborated these enquiries through our review of submitted returns and relevant correspondence.

We assessed the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur, by meeting with management and those charged with governance to understand where it was considered there was susceptibility to fraud. This evaluation also considered how management and those charged with governance were remunerated and whether this provided an incentive for fraudulent activity. We considered the overall control environment and how management and those charged with governance oversee the implementation and operation of controls. In areas of the financial statements where the risks were considered to be higher, we performed procedures to address each identified risk. We identified a heightened fraud risk in relation to:

• Management override of controls

• Revenue recognition

• Valuation of bad and doubtful debts

In addition to the above, the following procedures were performed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements were free of material fraud or error:

• Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance for reference to: breaches of laws and regulation or for any indication of any potential litigation and claims; and events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud;

• Reviewing the level of and reasoning behind the company’s procurement of legal and professional services;

• Performing audit procedures over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and assessing judgements made by management in their calculation of accounting estimates for potential management bias;

• Recalculation of interest received on loans issued;

• Review and assessment of the carrying value of loans receivable, including a challenge of the underlying assumptions applied by management;

• Completion of appropriate checklists and use of our experience to assess the company’s compliance with the Companies Act 2006; and

• Agreement of the financial statement disclosures to supporting documentation.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to the risk of material misstatements 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 intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. 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.

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.

The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

Lyell Trading Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 1350 - 1360 Montpellier Court, Brockworth, Gloucester, United Kingdom, GL3 4AH.

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.

This 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:

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

• Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’: Interest income/expense and net gains/losses for each category of financial instrument.

The company has taken advantage of the exemption under section 400 of the Companies Act 2006 not to prepare consolidated accounts. The financial statements present information about the company as an individual entity and not about its group.

Lyell Trading Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Buckley Trading Group Limited and the results of Lyell Trading Limited are included in the consolidated financial statements of Buckley Trading Group Limited which are available from 1350-1360 Montpellier Court, Brockworth, Gloucester, England, GL3 4AH.

Atruet the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company 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.

The operating loss for the year is due in large part to provisions of £29.9m made during the year to reflect adverse movements in some historical loans. It remains the Directors’ view that those affected loans are secured against assets that either have been or are likely to be acquired by newly formed group companies. Lyell Trading Limited’s parent company, Buckley Trading Group Limited, has sufficient financial resources available to it to be able to provide support as it might be required by the Company.

Turnover, comprising interest and fees receivable under loan agreements, is recognised in the profit and loss account using the effective interest rate (EIR) method. The EIR method spreads interest and relevant fees over the expected life of the financial asset to achieve a constant periodic rate of return on the net carrying amount of the loan. If a loan is written off during the year, any interest income that was previously recognised in relation to that loan is reversed, as it is no longer expected to be received.

Interests in subsidiaries are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. The investments are assessed for impairment at each reporting date and any impairment losses or reversals of impairment losses are recognised immediately in profit or loss.

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

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 company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with 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 debtors 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 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 company 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 company after deducting all of its liabilities.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and loans from fellow group companies 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 creditors 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 creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

Equity instruments issued by the company 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 company.

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 profit and loss account 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 company’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 carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting end date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the profit and loss account, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when the company has a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to taxes levied by the same tax authority.

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 company’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 following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.

The directors assess the recoverability of loans and associated interest, taking into account performance against loan agreements, security held and other information received. Provisions are made on a prudent basis where there is a current indication recovery of loans and associated interest may not be achieved in full. Provisions of £69,644,184 (2023: £42,346,795) are included within loans receivable at year end.

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

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

The UK corporation tax rate increased to 25% from 1 April 2023. Deferred tax at 31 December 2024 has been calculated based on the rate of 25%.

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

Loans receivable are shown net of bad debt provisions of £69,644,184 (2023: £42,346,795).

Amounts owed by group undertakings relate to £7,999,383 (2023 :£nil) in respect of loans provided to fellow group members in line with the normal course of business. The remaining £79,635 (2023: £9,999) is interest free and repayable on demand.

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

The deferred tax asset set out above is expected to reverse within 12 months and relates to the utilisation of tax losses against future expected profits of the same period.

A deferred tax asset of £11,857,655 (2023: £6,759,971) has not been recognised in respect of tax losses of £49,925,698 ( 2023: £27,039,884) as it is not probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or future taxable profits at the time of approving these financial statements.

During the year 608,294 (2023: 10,519,393) redeemable shares of £0.01 each were allocated and fully paid. The shares are redeemable at the sole discretion of the company.

On the 8th February 2024, a special resolution was passed to cancel and extinguish 13 ordinary shares of 1p each as part of a group reorganisation.

Share premium is the amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value, net of share issue costs.

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

The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Buckley Trading Group Limited, advantage has been taken of the exemption granted by Section 33 Related Party Disclosures 33.1A, not to disclose transactions entered into between two or more members of a group, with entities that are wholly owed by the common parent undertaking.

The ultimate parent is Buckley Trading Group Limited.

The company has no ultimate controlling party.