K E Adventure Travel Ltd Company accounts

COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 01911512

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Financial Statements

31 December 2024

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Financial Statements

Year ended 31 December 2024

Contents	Page

Strategic report	1

Directors' report	4

Independent auditor's report to the members	7

Statement of comprehensive income	11

Statement of financial position	12

Statement of changes in equity	13

Notes to the financial statements	14

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Strategic Report

Year ended 31 December 2024

Nature of operations

The company is a tour operator specialising in adventure holidays.

Principal activities

KE Adventure Travel is a tour operator offering customers more than 340 different adventure holidays in around 90 countries. A majority are small group adventures led by an expert leader. However the range of self-guided holidays continues to grow quickly, and now makes up more than 20% of the product range. All trips include an element of physical activity with a majority being walking and trekking holidays. The company also has a good range of cycling, mountaineering and wildlife trips, as well as as polar expeditions and family adventures.

Review of the business

It was a positive year of growth and development for the company, with passenger numbers, revenues and margins all growing year on year. There was a conscious decision taken to invest in the team, marketing and IT/technology, resulting in overheads that were 18% higher than previous year. This meant a drop in overall profitability for the year. Two new brands (Freewheel Holidays and Wheel to Wheel) were acquired , and a third (Active on Holiday), taken on in March 2024 to sell leisurely self-guided cycling and walking holidays in Europe. There was a revenue contribution of £110k in the first 9 months, which was pleasing. However, taking on a full-time staff member to manage the brands, as well as set-up and marketing costs, meant an overall loss in the year, and contributed partly to the downturn in the company’s profits. KE’s subsidiary, Mickledore Travel, had a very positive year with record revenues, margins and profitability for a second year running. A dividend was paid in June 2024.

Analysis of development and performance during year and position at year end

The first phase of the new website was launched in December 2023, and this coincided with a rebrand and a whole new look and feel for the company. The second phase of the project, to enable more automation within the booking process, and improve functionality and usability for customers, continued through 2024. A digital app has also been developed for customers on our self-guided holidays, providing detailed route notes, places of interest and mapping in digital format. This has been rolled out across about a third of our self-guided holidays, and will continue over the coming year. The guided group product range has been reduced slightly, ensuring that only those trips that sell well are on sale. New self-guided products have been developed, with a focus on easier/leisurely walking and cycling. We continue to launch new ‘Pioneer’ trips every year, which are unique expedition-style trips, designed to appeal to our existing client base. They also attract a great deal of positive PR. Analysis of our customer data has been undertaken in the last year, which has helped us be more targeted in our marketing, and allowed us to provide a far better, and more personalised service. This work continues into 2025. As always, world events have had an impact on our business, most notably the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Jordan has historically been our best-selling destination in the Middle East and a top 5 destination for KE. We continue to operate there, but on greatly reduced numbers. In other parts of the world, we have benefited from a number of our key destinations which have been off limits in recent years, starting to sell well again, including Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Peru.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The key risks to the business, are really those which affect our customers’ confidence to spend money on their holidays i.e. macro-economic factors. World events can have quite a large impact on our tour operation, especially if important destinations become off-limits or are perceived to be more dangerous places to visit. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have been affecting our tour operation in some countries these last few years, and actually any resolution of these should have a positive impact on the business. Things could of course go in quite a different direction. We are in an increasingly competitive market, and that has led to more discounting, which is a challenge for KE, as we are not traditionally a discounting brand. Booking patterns also seem to be ever-changing, which makes it more difficult to predict our revenue streams, and likely end of year results. The company has a number of old/legacy IT systems, which will need to be replaced in future, some of which will be quite large projects. Aligned to this is the speed at which new technologies, including AI, are being utilised within the industry now, and we have to work hard to ensure we are not left behind in this regard. There is an ever-increasing risk of cyber-attack, and this seems to be one of the biggest risks to the business now. We have increased our IT/systems resource, and are focussing on this and the other factors mentioned above, as a priority.

Key perfomance indicators

The company monitors its performance on the following key performance indicators: Turnover – the company monitors turnover on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, and compares its position with the same period in previous years, including by destination and by trip. Turnover for the financial year was 4% up on previous year. Passenger numbers – the number of customers who travelled with KE during the year increased, but by less than the turnover, meaning that average selling price was marginally higher. Gross Profit – the company monitors its margins and profits per trip, per country and on a year on year basis. The gross profit for the financial year was 6% better than previous year, due largely to improved yield and price management, and gross profit percentage increased by 0.5%. Overheads – due to the investment in the team, marketing and IT/technology, overheads increased by 18% year on year. 10 new staff started in the year, some to replace roles that had not been filled since Covid-19, but others (Marketing x1, IT x1, Product x1 and Active on Holiday/Freewheel x1)) to allow us to drive projects forward and increase capability in these teams. Marketing costs increased by more than 30%, including an amount to launch the new brands Freewheel Holidays and Active on Holiday. IT costs also increased by more than 30% due to the new technology/digital platforms that have been implemented in the last 1-2 years. Customer satisfaction – we monitor customer feedback and online reviews closely, and act quickly on any comments, with the aim to continually improve the customer experience. As part of the CSQ we monitor our Net Promoter Score (NPS), which was 67.0 in 2024 (vs 66.7 in 2023).

Environmental and employment matters

The KE team grew in size during 2024, with only one staff member leaving during the year, to go back into education. A carefully rota’d hybrid working model is working well, with staff working an average of 55-60% of their time in the office in Keswick. The company endeavours to continually improve KE as a place of work, and a number of new benefits were introduced during the year, including a significant increase in annual leave allowance. A staff sustainability committee has been meeting monthly, and has been proactive in forming partnerships with a number of charities that the company now works with, the key ones being the Juniper Trust, Mind Over Mountains and Growing Well. As well as donating to each of these charities, staff are supporting them by raising money through sponsored events and other initiatives. There is an ongoing drive to work more closely with our suppliers around the world, and to support worthwhile projects that they are involved in, in countries in which we operate our trips. We have been absorbing the emissions from all flights sold to customers since 2020 and continue to do so. The carbon from staff flights and the operation of our trips on the ground, including transport, accommodation, activities and meals is also absorbed. Absorption means buying carbon credits equivalent to our residual emissions, and ensuring that those credits are invested in worthwhile, verified environmental projects, which absorb carbon through such things as tree or mangrove planting or powering communities with solar power. Our carbon absorption partner is Livelihoods Funds, who we pay each year through our parent company, based on exact flown distances and estimated trip emissions. As well as absorbing carbon, all Livelihoods Funds projects have a social and economic benefit to the local communities.

This report was approved by the board of directors on 14 March 2025 and signed on behalf of the board by:

Mr A Toft

Director

Registered office:

27 Greville Street

London

EC1N 8SU

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Directors' Report

Year ended 31 December 2024

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

Directors

The directors who served the company during the year were as follows:

Mr L Habasque
Mr A F Capestan
Mr A Toft

Dividends

Particulars of recommended dividends are detailed in note 15 to the financial statements.

Financial instruments

The company offers a wide variety of product and destinations throughout the world. This diversity helps to minimise risks if there are issues in a certain geographic area, allowing the company to re-direct focus on sales and operations in other parts of the world. The company has more than 30 years of crisis management experience and an excellent health and safety record.

The company checks its competition regularly and reviews and varies prices accordingly to ensure it remains competitive. Agent prices and flight costs are fixed as early as possible. The company provides regular visits abroad for staff and management to test existing and potential products.

The company aims to mitigate fluctuations in exchange rates by forward purchasing foreign currency as necessary to match requirement, and sell back currency at current exchange rates. Performance is monitored at different levels with reporting on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

The company management is heavily involved in the day to day running of the company and the company directors liaise with both staff and management regularly.

Price risk:-

The company experiences price risk with regard to exchange rates as it trades in multiple currencies. It also experiences price risk with regard to prices charged by its competitors. It works to mitigate these risks by entering into forward exchange contracts and monitoring the prices charged by its competitors.

Cash flow risk:-

The company experiences cash flow risk due to entering into forward exchange contracts to meet its future anticipated liabilities and also through holding balances in other currencies. The company mitigates its cash flow risk by planning its currency commitments and balances in order to meet its liabilities as they fall due to minimise the amount of funds tied up in other currencies.

Credit risk:-

The company does not consider credit risk to be an issue as its customers pay for their trips in advance of travel.

Liquidity risk:-

The company does not consider liquidity risk to be an issue as the company maintains readily available cash reserves to meet its liabilities.

Directors' responsibilities statement

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 judgments 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.

Auditor

Each of the persons who is a director at the date of approval of this report confirms that:

- so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditor is unaware; and - they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a director to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditor is aware of that information. The auditor is deemed to have been re-appointed in accordance with section 487 of the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the board of directors on 14 March 2025 and signed on behalf of the board by:

Mr A Toft

Director

Registered office:

27 Greville Street

London

EC1N 8SU

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Year ended 31 December 2024

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of K E Adventure Travel Ltd (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 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 profit for the year then ended; - have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; - 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's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the 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, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. 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 there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors' report. 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.

Responsibilities of directors

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 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.

Auditor's 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 an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities in identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement: In respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we have considered the following: - the nature of the business and its industry, the level of autonomy of management and the controls put in place by those charged with governance and business performance, including performance rewards. - results of our enquiries of management and those charged with governance regarding their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities. - any matters we identified having documented and tested the company's policies and procedures including compliance with laws and regulations, internal controls and also from discussion within the audit engagement team and associated internal specialists regarding how and where fraud might occur and whether there were any potential indicators of fraud. As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the company for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: recognition of income and personal use of company funds. We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context were Companies Act 2006 (UK), ATOL, ABTA, employment law, health and safety, pensions and tax legislation. Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involved intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: - Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. - Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control. - Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the directors. - Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the company to cease to continue as a going concern. - Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. 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. 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.

Peter Stewart FCA

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of

Gregory Priestley & Stewart

Chartered Accountants & statutory auditor

Lyndhurst

1-3 Cranmer Street

Long Eaton

Nottingham

NG10 1NJ

14 March 2025

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Statement of Comprehensive Income

Year ended 31 December 2024

		2024	2023
Note		£	£
Turnover	4	9,663,191	9,303,233

Cost of sales	6,789,591	6,581,592
	------------	------------
Gross profit	2,873,600	2,721,641

Distribution costs		1,682	2,985
Administrative expenses		2,314,012	1,972,082
Other operating income	5	12,417	17,132
		------------	------------
Operating profit	6	570,323	763,706

Income from shares in group undertakings	11	210,000	210,000
Other interest receivable and similar income	12	86,886	58,783
Interest payable and similar expenses	13	4,653	294
		------------	------------
Profit before taxation		862,556	1,032,195

Tax on profit	14	167,779	198,352
		---------	------------
Profit for the financial year and total comprehensive income		694,777	833,843
		---------	------------

All the activities of the company are from continuing operations.

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Statement of Financial Position

31 December 2024

	2024		2023
Note	£	£	£

Fixed assets

Intangible assets	16	188,354	149,760
Tangible assets	17	19,394	27,209
Investments	18	3,015,631	3,015,631
		------------	------------
		3,223,379	3,192,600

Current assets

Stocks	19	32,632	43,000
Debtors	20	1,016,088	1,186,754
Cash at bank and in hand		2,882,996	2,957,239
		------------	------------
		3,931,716	4,186,993

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	21	2,676,757		2,400,874
		------------		------------
Net current assets			1,254,959	1,786,119
			------------	------------
Total assets less current liabilities			4,478,338	4,978,719

Provisions	22	40,913	40,071
		------------	------------
Net assets		4,437,425	4,938,648
		------------	------------

Capital and reserves

Called up share capital	25	52,000	52,000
Share premium account	26	373,000	373,000
Profit and loss account	26	4,012,425	4,513,648
		------------	------------
Shareholders funds		4,437,425	4,938,648
		------------	------------

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

These financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 14 March 2025 , and are signed on behalf of the board by:

Mr A Toft

Director

Company registration number: 01911512

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Statement of Changes in Equity

Year ended 31 December 2024

		Called up share capital	Share premium account	Profit and loss account	Total
		£	£	£	£
At 1 January 2023		50,000	–	3,679,805	3,729,805

Profit for the year				833,843	833,843
		--------	----	------------	------------
Total comprehensive income for the year		–	–	833,843	833,843

Issue of shares		2,000	373,000	–	375,000
		--------	---------	------------	------------
Total investments by and distributions to owners		2,000	373,000	–	375,000

At 31 December 2023		52,000	373,000	4,513,648	4,938,648

Profit for the year				694,777	694,777
		--------	---------	------------	------------
Total comprehensive income for the year		–	–	694,777	694,777

Dividends paid and payable	15	–	–	( 1,196,000)	( 1,196,000)
		----	----	------------	------------
Total investments by and distributions to owners		–	–	( 1,196,000)	( 1,196,000)

		--------	---------	------------	------------
At 31 December 2024		52,000	373,000	4,012,425	4,437,425
		--------	---------	------------	------------

K E Adventure Travel Ltd

Notes to the Financial Statements

Year ended 31 December 2024

1. General information

The company is a private company limited by shares, registered in England & Wales. The trading address of the company is Central Car Park Road, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5DF.

2. Statement of compliance

These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland'.

3. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis. The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.

Foreign currencies

Foreign currency transactions are initially recorded in the functional currency, by applying the spot exchange rate as at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the reporting date, with any gains or losses being taken to the profit and loss account.

Disclosure exemptions

The entity satisfies the criteria of being a qualifying entity as defined in FRS 102. Its financial statements are consolidated into the financial statements of Voyageurs du Monde S.A. which can be obtained from the address in note 31 to the financial statements. As such, advantage has been taken of the following disclosure exemptions available under paragraph 1.12 of FRS 102: (a) Disclosures in respect of each class of share capital have not been presented. (b) No cash flow statement has been presented for the company. (c) Disclosures in respect of financial instruments have not been presented. (d) Disclosures in respect of share-based payments have not been presented. (e) No disclosure has been given for the aggregate remuneration of key management personnel.

Consolidation

The entity has taken advantage of the exemption from preparing consolidated financial statements contained in Section 401 of the Companies Act 2006 on the basis that it is a subsidiary undertaking and its immediate parent undertaking is not established under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.

Changes in accounting estimates

During the year the company changed it's VAT registration to a group registration with its subsidiary company. The company believes the group registration has saved it £245 in output VAT to 31 December 2024, and the group has saved £40,127.

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

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 recognised to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. In the course of preparing the financial statements, no judgements have been made on the process of applying the company’s accounting policies, other than those involving estimations, that have had a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements. In the course of preparing the financial statements, no key estimates have been made that have a significant effect on the company or the amounts disclosed in the financial statements.

Revenue recognition

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for booked tours, stated net of discounts and of Value Added Tax. Revenue from booked tours is recognised upon the tour departure date, or at the date of cancellation by the customer where a proportion of the value of the booking is retained.

Exceptional items

Exceptional items are disclosed separately in the financial statements in order to provide further understanding of the financial performance of the entity. They are material items of income or expense that have been shown separately because of their nature or amount.

Taxation

The taxation expense represents the aggregate amount of current and deferred tax recognised in the reporting period. Tax is recognised in profit or loss, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case, tax is recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity, respectively. Current tax is recognised on taxable profit for the current and past periods. Current tax is measured at the amounts of tax expected to pay or recover using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.

Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences at the reporting date. Unrelieved tax losses and other 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. Deferred tax is measured using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting date that are expected to apply to the reversal of the timing difference.

Operating leases

Lease payments are recognised as an expense over the lease term on a straight-line basis. The aggregate benefit of lease incentives is recognised as a reduction to expense over the lease term, on a straight-line basis.

Goodwill

Goodwill arises on business acquisitions and represents the excess of the cost of the acquisition over the company's interest in the net amount of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquired business. Goodwill is measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. It is amortised on a straight-line basis over its useful life. Where a reliable estimate of the useful life of goodwill or intangible assets cannot be made, the life is presumed not to exceed ten years.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and are subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Any intangible assets carried at revalued amounts, are recorded at the fair value at the date of revaluation, as determined by reference to an active market, less any subsequent accumulated amortisation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses. Intangible assets acquired as part of a business combination are only recognised separately from goodwill when they arise from contractual or other legal rights, are separable, the expected future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value can be measured reliably.

Amortisation

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	-	10% straight line
Licences	-	2% straight line
Website	-	10 % straight line

If there is an indication that there has been a significant change in amortisation rate, useful life or residual value of an intangible asset, the amortisation is revised prospectively to reflect the new estimates.

Tangible assets

Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Any tangible assets carried at revalued amounts are recorded at the fair value at the date of revaluation less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.

Depreciation

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Leasehold improvements	-	10% straight line
Fixtures, fittings and equipment	-	25% straight line

Investments

Fixed asset investments are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.

Investments in subsidiaries

Investments in subsidiaries accounted for in accordance with the cost model are recorded at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. Dividends and other distributions received from the investment are recognised as income without regard to whether the distributions are from accumulated profits of the associate arising before or after the date of acquisition.

Impairment of fixed assets

A review for indicators of impairment is carried out at each reporting date, with the recoverable amount being estimated where such indicators exist. Where the carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired accordingly. Impairments are only recognised where losses are permanent. For the purposes of impairment testing, when it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, an estimate is made of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs. The cash-generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that includes the asset and generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets.

Stocks

Stocks of equipment used on trips are measured at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the entity has an obligation at the reporting date as a result of a past event, it is probable that the entity will be required to transfer economic benefits in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be estimated reliably. Provisions are recognised as a liability in the statement of financial position and the amount of the provision as an expense. Provisions are initially measured at the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the reporting date and subsequently reviewed at each reporting date and adjusted to reflect the current best estimate of the amount that would be required to settle the obligation. Any adjustments to the amounts previously recognised are recognised in profit or loss unless the provision was originally recognised as part of the cost of an asset. When a provision is measured at the present value of the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation, the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in profit or loss in the period it arises.

Financial instruments

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the transaction price, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument. Financial assets that are measured at cost or amortised cost are reviewed for objective evidence of impairment at the end of each reporting date. If there is objective evidence of impairment, an impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss immediately. For all equity instruments regardless of significance, and other financial assets that are individually significant, these are assessed individually for impairment. Other financial assets are either assessed individually or grouped on the basis of similar credit risk characteristics. Any reversals of impairment are recognised in profit or loss immediately, to the extent that the reversal does not result in a carrying amount of the financial asset that exceeds what the carrying amount would have been had the impairment not previously been recognised.

Defined contribution plans

Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an expense in the period in which the related service is provided. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that the prepayment will lead to a reduction in future payments or a cash refund.

4. Turnover

Turnover arises from:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Supply of travel packages	9,663,191	9,303,233
	------------	------------

The whole of the turnover is attributable to the principal activity of the company wholly undertaken in the United Kingdom.

5. Other operating income

	2024	2023
	£	£
Commission receivable	12,417	11,055
Other operating income	–	6,077
	--------	--------
	12,417	17,132
	--------	--------

6. Operating profit

Operating profit or loss is stated after charging:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Amortisation of intangible assets	19,787	627
Depreciation of tangible assets	15,613	17,643
Foreign exchange differences in cost of sales	64,155	46,957
	--------	--------

7. Auditor's remuneration

	2024	2023
	£	£
Fees payable for the audit of the financial statements	10,500	10,500
	--------	--------

8. Staff costs

The average number of persons employed by the company during the year, including the directors, amounted to:

	2024	2023
	No.	No.
Management staff	1	1
Customer sales and support staff	11	10
Customer services and operations staff	3	3
Product managers	10	7
Marketing staff	5	5
Human resources, accounts, IT and office staff	3	3
	----	----
	33	29
	----	----

The aggregate payroll costs incurred during the year, relating to the above, were:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	1,156,282	1,050,392
Social security costs	105,958	96,994
Other pension costs	37,427	32,542
	------------	------------
	1,299,667	1,179,928
	------------	------------

9. Directors' remuneration

The directors' aggregate remuneration in respect of qualifying services was:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Remuneration	154,164	139,400
Company contributions to defined contribution pension plans	12,546	12,546
	---------	---------
	166,710	151,946
	---------	---------

The number of directors who accrued benefits under company pension plans was as follows:

	2024	2023
	No.	No.
Defined contribution plans	1	1
	----	----

The number of directors who exercised share options and received shares under a long term incentive scheme during the year was as follows:

	2024	2023
	No.	No.
Directors who exercised share options	–	1
	----	----

10. Exceptional items

	2024	2023
	£	£
Gain on financial instruments	–	(48,662)
	----	--------

The gain on financial instrument in 2023 relates to a foreign currency transaction in 2022 where the funds were withheld in an overseas bank past the year end. The funds were ultimately released in 2023 and are recognised as gain on financial instruments in that year.

11. Income from shares in group undertakings

	2024	2023
	£	£
Dividends from group undertakings	210,000	210,000
	---------	---------

12. Other interest receivable and similar income

	2024	2023
	£	£
Interest on bank deposits	82,974	10,121
Gain on financial instruments	–	48,662
Other interest receivable and similar income	3,912	–
	--------	--------
	86,886	58,783
	--------	--------

The gain on financial instruments is the value of the loan from Erta Ale Developpement SAS, the parent company, written off as part of a restructuring process to protect the cash flow of the company during the pandemic.

13. Interest payable and similar expenses

	2024	2023
	£	£
Other interest payable and similar charges	4,653	294
	-------	----

14. Tax on profit

Major components of tax expense

	2024	2023
	£	£

Current tax:

UK current tax expense	166,937	161,130
Adjustments in respect of prior periods	–	105
	---------	---------
Total current tax	166,937	161,235
	---------	---------

Deferred tax:

Origination and reversal of timing differences	842	37,117
	---------	---------
Tax on profit	167,779	198,352
	---------	---------

Reconciliation of tax expense

The tax assessed on the profit on ordinary activities for the year is lower than (2023: lower than) the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 25 % (2023: 23.50 %).

	2024	2023
	£	£
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation	862,556	1,032,195
	---------	------------
Profit on ordinary activities by rate of tax	215,639	242,566
Adjustment to tax charge in respect of prior periods	–	246
Effect of expenses not deductible for tax purposes	1,895	–
Effect of capital allowances and depreciation	2,745	4,890
Effect of revenue exempt from tax	( 52,500)	( 49,350)
	---------	------------
Tax on profit	167,779	198,352
	---------	------------

Factors that may affect future tax expense

15. Dividends

	2024	2023
	£	£
Dividends paid during the year (excluding those for which a liability existed at the end of the prior year )	1,196,000	–
	------------	----

16. Intangible assets

	Goodwill	Patents, trademarks and licences	Website	Total
	£	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 January 2024	–	–	150,387	150,387
Additions	40,000	1,000	17,381	58,381
	--------	-------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2024	40,000	1,000	167,768	208,768
	--------	-------	---------	---------
Amortisation
At 1 January 2024	–	–	627	627
Charge for the year	3,000	10	16,777	19,787
	--------	-------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2024	3,000	10	17,404	20,414
	--------	-------	---------	---------
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024	37,000	990	150,364	188,354
	--------	-------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2023	–	–	149,760	149,760
	--------	-------	---------	---------

17. Tangible assets

	Short leasehold property	Fixtures and fittings	Total
	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 January 2024	105,767	109,255	215,022
Additions	–	7,798	7,798
	---------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2024	105,767	117,053	222,820
	---------	---------	---------
Depreciation
At 1 January 2024	89,080	98,733	187,813
Charge for the year	10,580	5,033	15,613
	---------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2024	99,660	103,766	203,426
	---------	---------	---------
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024	6,107	13,287	19,394
	---------	---------	---------
At 31 December 2023	16,687	10,522	27,209
	---------	---------	---------

18. Investments

	Shares in group undertakings
	£
Cost
At 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024	3,015,631
	------------
Impairment
At 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024	–
	------------

Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024	3,015,631
	------------
At 31 December 2023	3,015,631
	------------

Subsidiaries

	Registered office	Class of share	Percentage of shares held
Subsidiary undertakings
Mickledore Travel Limited	27 Greville Street, London, EC1N 8SU	Ordinary	100

The registered office for Mickledore Travel Limited is 27 Greville Street, London, EC1N 8SU.

19. Stocks

	2024	2023
	£	£
Finished goods and goods for resale	32,632	43,000
	--------	--------

20. Debtors

	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade debtors	452,270	412,104
Prepayments and accrued income	43,614	57,322
Directors loan account	378,912	375,000
Other debtors	141,292	342,328
	------------	------------
	1,016,088	1,186,754
	------------	------------

The debtors above include the following amounts falling due after more than one year:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Directors loan account	378,912	375,000
	---------	---------

Trade debtors includes advance payments to ground and flight agents totalling £452,270 (2023 - £403,373) for departures after the balance sheet date.

21. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade creditors	2,220,201	2,034,159
Accruals and deferred income	164,267	162,870
Corporation tax	242,344	161,130
Social security and other taxes	36,383	29,153
Other creditors	13,562	13,562
	------------	------------
	2,676,757	2,400,874
	------------	------------

Trade creditors includes advance receipts from customers totalling £2,212,397 (2023 - £2,032,861) for departures after the balance sheet date.

22. Provisions

	Deferred tax (note 23)
	£
At 1 January 2024	40,071
Additions	842
	--------
At 31 December 2024	40,913
	--------

23. Deferred tax

The deferred tax included in the statement of financial position is as follows:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Included in provisions (note 22)	40,913	40,071
	--------	--------

The deferred tax account consists of the tax effect of timing differences in respect of:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Accelerated capital allowances	40,913	40,071
	--------	--------

24. Employee benefits

Defined contribution plans

The amount recognised in profit or loss as an expense in relation to defined contribution plans was £ 37,427 (2023: £ 32,542 ).

25. Called up share capital

Issued, called up and fully paid

	2024		2023
	No.	£	No.	£
Ordinary shares of £ 1 each	52,000	52,000	52,000	52,000
	--------	--------	--------	--------

On 18 December 2023 a director exercised a share option plan and acquired 2,000 ordinary shares in the company at a price of £187.50 per share. The terms of the option also required a Put and Call Option Deed between the director and Erta Ale Développement SAS for which the put option must be exercised between 18 December 2025 and 25 April 2028. The call option can be actioned after this period has lapsed or in the event of an acceleration event or third party offer. The total price of the shares was £375,000 and the company provided a loan to the director for this purpose and interest is charged on the loan at 1% per annum. The loan, and interest thereon, is only due for repayment when the put option or call option are exercised.

The ordinary shares hold full voting rights and the right to participate in dividends and distributions made by the company.

26. Reserves

Share premium account - This reserve records the amount above the nominal value received for shares sold, less transaction costs. Profit and loss account - This reserve records retained earnings and accumulated losses.

27. Operating leases

The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Not later than 1 year	76,491	72,245
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years	305,162	288,980
Later than 5 years	96,327	168,572
	---------	---------
	477,980	529,797
	---------	---------

The company leases two properties from which it runs its business. The leases for the properties were due to expire in May 2024 but new leases were agreed in 2021 and are due to run to January 2031. The rents are fixed for the entire term.

28. Contingencies

The company currently holds an Air Travel Organisers' License (ATOL) issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and is an accredited agent of International Air Transport Association (IATA). As at 31 December 2024, there were contingent liabilities given by the company in the normal course of business in respect of ABTA bonds amounting to £893,650 (2023 - £925,418). The bond increases to £1,256,593 for 6 months from 1 May 2025, then reverts to £893,650 from 1 November 2025 to its cessation on 31 March 2026. Accelerant Insurance Europe SA/NV, who provided the bond on behalf of the company required a third party counter indemnity from Voyageurs du Monde SA upon renewal in 2022, which remains in place.

29. Directors' advances, credits and guarantees

During the year the directors entered into the following advances and credits with the company:

	2024
	Balance brought forward	Advances/ (credits) to the directors	Balance outstanding
	£	£	£
Mr A Toft	375,000	3,912	378,912
	---------	-------	---------

	2023
	Balance brought forward	Advances/ (credits) to the directors	Balance outstanding
	£	£	£
Mr A Toft	–	375,000	375,000
	----	---------	---------

Details of the terms of the loan are in note 25 to the financial statements.

30. Related party transactions

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

	Transaction value		Balance owed by/(owed to)
	2024	2023	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£
Companies subject to common control or influence	698,931	634,066	19,236	34,567
Parent company	1,189,501	–	–	–
Subsidiary company	213,617	215,000	–	–
	------------	---------	--------	--------

During the year the company traded with associated travel companies. They are all subject to common control or influence from Voyageurs du Monde SA. All of the transactions were in the normal course of trade but at slightly preferential rates because of their group status.

31. Controlling party

The company was controlled throughout the year by Erta Ale Développement SAS, a company registered in France. The registered office is Zone Artisanale Ou Zone D'Activité De Longifan, 38530 Chapareillan, France. The ultimate controlling party of the company is considered to be Voyageurs du Monde S.A, a company registered on the Euronext Growth Stock Exchange. The results of the company are included in the consolidated financial statements of Voyageurs du Monde S.A. Copies of the group financial statements are available from its registered office at 55, Rue Sainte-Anne, 75002 Paris.