REGISTERED NUMBER: 04100636 (England and Wales)

FRESHLINC LIMITED

STRATEGIC REPORT,

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE PERIOD

4 FEBRUARY 2024 TO 1 FEBRUARY 2025

Page

Company Information

1

Strategic Report

2

to

5

Report of the Directors

6

to

7

Report of the Independent Auditors

8

to

10

Income Statement

11

Other Comprehensive Income

12

Statement of Financial Position

13

Statement of Changes in Equity

14

Notes to the Financial Statements

15

to

25

DIRECTORS:

A E Day

R Hancox

S J King

M J Tate

L S Juniper

A R Holland

S Johnson

A P Marchant

P McCarthy

SECRETARY:

A E Day

REGISTERED OFFICE:

Wool Hall Farm

Cross Gate

Wykeham

Spalding

Lincolnshire

PE12 6HW

REGISTERED NUMBER:

04100636 (England and Wales)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS:

Duncan & Toplis Audit Limited, Statutory Auditor

Enterprise Way

Pinchbeck

Spalding

Lincolnshire

PE11 3YR

SOLICITORS:

Roythornes LLP

Enterprise Way

Pinchbeck

SPALDING

Lincolnshire

PE11 3YR

BUSINESS REVIEW

Turnover reduced by 3% during the year, this reduction relating to a downturn in volumes from our existing customer base, but additional revenues through our Ambient consolidation centre and our frozen operations have helped minimise the impact of the volume reduction.

The underlying profitability of the business during the year was not only affected by the reduction in revenues, but also several other unforeseen circumstances.

Key factors driving business performance during the year were: -

• The initial volume ramp up within our start-up frozen transport operation was slower than initially indicated.

• Our recently acquired freehold facility at Stephenson Avenue, offering packing and cold storage solutions, dealt

with less volume throughput than anticipated, with committed volumes not honoured due to supply chain changes.

• The Specialist building sector operations were both affected by a considerable drop in demand.

• Our FloraLinc division saw a dramatic reduction in sales following a buoyant post-covid period, as customer

spending on their gardens diminished; however, our North Sea import sector saw an increase in revenues through

our Customs and Plant Passporting services.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

Whilst future headwinds including the increased national Living Wage and Employers NI contributions lie ahead, our focus remains to correct commercial rate structures, whilst seeing out contractual periods, along with developing and reassessing the divisional business units, ensuring each one is positively contributing.

We will continue to exploit the opportunities that exist, especially within our Ambient and Frozen transport operations and we will continue to invest in our driver training program with delegated examiner status, to recruit, train and retain tomorrow’s drivers.

Our track record of sustained investment in the scale of operations, geographic and network coverage, together with the high service levels we and our customers demand, will continue to differentiate us from our peers and enable us to further enhance our service scope and offerings.

Dedicated, experienced and committed employees remain our key asset in delivering our future success.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The principal financial risk facing the company would be the loss of its customer base. However, the company has performed very well historically by winning new business through its focus on cost control and high service levels and given the growth and diversification of the recent past, our reliance on any one key contract has been reduced significantly.

The company is also subject to environmental and health and safety risks and mitigates these by a focus on training, equipment maintenance, fleet replacement program and stringent internal audit controls.

Market Risk

Market risk encompasses three types of risk, currency risk, fair value interest rate and price risk. The company’s policies for managing fair value interest rate risk are considered along with those for managing cash flow interest rate risk and are set out in the section entitled "interest rate risk" below.

Liquidity Risk

The company seeks to manage liquidity risk by ensuring sufficient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and to invest cash assets safely and profitably.

Short-term flexibility is achieved by an asset-backed bank lending facility.

Interest Rate Risk

The company finances its operations through a mixture of retained profits, bank borrowings and hire purchase agreements. The company’s exposure to interest rate fluctuations on its borrowings is mitigated by the use of fixed interest hire purchase agreements.

Credit Risk

The company’s principal financial assets are cash and trade debtors.

In order to manage credit risk, the directors set limits for customers based on a combination of payment history, and third-party credit references. Credit limits are reviewed on a regular basis in conjunction with debt ageing and collection history.

SECTION 172(1) STATEMENT

FreshLinc Limited: Stakeholder Engagement

As the Board at FreshLinc, we have a legal responsibility under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 to act in the way we consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the company’s success for the benefit of its members as a whole, and to have regard to the long-term effect of our decisions on the company and its stakeholders. This statement addresses the ways in which we as a Board manage this responsibility.

Promoting the company's success for its members

FreshLinc Ltd was started as part of Lincolnshire Field Products Limited in 2000 by Robin Hancox and two other stakeholders of that business in 2000 and was incorporated as a separate trading entity in 2008. The company continues to be owned and controlled by the original three stakeholders, with Robin Hancox continuing to be the majority shareholder. We’re proud of the way in which, over the last decade or so, the company has continued to achieve consistent long-term growth and has provided employment, training and financial reward for an increasing number of colleagues, together with its owners.

We aim to be the best-in-class haulier within all the marketplaces in which we trade and have demonstrated a strong history of customer service in the chilled logistics arena. In a competitive market, dominated by several large 4PL businesses, we strive to continue to grow our business through further opportunities with our current customers and through new business based on our reputation for quality of service, accessibility to colleagues at all levels within our business, and personal relationships developed over time with our customer base.

We acknowledge that, in order to progress to the next phase in the company’s future, it is likely that we will need to enhance our asset base and form strategic partnerships with other companies and groups in the sectors within which we operate. We continue to explore possibilities along these lines. In doing so, our twin aims are to maximise the company’s ability to grow profits and market share whilst returning the highest possible value to the shareholders.

We make strategic decisions based on long-term objectives. In particular, this has meant significant investment in our warehousing and IT infrastructures, to enable us to offer visibility of our operation to our customer base to meet their varied and time critical needs. Investment will continue over the coming years to ensure we continue to offer state of the art facilities and IT systems as the company continues to grow in both scale and diversity of goods handled.

Engaging with stakeholders

Our key stakeholders, and the ways in which we engage with them, are as follows:

Our employees

Our distribution operations rely heavily on a skilled team including warehouse operatives, HGV drivers operations staff and management on a twenty four hour, 7 day a week basis, as well as a focused central team of business development, finance, HR and IT professionals. We are renowned for our customer service, which requires us to adapt to last-minute changes and challenges faced in operating over 300 vehicles and 800 trailers, delivering to multiple locations on a daily basis, to tight delivery schedules and ever-increasing demands for the order process to be just in time. We cannot achieve this without our team.

Recruitment and retention of staff is therefore a critical business activity. We help to engage with team members by:

- setting remuneration at market-leading rates,

- providing training and career development support,

Our customers and suppliers

We invest heavily in our fleet replacement programme ensuring we have the most fuel efficient and environmentally beneficial vehicles, together with a robust driver training and compliance system, to ensure we can continue to offer customers the best quality distribution service for their products to marketplace. We meet with key customers at least every quarter to review new opportunities.

Our business model prioritises quality and delivery. We believe we are competitive in our chosen marketplaces, but feel it is our consistently high service levels that differentiate us from our peers. Our customers value the high degree of interaction and expertise, from the tender process through to renewal of contracts.

We have built and will maintain a reputation for transparency and fair dealing in our interaction with customers and suppliers.

Our community

We are a private company with the original three shareholders, all of whom continue to work within the group businesses, with our roots in farming the fertile soils around Spalding, and we continue to be a significant employer in the local community. We provide distribution services to several local charities at Christmas time and at various other religious festivals on an annual basis.

Our planet

Our planet Our industry contributes to environmental pollution, and we are working hard to minimise the impact of our operations. We operate exclusively Euro VI vehicles within our fleet and our focus on driver behaviour enables us to ensure our impact on the environment is minimised.

FINANCIAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The company measures its financial performance using the following measures:

1) Growth in turnover is a key measure of the company’s success in winning new business and retaining existing customers. Turnover in the period of £135,352,900 shows a 3.1% decrease on the previous year’s turnover of £139,696,742, reflecting the downturn in chilled retail volume, offset in part by increased Ambient and Frozen transport revenues.

2) Gross profit of £15,925,686 was 11.8% of turnover and compared to £16,253,163 (11.6% of turnover) in the previous year, this represents a 0.2% margin improvement year on year.

3) Operating Profit of £633,501 in the period is stated after other operating charges of £16,171,945 and other operating income of £879,760 and represents 0.5% of turnover, compared to the £2,077,890 operating profit and 1.5% margin achieved during the previous period.

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The company measures its non-financial performance in several areas as follows:

1) The securing of new business is a critical area if the business is to continue to grow. The value of contracts won during the period is therefore closely monitored by the directors.

2) The service delivery to key customers is measured and reported on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, in conjunction with those key customers in areas such as delivery on time, service availability and quality scores.

3) A number of operating KPI’s relating to vehicle operation are monitored within the business to ensure operational efficiency is maximized, especially through all seasonal peaks.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

R Hancox - Director

31 October 2025

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period 4 February 2024 to 1 February 2025.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

The principal activity of the company is haulage and freight transport of temperature controlled and ambient FMCG, together with general distribution services within the UK and Europe.

DIVIDENDS

No dividends will be distributed for the period ended 1 February 2025.

DIRECTORS

The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from 4 February 2024 to the date of this report.

A E Day

R Hancox

S J King

M J Tate

L S Juniper

A R Holland

S Johnson (disappointed 31 July 2025)

A P Marchant

P McCarthy

POLITICAL DONATIONS AND EXPENDITURE

The donation costs totalled £11,926 (2024: £16,123), they are not political donations.

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Company personnel policies ensure that all employees are made aware on a regular basis of the company's policies and progress.

DISABLED EMPLOYEES

The company gives full consideration to applications for employment from disabled persons where the requirements of the job can be adequately fulfilled by a handicapped or disabled person. Where existing employees become disabled, it is the company's policy wherever practicable to provide continuing employment under normal terms and conditions and to provide training and career development and promotion to disabled employees wherever appropriate.

DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT

The directors are responsible for preparing the 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 of 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;

-	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 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.

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 company'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 company's auditors are aware of that information.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

R Hancox - Director

31 October 2025

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of FreshLinc Limited (the 'company') for the period ended 1 February 2025 which comprise the Income Statement, Other Comprehensive Income, Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Changes in Equity and 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 company's affairs as at 1 February 2025 and of its loss for the period 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 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 directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors, 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 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 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 company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the 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, 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 set out on page six, 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 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.

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:

We have identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial experience, knowledge of the sector, a review of regulatory and legal correspondence and through discussions with Directors and other management obtained as part of the work required by auditing standards. We have also discussed with the Directors and other management the policies and procedures relating to compliance with laws and regulations. We communicated laws and regulations throughout the team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

The potential impact of different laws and regulations varies considerably. Firstly, the company is subject to laws and regulations that directly impact the financial statements (for example financial reporting legislation) and we have assessed the extent of compliance with such laws as part of our financial statements audit. We evaluated management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to management bias in accounting estimates and judgemental areas of the financial statements such as depreciation of tangible fixed assets, as well as the risk of inappropriate journal entries to increase reported profitability. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included the identification and testing of material and unusual journal entries and challenging management on key accounting estimates, assumptions and judgements made in the preparation of the financial statements. We carried out detailed substantive tests on accounting estimates, including reviewing the methods used by management to make those estimates, re-performing the calculation, and reviewing the outcome of prior year estimates.

Secondly, the company is subject to other laws and regulations where the consequence for non-compliance could have a material effect on the amounts or disclosures in the financial statements. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: Health and Safety regulations, Food Safety regulations, Haulage and Operator regulations and Employment laws.

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. This inspection included a review of the external audits conducted during the year for any evidence of non-compliance, in addition to an assessment of the company's employment and health and safety controls. Through these procedures, if we became aware of any non-compliance, we considered the impact on the procedures performed on the related financial statement items.

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. The further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. As with any audit, there is a greater risk of non-detection of irregularities as these may involve collusion, intentional omissions of the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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.

Alistair Main FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Duncan & Toplis Audit Limited, Statutory Auditor

Enterprise Way

Pinchbeck

Spalding

Lincolnshire

PE11 3YR

31 October 2025

TURNOVER

3

135,352,900

139,696,742

Cost of sales

119,427,214

123,443,579

GROSS PROFIT

15,925,686

16,253,163

Administrative expenses

16,171,945

14,663,396

(246,259

)

1,589,767

Other operating income

879,760

488,123

OPERATING PROFIT

5

633,501

2,077,890

Interest receivable and similar income

6,676

6,804

640,177

2,084,694

Impairment on revaluation of

tangible assets

(547,804

)

-

92,373

2,084,694

Interest payable and similar expenses

6

990,581

799,593

(LOSS)/PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

(898,208

)

1,285,101

Tax on (loss)/profit

7

156,784

614,852

(LOSS)/PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL PERIOD

(1,054,992

)

670,249

(LOSS)/PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD

(1,054,992

)

670,249

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

-

-

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME FOR THE PERIOD

(1,054,992

)

670,249

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

9

277,177

406,190

Tangible assets

10

9,931,709

10,812,609

Investment property

11

426,243

426,243

10,635,129

11,645,042

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

12

197,725

259,085

Debtors

13

38,600,484

38,564,188

Cash at bank

12,330

6,027

38,810,539

38,829,300

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

14

35,192,537

34,740,622

NET CURRENT ASSETS

3,618,002

4,088,678

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

14,253,131

15,733,720

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

15

(920,063

)

(1,329,473

)

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

19

(1,764,846

)

(1,781,033

)

NET ASSETS

11,568,222

12,623,214

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

20

1,000

1,000

Retained earnings

21

11,567,222

12,622,214

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

11,568,222

12,623,214

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 31 October 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

R Hancox - Director

Called up

share

Retained

Total

capital

earnings

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 29 January 2023

1,000

12,451,965

12,452,965

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(500,000

)

(500,000

)

Total comprehensive income

-

670,249

670,249

Balance at 3 February 2024

1,000

12,622,214

12,623,214

Changes in equity

Total comprehensive loss

-

(1,054,992

)

(1,054,992

)

Balance at 1 February 2025

1,000

11,567,222

11,568,222

1.	STATUTORY INFORMATION

FreshLinc 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 Company Information page.

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 as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.

The Directors have carried out a detailed and comprehensive review of the business, its future prospects and its ability to meet its obligations as they fall due. In the opinion of the Directors, the Company is expected to be able to continue trading within the current arrangements and consequently the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

Financial Reporting Standard 102 - reduced disclosure exemptions

The company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland":

•

the requirements of Section 7 Statement of Cash Flows;

•

the requirements of paragraphs 11.42, 11.44, 11.45, 11.47, 11.48(a)(iii), 11.48(a)(iv), 11.48(b) and 11.48(c);

•

the requirements of paragraphs 12.26, 12.27, 12.29(a), 12.29(b) and 12.29A.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

Some of the amounts included in the financial statements involve the use of judgement and/or estimation. These judgements and estimates are based on the director's prior experiences and using their best knowledge of the relevant facts and circumstances. Actual results may differ from the amounts included in the financial statements. Information about such judgements and estimations is included in the accounting policies and/or notes to the accounts. The key areas are summarised below;

Judgements in applying accounting policies

- The directors must judge whether all of the conditions required for the turnover to be recognised in profit and loss for the financial year, as set out in revenue note, have been met.

Sources of estimation uncertainty

- Insurance provisions are based on amounts expected to be paid out in respect of insurance claims

- Bad debt provision is reviewed on a client by client basis and estimated based on the likelihood of debt being recovered.

- Depreciation and amortisation rates are based on estimates of the useful economic lives and residual values of the assets involved.

-the company carries the tangible asset value at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in the statement of other comprehensive income. The Company used professionally qualified valuation specialists to determine fair value. The valuation specialists used valuation techniques conforming with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors ('RICS') Valuation - professional standards.

Changes in accounting policies

During the year, the directors have changed from the cost model for valuing Land and Property fixed assets, to the revaluation model. The impact to the financial statements is set out in note 10. This change has not been retrospectively applied due to the undue cost and difficulty in obtaining a historical valuation at previous balance sheet dates.

Revenue

Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the company and the revenue can be reliably measured. Revenue 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 revenue is recognised:

Revenue from haulage and freight transport services is recognised in the period in which the services are provided.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the difference between amounts paid on the cost of a business combination and the acquirer's interest in the fair value of its identifiable assets and liabilities of the acquiree at the date of acquisition. Subsequent to initial recognition, Goodwill is measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. Goodwill is amortised on a straight line basis to the Statement of Comprehensive income over 10 years.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation is provided on the following bases:

Software - 20-33% straight line

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are held under the cost model, other than land & buildings which are stated at fair value as noted above, are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of the assets less their residual value over their estimated useful economic lives, using the straight-line method.

Depreciation is provided on the following basis;

Freehold property - 2% - 10%

Plant and machinery - 5% - 33%

The assets' residual values, useful economic lives and depreciation methods are reviewed, and adjusted prospectively if appropriate, or if there is an indication of a significant change since the last reporting date.

Gains and losses on disposal are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive income.

Land and buildings are held using the revaluation model as allowed by FRS102 Section 17.Land and buildings are shown in the accounts at the latest available valuation, and reviewed annually by the directors. As per FRS102 Section 17 revaluations will be carried out with sufficient regularity such as to ensure that the asset's carrying amount in the statement of financial position does not materially differ from its fair value at the statement of financial position date.

Any changes to the existing use value are taken to the revaluation reserve within the statement of other comprehensive income unless they are considered permanent and are below cost when they are taken to the profit and loss account.

Assets in the course of construction are included at cost. Depreciation on these assets is not charged until they are brought into use.

Investment property

Assets under construction are held at cost.

Investment property is carried at fair value determined annually by external valuers and derived from the current market rents and investment property yields for comparable real estate, adjusted if necessary for any differences in the nature, location or condition of the specific asset. No depreciation is provided. Changes in fair value are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive income.

Stocks

Stocks held by the company are diesel and consumables, not intended for resale. These are held at cost value and no impairment review is necessitated due to the nature of this stock

Financial instruments

The company only enters into basic financial instrument 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, loans to related parties and investments in non-puttable ordinary shares.

Debt instruments (other than those wholly repayable or receivable within one year), including loans and other accounts receivable and payable, are initially measured at present value of the future cash flows and subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Debt instruments that are payable or receivable within one year, typically trade debtors and creditors, are measured, initially and subsequently, at the undiscounted amount of the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received. However, if the arrangements of a short-term instrument constitute a financing transaction, like the payment of a trade debt deferred beyond normal business terms or financed at a rate of interest that is not a market rate or in the case of an out-right short-term loan not attacked rate, the financial asset or liability is measured, at market, at the present value of the future cash flow discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument and subsequently at amortised cost.

Financial assets that are measured at cost and amortised costs are assessed at the end of each reporting period for objective evidence of impairment. If objective evidence of impairment is found, an impairment loss is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive income.

For financial assets measured at amortised cost, the impairment loss is measured as the difference between an asset's carrying amount and the present value of estimated cash flows discounted at the asset's original effective interest rate. If a financial asset has a variable rate, the discount rate for measuring any impairment loss is the current effective interest rate determined under the contract.

For financial assets measured at cost less impairment, the impairment loss is measured as the difference between an asset's carrying amount and best estimate of the recoverable amount, which is an approximation of the amount that the company would receive for the asset if it were to be sold at the balance sheet date.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the Balance Sheet when there is an 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.

Derivatives, including interest rate swaps, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of the derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or income as appropriate. The company does not currently apply hedge accounting for interest rate derivatives.

Taxation

Taxation for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the 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 period 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.

Foreign currency translation

Functional and presentation currency

The company's functional and presentational currency is GBP.

Transactions and balances

Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency using the spot exchange rates at the dates of the transactions.

At each period end foreign currency monetary items are translated using the closing rate. Non-monetary items measured at historical cost are translated using the exchange rate at the date of the transactions and non-monetary items measured at fair value are measured using the exchange rate when fair value was determined.

Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of transactions and from the translation at period-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive income.

Operating leases

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive income on a straight line basis over the lease term.

Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are recognised on a straight line basis over the period until the date the rent is expected to be adjusted to the prevailing market rate.

Pensions

Defined contribution pension plan

The company operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the company has no further payments obligations.

The contributions are recognised as an expense in the Statement of Comprehensive income when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in other creditors as a liability in the Balance Sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the company in independently administered funds.

Defined benefit pension plan

The company participates in the Lincolnshire Field Products Limited Pension and Life Assurance Scheme. This is a defined benefit scheme but the company is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities and as such will account for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme. The Scheme was closed to future accrual on 31 August 2010.

Debtors and creditors

Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment. Loans receivable are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment.

Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price. Other financial liabilities, including bank loans, are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Finance costs

Finance costs are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive income over the term of the debt using the effective interest method so that the amount charged is at a constant rate on the carrying amount. Issues costs are initially recognised as a reduction in the proceeds of the associated capital instrument.

Provisions for liabilities

Provisions are made where an event has taken place that gives the company a legal or constructive obligation that probably requires settlement by a transfer of economic benefit and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

Provisions are charged as an expense to the Statement of Comprehensive income in the year that the company becomes aware of the obligation, and are measured at the best estimate at the Balance Sheet date of the expenditure required to settle the obligation, taking into account relevant risks and uncertainties.

When payments are eventually made, they are charged to the provision carried in the Balance Sheet.

3.

TURNOVER

The turnover and loss (2024 - profit) before taxation are attributable to the one principal activity of the company.

An analysis of turnover by geographical market is given below:

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

United Kingdom

128,580,532

128,020,165

Europe

6,772,368

11,676,577

135,352,900

139,696,742

4.	EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Wages and salaries

28,604,014

29,931,411

Social security costs

2,895,636

3,007,966

Other pension costs

505,108

532,726

32,004,758

33,472,103

The average number of employees during the period was as follows:

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

Operations staff

707

725

Administration staff

39

37

746

762

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Directors' remuneration

899,809

927,818

Directors' pension contributions to money purchase schemes

30,875

36,792

Information regarding the highest paid director is as follows:

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Emoluments etc

409,264

407,163

Pension contributions to money purchase schemes

9,380

9,533

5.	OPERATING PROFIT

The operating profit is stated after charging/(crediting):

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Hire of plant and machinery

15,967,414

14,734,652

Other operating leases

2,383,964

1,767,205

Depreciation - owned assets

1,385,947

1,128,438

Profit on disposal of fixed assets

(18,572

)

(10,000

)

Goodwill amortisation

93,407

95,202

Computer software amortisation

37,968

34,261

Auditors' remuneration

20,243

23,600

Foreign exchange differences

(3,231

)

1,550

6.

INTEREST PAYABLE AND SIMILAR EXPENSES

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Bank interest

876,686

697,878

Interest payable

3,902

4,671

Hire purchase interest

109,993

97,044

990,581

799,593

7.

TAXATION

Analysis of the tax charge

The tax charge on the loss for the period was as follows:

Period

Period

4.2.24

29.1.23

to

to

1.2.25

3.2.24

£

£

Current tax:

UK corporation tax

49,598

-

Deferred tax

107,186

614,852

Tax on (loss)/profit

156,784

614,852