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Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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COMPANY INFORMATION
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CONTENTS
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GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The directors present the strategic report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
This strategic report has been prepared for the activities of the group of Character 7 Limited and its subsidiary undertaking. The director, in preparing this strategic report, has complied with s414C of the Companies Act 2006. Overview Character 7 Limited is a 100% parent of Buried Treasure Productions Limited. The Group's principal activities is that of motion picture and television programme production.
Character 7 Limited is a small-sized production company focused on the development and production of television content. During the previous year ended 31 December 2022, the Group expanded its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary special purpose vehicle, Buried Treasure Productions Limited, which commenced production of the television series “Culprits” for Disney, which was broadcast in 2023.
Financial and Operational Review The production of the television series during the current and previous year materially increased the Group’s scale, resulting in the Group exceeding the small company thresholds under the Companies Act 2006. As a result, consolidated financial statements have been prepared for the first time for the year ended 31 December 2023. Although the Group exceeded the size threshold in the prior year, consolidated accounts were not prepared at that time, due to differing accounting periods between the parent company and subsidiary, and the significance of the impact of this production on size threshold not being fully appreciated. The Director has now taken the necessary steps to ensure that consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with FRS 102 and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, with full comparative information. Review of the Year The Group’s principal activity remained the development, production, and exploitation of television content. Revenues and costs associated with the production of “Culprits” are included within the consolidated accounts, reflecting the Group’s expanded operations and reporting requirements, with turnover of £5.5 million (2022 - £38.6 million.). After accruing High-End Television Tax Credits, the Group achieved a profit after taxation for the year of £2.38 million (2022 – loss £0.06 million). The financial position of the Group at the reporting date was strong with net assets of £3.1 million (2022 - £0.76 million), all represented by cash in hand and with no debt.
The Director considers that the principal risks facing the Group relate to the funding, production, and delivery of television projects, as well as changes in audience demand and broadcaster commissioning decisions. The Group depends on securing timely financing for productions and on retaining key creative and operational personnel to deliver projects on schedule and within budget. Failure to comply with legal, contractual, or regulatory requirements, including intellectual property and broadcasting rules, could also have financial or reputational consequences. The Director manages these risks through careful project and financial planning, diversifying funding sources, robust legal oversight, and retaining key talent.
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GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The Director monitors the performance of the business using a small number of key financial measures, including turnover, gross margin, and operating profit, which provide an indication of production activity and profitability. Cash flow and the level of working capital are also closely monitored to ensure the Group can meet its obligations and fund future productions.
This report was approved by the board on 24 November 2025 and signed on its behalf.
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DIRECTOR'S REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The director presents his report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The director who served during the year was:
The director is responsible for preparing the Group Strategic Report, the Director's Report and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
In preparing these financial statements, the director is required to:
∙select suitable accounting policies for the Group's financial statements 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 Group will continue in business.
The director is 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 the Group and to enable him to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. He is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £2,380,100 (2022 - loss £57,961).
No dividends were paid. The director does not recommend a payment of a final dividend.
There have been no significant events affecting the Group since the year end.
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DIRECTOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006, Sopher + Co LLP will be deemed to have been reappointed as auditors 28 days after these financial statements were sent to members or 28 days after the latest date prescribed for filing the accounts with the registrar, whichever is earlier.
This report was approved by the board on
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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF CHARACTER 7 LIMITED
In our opinion the financial statements:
∙give a true and fair view of the state of the Group's and of the parent Company's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of the Group's profit for the year then ended;
∙have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
∙have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the director's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group's or the parent Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the director with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF CHARACTER 7 LIMITED (CONTINUED)
The director is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Auditors' Report 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 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.
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
∙the information given in the Group Strategic Report and the Director's Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
∙the Group Strategic Report and the Director's Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the parent Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Group Strategic Report or the Director's Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
∙adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
∙the parent Company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
∙certain disclosures of director's remuneration specified by law are not made; or
∙we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the Director's Responsibilities Statement set out on page 3, the director is 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 director determines 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 director is responsible for assessing the Group's and the parent Company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the director either intends to liquidate the Group or the parent Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF CHARACTER 7 LIMITED (CONTINUED)
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 Auditors' 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 Group 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:
∙the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
∙we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the Company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the motion picture and television programme production sector;
∙we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the Company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;
∙we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
∙identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the Company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
∙making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
∙considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
∙understanding the design of the Company’s remuneration policies.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
∙performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
∙tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
∙assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
∙investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
∙agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
∙reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
∙enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
∙reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators and the Company’s legal advisors.
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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF CHARACTER 7 LIMITED (CONTINUED)
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
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 Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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.
for and on behalf of
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditors
5 Elstree Gate
Elstree Way
Borehamwood
Hertfordshire
WD6 1JD
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on 24 November 2025.
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form part of these financial statements.
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COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form part of these financial statements.
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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CONSOLIDATED ANALYSIS OF NET DEBT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Character 7 Limited is a private limited liability company incorporated in England and Wales, with its registered office address at 5 Elstree Gate, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1JD.
The principal activity of the Company is that of a holding company. The Groups activity is that of content creation for broadcast media.
2.Accounting policies
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention unless otherwise specified within these accounting policies and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the Companies Act 2006.
The preparation of financial statements in compliance with FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires Group management to exercise judgment in applying the Group's accounting policies (see note 3).
The Company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of Comprehensive Income in these financial statements.
The following principal accounting policies have been applied:
The consolidated financial statements present the results of the Company and its own subsidiaries ("the Group") as if they form a single entity. Intercompany transactions and balances between group companies are therefore eliminated in full.
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of business combinations using the purchase method. In the Statement of Financial Position, the acquiree's identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities are initially recognised at their fair values at the acquisition date. The results of acquired operations are included in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income from the date on which control is obtained. They are deconsolidated from the date control ceases.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Functional and presentation currency
Transactions and balances
royalties net of Value Added Tax. production turnover is recognised over the period of production on a stage of completion basis. Royalties receivable are accounted for on a royalty earnings basis as part of turnover.
Defined contribution pension plan
The Group contributes to a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the Group pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the Group has no further payment obligations. The contributions are recognised as an expense in profit or loss when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals as a liability in the Statement of Financial Position. The assets of the plan are held separately from the Group in independently administered funds.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis of tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting date in the countries where the Company and the Group operate and generate income. Deferred tax balances are recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed by the reporting date, except that: - The recognition of deferred tax assets is limited to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits; and - Any deferred tax balances are reversed if and when all conditions for retaining associated tax allowances have been met.
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives.
Depreciation is provided on the following basis:
The assets' residual values, useful 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 disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in profit or loss.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
2.Accounting policies (continued)
The Group only enters into basic financial instrument transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. Critical judgements In the opinion of the director, there were no other critical judgements or other uncertainties in these financial statements.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The Group has losses approximately of £9.6m (2022 - £8.9m) available to carry forward against future profits or surrender as group relief. No provision has been made for a deferred tax asset in respect of these losses in view of uncertainty as to when they may prove recoverable.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
Share premium account
The Group contributes to a defined contributions pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Group in an independently administered fund. Contributions totalling £514 (2023 - £514) were payable to the fund at the reporting date and are included in creditors.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The controlling party is
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