The directors present the strategic report for the period ended 5 April 2025.
We are a leading UK Architectural practice ranked 41 within the Architects Journal Top 100 practices. We were named AJ 100 Champions in 2024, a title recognising practices driving positive change within the profession, building on our earlier recognition as AJ100 ‘Practice of the Year’ in 2020 and 2022.
We provide architecture, interior design, space planning, master planning and conservation services across a range of sectors. We are recognized global leaders in the design of innovative spaces for performing arts, and are national leaders in the design of mixed-use urban regeneration, housing, higher education, workplace and industrial projects.
We have over 100 staff based in our studios near Old Street in London. Our studios has an events space which allows us to engage with the local creative community.
Values
Haworth Tompkins was founded in 1991. In 2019, the Haworth Tompkins Employees Ownership Trust was set up for the benefit of the current and future employees of our studio. The trust is guided by the following principles:
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Reputation - maintaining our reputation for quality design should be at the heart of any decisions that are made about the future direction of the company.
Creative Leadership - maintaining effective and focused leadership of the company through successive generations of new directors will be critical to its future success.
Creative Diversity - Our success has been driven equally by our ability to develop specialist expertise and by our willingness to explore projects in new areas. We should take the opportunity to expand our range of work types wherever possible, within the framework of our other guiding principles.
Sustainability - we will promote and research the principles of Regenerative Design as the underpinning foundation of all our work.
Innovation - creative risk taking should continue to drive the studio’s thinking under the leadership of a new generation of designers.
Social Value - our work has been underpinned by a desire to make socially purposeful architecture that contributes to the collective wellbeing of our society.
Employee Benefit - The Trust has been established for the benefit of the present and future employees of Haworth Tompkins.
Work Life balance - we want our team to achieve a healthy work life balance.
Open Communication - alongside strong creative leadership, clear internal and external communication is at the heart of the studio’s ethos.
Employees Voices - The Trust was established to allow every employee’s voice to be heard and taken into account.
Fairness and Equal Opportunity - we want our studio to be a model for fairness and equality.
Financial Stability - a key priority for the future is to ensure that the company continues to be successful financially, as this underpins all our other objectives.
Sharing the rewards of success - everyone should share in its financial success.
Building on the values set out in these principles, we became a BCorp in 2022, becoming part of an international, multi-sector movement that aims to redefine success in business, with a vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. In 2022, we became founding members of Architects Declare, which is a network of architectural practices across the UK committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Significant Achievements
Over the periods 31 March 2024 and 5 April 2025 we can record the following significant achievements.
Awards
AJ 100 Champions 2024 in AJ100 Awards,
Be First were named Client of the Year in AJ 100 Awards
Fish Island Village was awarded a RIBA London Award
Barking Industria won best workplace at the London Construction Awards
Barking Industria won the NLA Workplace Award
NT Future won an Architecture Today Award
Pembroke College was Highly Commended in the Wood Awards
Completed Projects
Performing Arts
Court Theatre Christchurch, New Zealand
The Lightroom in Kings Cross, London
Cultural
Lambeth Archive, Brixton, London
Higher Education
Mill Lane Development of Pembroke College Cambridge
Warburg Institute – University of London
Kingston University- Roehampton Vale
Tavistock Square for University of London
Housing
Blackwall Reach, Tower Hamlets London
Wembley NE Lands, initial plots
Wood Street Housing – Waltham Forest London
Project Milestones
Performing Arts
Theatre Royal Bath Venue 4 received Planning Approval
ECU City Campus in Perth Western Australia topped out
The Old Vic Annex in London, topped out
St Georges Guildhall, Kings Lynnin Norfolk received Planning Approval
Cultural
London Library Phase 5a Planning and Listed Building Approval
Housing
Attlip Road received unanimous Planning Approval
Workplace
Bromley by Bow Industrial Estate received unanimous Planning Approval
Birmingham Smithfield received unanimous Planning Approval
New Projects
Performing Arts
Kouvola Theatre, Finland
Vienna Theater im Prater
Dramaten Stockholm
Temporary Theatre in Canary Wharf
Cultural
De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea
Museum of the Docklands, London
Science Museum Archive Swindon
St Botolphs, Colchester Essex
Historic England Decarbonisation Study
Higher Education
UAS Space Review for Oxford University
Kingston Hill Masterplan for Kingston University
Housing
Hackney New Homes, Hackney, London
York Central development, York, London
Holloway Phase 2, Islington
Dagenham Phase 2, Barking and Dagenham, London
GSK Sustainable Campus Phase 1 Plots, Hounslow, London
Bridgwater Triangle, Newham, London
Workplace
Freight Lane Feasibility Study, Camden, London
York Central development
The risks facing the company continue to be managed by directors. The principal risks and uncertainties can be summarised as follows:
Global and National Economic Performance
Weak economic growth continues to challenge the UK and Europe which reduces business confidence and investment. Government policy and investment is areas such as Housing and Green Energy helps counter this, as do policies which are seen to promote sustainable economic growth in the short and medium term.
Inflation and Interest Rates
Inflation and interest rates remain high, resulting in rising cost of living which is putting upward pressure on staffing costs. Higher construction inflation and interest rates have also led to viability challenges for new projects. The emerging tariff policies being rolled out by the new US Administration risks putting further upward pressure on inflation and interest rates. We are benchmarking salaries to ensure our pay is competitive within the industry. We continue to seek a diversity of work across sectors to avoid over exposure to individual sectors.
Sector Based Risks
Whilst all sectors are affected by the financial pressures outlined above, each of the sectors we work in have different sector specific risks. For Housing the impact of the changing regulatory framework arising from the Building Safety Act has added costs and caused delays to projects which has added to the background economic challenges. However, the new governments policy commitment to build 1.5m in this parliament, anticipates that measure will be put in place to help streamline the regulatory process. In Higher Education falling rolls from both national and international students has impacted on future investment. However, investment in existing estate will play to our strength in creative reuse of existing buildings. Investment in the cultural sector through the Good Growth Fund has been a positive impact on development in this sector, but further government support will be required to ensure that this sector continues to prosper. In the performing arts, whilst the subsidized sector is largely reliant on public funding being made available, the private sector continues to invest in the sector, both at home and overseas.
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)
The impact of the Grenfell Fire continues to haunt the insurance industry with cladding related claims continuing to be made and PII premiums continuing to rise. We are continuing to monitor our PII cover to ensure that it is benchmarked against industry standards of cover and premiums.
Software Costs
Software license costs have been rising and continue to rise steeply, with increasing restrictions placed on sharing licenses. We monitor demand carefully and minimize the risk of oversupply. We continuously review alternative software options where they exist and seek to standardize software used to avoid duplications.
Cyber Security
Cyber Security is an increasing risk. We have invested in a robust firewall, two factor authentication to access servers and email security alerts flagging up suspect email and attachments. We continuously review our cyber security infrastructure with our IT Consultant and have obtained Cyber Essentials for the first time this year. We have a robust Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan that outlines how our digital systems are backed up. These plans are reviewed and revised regularly. We are planning cyber security training for all staff over the coming year.
Reconciling Project Costs with Fees
Inflationary pressures of salaries and increasing costs of overheads, particularly PII and IT as noted above, has led to us reviewing our charge out rates to keep pace with these increased costs. We have reviewed this in line with current staff costs and utilization rates and current overhead costs. We have also benchmarked rates to available industry benchmark data. This has resulted in an increase in charge out rates with no commensurate increase in fee levels. This has led us to review project resourcing levels to find ways of working more leanly to preserve margins.
AI and Generative Design
AI and Generative Design poses both a risk and an opportunity. We have started to explore emerging software that use AI and Generative Design and intend to invest further in this area to ensure we stay ahead of innovations to automate systems and processes that improve our accuracy and efficiency, and as a result allow us more time to offer creative solutions to our clients.
Cash flow management and late payments
Liquidity is managed by maintaining appropriate levels of working capital and the company has sufficient funds available for its operations and short-term investment plans, with cash flow projections reviewed by management every month. Overdraft facilities are available if required.
Credit risk
This risk has been historically very low with very low levels of bad debt. None the less we review 30+ day debtors on a monthly basis, with senior management actioning 60+ day debts.
Risk Management
We manage all these risks through weekly board meetings of the directors, and monthly meeting of the wider leadership team. Continuing to win new high calibre work with high calibre clients is at the heart of the future success of the business and is a shared responsibility across all directors. As such New Business is reviewed weekly. All other risks are assigned to a Director and an Associate/Associate Director from each team and are reviewed regularly to assess risk levels and ensure that appropriate mitigation strategies are in place.
Despite the ongoing challenges, we remain positive about the future as we continue to win exciting new projects across all our sectors. We continue to focus on ensuring
design quality, innovation, and social and environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
effective and efficient delivery
we are industry leaders in the sectors we work in and are positive advocates for the profession.
The company's performance against key performance indicators {"KPl's) during the year ended 5 April 2025 can be summarised as follows
Turnover was £11,531,732 (2024: £10,974,948) increased by 5% in comparison to the prior year.
Sub-consultants cost were £3,111,958 (2024: £3,150,428) a 1% increase.
Sub-consultant costs have decreased by £38,470 and reduced from 28% of turnover in 2024 to 27% this year. As such procedures for the management and monitoring of subconsultant costs have become an increasing priority.
Net Turnover (Turnover excluding sub-consultants costs) was £8,419,774 (2024: £7,824,520) a 7% increase.
Cost of Sales (excluding sub-consultants) was £5,268,093 (2024: £4,785,054) a 10% increase.
Average Technical headcount remained steady at 82 (2024: 81)
Net Earnings per Technical Staff increased to £101.052 (2024: £98,344) an increase of just under 3%.
Ongoing inflationary pressures have been reflected in salary reviews, increasing Costs of Sales.
Gross Profits were up to £3,151,681 - 27% of Net Turnover (2024: £3,039,466 - 27% of Net Turnover).
Overheads (which included Administrative Staff, Accommodation, ICT, Insurance, HR and PR and Marketing costs), decreased to £2,993,978- 26% of Net Turnover (2024: £3,023,545 28% of Net Turnover).
Overheads continue to be high against historic benchmarks. This is primarily driven by Professional Indemnity insurance premiums and software licensing costs which continue to increase year-on-year.
Operating profits were up by £95,201 to £213,351 (2024:£118,150)
In 2025 Q1 the company experienced substantial losses of up to £526,000 due to delayed starts to large projects, and emerging issues with job costing. The position stabilised in Q2 and Q3 with strong profitability in Q4 which carried into the first half of YE 26.
Inflationary pressures has increased the cost of living, which in turn has increased pressures on salary levels and cost of sales. At the same time rising construction costs and the impact of new regulations in the wake of the Building Safety Act are challenging the viability of projects, particularly housing.
Increasing demand from clients for us to appoint the rest of the design team as subconsultants has led to considerably more administrative burden and cash flow risk which has not been recognized in fees. New procedures have been put in place to track subconsultants costs, with an increased management fee to be applied to all subconsultants to more accurately cover management costs.
Reduced profitability has led to a review of charge-out rates, which have not kept pace with higher overhead costs. We reviewed allowances for non-productive time and for overheads, and benchmarked rates against available data – and implemented new rates in bids from Q3.
Our total cash and debtors position at 5 April 2025 was slightly up on the position a year earlier, whilst completing the repayments for EOT equity from capital reserves over the course of the year. Our only credit facility is the balance of the £300,000 loan taken out in 2023 to cover costs of the office move, which stands at £200,000 as of 5 April 2025.
We are in the process of compiling a R+D Tax Credit Application for the YE25 which will be submitted by the end of the year. The figure of estimate tax credit has not been made available to the board at the time of accounts approval, therefore no provision has been recognized in terms of expected tax credit.
Strategic Initiatives
Succession
Founders Graham Haworth and Steve Tompkins retired as Directors in April 24, handing over the day-to-day management of the company to the remaining 5 directors. They continued to act as Consultants during the year to provide continuity on key projects. Through the agency of the EOT, transition to second generation leadership has been seamless, with the new director group continuing to attract high calibre new commissions and to maintain the practice's reputation for design quality, innovation and sustainable design.
The repayments for the 55% equity acquired by the EOT was completed on schedule in March 25.
An EBT was created to acquire the shares of the departing directors, and to sell them onto the remaining directors, such that each hold 9%. The EBT was created to support future transfer of non-trust equity in the company between departing and remaining directors.
Sustainability and Regenerative Design
We have appointed a new Sustainability Professional to help us coordinate project and office-wide sustainability initiatives.
We continue to push boundaries in reducing embodied carbon in our project work, in our use of mass timber in performing arts buildings, in our use of prefabrication in our housing projects, and our continuing commitment to creative reuse of existing buildings wherever possible across all sectors. Our recently completed Wood Street Housing project was a LETI Pioneer project, and our Greenhill Centre is a Passivhaus project.
Our selection by Historic England on a decarbonization study on three listed buildings cemented our position as industry leaders in sustainable and regenerative design and is an area we are keen to exploit.
We have adopted new software that allows us to model the impact of new developments on daylighting and impact of wind on open spaces. This allows us to assess environmental impacts of our projects from an early stage.
We continue to monitor and explore ways to reduce our office wide Carbon Footprint. Our new offices, which have better fabric performance than our previous offices, have helped us reduce this aspect of our footprint, However, our increasing portfolio of international work is increasing our carbon footprint from international travel. We are seeking to keep carbon emissions from international travel to a minimum through local partnerships and minimizing site visits, rather than through limiting our ambitions to work internationally.
We are looking at change our Stakeholder Pension provider to substantially reduce the carbon emissions from arising from the funds invested.
We are committed to offset our carbon emissions using accredited schemes.
Innovation
We continue to innovate in the design of permanent and temporary performing arts spaces, in making better use of land through industrial intensification, in the use of mass timber as a means of reducing embodied carbon and in off-site manufacture as a means of reducing waste and accelerating the construction process – particularly of new homes. We have been working on a major project looking at reuse of existing buildings alongside an innovative material reuse programme, with the early strip out works providing a live case study in circular demolition and digital audit techniques.
International Work
We are keen to build our international portfolio in a way that is sustainable both in relation to retaining the design quality on which our reputation is built, but also in terms of our minimizing our carbon footprint as set out in Sustainability above.
Building Safety Act
The Building Safety Act secondary legislation came into force in Oct 2023, which created new duties for designers, and a new role of Building Regulations Principal Designer. Since then, and over the course of the year, we have been tracking the response to this legislation from the RIBA and other industry groups, and have worked with various technical forums to develop a coherent response to the new legislation, both in relation to demonstrating organizational and individual competence to assume the roles of the new duty holders, but also in relation to our internal procedures to ensure that we comply with the requirements of the new legislation.
We have undertaken in house training, and all senior staff are undertaking RIBA Principal Designer training with the aim of being accepted onto the RIBA Principal Designer Register.
Social Value
We continue to run an active programme to help broaden access to the profession, particularly from under represented groups. We work with local state schools, Blueprint for All, Social Mobility Foundation and Access for Architecture in order to facilitate the following initiatives:
Work experience programme for local schools – 23 x 1 week long positions supported
Mentoring programme - 162 mentoring hours including internal mentoring of work experience students, part 3 mentoring, mentoring of deaf students as part of work experience programme and mentoring of mature job returners via the CIPD Trust
Paid internships – 3 x 1 month long positions supported
Apprenticeships - 2
We work with all our clients, both public and private sector, to support social initiatives on a project by project basis.
We have committed to giving 1% of our pre-tax profits to charity.
Open Communication
We continued to actively engage with our employees through the EOT Forum. Our Trustees meet on a quarterly basis and the EOT Forum meet prior to each Trustees Meeting. The Directors and the Forum both issue reports to Trustee Meeting and a summary of the Directors Reports is issued to the EOT Forum after each Trustee Meeting.
This year we held a full day Town Hall meeting attended by the Independent Trustees and a facilitator and. The meeting was structured around a review Business Plan objectives.
Employee Benefit
Whilst profits this year did allow us to distribute a EOT bonus this year, we did consider a proposal to reduce the working week from 40 – 37.5 hours. A trial was held to assess impact on productivity which resulted in no adverse impact being reported. As such a 37.5 hour week has been adopted.
Fairness and Equal Opportunity
We continue to monitor gender split and gender pay in the studio annually. This years report indicates a further reduction in gender split (from 52/48% to 51/49%) and mean pay gap (17% to 9%) and identifies the residual gap as being due to a higher proportion of senior male staff than female staff. With the growing diversity of the senior leadership team it is hoped that the pay gap will continued to decline.
We undertake a biannual diversity survey and have in place polices around recruitment that seeks to eliminate any bias in the recruitment process, to ensure we retain and enhance the diversity of our studio;
On behalf of the board
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the period ended 5 April 2025.
The results for the period are set out on page 15.
During the period ended 5 April 2025 the company did not award any EOT Bonuses (2024: £89,650) and distributed dividends to non-trust equity holders of £33,831 (2024: £117,472).
The directors who held office during the period and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The company continues to engage in research and development activities when required by an individual project. The intellectual property remains vested in the practice and can then be carried over to other projects.
There were no material post balance sheet events.
Henton & Co LLP were appointed as auditor to the company and in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, a resolution proposing that they be re-appointed will be put at a General Meeting.
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 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; and
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.
The Company has indemnified, by means of Directors' and Officers' liability insurance, one or more Directors of the Company against liability in respect of proceedings brought by third parties, subject to the conditions set out in section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. Such qualifying third party indemnity provision was in force during the year and is in force as at the date of approving the Directors' Report.
We have audited the financial statements of Haworth Tompkins Limited (the 'company') for the period ended 5 April 2025 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Basis for 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
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the strategic report and the directors' report for the financial period 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.
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 opinion.
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following: enquiring of management concerning the company's policies with regards identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance; enquiring of management concerning the company's policies detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; enquiring of management concerning the company's policies in relation to the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non- compliance with laws and regulations; discussing among the engagement team where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud; and obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in and focusing on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the company. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act 2006, Financial Reporting Standard 102 and applicable tax legislation.
Audit procedures undertaken in response to the potential risks relating to irregularities (which include fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations) comprised of: enquiries of management and those charged with governance concerning compliance with such laws and regulations and any actual or potential litigation or claims; inspection of minutes and relevant legal correspondence; testing the appropriateness of journal entries; and the performance of analytical review to identify unexpected movements in account balances which may be indicative of fraud.
No instances of material non-compliance were identified. However, the likelihood of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is limited by the inherent difficulty in detecting irregularities, the effectiveness of the entity's controls, and the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures performed. Irregularities that result from fraud might be inherently more difficult to detect than irregularities that result from error. As explained above, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements may not be detected, even though the audit has been planned and performed in accordance with ISAs (UK).
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
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.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Long term contracts
Estimates are made in respect of establishing the stage of completion of long term contracts. In determining the stage of completion the directors estimate costs to complete, and compare costs incurred as a proportion of total expected costs. The methods of estimation used are discussed in the turnover accounting policy - see note 2.4.
The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.
As of the reporting date, the company has assessed its project portfolio and has identified no specific, probable liabilities related to uninsured cladding risks that would require a provision in the financial statements.
Management reviews contracts at each reporting date to assess whether the unavoidable costs of meeting contractual obligations exceed the economic benefits expected to be received. This assessment requires judgement regarding future project performance, recoverable fees and anticipated costs.
At 5 April 2025, following a detailed review of contract forecasts, the directors concluded that no contracts met the criteria for recognition of an onerous contract provision. Accordingly, no provision has been recognised. During the period the prior year provision of £34,469 was reversed following updated forecasts indicating that the relevant contracts were no longer expected to be loss making.
Haworth Tompkins Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL.
The principal activity of the company is to provide architectural services.
The financial statements have been prepared for the period from 1 April 2024 to 5 April 2025. The previous financial statements were prepared for the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
During the year the company changed its accounting period from 31 March to 5 April to align the company's internal administrative processes. As a result, the current accounting period is extended by 5 days.
The comparative figures are therefore not directly comparable with those for the current period.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to profit or loss.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, 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 derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.
Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as being measured at fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessees. All other leases are classified as operating leases.
Assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets at the lower of the assets fair value at the date of inception and the present value of the minimum lease payments. The related liability is included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments are treated as consisting of capital and interest elements. The interest is charged to profit or loss so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability.
An analysis of the company's turnover is as follows:
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the period was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
The number of directors for whom retirement benefits are accruing under defined contribution schemes amounted to 5 (2024 - 7).
The highest paid director has exercised share options during the period.
Tangible fixed assets includes assets held under finance leases or hire purchase contracts, as follows:
Details of the company's subsidiaries at 5 April 2025 are as follows:
Haworth Tompkins Trustees Limited (HTTL) is a private company limited by shares with issued share capital of £1. The Company legally owns 100% of the issued share capital of HTTL.
HTTL holds 55% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company on behalf of the Haworth Tompkins Employee Ownership Trust ("the Trust"), as part of the Company's employee ownership arrangements.
HTTL was incorporated in February 2019 for the sole purpose of acting as the corporate trustee of the Trust, whose object is to ensure that the Company's shares are held for the benefit of the Company's employees, providing employees with an interest in the Company's business, a share in its profits and a voice in the direction of its affairs.
Although HTTL is legally a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, it is controlled in substance by its trustees in their capacity as trustees of the Trust. Accordingly, the Company does not exercise independent control over HTTL or over the shares in the Company held by HTTL.
The resulting ownership structure forms part of the Company's employee ownership arrangements. The trustee shareholding is maintained within the statutory framework governing a subsidiary's holding of shares in its parent undertaking, including the prohibition contained in section 136 and the trustee exception contained in section 138 of the Companies Act 2006, together with the related provisions applicable to employee share ownership arrangements.
HTTL is a non-trading company. During the year it undertook transactions necessary to maintain its role as trustee of the Employee Ownership Trust, including receipt of contributions from the Company to meet administrative and trust-related costs.
Bank loans are secured by a fixed and floating charge over the assets of the company.
Obligations under finance leases are secured on the assets to which the leases relate.
The bank loans are secured by a fixed and floating charge over the assets of the company.
Obligations under finance leases are secured on the assets to which the leases relate.
The long-term loans are secured by a fixed and floating charge over the assets of the company.
Finance lease payments represent rentals payable by the company for certain items of plant and machinery. Leases include purchase options at the end of the lease period, and no restrictions are placed on the use of the assets. All leases are on a fixed repayment basis and no arrangements have been entered into for contingent rental payments.
During the prior year the company recognised a provision in respect of onerous long-term revenue contracts, where the estimated unavoidable costs of fulfilling the contracts exceeded the expected economic benefits.
During the period ended 5 April 2025 the provision was fully reversed following updated forecasts, which indicated that the contracts were no longer expected to be loss-making. As a result, the closing provision at the year end is £Nil.
The reversal has been recognised in cost of sales.
The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the company and movements thereon:
The reversal of deferred tax in the year commencing 6 April 2025 is not expected to be material.
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.
During the year the company operated Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share option arrangements for certain employees.
Options over 1,620 ordinary shares were granted and vested immediately. All options were exercised during the year, with employees acquiring existing shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust. No new shares were issued by the company in connection with the exercise of the options.
The exercise price was £237.50 per share, being the market value at the date of grant. The arrangements are equity-settled share-based payment arrangements.
As the exercise price was equal to the market value of the shares at grant date, the fair value of the options was nil, and no charge has been recognised in the profit and loss account in respect of these arrangements.
The issued shares in the company have the following rights:
As to voting, the ordinary A shares, ordinary B shares and ordinary C shares each confer on their holders the right to receive notice of, attend and vote at general meetings of shareholders;
As to return of capital on a liquidation (or other return of capital), the ordinary A shares, ordinary B shares, and ordinary C shares confer on their holders the right to receive the same amount per share pari passu as if they constituted a single class of share; and
As to dividends, the ordinary A shares, ordinary B shares, and ordinary C shares confer on their holders the right to receive such dividend per share as may be declared from time to time on that class.
During the year 1,620 B ordinary shares have been redesignated as C ordinary shares. This redesignation did not result in any change to the company's issued share capital or total equity.
The company has guaranteed amounts payable by Haworth Tompkins Trustees Limited, acting as a trustee of the Haworth Tompkins Employee Benefit Trust, under a Share Purchase Agreement dated 15 April 2024 in respect of the acquisition of ordinary shares in the company.
The guarantee is conditional and is enforceable only to the extent that the company has sufficient distributable profits and available cash. At the balance sheet date, no amounts were payable under the guarantee. The directors consider the likelihood of the guarantee being called to be remote and, accordingly, no provision has been recognised.
At the reporting end date the company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The company has entered into transactions with entities and individuals considered to be related parties under FRS 102.
The company supports two employee trusts:
the Haworth Tompkins Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
the Haworth Tompkins Employee Benefit Trust (EBT)
Both of which are administered by Haworth Tompkins Trustees Limited (HTTL).
T Johnson, a director of the company, is also a trustee of HTTL.
Employee Ownership Trust
During the year the company made capital contributions of £248,105 to the EOT. The company does not control the EOT and has no right to repayment of the amounts contributed. The contributions have been recognised directly in equity. The company has not recognised any finance costs in respect of interest payable by the EOT.
Employee Benefit Trust
Under a share purchase agreement the trustee, acting on behalf of the EBT, acquired shares in the company from certain directors and former shareholders for deferred consideration, with interest payable by the EBT.
During the year the company made capital contributions of £58,926 to the EBT. The company does not control the EBT and has no right to repayment of the amounts contributed. The contributions have been recognised directly in equity. The company has not recognised any finance costs in respect of the interest payable by the EBT.
Directors
At the balance sheet date, amounts owed by the company to its directors totalled £25,049 (2024: £3,973). These balances are included within other creditors due within 1 year. The amounts are unsecured and are repayable on demand.
During the year the company identified seven items requiring correction to the comparative information.
Tangible assets
Certain assets which were recorded in the company's fixed asset register in prior periods were identified as no longer being owned by the company at the start of the comparative period. These assets have been derecognised, resulting in an adjustment to opening retained earnings of £691, representing the loss on disposal that should have been recognised in the prior period.
Investment in Haworth Tompkins Trustees Limited
The company has recognised an investment of £1 in Haworth Tompkins Trustees Limited. The investment represents the company's shareholding in the trustee company and should have been recognised in earlier periods.
Credit notes
Credit notes totalling £151,728, relating to transactions originating in prior periods, was previously recognised in the 2025 financial year. This credit notes should have been recognised in the year ended 31 March 2024.
Purchase invoices
Certain direct contract costs amounting to £95,458 had been incorrectly recognised in the 2025 financial year. These costs related to activity undertaken in the year ended 31 March 2024 and should have been recognised in that period. Because the company recognised its fee income using the percentage-of-completion method, the correction of these costs also resulted in the recognition of additional revenue of £104,925 relating to the 2024 financial year.
Prepayment correction
During the year management identified that insurance expenditure relating to the year ended 31 March 2024 had been incorrectly accounted for. A prepayment of £53,416 had been recognised in error, despite the costs relating wholly to the prior period. In addition, accrued costs of £26,708 relating to the sale period had not been recognised. The combined correction results in a net increase in costs of £80,124 for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Onerous contract provision
A review of contract performance identified that a number of onerous contracts existed at 31 March 2024. No provision had previously been recognised. In accordance with FRS 102 Section 21, a provision has now been recorded for the unavoidable costs of fulfilling the contract. This results in a decrease in profit of £34,469 for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Deferred tax liability
Management identified an error in the calculation of the deferred tax liability at 31 March 2024. The liability had been understated by £49,080 for that period.
Corporation tax liability
The prior year adjustments set out above have resulted in a reduction in the corporation tax charge of £63,986.
The above adjustments have been applied retrospectively by restating the comparative figures in accordance with FRS 102.