The company has a fixed and floating charge over the the assets and undertakings of the company, held by Barclays Bank Plc, as part of a cross guarantee in relation to borrowings of the group.
The average number of persons, including directors, employed by the company during the year was as follows:
At the reporting end date the company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases totalling £19,167 (2024: £812,089)
After the reporting date, the company sold the rights to the property lease to a third party. As part of the sale of the rights to the lease, the company has entered into an Authorised Guarantee Agreement (AGA) in relation to a lease assignment. Under the agreement, the Company may be required to pay amounts due under the lease should the assignee fail to meet its obligations. The maximum potential exposure under the guarantee at the reporting date is £230,000.
No claims have been made under the agreement as at the reporting date and no provision has been recognised in the financial statements.
In addition, a fellow group company has entered into a Group Authorised Guarantee Arrangement (GAGA) under which it acts as guarantor of the Company’s obligations under the AGA. As a result, any amounts payable by the Company under the AGA may be recoverable from the guarantor group company in the event of default, subject to the terms of the GAGA.
During the year, AKA Restaurants (Colwell) Ltd, a fellow group company, wrote off £612,305 owed to it by the company. The balance represented intercompany funding advanced to the company in prior periods to support its operations.
Following the decision to cease trading at the Cowes site (operated as Salty's) and to discontinue those operations, the directors reviewed the recoverability of the balance. As the compnay has ceased to generate trading income, its property lease has since been assigned to a third party, and it has insufficient net assets to settle the amount, the directors concluded that the balance was irrecoverable and have written it off in full.
The charge has been presented separately as an exceptional item because it is material, non-recurring and arises from the discontinuation of a separate business rather than from the company's ongoing trading activities. It is a non-cash item: it reflects the release of an intercompany receivable and has no effect on the company's cash flows, its banking facilities or its ability to service its debt.
The directors do not expect any further amounts to be written off in respect of this balance, and no comparable charge arose in the prior year. The corresponding debit is recognised by AKA Restaurants (Colwell) Ltd; the two entries eliminate on consolidation, so the item has no effect on the group's consolidated net assets or on its underlying earnings.
AKA Restaurants (Cowes) Ltd is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Aka Restaurants, Golden Hill Park, Colwell Road, Freshwater, PO40 9UJ.