Year Ended
Registration number:
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Contents
|
Company Information |
|
|
Strategic Report |
|
|
Directors' Report |
|
|
Statement of Directors' Responsibilities |
|
|
Independent Auditor's Report |
|
|
Profit and Loss Account |
|
|
Balance Sheet |
|
|
Statement of Changes in Equity |
|
|
Notes to the Financial Statements |
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Company Information
|
Directors |
C J Stamp A N Harland S Twyford P Anderson-Riley |
|
Company secretary |
P Anderson-Riley |
|
Registered office |
|
|
Auditors |
|
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Strategic Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026
The directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Principal activity
The principal activity of the company is that of a holding company.
Fair review of the business
The directors report a profit for the year of £9.648m (2025 - £2.963m).
The company does not undertake any trade with third parties, with its income stream being derived from dividends received from group undertakings. Detailed commentary with regards to the performance and position of the group is provided in the consolidated financial statements for Credit Reporting Agency (Holdco) Limited.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The company is the holding company for Credit Reporting Agency Limited, being the primary trading entity within the group. Its exposure to risk therefore is related to the trade undertaken by this company.
Approved and authorised by the
|
......................................... |
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Directors of the company
The directors who held office during the year were as follows:
Financial instruments
Objectives and policies
The company's principal financial instruments comprises of bank balances and loans with group undertakings.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited regulates the cash within the group to ensure that liabilities are settled as and when they fall due, and sufficient cash is held to settle obligations as they fall due.
Price risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and cash flow risk
In respect of bank balances the liquidity risk is managed by ensuring that balances are maintained within defined limits, and that payments are made in accordance with the terms of the debt.
The company does not have any exposure to price risk.
Going concern
It is the intention of the directors to strike off the company and transfer the assets and liabilities to its parent company within twelve months of the balance sheet date.
As a result, the Directors have concluded that it is not appropriate to adopt a going concern basis of preparation in these financial statements. The Directors have assessed whether any adjustments are required on this basis and have concluded that no adjustments are required as result of being prepared on a basis other than going concern.
Disclosure of information to the auditors
Each director has taken steps that they ought to have taken as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information. The directors confirm that there is no relevant information that they know of and of which they know the auditors are unaware.
Approved and authorised by the
|
......................................... |
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Statement of Directors' Responsibilities
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and 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 apply them consistently; |
|
• |
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; |
|
• |
state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 March 2026, which comprise the Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet, 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 31 March 2026 and of its 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. |
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor 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.
Emphasis of matter
The financial statements are prepared on a basis other than going concern. We draw attention to the going concern policy in note 2 to the financial statements which explains that the directors intend to strike off the company and transfer the assets to the parent company. As the activities of the company will remain continuing, the operations have been presented as continuing on the face of the financial statements. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Other information
The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s 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.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Opinion on other matter 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 Directors' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and |
|
• |
the Strategic Report and Directors' Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. |
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of our 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 and the Directors' Report.
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 Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page 4, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor Responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed as follows:
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
The objectives of our audit, in respect to fraud, are: to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses; and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the company and management.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the Company at the planning stage of the audit. Firstly, the Company is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation (including related company legislation) and taxation legislation and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items. Secondly, the Company is subject to other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could
have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation or the loss of the company’s licence to operate. In making this assessment we determined that the most significant elements of legislation include, employment laws and regulations, health and safety legislation FCA regulations and GDPR.
Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Our procedures involved the following:
• Enquiries of management regarding their knowledge of any non compliance with laws and regulations that could affect the financial statements. As part of these enquiries we also discussed with management whether there have been any known instances, allegations or suspicions of fraud.
• Corroborating management representations through a review of board minutes and supporting documentation including any matters reportable under health and safety legislation for the attention of the Directors.
• Considering the filings made at Companies House, and any omissions thereon.
• Reviewing publicly available filings with the FCA including considering matters that are subject to FCA action, of which there was none identified.
• Completion of disclosure checklists to identify areas of non compliance.
We also evaluated the risk of fraud through management override including that arising from management’s incentives. The key risks we identified were with regards to the cut off of recognition of income or through management bias in selecting accounting estimates. In response to the identified risk, as part of our audit work we:
• Used data analytics to test journal entries throughout the year, for appropriateness;
• Undertook a proof in total of the revenue recognised in the financial statements to the revenue systems used by the company.
• Reviewed estimates and judgements made in the accounts for any indication of bias and challenged assumptions used by management in making the estimates.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate omissions, collusion, forgery, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are also less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial statements.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: 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.
......................................
Lowin House
Tregolls Road
Cornwall
TR1 2NA
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Profit and Loss Account
Year Ended 31 March 2026
|
Note |
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Turnover |
- |
- |
|
|
Gross profit/(loss) |
- |
- |
|
|
Operating profit/(loss) |
- |
- |
|
|
Income from shares in group undertakings |
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax |
|
|
|
|
Profit for the financial year |
|
|
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Balance Sheet
31 March 2026
|
Note |
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Fixed assets |
|||
|
Investments |
|
|
|
|
Current assets |
|||
|
Debtors |
|
|
|
|
Cash at bank and in hand |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year |
( |
( |
|
|
Net current liabilities |
( |
( |
|
|
Net assets |
|
|
|
|
Capital and reserves |
|||
|
Called up share capital |
23,062 |
23,062 |
|
|
Share premium reserve |
23,039,038 |
23,039,038 |
|
|
Profit and loss account |
8,899,959 |
8,899,959 |
|
|
Shareholders' funds |
31,962,059 |
31,962,059 |
Approved and authorised by the
|
......................................... |
Company Registration Number: 12417398
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Statement of Changes in Equity
Year Ended 31 March 2026
|
Share capital |
Share premium |
Profit and loss account |
Total |
|
|
At 1 April 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year |
- |
- |
|
|
|
Dividends |
- |
- |
( |
( |
|
At 31 March 2026 |
|
|
|
|
|
Share capital |
Share premium |
Profit and loss account |
Total |
|
|
At 1 April 2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year |
- |
- |
|
|
|
Dividends |
- |
- |
( |
( |
|
At 31 March 2025 |
23,062 |
23,039,038 |
8,899,959 |
31,962,059 |
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2026
|
General information |
The company is a private company limited by share capital, incorporated in England and Wales.
The address of its registered office is:
These financial statements were authorised for issue by the
|
Accounting policies |
Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
Statement of compliance
These financial statements were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 - The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The financial statements are prepared in pounds sterling which is the functional currency of the company.
Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with FRS102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the company's accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the financial statements are outlined within this note.
Basis of preparation
These financial statements have been prepared using the historical cost convention.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Summary of disclosure exemptions
FRS102 allows a qualifying entity certain disclosure exemptions, and as such the company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions:
• The exemption under FRS102 paragraph 1.12 (b) from preparing a statement of cash flows
• The exemption under FRS102 paragraph 1.12 (c) in relation to certain financial instrument disclosures
The requisite disclosures above are available from the consolidated accounts of Credit Reporting Agency (Holdco) Limited, which are publicly available from Companies House.
Going concern
It is the intention of the directors to strike off the company and transfer the assets and liabilities to its parent company within twelve months of the balance sheet date.
As a result, the Directors have concluded that it is not appropriate to adopt a going concern basis of preparation in these financial statements. The Directors have assessed whether any adjustments are required on this basis and have concluded that no adjustments are required as result of being prepared on a basis other than going concern.
Finance income and costs policy
Interest income is recognised in the profit and loss account using the effective interest method.
Finance costs are charged to the profit and loss account 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. Issue costs are initially recognised as a reduction in the proceeds of the associated debt capital.
All borrowing costs are recognised in the profit and loss account in the period in which they are incurred.
Investments
Investments in subsidiaries are recognised at cost less accumulated impairment.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2026
Financial instruments
Classification
• Short term inter company loans
• Bank and vendor loans; and
• Cash and bank balances.
All financial instruments are classified as basic.
Recognition and measurement
Financial instruments are recognised when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument and derecognised when in the case of assets, the contractual rights to cash flows from the assets expire or substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to another party, or in the case of liabilities, when the company’s obligations are discharged, expire or are cancelled.
Except for bank loans, such instruments are initially measured at transaction price, including transaction costs, and are subsequently carried at the undiscounted amount of the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received, after taking account of impairment adjustments. Bank loans are initially measured at transaction price, including transaction costs, and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Critical judgements and estimation uncertainty
In applying the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts 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 if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The key areas where estimation uncertainty has been considered by management is as follows:
Carrying value of investments and impairment risk
At the balance sheet date the company has investments in subsidiary undertakings of £32,853,236.
Management have considered the impairment risk in respect of this investment, which relates to the interest held in the trading subsidiary Credit Reporting Agency Limited. The company has traded strongly in the year to 31 March 2026, and has done for several consecutive years. On this basis the directors do not believe that there is any evidence which would require an impairment to be recognised on this carrying value within the financial statements.
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2026
|
Staff costs |
The Directors are remunerated through another group undertaking.
The average number of persons employed by the company (including directors) during the year, analysed by category was as follows:
|
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Administration and support |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investments |
|
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Investments in subsidiaries |
|
|
Details of undertakings
Details of the investments (including principal place of business of unincorporated entities) in which the company holds 20% or more of the nominal value of any class of share capital are as follows:
|
Undertaking |
Registered office |
Holding |
Proportion of voting rights and shares held |
|
|
2026 |
2025 |
|||
|
Subsidiary undertakings |
||||
|
|
20-21 Lemon Street
England & Wales |
|
|
|
|
|
20-21 Lemon Street
England & Wales |
|
|
|
|
Subsidiary undertakings |
|
Credit Reporting Agency Limited The principal activity of Credit Reporting Agency Limited is |
Credit Reporting Agency (Bidco) Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2026
|
Checkmyfile Limited The principal activity of Checkmyfile Limited is |
|
Debtors |
|
Note |
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Amounts owed by group undertakings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Cash at bank |
|
|
|
Creditors |
|
2026 |
2025 |
|
|
Due within one year |
||
|
Amounts due to group undertakings |
|
|
|
Share capital |
Allotted, called up and fully paid shares
|
2026 |
2025 |
|||
|
No. |
£ |
No. |
£ |
|
|
|
|
23,062 |
|
23,062 |
|
Dividends |
During the year dividends of £9,648,000 (2025 - £2,173,000) were paid to the shareholders.
|
Reserves |
Share capital
This reserve records the nominal value of shares issued
Share premium
This reserve records the amount above nominal value received for shares, less transaction costs
Profit and loss
This reserve records the cumulative profits and losses made by the company