For the financial year ended 31 December 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

These financial statements have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The directors of the company have elected not to include a copy of the profit and loss account within the financial statements.true

ECW Search Ltd is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The disclosure requirements of section 1A of FRS 102 have been applied other than where additional disclosure is required to show a true and fair view.

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 financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Revenue comprises sales of services provided to customers net of value added tax and other sales taxes, less an appropriate deduction for actual and expected returns and discounts. Revenue is recognised when performance obligations are satisfied and the control of services is transferred to the buyer. Where the performance obligation is satisfied over time, revenue is recognised in accordance with its progress towards complete satisfaction of that performance obligation.

The company recognises revenue from the following major sources:

• Placement revenue

• Retained revenue

The nature, timing of satisfaction of performance obligations and significant payment terms of the company's major sources of revenue are as follows:

Placement revenue arises from one-off recruitment assignments to fill specific client vacancies. The company invoices clients on the start date of the candidate’s employment. However, under the company’s fee rebate policy, a proportion of the fee may be refundable if the candidate leaves employment within an initial rebate period.

Accordingly, placement revenue is recognised over time based on the period the candidate remains in employment. At the reporting date, the portion of the fee that is potentially refundable is deferred and recognised as revenue only as the uncertainty relating to rebates is resolved. Full revenue recognition occurs once the candidate has completed more than twelve weeks of employment, after which no rebate is due.

Retained revenue arises from talent partnership arrangements and other ongoing HR services that are not linked to specific placements. These services are provided evenly over the contractual period and are billed on a regular monthly basis.

Revenue from these services is recognised over time as the services are delivered. The company applies the “as invoiced” practical expedient, as the amounts invoiced correspond directly with the value of the services provided to date.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

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.

At each reporting period end date, the company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the company estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

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, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through profit and loss, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date.

Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.

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, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

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.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the profit and loss account because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The company’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting end date.

Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all timing differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the timing difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting end date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the profit and loss account, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when the company has a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to taxes levied by the same tax authority.

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

At inception, the company assesses whether a contract is, or contains, a lease. A lease arises where the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Control of the use of an asset occurs where the company has both the right to direct the use of the asset, and the right to obtain substantially all the economic benefits from that use.

Where a tangible asset is acquired through a lease, the company recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the lease commencement date. Right-of-use assets are included within the same line items on the Balance sheet as owned assets.

The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial measurement of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives or grants received, plus initial direct costs and an estimate of the cost of obligations to dismantle, remove or restore the underlying asset and the site on which it is located.

The right-of-use asset is subsequently adjusted for remeasurements of the lease liability and applies the relevant cost model, fair value model or revaluation model as set out within the accounting policies for the applicable asset class. Where the cost model is applied, the asset is depreciated from the commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the end of the lease term, and is periodically reduced by impairment losses, if any.

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are unpaid at the commencement date, discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, the company's incremental borrowing rate or the company’s obtainable borrowing rate. Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability comprise fixed payments less any lease incentives receivable, variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, amounts expected to be payable under residual value guarantees, the exercise price of any purchase options that the company is reasonably certain to exercise, and any penalties for early termination of a lease.

At each financial period end, the lease liability is adjusted to reflect payments made and interest accrued. Also, the lease liability is remeasured to reflect lease modifications and any changes to the factors considered at initial measurement, as set out above. When the lease liability is remeasured in this way, a corresponding adjustment is made to the carrying amount of the right-of-use asset, or recognised in profit or loss if the carrying amount of the right-of-use asset has been reduced to zero.

The company has elected not to recognise right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases of machinery that have a lease term of 12 months or less, or for leases of low-value assets including IT equipment. The payments associated with these leases are recognised in profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

In the comparative period, the company classified leases as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessees. All other leases were classified as operating leases. Assets held under finance leases were 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 was included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments were treated as consisting of capital and interest elements and the interest was charged to profit or loss so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability. Rentals payable under operating leases, less any lease incentives received, were charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis was more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset were consumed.

In the current year, the FRS 102 Periodic Review 2024 was applied by the company for the first time and affects the financial statements as follows.

The company has applied the FRS 102 Periodic Review 2024 amendments to Section 20 Leases as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the date of initial application. Comparative information is not restated.

The company’s revised accounting policies for leases are set out in note 1 and the adjustment for each financial statement line item affected by the application of the Periodic Review 2024 in the current period is set out below.

The company has applied the FRS 102 Periodic Review 2024 amendments to Section 23 Revenue as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the date of initial application. Comparative information is not restated.

The company’s revised accounting policies for revenue are set out in note 1 and the adjustment for each financial statement line item affected by the application of the Periodic Review 2024 is set out below.

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:

The company has two classes of ordinary shares, designated Ordinary A and Ordinary B, each carrying equal voting rights and rights to dividends and capital distributions.

During the year the company purchased and cancelled 50 Ordinary A shares and 50 Ordinary B shares. The shares were purchased out of distributable profits and cancelled immediately following purchase. Accordingly, the nominal value of the shares cancelled has been transferred from share capital to the capital redemption reserve. The total consideration paid for the shares has been recognised as a deduction from retained earnings.

Ordinary A shares were repurchased for total consideration £40,200 (including stamp duty), being at a premium to nominal value, and Ordinary B shares were repurchased for total consideration of £50, being at nominal value.

Following these transactions, the issued share capital at 31 December 2025 comprises 100 Ordinary A shares and 100 Ordinary B shares, and the capital redemption reserve has increased by £100.

The company’s related parties comprise its directors, who are considered to be key management personnel.

Directors’ remuneration is disclosed separately in accordance with the exemptions available to small companies. Dividends paid to directors are disclosed within the dividends note.

During the year, the company made payments to directors in respect of the use of home for business purposes amounting to £624 (2024: £936). These payments were determined in accordance with HMRC published guidance and are considered to be on normal commercial terms.

The company also entered into transactions with directors through their respective directors’ loan accounts, including the settlement by the company of certain personal expenditure on their behalf. The creditor balance outstanding at the reporting date was £2,472 (2024: debtor £7,891), representing amounts owed by the company to the directors. These balances are unsecured, interest-free and repayable on demand and are expected to be settled in cash or by the company settling expenditure on behalf of the relevant director.

There were no guarantees provided by or to the directors, and all transactions were undertaken on normal commercial terms.