Results
The year ended 31 December 2025 was the most challenging period the Company has experienced in recent years. Turnover decreased by 31.8% to £4,836,603 (2024: £7,095,823), resulting in a loss before tax of £616,522 compared with a profit before tax of £1,071,607 in the previous year. Gross margin reduced from 47.2% to 36.2%.
The Board recognises the significance of this result. However, the decline was concentrated within two construction-related revenue streams, Local Authority Works and Fire Works, and did not reflect performance across the business as a whole. The Company's compliance activities, particularly in legionella and water hygiene services, continued to grow during the year.
Revenue stream | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
LA/HA Project Works | £3,428,073 | £1,719,918 | -49.8% |
Fire works | £2,555,571 | £1,849,564 | -27.6% |
Legionella works | £727,438 | £846,842 | +16.4% |
Legionella contract works | £357,161 | £378,810 | +6.1% |
The two project-based revenue streams declined by £2.4 million during the year. By contrast, legionella and water hygiene compliance services increased by £141,053, demonstrating continued demand for these services despite wider market challenges.
Regulatory approval delays
During 2025, significant delays in the approval process affected the commencement of projects across the sector. Gateway 2 approvals were taking substantially longer than the statutory 12-week target, preventing clients from progressing developments and delaying projects for which the Company had already secured work. As a result, a number of contracts that had been tendered, awarded and scheduled could not begin as originally planned.
Impact Project Works
A substantial proportion of the Company’s Fire Works revenue is generated from fire stopping and passive fire protection services delivered as part of construction and remediation projects. Many of these projects are now subject to Building Safety Regulator approval under the gateway regime introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022. Within the Local Authority Project Works, we saw client capital programmes being deferred, re-phased or withdrawn due to the delays. This reduced the flow of replacement work as existing secured projects completed.
Effect on work in progress
The effect is visible in the Company’s balance sheet, where work in progress fell from £869,722 to £437,543 over the year as secured work was completed and not replaced at the same rate.
Cost Base and Restructuring
The loss reported for the year reflects the speed and scale of the reduction in revenue. While turnover fell by 31.8%, direct costs reduced by only 3.6% and overheads increased by 1.7%.
The Company operates within specialist technical markets and relies on a skilled, accredited workforce that cannot be expanded or reduced without consequence. During much of the year, the Board maintained capacity to meet existing contractual commitments and to service the significant volume of work awaiting release from the regulatory approval process.
As it became clear that delays would extend beyond the year end, measures were taken to reduce costs and align the business with anticipated demand. The Company incurred £53,323 of redundancy and other non-recurring restructuring costs, and the vehicle fleet was significantly reduced, with motor vehicle net book value decreasing from £458,897 to £274,408. Despite the loss recorded during the year, net assets remained positive at £510,321 as at 31 December 2025.
Strategy for 2026
The Board's focus for 2026 is to continue increasing the proportion of revenue generated from recurring compliance services while reducing reliance on project-based construction activity.
This includes the expansion of testing, inspection, certification and compliance services, including legionella risk assessments, water hygiene monitoring and sampling, tank inspection and cleaning, fire risk assessments and related statutory compliance services. These activities are generally delivered under multi-year arrangements and provide a more predictable and recurring revenue base.
The Company will continue to undertake project work where opportunities meet the required commercial and operational criteria. However, a key objective is to reduce the proportion of turnover dependent on construction programmes and external approval processes over which the Company has limited influence.
This approach builds on areas where the Company has demonstrated resilience and growth. The compliance division is supported by established technical expertise, recognised accreditations and long-standing client relationships. The performance achieved during 2025 reinforces the strength of this part of the business and its importance to the Company's future development.
Outlook
The Board does not expect an immediate improvement in market conditions. Delays within the gateway approval process continue to affect construction activity, and projects released from the system require additional time before reaching stages at which the Company's services are required.
Accordingly, trading conditions within the construction-related segments of the business are expected to remain challenging for much of 2026, and the Company is likely to remain loss-making during the first half of the year. Current trading is consistent with those expectations, and forecasts have been prepared on a prudent basis.
There are, however, encouraging signs. The cost reduction measures implemented during 2025 have improved performance, and monthly losses have reduced significantly compared with the final quarter of the year. Demand for compliance services has remained strong, with legionella-related revenues continuing to grow during the early part of 2026 despite ongoing weakness in construction-led activities.
While the challenges experienced in 2025 were largely driven by external factors, the actions taken by the Board have repositioned the business towards more predictable and recurring sources of income. The Board believes this strategy will strengthen the Company's resilience, improve earnings visibility and provide a more sustainable platform for future growth.
LegionellaSafe Services (UK) Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Britannia House, Britannia Way, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9UY.
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 company recognises revenue from the following major sources:
Environmental health service
The nature, timing of satisfaction of performance obligations and significant payment terms of the company's major sources of revenue are as follows:
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, 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 liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.
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.
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.
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.
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.
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.
During this year it was not necessary for the directors to make any material critical judgements or estimations.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
The company has used the exemption granted under FRS 102 section 33.1A, being that related party disclosures do not need to be given of transactions entered into between two or more members of a group, provided that any subsidiary which is party to the transaction is wholly owned by such a member.
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