The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Headquartered in London, Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited operates globally having clients in the UK, the EU, the USA, Canada, PRC, South Korea and Japan.
Our mission is to make the future more human: inclusive, meaningful, beautiful and sustainable. We weave strategy, brand, and design to transform the companies who shape our world.
Our ambition is to be the world's most influential creative studio. We are unique because we design and build brands, products and services for the physical world.
The Group has two trading subsidiaries: Forpeople Limited (est. 2004) in London, UK and Forpeople BV (est. 2018) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Through both companies, we operate in many industry sectors, most notably:
• Health, Performance Apparel, Beauty
• Automotive, Rail, Aviation, Personal Mobility
• FMCG, Future Food, Financial Services, Material Technology, Sustainable Energy
• Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Furniture
• Retail, Hospitality, Placemaking
The main work types are strategic visioning, brand creation / development and the detailed design and specification of all aspects of the future physical and digital customer experience.
Fee-for-service is the predominant revenue type, and the USA is our most significant market.
Key moments
2025, our first full year as an employee-owned group, was a challenging year. It began with our long-serving Global Finance Director deciding it was time to move on.
Q1 saw stronger than average revenues but was significantly below expectations for new engagements. The effect of US trade tariffs became clearly felt. Some clients had to cancel projects. This led to a poor Q2, a concerning H2 outlook and, consequently, the 2025 Budget being missed.
It became evident a re-forecast would be required, and strategic plans were put on hold. The CEO resigned.
The Group Board undertook to fill this gap on an interim basis with the intent to maintain stability in the existing Global Leadership Team; re-focusing them and re-budgeting with costs in line with sales and the clear objective of retaining people.
In the remainder of the year there was a significant improvement in new business development outcomes, in part by significantly reworking qualification criteria and increasing strategic input to responses, which doubled our annual Pitch Win rate, setting a new benchmark to further improve upon.
Ultimately, we were pleased to meet the original 2025 budget in Amsterdam and the H2 2025 re-forecast budget in London.
The improvement in performance was sufficient to meet the repayment obligations of the Trust Board as well as distribute a bonus to all employees.
During the year the Global Leadership Team had worked to significantly boost reputation, redesign the team performance development system and dramatically tighten our cost base.
At the end of the year the Group Board appointed an exceptional new Global Finance Director, with significant agency experience and ability to model and analyse future opportunities.
The Group Board also committed to the exploration of further revisions to Global Leadership to achieve Group growth in 2026.
Trading, London
Compared with the prior year we were very successful in adding new clients, 12 in total. We attribute this to increased pitch success and a return on our ongoing reputation investment.
FMCG sector activity remained steady. Personal Care, Apparel and Sports Performance dropped slightly by 4%.
By showing up more often in the regions our expertise and reputation was strongest we were able to add significant new opportunities. Especially in the Finance, Hospitality and Automotive sectors.
2025 saw us working with 3 new automotive clients and it was encouraging that each of these opportunities had a potential pipeline of future business.
Our Furniture division continued its steady growth receiving revenue from royalties. We were particularly delighted by the news that the Keyn chair range would return to the MillerKnoll catalogue.
Significant progress was made including confirming 3 new seating programs and lighting design programs with manufacturers in North America and Asia. This added fees and advances to our revenue.
Forpeople Ltd also continued work with Amble SA, the exciting Portuguese based EV start-up.
Despite the challenges of the early part of the year, studio revenue remained stable on the prior year, but the studio’s growth expectations were significantly missed. However, through the Global Leadership Team’s work, margin was a reasonably healthy 9%.
Trading, Amsterdam
Despite the trend in London, the studio in Amsterdam was very strong in the first half of the year. Sales were on target and the appointment of a new Creative Director allowed us to strengthen the relationships with key clients.
Despite a reduction in start-up clients due to the availability of funding in this sector being low and its cost high, new business development was strong with 7 new clients added. We were also able to utilise key team members on projects for the London studio.
In the second half of the year reorganisations at two key clients impacted momentum, but by the end of the year stability had returned. Revenue was slightly up on the prior year, and the studio was very close to delivering its budget. Margin was 5%, a significant improvement over 2024 which was loss making.
People
We maintained our high staff engagement score and established the areas staff wanted to see most action on in the coming year - this formed part of the leadership objectives for 2026.
Global headcount remained reasonably stable, despite some volatile trading conditions, 11 people joined and 18 people left.
Leadership
At the end of 2025 we replaced our Global Finance Director but given the depth of the leadership function we did not feel the need to replace the CEO role.
The Group Board met monthly and worked with the Global Leadership Team. We were well supported by our long-standing commercial legal, corporate legal and accounting partners.
Representatives of the Group’s shareholders were kept up to date at quarterly Board of Trustee meetings.
By the end of the year, we felt leadership churn had been managed and we were confident in having the correct functionality, expertise and stewardship for 2026.
Reputation
Our reputation development initiative continued in 2025. A significant increase in activity facilitated by a change of PR partner made a tangible difference.
The highlights being: 2 key launches and 37 key media coverage / articles, particularly in key markets: USA and PRC.
Social media engagement also improved, growing followers 17% to 17,900 on LinkedIn and 4,800 on Instagram by the end of the year.
Forgood
The employee-led Forgood initiative has a broad and engaged leadership committee. They conceived and managed many initiatives and reported on these on a quarterly basis.
Our educational outreach and engagement continued to be outstanding. We were able to provide 31 meaningful student work experiences. In the last year 4 of our staff undertook coaching and mentoring qualifications to support this.
We continued The Kay Knights Bursary to assist young people, entering the field of human resources, with professional development sponsorship.
Regular donations were made to local, national and global charities.
Pro bono
It was our pleasure to undertake significant pro bono work for Tree Aid, an organisation partnering with communities across Africa since 1987, harnessing the power of trees to restore ecosystems, build sustainable livelihoods and drive climate action. This re-brand and visual identity work is scheduled to launch in early 2026.
Toward the end of the year, still having capacity to work with other partners, we were active in exploring further opportunities for 2026.
B-Corp and other accreditations
Work continued in 2025 to further improve our B-Corp score. This substantially increased after October 2024 when the company became employee owned. Next year we will begin working to the latest B-Corp criteria, with re-certification due in 2027.
We invested in developing further sustainability insight, understanding and capability, and we ensure this is shared, applied to our deliverables and makes a difference to our people, clients, their end users and the environment.
In 2025 we also achieved EcoVadis accreditation. This was a result of our commitment to these principles and a desire to maintain a competitive distinction when seeking opportunities from European businesses.
Employee ownership
As the Group is now employee-owned, the Board of Trustees, which includes elected employee trustee directors, now had oversight of budgets, group strategy and progress on objectives. The Board of Trustees was also an effective forum to reflect on shareholder insights and communications.
The Group now produces a quarterly newsletter reporting on process, initiatives and outcomes and conducts ‘all-hands’ meetings every 6-weeks to cover company news, commercial performance and creative highlights.
The Board of Trustees approved payment of bonus to all employees, under UK EOT rules, in March 2025.
Conclusion
London’s revenue fell for the second year by 8% (we saw a 4% reduction in the prior year) in contrast Amsterdam revenue recovered from the prior year increasing by 40% (in contrast to a 20% reduction in the prior year). The year's margins were 9% profit in London (11% prior year) and 5% profit in Amsterdam, which had made a loss in the prior year.
At Group level, revenue decreased by just under 1% (2% decrease in the prior year), however overall margin increased to 9% profit (8% profit in the prior year).
Across the Group, the volume of business decreased slightly. The sectors from which this came altered somewhat due to key new business wins although the work type variety was mostly consistent with the prior year. It was clear the manufacturing businesses were having to make major and time-consuming revisions to their plans in response to US trade tariffs.
Some initiatives put in place to move the commercial needle in 2024 were not effective.
Group profits were however supported by efforts to get spending back on track and more focus had to be placed on reducing inefficiency, finding ways to doing more with less and improving recovery rates. There were some personnel and exceptional costs associated with this.
Trading success in H2 2025 and securing significant further business for Q1 2026 were encouraging signs this would prove an effective foundation to build on, and a new three-year growth strategy is now the Group Leadership Team’s immediate priority.
Key Performance Indicators
We carefully monitor a variety of key performance indicators from rate of inbound enquiries to pitch success; from sales pipeline quality to conversion rate; from consultant utilisation to profit per head; from recovery rate to client profitability as well as other useful metrics such as staff cost to revenue ratio, working capital and cash coverage:
• Inbound enquiries continued to improve due to the investment in reputation development. We received a total of 25 credible RFIs, pitch invites and notable project opportunities that could be attributed directly to our increased profile
• Pitch success rate improved from 27% in 2024 to 47% in 2025
• By the end of the year, pipeline scale and quality were both equivalent to the prior year
• Average conversion rate for current clients was good, indicating strong relationships
• Improving consultant utilisation rate is still a key aim - we make continuing efforts to develop an adaptable team and a future pipeline of diverse and productive business opportunities
• Profit per head increased this year - principally due to the return to profitability of the Amsterdam studio
• Recovery rate for most clients was healthy - achieved through accurate proposals and professional project management. Start-up clients can be challenging in this respect, but risks can be mitigated by limiting the quantity of start-up engagements
• Staff cost ratio at 66% (including consultants and freelancers) remained above the target range, however the ratio improved significantly in H2 2025, and the new methodologies will continue to benefit in future years
Principal risks and uncertainties
New ways of working, AI, raised social consciousness, new consumer habits and preferences have all driven enormous industry change. Cost of living, trade tariffs and conflicts have led to market uncertainty.
Remaining buoyant and adaptable in the face of this context is critical.
In addition, the following elements must be actively managed, by leadership, to reduce risk:
• Reputation and opportunity expansion
• Conversion rate improvement
• Revenue growth
• Margin improvement
And ongoing digital challenges are:
• Increasing software costs
• Ensuring clients respect the value and limitations of AI in the creative process
On behalf of the board
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
Ordinary dividends were paid amounting to £216,375 (2024: £5,814,136). The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.
In accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, the directors have reappointed Moore Kingston Smith LLP as auditor of the company.
United Kingdom company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the directors have elected to prepare the group and parent company 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 group and parent company, and of the profit or loss of the group 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;
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 group and parent company will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the group’s and parent company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the group and parent 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 group and parent company, and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
We have audited the financial statements of Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise the Group Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Group Balance Sheet, the Company Balance Sheet, the Group Statement of Changes in Equity, the Company Statement of Changes in Equity, the Group 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 group's and parent 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 year 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.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.
Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the group's or the parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the group or the parent company to cease to continue as a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including
fraud
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 below.
The objectives of our audit in respect of 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 to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the company.
Our approach was as follows:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council, and UK taxation legislation.
We obtained an understanding of how the company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of noncompliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are 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. Also, 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 concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the parent 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 parent 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 parent company and the parent company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
As permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the company has not presented its own profit and loss account and related notes. The company’s profit for the year was £155,028 (2024 - £5,827,410 profit).
Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited (“the company”) is a private limited company domiciled and incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 1 Pickle Mews, London, SW9 0FJ.
The group consists of Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited and all of its subsidiaries.
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.
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.
Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited acquired Forpeople Limited on 4 June 2024 through a share-for-share exchange. As the ultimate owners of the group remained the same, this reconstruction was accounted for using the merger accounting principles set out in FRS102. The results of the reconstructed group are therefore presented as though the new structure had always been in existence.
The consolidated financial statements incorporate those of Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited and all of its subsidiaries (i.e. entities that the Group controls through its power to govern the financial and operating policies so as to obtain economic benefits).
All financial statements are made up to 31 December 2025. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by other members of the group.
All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.
The company is a qualifying entity as defined within FRS 102 and has taken advantage of the disclosure exemptions available to it in accordance with FRS 102 paragraphs 1.11 and 1.12, on the basis that the consolidated financial statements are prepared for public use and include the results of all subsidiaries.
As a qualifying entity, the company has taken advantage of the following exemptions:
It has not presented a statement of cash flows for the parent company;
It has not disclosed related party transactions with wholly owned subsidiaries within the group;
It has not presented a parent company profit and loss account as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 (if applicable)
Subsidiaries are consolidated in the group’s financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases.
At the balance sheet date, the group had made a profit for the year of £841,959 (2024: £665,770) and had net assets of £4,891,076 (2024: £4,266,026).
At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have considered forecasts covering a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval, including profit and loss and cash flow projections. These forecasts reflect actual results to July 2026 and reasonable assumptions for the remainder of the forecast period. Based on this assessment, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Fee income represents revenue earned under a wide variety of contracts to provide professional services. Revenue is recognised as earned when, and to the extent that, the firm obtains the right to consideration in exchange for its performance under these contracts. It is measured at the fair value of the right to consideration, which represents amounts chargeable to clients, including expenses and disbursements but excluding value added tax.
Revenue is generally recognised as contract activity progresses so that for incomplete contracts it reflects the partial performance of the contractual obligations. For such contracts the amount of revenue reflects the accrual of the right to consideration by reference to the value of work performed. Revenue not billed to clients is included in debtors and payments on account in excess of the relevant amount of revenue are included in creditors.
Fee income that is contingent on events outside the control of the firm is recognised when the contingent event occurs.
Research expenditure is written off against profits in the year in which it is incurred. Identifiable development expenditure is capitalised to the extent that the technical, commercial and financial feasibility can be demonstrated.
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 recognised in the profit and loss account.
In the parent company financial statements, investments in subsidiaries are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the group. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
At each reporting period end date, the group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible 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 group 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 group's balance sheet when the group becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and 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.
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, 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 group 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.
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 group 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.
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 group's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Equity instruments issued by the group 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 group.
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 group’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 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.
Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at fair value at the date of grant by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted using the Black-Scholes model. The fair value determined at the grant date is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the estimate of shares that will eventually vest. A corresponding adjustment is made to equity.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.
In the application of the group’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.
The estimates and assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities are as follows.
Revenue from contracts is assessed on an individual basis with revenue earned being ascertained based on the stage of completion of the contract which is estimated using a combination of contract phases and the time spent to date compared to the total time expected to be required to undertake the contract. Estimates of the total time required to undertake the contracts are made on a regular basis and subject to management review. These estimates may differ from the actual results due to a variety of factors such as efficiency of working, accuracy of assessment of progress to date and client decision making.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the group and company during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
The actual charge for the year can be reconciled to the expected charge for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:
Details of the company's subsidiaries at 31 December 2025 are as follows:
The provision relates to dilapidations of the leased property at 1 Pickle Mews, London, SW9 0FJ.
The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the group and company, and movements thereon:
A defined contribution pension scheme is operated for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund.
During the prior year, Forpeople Limited transferred its obligations under the existing Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share option scheme to its parent company, Forpeople Group (Holdings) Limited.
As a result of this transfer, Forpeople Limited no longer holds any obligation or liability in respect of the EMI scheme as at the reporting date. All outstanding options under the scheme are now settled by the parent company, and the parent is responsible for any future accounting and disclosures relating to the share-based payments.
Following the transfer, no further expense or liability is recognised by the company in relation to the scheme.
At the reporting end date the group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The group has taken the exemption available under FRS102 section 33.1A and not disclosed transactions with 100% group companies.
During the year, the group paid £96,775 (2024: £254,468 to Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, a related due to common control by a director of the company. There was £20,010 (2024: £nil) of creditors owed at year end.
During the year, the group made sales of £64,206 (2024: £313,047) to Amble, S.A. an associate investment. There was £167,382 (2024: £246,386 ) of debtors owed at year end. Of the debtors owed at year end, £167,382 (2024: £167,382) has been provided for in the form of bad debt.
On 29th January 2026, the Group paid a distribution of £216,000 to the Forpeople Employee Shareholder Trust in accordance with the terms of the acquisition agreement.