The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 January 2026.

As a poultry processor, the company continues to supply fresh and frozen poultry products, primarily to a range of wholesale customers across the UK. The financial results for the year ended 31 January 2026, presented on page 9, show an increase in turnover accompanied by a rise in gross profit margin from 17.76% to 23.29%. These improvements are mainly attributable to higher selling prices achieved during the year, supported by increased throughput of chickens.

Price risk

The poultry market is highly sensitive to sudden fluctuations in supply and demand, driven by factors such as bird shortages or oversupply, the availability and pricing of foreign imports, and shifts in customer demand, all of which are difficult to predict. As a result, the market remains highly competitive, making forward planning increasingly challenging.

Insolvency risk

Ongoing reviews of management accounts for the upcoming financial year indicate improved profitability compared to the same period in the previous year. The company expects to remain profitable over the next 12 months, supported by higher selling prices achieved to date. Accordingly, the going concern basis continues to be appropriate in the preparation of the annual financial statements.

Legislation risk

All new and proposed legislation affecting the business is routinely reviewed to ensure compliance. The company remains committed to proactively adapting to regulatory changes and upholding all legal requirements.

Credit risk

The company’s credit risk primarily relates to its trade debtors. To mitigate this risk, the company conducts thorough credit checks on all new customers to assess their financial stability and creditworthiness. In addition, credit limits are set and regularly reviewed for existing customers based on payment history and current financial information. To further reduce exposure, the company has taken out credit insurance to protect against potential defaults.

The directors continue to monitor the performance of the company, its employees, customers and suppliers and to take action when that performance fails to meet up to expectations.

The key performance indicators are:

A director of a company must act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefits of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard (amongst other matter) to factors (a) to (f).

(a) the likely consequences of any decision in the long term,

(b) the interest of the company's employees,

(c) the need to foster the company's business relationships with suppliers, customers and others,

(d) the impact of the company's operations on the community and environment,

(e) the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct, and

(f) the need to act fairly as between members of the company.

This is ultimately a family owned company with no exterior members, directors or investors. The aim of the directors is to continue to operate a successful business ultimately for the benefit of the Bird family.

The company provides employment for 219 people in various roles, including many long term staff with a wealth of experience. The directors recognise the importance of providing adequate training and a safe working environment.

The company has built long standing relationships with a number of suppliers over many years and works closely with these, notably the chicken growers, all of which are UK based.

Similarly, the company has many long standing customers with whom they have traded for many years.

The directors are aware of the potential impact on the local community and have made every effort to minimise this.

The company's operations are subject to numerous regulations regarding all aspects of its operations and has an annual audit which ensures compliance with the BRC (British Retail Consortium) global standards in food safety. Although certification is not compulsory, it is an accepted standard and at the last reporting date the company received an AA grade.

On behalf of the board

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2026.

The results for the year are set out on page 9.

Ordinary dividends were paid amounting to £4,825,000. The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.

The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:

Waters and Atkinson are deemed to be re-appointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

We are obliged to report UK energy consumption in accordance with the Companies (Directors' Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018.

We have followed the 2019 HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines. We have also used the GHG Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard and have used the 2025 UK Government’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.

The chosen intensity measurement ratio is Tonnes of CO2e per total £m sales revenue.

Continual investment in processing and infrastructure that has delivered greater energy efficiency in the business.

The directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

The directors' notes on business relationships are shown in the strategic report as part of the section 172(1) statement.

So far as each person who was a director at the date of approving this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware. Additionally, the directors individually have taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information.

We have audited the financial statements of Frank Bird (Poultry) Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 January 2026 which comprise the statement of income and retained earnings, the balance sheet 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 January 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's 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.

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 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

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

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.

In the light of the 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 or the directors' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which 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.

As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement, 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.

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 below.

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:

-the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance;

-results of our inquiries of management and assessment of the risks of irregularities;

-any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the company's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:

-identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether management were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

-detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether management have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;

-the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations and

-the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.

As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas:

-Posting of unusual journals and complex transactions

In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.

We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. We considered the following areas:

-UK Companies Act

-Tax legislation

-Latest BRC (British Retail Consortium) audit

-Reviewing any potential Avian Influenza Prevention Zones

As a result of performing the above, we did not identify any key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud.

In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

-reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements;

-performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;

-in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we assessed whether the judgements made in making the accounting estimates are indicative of potential bias, and evaluated the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business;

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

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 or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://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.

Frank Bird (Poultry) Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Underlyne, Langwathby, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 1NB.

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. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

This company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements:

• Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;

The financial statements of the company are consolidated in the financial statements of F and N One Limited.

The company's accounting reference date is the 31st January and this year the company has elected to prepare accounts up to this date. Last year, the company elected to prepare accounts up to 1st February 2025.

Atruet the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.

The company recognises revenue from the following major sources:

• Sale of poultry

• Canteen income

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:

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.

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition.

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

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 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.

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 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 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 company operates a defined contribution scheme. Contributions payable to the company's pension scheme are charged to profit or loss in the period to which they relate for all qualifying employees.

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 leases asset are consumed.

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.

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.

Trade and other debtors are recognised to the extent they are judged recoverable. Management reviews are performed to estimate the level of reserves required for irrecoverable debt. Provisions are made specifically against invoices where recoverability is uncertain.

Management have reviewed the asset lives and associated residual values of all tangible fixed asset classes and have concluded that asset lives and residual values are appropriate.

At each balance sheet date, management undertake an assessment of the costs which have not yet been invoiced based upon their contractual arrangements and include appropriate provisions for these costs.

Estimates for provisions for slow moving or obsolete stock are made by management. The valuation of stock requires the application of judgement. These are based on assumptions and values and reflect historical experience and current trends.

This relates wholly to the company's guarantee of the Paul Bird Motorsport Limited bank overdraft.

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the 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:

The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the company:

The deferred tax liability set out above is expected to reverse within 12 months and relates to accelerated capital allowances that are expected to mature within the same period.

This company is a wholly owned subsidiary of F and N Holdings Limited. This in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of F and N One Limited, a company registered in England and Wales which is the ultimate holding company and is controlled by the director Frank Bird.    

Amounts contracted for but not provided in the financial statements:

The directors current account is included within other debtors as shown in note 15 and relates to Frank Bird. During the year, this account was overdrawn to a maximum of £274,167 and interest was paid at the official rate. The loan account was repaid within nine months of the year end.

All directors of this company were also directors of Balingour Limited in the period. Frank Bird is also a director of the immediate parent company F and N Holdings Limited and of the ultimate holding company F and N One Limited.

Included in other debtors/creditors are amounts owed/due to companies of which Mr F Bird is the controlling party, namely: