|
Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
CONTENTS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
Page 1
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
The director presents the strategic report for the year ended 31 March 2025 for Wedgwood FIC Limited (“WFIC”) and its subsidiaries (the “group”). WFIC is a private company limited by shares and serves as the parent of the Wedgwood Group who hold long term unlisted investments, incorporating two wholly owned subsidiaries and an 85.65% interest in Supernova Group (“SNG”), a trading group operating in the video games and gaming events sector. The group’s activities span investment management, video game development, publishing related royalty income, and event operations in the gaming and Esports market.
WFIC’s principal activity is the management of its investment portfolio, which consists of a variety of unlisted investments and the group’s investment in SNG. During the year WFIC disposed of its listed investments held within its Coutts portfolio and simultaneously repaid the Lombard lending facilities. WFIC does not undertake trading activities and has no employees. SNG operates internationally through multiple subsidiaries and is consolidated due to the group’s controlling interest. SNG generates revenues primarily through the sale of games and royalties, as well as through ticket sales and commercial exhibition income from gaming events. WFIC has two other direct subsidiaries, Wedgwood Family Office Limited ("WFO") and Wedgwood Media Limited ("WML"). WFO functions as a holding company for the group's employees, recharging costs as needed to the other members of the group. WML is currently dormant.
Turnover reduced to £1.80m from £4.29m, principally reflecting lower events income following the closure of the events business and the timing and performance of game-related income. The group recorded an operating loss of £4.57m, including an exceptional impairment charge of £0.30m relating to intangible assets used in its gaming activities. This was partly offset below operating profit by a £0.95m uplift in the value of unlisted investments during the year, although the property valuation has subsequently decreased since the year-end as a result of geopolitical and global economic events. Furthermore, a £2.38m gain arose during the year on the deconsolidation of subsidiaries placed into liquidation. After finance costs and taxation, the group recorded a loss for the year of £1.18m compared to a loss of £12.8m in 2024. The result reflects a decline in revenue, combined with the streamlining of the group's activities.
WFIC’s own activities remain investment focused, with performance driven primarily by changes in the underlying value and realised income from disposal of its managed portfolio in the year. WFIC continues to adopt a long-term investment horizon and a diversified asset allocation, on its remaining investment assets.
Return on Investment (ROI) remains the primary financial measure used by the group to assess long-term value creation. As an investment-led organisation, overall capital growth through WFIC’s investment portfolio and its majority interest in the SNG is the key determinant of performance and is monitored throughout the year.
Alongside ROI, the group also considers a number of additional financial metrics which provide insight into short-term trading performance, liquidity and overall financial health. These indicators support the group’s monthly management reviews and help inform decisions around investment planning, development resourcing and cash flow management. The main financial metrics considered during the year were:
∙Revenue, which totalled £1.80m (2024: £4.29m). From the group's perspective, this movement reflects the natural variability in game performance and the timing of releases within the development portfolio.
∙The operating loss was £4.57m (2024: £15.69m). The reduction reflects the restructuring of the group, lower staff and administrative costs, and the cessation of loss-making activities. The group nevertheless continued to incur direct development and publishing costs, together with impairment charges relating to certain gaming assets.
Page 2
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Financial key performance indicators (continued)
∙Liquidity, assessed through the position of £120k in cash at year end (2024: £1.37m cash and £15.39m overdraft). The group continued to manage cash resources carefully, balancing development spend with available facilities.
∙Net assets were £28.64m at 31 March 2025, compared with £29.82m at 31 March 2024. The reduction principally reflects the loss for the year, after taking account of the uplift in unlisted investments, gains arising on subsidiary disposals and the related tax movements.
These measures are reviewed by the group on a monthly basis, providing management with clear visibility over financial performance, funding requirements and project delivery, while ROI continues to guide long-term strategic decisions.
The director and senior management regularly review the group’s risk profile. The principal risks and uncertainties are summarised below.
Market and commercial risk
The video games market is highly competitive and dependent on consumer sentiment, platform algorithms and global entertainment trends. Sales performance for individual titles can vary significantly, influencing royalty income and the recoverability of development expenditure. The group mitigates these risks through portfolio diversification and regular project assessment.
The unlisted investment performance are tied to geopolitical and current market movements, the group mitigates these risks by having a varied investment portfolio.
Events-based revenues remain sensitive to wider economic conditions, discretionary spending, and venue driven cost movements
Development risk
Capitalised development expenditure is subject to estimates regarding technical feasibility, budgeted cost, title launch dates and projected demand. Titles demonstrating weaker early indicators are subject to impairment review. The group enhances oversight through structured milestone reviews and commercial modelling.
Foreign exchange risk
While the group operates in Sterling across most entities, a significant portion of its trade and funding is from international sources. Exposure to exchange rate fluctuations affects both results and net assets. The group monitors exposures but does not currently utilise hedging instruments.
Inflationary risk
Staffing costs, subcontractor rates and event delivery costs continue to face inflationary pressure. Management continually reviews supplier contracts and cost structures to mitigate these effects.
Liquidity risk
The group is supported by the parent entity, WFIC, and ultimately by the beneficial owner. Cash flow management remains a priority due to the project-based nature of development cycles.
Operational and regulatory risk
The group is subject to data protection compliance, including GDPR, and operates appropriate procedures across the business. No significant regulatory matters currently affect underlying operations.
Cyber security risk
As a digital-focused group, SNG faces ongoing cyber and data integrity risks. The group invests in appropriate IT controls, security training and monitoring systems.
Page 3
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Subsequent to the year end, the director of the group approved a restructuring involving the Group's subsidiary undertaking, Supernova Capital LLP with a view to streamlining the group's activities. As part of the restructuring, it is intended that the assets, operations and certain activities currently held within Supernova Capital LLP will be reorganised within the current group structure. While a decision has formally been taken to cease activities of the LLP and agreed between its members, the implementation of the reorganisation is ongoing. When completed, Supernova Capital LLP is expected to cease trading and be wound-up. The director currently expects Supernova Capital LLP to be dissolved within the next 12 months.
As the restructuring was approved after the reporting date, no adjustments have been made to the amounts recognised in these financial statements. The director is currently assessing the financial effects of the restructuring, including the impact on the Group's future results, net assets and non-controlling interests. At the date of approval of these financial statements, the full financial effect of the reorganisation cannot be reliably quantified. Subsequent to the year end, Little Red Dog Games Limited, a subsidiary undertaking of the group, was dissolved on 14 October 2025.
The company has made a loss in the current year of £2,051,479 (2024: £10,724,770) but has net assets of £27,950,605 (2024: £30,002,084) at the balance sheet date. The group made a loss for the year of £1,176,225 (2024: £13,144,771), of which £1,076,667 (2024: £11,412,548) was attributable to owners of the parent company and has net assets, excluding non-controlling interests, of £32,530,966 (2024: £33,607,633) at the balance sheet date. There are short-term pressures on group cash flows and therefore the company and group are reliant upon the support of its beneficial owner, who has provided a letter of support to the director of the company and wider group confirming he will provide financial support to the company and wider group for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Should the ultimate beneficial owner not be able to provide support to the company and wider group, then these circumstances indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast doubt over the ability of the company and wider group to continue as a going concern.
The director, who is also the beneficial owner, has a reasonable expectation that he will continue to be able to provide financial support to the company and group for the foreseeable future, to enable it to meet its liabilities as they fall due. Accordingly, the director has adopted the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
The wider video games industry continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by increasing consumer appetite for high quality independent titles, greater accessibility through digital distribution platforms, and ongoing technological developments in game engines and production tools. Market conditions remain competitive, with success increasingly dependent on distinctive creative direction, disciplined project execution and strong community engagement. Against this backdrop, established mid-sized developers with focused portfolios are well positioned to benefit from continued demand for innovative games and diversified revenue streams.
The group expects these trends to persist, with further growth in digital storefronts, heightened importance of post-launch support, and ongoing consolidation in parts of the sector. As such, the group remains committed to supporting the development and release of titles within the SNG that demonstrate strong commercial potential and sustainable development pathways. The group will continue to monitor market shifts, platform opportunities and player behaviour to inform project prioritisation and long-term planning. From an internal perspective, the group will continue to refine and streamline its structure where appropriate, with the liquidation of two subsidiaries during the year, the dissolution of one subsidiary and a further subsidiary dissolved post year end.
Page 4
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
Page 5
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
The director presents his report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The consolidated loss for the financial year was £1,176,225 (2024: £13,144,771), of which £1,076,667 (2024: £11,412,548) was attributable to owners of the parent company.
The director does not recommend the payment of a dividend (2024 - £nil).
The director who served during the year was:
The group operated internationally in the year, during the period it had operations in three countries; the UK, France and United States. The French entity entered liquidation on 3 April 2024 and did not trade between the beginning of the financial year and the date control ceased. The foreign operations are held through an investment of 85.65% in Supernova Capital LLP which holds the investments at 100% ownership. These entities included within the consolidated financial statements are detailed further in note 15 to the financial statements.
The group undertakes ongoing research and development activities in connection with the creation and enhancement of video game titles. Development work includes concept design, prototyping and technical build, with expenditure capitalised where it meets the criteria under FRS 102 and assessed for feasibility and commercial potential.
As permitted by s414c(11) of the Companies Act 2006, the director has elected to disclose information, required to be in the director's report by Schedule 7 of the 'Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008', in the strategic report.
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
Page 6
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
The director is responsible for preparing the group strategic report, the director's report and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the director to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the director has elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'. Under company law the director must not approve the financial statements unless he is satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the group and of the profit or loss of the group for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the director is required to:
∙select suitable accounting policies for the group's financial statements and then apply them consistently;
∙make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
∙prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group will continue in business.
The director is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and the group and to enable him to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. He is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Page 7
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
We have audited the financial statements of Wedgwood FIC Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 March 2025, which comprise the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated balance sheet, the company balance sheet, the consolidated statement of changes in equity, the company statement of changes in equity, the consolidated statement of cash flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
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 group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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.
We draw attention to note 2.4 in the financial statements, which indicates that the director has a reasonable expectation that he will continue to be able to provide financial support to the group. However, if he is unable to provide sufficient financial support to the group, these circumstances indicate the existence of a material uncertainty, which may cast doubt over the ability of the company and group to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the director's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Our evaluation of the director's assessment of the company and group's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting included reviewing post year end management accounts and forecasts.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the director with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Page 8
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The director is 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.
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
∙the information given in the group strategic report and the director's report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
∙the group strategic report and the director's report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the group strategic report or the director's report.
Page 9
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
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 group 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:
∙the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
∙we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with the director and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the group's sectors;
∙we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the group, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and other relevant legislation;
∙we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
∙identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the group and company's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
∙making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
∙considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
∙performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
∙reviewed journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
∙assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
∙investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
∙agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
∙reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
∙enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
Page 10
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the director and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's 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.
for and on behalf of
Chartered Accountants
Statutory Auditor
16 Great Queen Street
Covent Garden
WC2B 5AH
Page 11
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Page 12
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2025
Page 13
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED)
AS AT 31 MARCH 2025
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 20 to 43 form part of these financial statements.
Page 14
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEDGWOOD FIC LIMITED
COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2025
The company's loss for the year was £2,051,479 (2024 - £10,724,770).
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 20 to 43 form part of these financial statements.
Page 15
|