Final Results

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended.  Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

8 May 2025

 

Lords Group Trading plc

('Lords', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

 

Final Results

 

'Well positioned for market recovery'

 

Lords (AIM:LORD), a leading distributor of building materials in the UK, today announces its Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2024 ('FY24' or the 'year').

 

FY24 Financial Performance

 

ADJUSTED RESULTS	FY24	FY23	Change
Revenue	£436.7m	£462.6m	(5.6)%
Adjusted EBITDA2	£22.4m	£26.8m	(16.5)%
Adjusted EBITDA excluding property gains	£20.6m	£26.6m	(22.5)%
Adjusted EBITDA margin	5.1%	5.8%	(70) bps
Adjusted operating profit3	£10.4m	£16.5m	(37.0)%
Adjusted profit before tax	£3.8m	£10.4m	(63.8)%
Adjusted basic earnings per share	1.85p	4.35p	(57.5)%
Total dividend per share	0.84p	2.00p	(58.0)%

 

STATUTORY RESULTS	FY24	FY23	Change
Revenue	£436.7m	£462.6m	(5.6)%
Operating profit	£4.3m	£9.1m	(53.1)%
(Loss)/profit before tax	£(2.6)m	£3.0m	-
Basic (loss)/earnings per share	(1.19)p	0.84p	-
Net debt4	£32.4m	£28.5m	+13.5%

 

FY24 Highlights

 

·      Merchanting like-for-like¹ revenue 3.6% lower; recovering strongly in H2 with revenue growth of 2.3% against prior year comparative period

·      Plumbing and Heating ('P&H') revenue 10.2% down in line with boiler volumes in the UK market

·      Strong growth in sales of renewable products, up 99% to £5.5 million, supported by the acquisition of Ultimate Renewables Supplies in October 2024

 

·      New exclusivity agreements with leading global boiler manufacturers (Navien) and Air Source Heat Pump producers (Clivet) broadening product range

·      Three new branch openings in 2025 to date

·      Further investment in Merchanting's digital team with website upgrades to improve customer experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentages are based on underlying, not rounded, figures.

¹ Like-for-like sales is a measure of growth in sales, adjusted for new, divested and acquired locations such that the periods over which the sales are being compared are consistent.

² Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA, inclusive of property gains and losses, (defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment charges) excluding adjusting items (note 5).

³ Inclusive of property gains and losses.

⁴ Net debt is cash less borrowings before lease liabilities at 31 December 2024 and is therefore stated prior to the H1 FY25 property sale and leaseback to realise cash proceeds of £13.1 million.

 

Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords, commented: "Against a challenging market backdrop in 2024, Lords delivered a resilient performance.  We continue to focus on what is within our control: managing costs, driving efficiencies, reducing debt and pragmatically supporting strategic initiatives to deliver organic and acquisitive growth.

 

"Whilst the strength and timing of the anticipated recovery in the UK construction market remains uncertain, the medium-term market drivers are positive.  The recent property transaction has strengthened our balance sheet and Lords is well positioned to invest in organic growth and selective acquisitions.  A strong start to FY25 gives the Board confidence of delivering an improved financial performance for the full year."

 

 

FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:

 

Lords Group Trading plc	Via Burson Buchanan
Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Stuart Kilpatrick, Chief Financial Officer
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)	Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500
Ben Jeynes / Dan Hodkinson (Corporate Finance)
Julian Morse / Henry Nicol / Charlie Combe (Sales and ECM)

 

Berenberg (Joint Broker) Matthew Armitt / Harry Nicholas / Detlir Elezi	Tel: +44 (0)20 3207 7800
Burson Buchanan	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Henry Harrison-Topham / Stephanie Whitmore / Abby Gilchrist	LGT@buchanan.uk.com

 

 

Notes to editors:

 

Lords is a specialist distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods. The Group principally sells to local tradesmen, small to medium sized plumbing and heating merchants, construction companies and retails directly to the general public.

 

The Group operates through the following two divisions:

 

Merchanting: supplies building materials and DIY goods through its network of merchant businesses and online platform capabilities. It operates both in the 'light side' (building materials and timber) and 'heavy side' (civils and landscaping), through 31 locations in the UK.

 

Plumbing and Heating: a specialist distributor in the UK of plumbing and heating products to a UK network of independent merchants, installers and the general public. The division offers its customers an attractive proposition through a multi-channel offering.  The division operates over 16 locations enabling nationwide next day delivery service.

 

Lords was established over 40 years ago as a family business with its first retail unit in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.  Since then, the Group has grown to a business operating from 47 sites.

 

 

 

Chairman's statement

 

We entered 2024 with some optimism, following a very difficult 2023 when high inflation and interest rates weighed on the housing market and our sector.  However, 2024 saw interest rates remain substantially higher than economists anticipated and the industry therefore continued to face a very difficult trading environment.

 

Lords has proved resilient, reflecting our defensive characteristics and in particular our focus on the repairs, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market, which is more protected in these conditions than new house builds. While low consumer confidence did affect demand for RMI products in 2024, notably on the improvement side, our Merchanting division outperformed the market in the second half of the year and this has continued into the first quarter of 2025.

 

In the face of persistent economic headwinds, we have focused on internal initiatives: preserving cash, reducing costs and maintaining our excellent customer service, which differentiates us in the market and protects our profitability. We have slowed our acquisition activity and, after careful consideration, we have scaled the dividend in line with earnings, while retaining our overall policy of paying a progressive dividend as the market recovers.  We have also continued to invest strategically, for example in our management team, our systems and technology, to drive productivity and efficiency and position us for the return to growth.

 

At the same time, we and other small and medium-sized businesses have continued to contend with broader challenges. These include significant rises in employers' National Insurance and the minimum wage, and an increasingly onerous regulatory environment, which takes up management time and adds to our costs.  We have also seen the continued outflow of liquidity from the UK equity market, resulting in companies being unable to raise new capital to invest.  This is a particular problem for AIM companies, which are also affected by changes to Inheritance Tax relief. We welcome meaningful action from the Government and targeted and proportional measures from regulators, to support economic growth and deliver a more prosperous future for the UK.

 

In spite of these issues, we are confident that we are in a strong position to gain from the recovery when it comes. Our strategy of investing in organic growth while consolidating the sector through selective acquisitions remains the right one, and we are aware of the opportunities that the last couple of difficult years will present going forward. With only 1% of the RMI market, there is significant potential for Lords to grow.  Following the recently announced property disposal, the Group has additional capital to support both organic and inorganic investment.

 

I also believe that the spirit, enthusiasm and hard work of our colleagues will ensure our continued success, alongside the entrepreneurial mindset that lives in the business, from the branches right the way through to the organisation. The Group has exceptional agility, which underpins our performance and will continue to do so. In closing, I want to thank all of our colleagues for their dedication during a difficult 12 months and our customers for their continued loyalty.

 

Gary O'Brien

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

7 May 2025

 

 

 

 

Chief Executive Officer's review

 

2024 was another challenging year for the Group and the industry. The UK economy has continued to feel the impact of high interest rates and the after-effects of double-digit inflation, and the Government's Budget did not inspire confidence for either businesses or consumers.  We have also faced headwinds such as rising business rates, while the introduction and subsequent deferral of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) substantially disrupted the boiler market, which is key for the Plumbing and Heating division.

 

In this environment, we have focused on positioning the business to outperform as the market recovers. The downturn has reinforced the importance of investing in our customer proposition, focusing even more on retaining and engaging our colleagues, and being measured in our actions.  While we are rigorous about managing our cost base, we will not cut costs at the expense of customer service, which is key to the way we compete and helps to protect our margins.  The market environment has also demonstrated that our devolved divisional structure works very well, with small teams who are highly motivated to perform and have ownership of their results.

 

Performance

Group revenue was £436.7 million in FY24, down 5.6% on the £462.6 million we achieved in FY23, which was a record year.

 

Our Merchanting business recovered well after a tough first half and delivered Like-for-Like ('LFL') growth in the second six months of the year, and particularly in the last quarter.  Specialist businesses A.W. Lumb and Advance Roofing had strong years.  Conditions for P&H were very challenging and its revenue declined by over 10%, in line with the wider boiler market. The CHMM had a major impact and we still do not have complete clarity about the Government's strategy for the energy transition.  Even so, there is no doubt that clean heating products are gaining traction and we have begun to tilt our business to take advantage of this opportunity (see the strategy section below).  Reflecting this, renewables revenue in P&H grew by 99%, to more than £5.5 million.

 

Adjusted EBITDA including property gains was 16.5% lower at £22.4 million (FY23: £26.8 million), with the adjusted EBITDA margin down 0.7 percentage points to 5.1% (FY23: 5.8%).  This reflects market conditions, lower volumes and the mix of products sold in the year.  Adjusted EBITDA excluding property gains was £20.6 million (2023: £26.6 million). We remain confident of increasing our EBITDA margin over the medium term and have several levers to do so, including operational leverage, growing our higher‑margin product lines, continued improvements to our productivity and efficiency and further accretive acquisitions.

 

The business remained soundly financed, with net debt at the year-end of £32.4 million (31 December 2023: £28.5 million).  We have significant liquidity, with headroom of £52.3 million in our facilities and £10.3 million of available cash as at 31 December 2024.  Nevertheless, lower profitability in FY24 reduced our operating cash flow, and the Board and management have been highly focused on maintaining our balance sheet strength, while making appropriate investments in our 3Ps of people, plant and premises, to support our customer proposition. In H1 FY25, the Company completed a sale and leaseback of four properties from which the Merchanting division operates for a cash consideration of £13.1 million.  The proceeds of the property sale have significantly reduced the Group's net debt position and resulted in a gain of £2.0 million.

 

Strategy

We continued to implement our strategy in FY24, while remaining flexible and adjusting our approach to the prevailing market conditions. Our strategic aim is to deliver margin‑accretive growth by opening new branches, extending our product range and expanding our digital revenues, through carefully targeted capital expenditure.

 

We also acquire businesses that add to our geographical presence and product range.  While a tough market can create more acquisition opportunities, we have been very disciplined in this respect, in part because we are wary of buying businesses with declining earnings in a falling market.  During 2024, we acquired Ultimate Renewables Supplies, a rapidly growing business for an initial consideration of £0.6 million.

 

New branches

We expanded our geographical presence in FY24, with Ultimate Renewables Supplies adding one branch in Bicester to P&H's network.  We also opened a new George Lines site in Maidstone just after the end of the year and continue to look for further locations for this business, as well as for specialist Merchanting businesses such as Advance Roofing and A.W. Lumb, with the latter having opened a new branch in Mansfield in April 2025. Opening Mr Central Heating branches also remains part of our plans.

 

However, market conditions and the time it takes for new branches to reach profitability meant it was sensible to pause this rollout in FY24, and we intend to resume it when the market recovers.

 

Product range extension

P&H signed a number of important distribution agreements in FY24, including exclusive arrangements with Navien, the world's largest boiler manufacturer, and Clivet, which produces air source heat pumps (AHSP). The relationship with Clivet, along with our purchase of Ultimate Renewables Supplies, shows our clear intent to grow in the renewables market.  Our new agreement with Termo Teknik adds radiators to APP's range, which are a natural fit and will help us to grow non-boiler revenues.

 

Ultimate Renewables Supplies generates revenue from renewable product sales and from providing associated services, such as design and commissioning.  We are always focused on adding value for our customer and the end-consumer, whether through organic innovation or acquisitions, and we will look to increase our service offering over time.

 

In Merchanting, we are developing a core product range for our Lords and Hevey brands, to provide consistency across branches and online, drive sales and improve our stock management.  We will work with our suppliers to fill gaps in the range and continue to build mutually beneficial relationships.

 

We are also leveraging our specialist products, such as roofing, civils and drylining, by focusing on synergy sales across our Merchanting businesses.

 

Digital capabilities

Digital channels are an important growth driver for us. APP launched a customer portal in FY24, providing visibility of real-time stock levels, to their own terms and conditions, and place orders 24/7.  The division is also exploring the use of chatbots and AI to rapidly answer customer questions, such as advising on the right boiler specification for a particular house.

 

Merchanting has strengthened its marketing and digital team with experienced hires, including expertise in digital marketing, and developed plans to further improve the functionality of our websites and enhance the customer journey.

 

One of our challenges is to continually improve our productivity and efficiency, and technology has a key role to play. The transition to a new ERP system in P&H is starting to deliver benefits, including underpinning further developments such as click-and-collect functionality and electronic proof of delivery.  Another major initiative is an in-cab system, which combines telematics and AI-enabled cameras to track driver behaviour. This improves safety and efficiency and reduces fuel consumption, along with the associated carbon emissions.

 

Our 3Ps - people, plant and premises

Our colleagues have always been fundamental to the business and I want to thank them all for their hard work and focus on delivering for our customers.  The UK's labour force has reduced in recent years and this makes it more important than ever that we retain our people and bring in new talent, such as our apprentices.

 

We made several changes to our senior team in FY24. In addition to appointing Stuart Kilpatrick as CFO, as outlined in last year's report, we recruited Steve Durdant‑Hollamby to lead Merchanting as COO, while Neil Lake now heads up P&H, having joined the Group in 2022 when we acquired the DH&P businesses he founded.  Both Steve and Neil have substantial experience of their respective industries and make natural partners for me, with their operational focus allowing me to spend more time on strategic matters.  We now have a very strong Operating Board, which also includes Anne Prince, our Group HR Director.

 

We continue to invest in our branches, including complete refurbishments of the Alloway Timber sites we acquired last year and expanding the capacity of two A.W. Lumb branches.  We also moved a Condell branch from the site it shared with Lords in Kings Langley, to nearby Hemel Hempstead, to give both businesses the room they need to grow.

 

 

Outlook

The economic environment at the start of 2025 is not conducive to growth.  While end-consumers should be well placed after a period of significant wage increases, much depends on the timing and scale of interest rate cuts. There are signs of an improving construction market, which should support an improvement in the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) sector, but this is not generally expected before the end of 2025.  Like all UK businesses, we also face increased costs in 2025 in relation to employer's National Insurance, business rates and the minimum wage, which amount to around £1.0 million for us annually.

 

We therefore continue to focus on what is within our control: managing costs, driving efficiencies, reducing debt and pragmatically supporting strategic initiatives to deliver organic and acquisitive growth.  We believe this puts us in a strong position for the anticipated recovery in the construction market, with the Group's operational gearing meaning rising volumes will produce a greater increase in profits.

 

In addition, we will look for opportunities to continue our M&A strategy, focused on specialist, independent businesses that can broaden our product range or geographic reach in highly fragmented markets.  There is still significant scope for consolidation, given our reputation as an acquirer of choice in the market.

 

Shanker Patel

Chief Executive Officer

7 May 2025

 

 

 

Financial review

 

In challenging market conditions, the Group delivered a resilient performance in FY24, as we focused on managing costs, driving efficiencies, carefully managing cash and pragmatically supporting strategic initiatives to drive organic and acquisitive growth.  The business is well positioned to deliver financial growth as market conditions improve.

 

Revenue

Group revenue was £436.7 million (FY23: £462.6 million), down 5.6%. On a LFL basis, revenue was 7.0% lower, with the difference primarily reflecting the contribution from acquisitions made in FY23.

 

After a challenging first half, Merchanting built momentum through the second half of the year and LFL revenue was 2.3% higher than the second half of FY23. Overall for the year, the division's revenues were similar to FY23 but 3.6% lower on a LFL basis.

 

P&H saw revenue decline by 10.2% in FY24, or 10.4% LFL, in line with the reduced activity in the UK boiler market during the year.  This in part reflected the very strong end to FY23, which saw accelerated activity ahead of the introduction of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism on 1 January 2024.

 

Gross margin

Gross margins across the Group held up reasonably well, with a modest reduction from 20.0% in FY23 to 19.5% in FY24, primarily due to the challenging UK boiler market. Merchanting achieved a gross margin of 26.7% (FY23: 27.5%), mainly driven by product mix, while the gross margin in P&H was 12.6% (FY23: 13.4%).

 

Income statement

We have represented our income statement in FY24 to align our disclosure with listed peers in the sector and show property gains of £1.8 million (FY23: £0.3 million) on the face of the income statement. Property gains in FY24 included a lease surrender premium of £1.7 million, relating to Merchanting's Park Royal site.  This followed the local authority's redesignation of the area and the landlord's intention to redevelop the site on the expiry of our lease in 2026.  The surrender premium arises from a commercial negotiation to balance the benefit of securing the site at nil rental in the short term, while compensating us for anticipated disruption and potential loss of trade as the branch looks for an alternative location.

 

In addition, the Group sold and leased back its George Lines' Colnbrook site, resulting in a gain of £0.1 million.

 

Operating expenses and EBITDA

Operating expenses in the year were £1.2 million lower at £64.6 million (FY23: £65.8 million).  Excluding the impact on operating expenses of businesses acquired in FY23 and FY24, on a LFL basis costs were 6.5% lower. This reflects our rigorous approach to managing costs in the year, particularly in the light of the increased minimum wage and rental increases at some properties following their five-yearly rent reviews.

 

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) inclusive of property gains/losses was £22.4 million (FY23: £26.8 million). Excluding property gains and losses, adjusted EBITDA was £20.6 million (2023: £26.6 million).

 

The table below shows adjusted EBITDA by division:

 

	FY24	FY24	FY23	FY23
Adjusted EBITDA	£m	margin	£m	margin
Merchanting	14.4	6.7%	14.0	6.5%
Plumbing and Heating	8.0	3.6%	12.9	5.2%
Total Group	22.4	5.1%	26.8	5.8%

 

Presented numbers are based on underlying, not rounded, figures and inclusive of property gains and losses.

 

 

Operating profit

Depreciation and amortisation was £12.0 million (FY23: £10.3 million) and adjusted operating profit is set out below:

 

	FY24	FY23
	£m	£m	Change
Adjusted operating profit inclusive of property gains/(losses)	10.4	16.5	(37.0%)
Adjusted operating profit excluding property gains/(losses)	8.6	16.3	(47.2%)
Operating profit	4.3	9.1	(53.1%)

 

Operating profit, which is after amortisation of intangible assets, exceptional items and share-based payments, declined by 53.1% to £4.3 million (FY23: 9.1 million).

 

Adjusting items

Adjusting items (note 5) include exceptional items, share based payments and amortisation of acquired intangible assets.

 

Exceptional items of £0.6 million (FY23: £2.8 million) comprised £0.8 million of redundancy and restructuring costs and £0.1 million of acquisition related costs. A further £1.5 million was due to non-cash impairment charges (FY23: £0.5 million) relating to leased right-of-use assets.

 

Net finance costs

Net finance costs were £6.9 million (FY23: £6.2 million), comprising £4.1 million (FY23: £3.7 million) in respect of bank borrowings, £2.8 million (FY23: £2.3 million) related to lease liabilities and £0.2 million (FY23: £0.2 million) to unwind discounted future liabilities.

 

Finance costs increased mainly due to higher interest rates, which were on average 40bps up on FY23, and the higher level of average borrowings during the year.  Interest in relation to lease liabilities increased by £0.5 million, reflecting the full-year impact of the Alloway Timber and Chiltern Timber branches acquired during 2023.

 

Profit before tax and earnings per share

Adjusted profit before tax was £3.8 million (FY23: £10.4 million). Statutory loss before tax for the year was £2.6 million (FY23: profit of £3.0 million).  Adjusted earnings per share was 1.85 pence (FY23: 4.35 pence). Basic loss per share was (1.19) pence (FY23: earnings of 0.84 pence).

 

Dividend

The Board has carefully considered the interests of the Group's stakeholders, and while our dividend policy through the cycle will continue to be progressive as the market recovers, the Board has taken a prudent approach to the dividend for FY24 and scaled it in line with the change in adjusted earnings per share.

 

The Board has therefore recommended a final dividend of 0.52 pence per share (FY23: 1.33 pence per share), which will be paid on 4 July 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 30 May 2025. The Company's shares will be marked ex-dividend on 29 May 2025.

 

We paid an interim dividend of 0.32 pence per share (H1 2023: 0.67 pence per share) in October 2024. The total dividend in respect of FY24 is therefore 0.84 pence per share (FY23: 2.0 pence per share), which is 2.2 times covered by adjusted earnings per share (FY23: 2.2 times).  The cash cost of the total dividend in respect of FY24 is £1.4 million (FY23: £3.3 million).

 

At the year end, the Company had distributable reserves of £14.2 million (31 December 2023: £15.8 million).

 

Debt financing and liquidity

As at 31 December 2024, the Group has debt facilities totalling £95.0 million with HSBC, NatWest and BNP Paribas. The facilities comprised £70.0 million revolving credit facility (RCF), and a £25.0 million receivables financing facility.

 

During 2024, the term of the Group's bank facilities was extended to April 2027, and in April 2025, the Group requested that the RCF be reduced by £20.0 million, which will reduce non‑utilisation costs.

 

At 31 December 2024, the Group had net debt (defined as borrowings less cash and cash equivalents, and before recognising lease liabilities) of £32.4 million (31 December 2023: £28.5 million). The Group had substantial headroom within its debt facilities of £52.3 million at the year-end (31 December 2023: £46.7 million) and a further £10.3 million of accessible cash (31 December 2023: £19.8 million).

 

Cash flow

Adjusted cash generated by operating activities was £17.4 million (FY23: 22.5 million) while free cash flow was £3.1 million (FY23: £8.7 million). Free cash flow, which is the net cash flow before payments for business acquisitions and dividends, was lower in FY24 mainly due to the lower EBITDA in the year. Operating cash flow conversion, which is operating cash flow as a percentage of adjusted operating profit, was 71.0% (FY23: 92.9%).

 

We continued to invest in our 3P's in the year as we refurbished the Alloway branches acquired in 2023 and established a new ERP system in Plumbing and Heating. Total capital expenditure in FY24 was £2.8 million (FY23: £4.9 million). In addition, the Group invested £1.1 million (FY23: £0.7 million) on in digital development, ERP and rebate tracking software.

 

In October 2024, we completed a sale and leaseback transaction for the Heathrow site, as part of our focus on cash generation. This resulted in cash proceeds of £3.9 million, while ensuring we retain secure tenure on this key location.

 

Other important uses of cash during FY24 included:

 

Working capital

Inventory was unchanged at £49.3 million (31 December 2023: £49.3 million). The year‑end balance equated to 57 days of stock (31 December 2023: 50 days). The increase in stock days is primarily due to investing in advance of the winter season in P&H, and final quarter sales being lower than anticipated.

 

Creditor days decreased by two to 59 (31 December 2023: 61 days) and debtor days were 46 at the year-end (31 December 2023: 44 days).  The ratio of working capital to sales increased from 7.6% to 8.9% in the year.

 

Net assets

 

	FY24	FY23
	£m	£m
Property, plant and equipment	14.1	20.2
Inventories	49.3	49.3
Trade and other receivables	76.2	81.2
Trade and other payables	(86.6)	(95.3)
Operating capital employed	53.0	55.4
Deferred consideration	(3.3)	(9.5)
ROU assets	52.7	47.4
Lease liabilities	(60.0)	(51.8)
Goodwill, intangible assets, tax provision, other	37.6	38.2
Net debt	(32.4)	(28.5)
Shareholders' funds	47.6	51.2

 

Operating capital employed reduced by £2.4 million in the year as reduced property, plant & equipment, following the Colnbrook sale and leaseback, was partly offset by higher working capital in our P&H division. Deferred consideration decreased by £6.2 million following the sale and leaseback of Colnbrook (£2.6 million), payments of £3.2 million and adjustments to forecast liabilities of £0.4 million. ROU assets and related lease liability movements mainly relate to Colnbrook referred to above.

 

 

Post balance sheet events

 

Since the end of FY24:

 

 

 

Stuart Kilpatrick

Chief Financial Officer

7 May 2025

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

For the year ended 31 December 2024

 

			2023
		2024	(re-presented)1
	Note	£'000	£'000
Revenue	4	436,684	462,601
Cost of sales		(351,452)	(370,238)
Gross profit		85,232	92,363
Operating expenses		(65,953)	(69,157)
Property gains	2	1,812	252
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment		(16,806)	(14,325)
Operating profit		4,285	9,133
Finance income		320	196
Finance expense	6	(7,214)	(6,356)
(Loss)/profit before taxation		(2,609)	2,973
Taxation	7	824	(1,273)
(Loss)/profit for the year		(1,785)	1,700
Other comprehensive income		-	-
Total comprehensive (expense)/income		(1,785)	1,700
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the year attributable to:
Owners of the parent company		(1,970)	1,382
Non-controlling interests		185	318
		(1,785)	1,700
Earnings per share
Basic (loss)/earnings per share (pence)	9	(1.19)	0.84
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (pence)	9	(1.19)	0.82

 

The results for the year arise solely from continuing activities.

 

 

Consolidated statement of financial position

As at 31 December 2024

 

		2024	2023
	Note	£'000	£'000
Non-current assets
Intangible assets	10	44,284	46,205
Property, plant and equipment	11	14,081	20,233
Right-of-use assets	12	52,654	47,364
Other receivables		236	200
Investments		130	180
		111,385	114,182
Current assets
Inventories		49,252	49,292
Trade and other receivables		76,215	81,171
Cash and cash equivalents	13	10,312	19,811
		135,779	150,274
Total assets		247,164	264,456
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(88,238)	(98,915)
Borrowings	13	(11,946)	(9,507)
Lease liabilities	12	(8,310)	(7,815)
Current tax liabilities		-	(7)
Total current liabilities		(108,494)	(116,244)
Non-current liabilities
Other payables		(1,540)	(5,917)
Borrowings	13	(30,119)	(38,239)
Lease liabilities	12	(51,732)	(43,953)
Other provisions		(1,581)	(1,565)
Deferred taxation		(6,082)	(7,373)
Total non-current liabilities		(91,054)	(97,047)
Total liabilities		(199,548)	(213,291)
Net assets		47,616	51,165
Equity
Share capital		829	828
Share premium		28,412	28,293
Merger reserve		(9,980)	(9,980)
Share-based payments reserve		1,459	1,009
Retained earnings		25,078	29,386
Equity attributable to owners of the parent company		45,798	49,536
Non-controlling interests		1,818	1,629
Total equity		47,616	51,165