AMEON_LIMITED - Accounts

The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 March 2020.

The company derives income from a variety of customers. The failure of a large customer could materially impact on the company’s financial position. The company has in place a credit insurance policy which covers all major customers. In addition, it is the company's policy that all customers who wish to trade on credit terms are subject to credit vetting procedures. Receivable balances are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure potential issues are flagged at an early stage.

Turnover for the year ended 31 March 2020 was £24.7m compared with £27.8m the previous year. With a slight decrease in gross margin and increased overhead costs in anticipation of future growth, operating profit fell to £1.3m this year. During the year, we were undertaking works for Bardsley Construction Limited which entered administration in December 2019. The financial impact of this was negligible and has been fully recognised in these financial statements with the substantial part of the monies due from Bardsley being covered by our credit insurance policy. The cancellation of these works, together with delays on two other major projects has resulted in turnover for the year not reaching original expectations. Despite the disruption caused to our activities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has an extremely healthy order book for projects running across the next two to three financial years and we forecast significant growth in turnover for the year ending 31 March 2021. We also have a significant pipeline of work secured for the year ending 31 March 2022. We will continue to strive to ensure jobs are carried out as efficiently as possible and continue to monitor and control our overhead costs.

The 'lockdown' arising in response to the Covid-19 pandemic saw most operating sites close temporarily in late March. Site operations slowly recommenced thereafter as working practices were adapted to meet directives and guidelines introduced by the government and the Construction Leadership Council. By the start of June 2020, the number of operatives on site had increased back to pre-lockdown levels and, due to increased workload, this number has increased further.

During the period of disruption, we made use of the government's furlough scheme to mitigate costs and monitored all overhead costs to reduce expenditure where appropriate.

We consider a further key performance indicator to be our level of repeat business, afforded from high levels of customer service. We strive to offer the highest levels of quality and it is this which has led us to continue to build on relationships with current customers and develop relationships with new customers.

On behalf of the board

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2020.

The principal activity of the company in the year under review was that of mechanical and electrical building services contractors.

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

The results for the year are set out on page 8.

Ordinary dividends were paid amounting to £880,000. The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.

The auditor, MHA Moore and Smalley, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

The company has chosen in accordance with Companies Act 2006, s. 414C(11) to set out in the company's strategic report information required by Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Sch. 7 to be contained in the directors' report. It has done so in respect of principal risks and uncertainties and future developments.

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditor is unaware. Additionally, the directors 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.

The directors are responsible for preparing the Directors' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the 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 company and of the profit or loss of the company 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;

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are 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 enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We have audited the financial statements of Ameon Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 March 2020 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity and notes to the financial statements, 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 FRS 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 March 2020 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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

• the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or

• the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 and the directors' report.

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

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://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.

The statement of comprehensive income has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

Ameon Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Olympic Court, Boardmans Way, Blackpool, FY4 5GU.

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, modified to include the EMI scheme at fair value as noted in accounting policy 1.13. 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;

• Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues’ – Carrying amounts, interest income/expense and net gains/losses for each category of financial instrument; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;

• Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’ – Compensation for key management personnel.

The financial statements of the company are consolidated in the financial statements of Ameon Holdings Limited. These consolidated financial statements are available from Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ.

As referred to in the Strategic Report, the company’s activities were temporarily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the subsequent ‘lockdown’ and changes to working practices.true

The directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The directors have produced and referred to prudent future cash flow forecasts, which indicate sufficient funds are in place to meet all liabilities as they are projected to fall due for payment over the next twelve months leading them to the conclusion that there are no material uncertainties over adopting the going concern basis at the time of signing the financial statements. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Turnover comprises the value of work performed, goods sold and services provided excluding Value Added Tax. Amounts in respect of contracts included in turnover, net of payments received on account, are shown in debtors as amounts recoverable on contracts. Cash received in excess of the value of work done is shown in creditors as payments on account. An appropriate proportion of the anticipated contract profit is recognised in the profit and loss account based on the stage of completion of the work and the expected end of life outcome. Provision is made for anticipated contract losses.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to profit or loss.

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.

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.

If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

Where the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, revenue and costs are recognised by reference to the stage of completion of the contract activity at the reporting end date.

When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract turnover, the expected loss is recognised as an expense immediately.

Where the outcome of a construction contract cannot be estimated reliably, contract costs are recognised as expenses in the period in which they are incurred and contract revenue is recognised to the extent of contract costs incurred where it is probable that they will be recoverable.

The “percentage of completion method” is used to determine the appropriate amount to recognise in a given period. The stage of completion is measured by the proportion of contract costs incurred for work performed to date compared to the estimated total contract costs. Costs incurred in the year in connection with future activity on a contract are excluded from contract costs in determining the stage of completion. These costs are presented as prepayments provided it is probable they will be recovered.

Amounts recoverable on long term contracts, which are included in debtors, are stated at the net sales value of the work done after provision for contingencies and anticipated future losses on contracts, less amounts received as progress payments on account. Excess progress payments are included in creditors as payments on account. Pre-contract costs incurred before it is virtually certain that a contract will be awarded are charged to the profit and loss account. Once virtually certain of contract award, costs are held as amounts recoverable on contracts and form part of the accounting for the contract as a whole.

Cash at bank and in hand are basic financial assets and include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks.

The company 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 company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with 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 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.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, 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.

All of the company's financial liabilities are basic financial liabilities.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.

The 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 carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting end date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the profit and loss account, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when the company has a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to taxes levied by the same tax authority.

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.

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company. The annual contributions payable are charged to the profit and loss account.

The fair value of equity-settled share based payments to employees is determined at the date of grant and is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period based on the company’s estimate of shares or options that will eventually vest.

For granted options evaluated on non-market conditions or with no performance criteria, an expense is ultimately only recognised for options which vest. Where an option has a performance criteria, the cost of the option is recognised irrespective of whether the option vests unless an employee leaves during the vesting period. At each balance sheet date, the cumulative expense is calculated representing the extent to which the vesting period has expired and management's best estimate of the number of equity instruments that will ultimately vest. The movement in cumulative expense since the previous balance sheet date is recognised in the profit and loss account, with a corresponding entry in equity.

Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessees. All other leases are classified as operating leases.

Assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets at the lower of the assets fair value at the date of inception and the present value of the minimum lease payments. The related liability is included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments are treated as consisting of capital and interest elements. The interest is charged to profit or loss so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability.

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.

Determining the expected profit on a contract by contract basis requires an estimation of the expected outcome of each contract. Each contract is reviewed each quarter by management for the expected final profit margin. There is not expected to be a material difference between the profit margin estimated and the profit margin achieved, except for unforeseen circumstances that happen after the reporting date.

An analysis of the company's turnover is as follows:

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:

Their aggregate remuneration comprised:

The number of directors for whom retirement benefits are accruing under defined contribution schemes amounted to 5 (2019 - 5).

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 Chancellor stated his intention to maintain the main rate of corporation tax at 19%. This change to previously announced policy was substantively enacted on 17 March 2020.

The net carrying value of tangible fixed assets includes the following in respect of assets held under finance leases or hire purchase contracts.

Finance lease payments represent rentals payable by the company for certain motor vehicles. Leases include purchase options at the end of the lease period, and no restrictions are placed on the use of the assets. The average lease term is 4 years. All leases are on a fixed repayment basis and no arrangements have been entered into for contingent rental payments.

Finance leases are secured over the assets to which they relate.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset where the company has a legally enforceable right to do so. The following is the analysis of the deferred tax balances (after offset) for financial reporting purposes:

The company has not finalised its capital expenditure programme for the next financial year and therefore an assessment as to the likely movement of timing differences cannot reasonably be made.            

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund. At the year end, contributions payable to the fund that are included in creditors totalled £26,600 (2019: £19,213).

On 20 June 2006 the company established an EMI scheme for key employees and granted the following options, all of which relate to B Ordinary Shares in the immediate parent company, Ameon Group Limited:

50,000 options which may be exercised at any time (30,000 of these options were exercised during the year ended 31 March 2007, with a further 16,000 exercised during the year ended 31 March 2016. The remaining 4,000 were forfeited);

6,000 options which may only be exercised upon sale of the company;

Up to 65,000 share options which may only be exercised upon sale of the company. The number of these options which could be exercised depended on the performance of the company over the 5 year period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2011. Upon completion of this 5 year period, the number of options which could be exercised was 16,250. The other 48,750 share options were forfeited. A further 8,250 were forfeited in the year ended 31 March 2016.

All the above options are considered to vest immediately and have been valued using a Black-Scholes model. All options are to be exercised at a price of £1 per share and there is no expiry date for the options granted.

The following table illustrates the number and exercise prices of, and movements in, shares under option during the year:

The weighted average share price at the date of exercise for share options exercised during the year was £1 (2019 - £1).

Leases are held by the company in respect of the building premises the company operates from, a number of vehicles and various office equipment. Each lease is negotiated on a case by case basis.

At the reporting end date the company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

During the year the company entered into the following transactions with related parties:

The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:

The company has taken advantage of the exemption conferred by Section 1 FRS102 from disclosing transactions covered by Section 33 FRS102, namely any entered into between two or more members of the group, provided that any subsidiary which is a party to the transaction is wholly owned by such a member.

The company's ultimate parent company is Ameon Holdings Limited, a company registered in England and Wales. There is no single controlling party of that company.

The immediate parent company is Ameon Group Limited.

The largest and smallest group for which consolidated financial statements are prepared is the group headed by Ameon Holdings Limited. Copies of the consolidated financial statements can be obtained from Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ.