SIMON_GIBSON_TRANSPORT_LI - Accounts

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

The principle activities of the company continued to be those of bulk powder transport, handling and storage.

Despite a downturn in volume the company has enjoyed another profitable trading year.

In 2017 the company invested heavily in a high profile fleet of trucks to facilitate the growth in turnover. Subsequently, there has been less investment in recent years. This has ensured that the fleet is being utilised to its full potential, whilst maximising efficiencies and synergies, as well as continuing to achieve the highest of standards and impeccable service.

Despite the ever increasing demands of the modern logistics environment the impressive performance of the business is due to the dedication to providing a high quality service whilst maintaining customer relations. This supports the directors long term commitment to continuing to increase market share.

The directors are confident that the strategic business model in place will continue to provide constant growth and profitability over the coming years.

The results for the year are set out on page 7 and dividends in note 12.

2020 2019 2018     

     £ £ £     

Turnover growth      (24.87)% (4.77)% 5.87%

Gross profit percentage 9.92% 15.06% 15.68%     

Operating profit          202,573 780,749 1,269,226

Shareholders' funds      4,341,647 4,560,152 4,879,470

The company continues to monitor, assess and address the potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the business. The main areas of risk continue to relate to high price competition from competitors, exchange rate fluctuations and uncertainty that surrounds Brexit on the European economy. These risks are faced by all companies operating in this industry.

In common with many other businesses the company, since March 2020, has been challenged by dealing with the profound effects of Coronavirus on activities and working routines.

The company’s infrastructure has maintained connectivity between employees, customers, stakeholders and suppliers and enabled agility in the implementation of measures and additional control methods required to establish a safe working environment whilst also enabling activities to continue during the Covid 19 crisis period.

Financial instruments

The company's principal financial instruments comprise bank balances, bank loans, trade creditors, trade debtors and asset finance agreements. The main purpose of these instruments is to raise funds for the company's operations and to finance the company's working capital.

Due to the nature of the financial instruments used by the company there is no exposure to price risk. The company's approach to managing other risks applicable to the financial instruments concerned is shown below.

Trade debtors are managed in respect of credit and cash flow risk by policies concerning the credit offered to customers and the regular monitoring of amounts outstanding for both time and credit limits.

In respect of bank balances the liquidity risk is managed by maintaining a balance between the continuity of funding and flexibility through the use of money market facilities were funds are available.

In respect of loans these comprise loans from financial institutions. The interest rate on the loans from financial institutions is variable but the monthly repayments are fixed. The company manages the liquidity risk by ensuring there are sufficient funds to meet the payments.

In respect of asset finance agreements the monthly repayments are fixed. The company manages the liquidity risk by ensuring there are sufficient funds and cash flow to meet the payments.

Trade creditors liquidity risk is managed by ensuring sufficient funds are available to meet amounts due.

The business has developed an excellent reputation throughout the UK and Europe thanks to the quality of service it delivers which is further accentuated by its experienced management team. The directors believe that the company's strategy together with the continued support of GCA Europe SA is a solid foundation for continued successful business performance and growth in the future.

On behalf of the board

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

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

The directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, 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. 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.

Each of the directors in office at the date of approval of this annual report confirms that:

•     so far as the director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditors are unaware, and

•     the director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

We have audited the financial statements of Simon Gibson Transport Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Changes in Equity, the Statement of Cash Flows 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 December 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.

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 company is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation. We determined that the most significant laws and regulations were FRS 102, the Companies Act 2006 and taxation legislation. In addition, the company must comply with regulations to hold a transport operator's licence. We assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures which included discussions with management.

• The susceptibility of the company's financial statements to misstatement, including fraud, was assessed. The audit team discussed how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements. We identified and considered the controls that had been put in place to prevent and detect fraud. Other audit procedures carried out included the assessment of the appropriateness of journal entries and whether any accounting estimates indicated any potential bias.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected, even though the audit has been properly planned and performed in accordance with auditing standards (ISAs (UK)).

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 profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

Simon Gibson Transport Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Unit 1, A. W. Nielsen Road, Goole, East Yorkshire, DN14 6UE.

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 on the historical cost convention, modified to include financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Atruet the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 is increasingly uncertain and difficult to assess and the company is taking action to mitigate the effects. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Turnover represents amounts chargeable, net of value added tax, in respect of the sale of services to customers.

Revenue is recognised on delivery in accordance with the haulage contracts.

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). Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.

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

Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets are classified according to the substance of the financial instrument's contractual obligations, rather than its legal form.

Basic financial assets 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.

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through the profit and loss account, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date. 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 the profit and loss account. 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 the profit and loss account.

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 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.

Financial liabilities that are not classified as financial instruments are recorded at transaction cost. All changes to transaction cost are recognised in the profit and loss account.

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 is provided in full on all material timing differences which are expected to reverse and result in an obligation to pay more tax. A deferred tax asset is regarded as recoverable and recognised when it is likely that there will be taxable profits from which the future reversal of the underlying timing differences can be deducted. Rates applied are consistent with current UK corporation tax legislation.

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

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.

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.

Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation are included in the profit and loss account for the period.

Related party transactions

Advantage has been taken under FRS 102 section 33.1A of the exemption available to groups of companies not to disclose transactions and balances involving group entities.

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, if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

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 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.

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

Included in creditors: amounts falling due within one year are secured creditors of £1,526,041 (2019: £1,654,013 ).

Included in creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year are secured creditors of £1,857,328 (2019: £3,385,254 ).

The bank loans are repayable by quarterly installments with interest payable at variable rates. There is a foreign exchange swap linked to the company's Euro bank loan.

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 given guarantees and warranties in the normal course of trade.

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 undertook the following transaction with related companies owned by the ultimate parent company: services provided £161,537 (2019: £262,847), services received £556,516 (2019: £722,833); and at 31 December 2020 the company owed £3,229,627 (2019: £4,481,980) to these companies.

The immediate parent company is GCA Europe SA, incorporated in Luxemburg. A copy of the immediate parent company's financial statements can be obtained from 10 A Rue Henri M. Schnadt 2530 Luxembourg.

The ultimate parent company and the parent company of the largest and smallest group to include the company and its immediate parent company in its consolidated financial statements is Fimholog, a company registered in France. A copy of the group financial statements can be obtained from the group's corporate address Zone Industrielle de Gournier - 26200 Montelimar.

The company is controlled by D. Andre.