REGENCY_TRADE_FINANCE_LIM - Accounts

The directors present the strategic report for the period ended 31 December 2021.

The principal activity of the company remains the provision of asset based lending.

In March 2021, following the company's acquisition, the company entered into a receivables purchase agreement ("RPA") with Cubitt Trade Capital LLC (the "purchaser") and other parties, under which the company will sell its receivables to the purchaser who will immediately resell to the issuer on the same terms and conditions. Pursuant to the RPA, the company sells, conveys, and assigns to the purchaser all its rights, title, and interest in these receivables. The company earns a management fee from the purchaser for its services, which now represents the turnover of the company within these accounts.

Listed below are the key business risks which the Board has identified and the actions it has currently taken to mitigate these to an acceptable level:

The increased financial support of the new parent company enables the management to be more competitive in its marketplace and the board are very confident in substantial increase in both turnover and profitability for the coming period.

The Board of Directors of Regency Trade Finance Limited consider, both individually and together, that they have acted in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole (having regard to the stakeholders and matters set out in s172(1)(a)-(f) of the Act) in the decisions taken during the period ended 31 December 2021.

- our strategic plan was designed to have long-term beneficial impact on the company and to contribute to its success in delivering a high quality of service across all company operations

- our staff are fundamental to the delivery of our plan. We aim to be a responsible employer in our approach to the pay and benefits our staff receive. The health, safety and well-being of our staff is one of our primary considerations in the way we do business

- engagement with our funders and customers is key to our success. We met with our major funders and customers regularly throughout the year and take any appropriate action as necessary

- our strategic plan takes into account the impact of the company's operations on the community and environment and our wider social responsibilities

- as the Board of Directors, our interest is to behave responsibly and to ensure that management operate the business in a responsible manner, operating within the high standards of business conduct and good governance expected for a business such as ours, and in doing so will contribute to the delivery of our strategic plan

- as the Board of Directors, our intention is to behave responsibly towards our shareholders and treat them fairly and equally, so they too may benefit from the successful delivery of our strategic plan

On behalf of the board

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2021.

The principal activity of the company continued to be that of providing asset based finance by acquiring the relevant assets and providing trade finance.

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

No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend.

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

The auditor, Jackson Stephen LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

As the company has not consumed more than 40,000 kWh of energy in this reporting period, it qualifies as a low energy user under these regulations and is not required to report on its emissions, energy consumption or energy efficiency activities.

The directors are responsible for preparing the annual 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;

•     state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

•     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.

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.

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

We have audited the financial statements of Regency Trade Finance Limited (the 'company') for the period ended 31 December 2021 which comprise the statement of income and retained earnings, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

•     give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2021 and of its profit for the period then ended;

•     have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

•     have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

• the information given in the strategic report and the directors' report for the financial period for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors' report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

•     adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

•     the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

•     certain disclosures of 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 included within Directors' Report, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities and 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.

Based on our understanding of the company and sector, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to, but were not limited to, the Companies Act 2006, UK tax, employment, pension and health and safety legislation and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to management bias in accounting estimates and judgements and the risk of fraud in revenue recognition.

Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

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

• enquiring of management about actual and potential litigation and claims, their policies and procedures to prevent and detect fraud as well as whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;

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

• obtaining an understanding of provisions and holding discussions with management to understand the basis of recognition or non-recognition of tax provisions; and

• in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls: testing the appropriateness of journal entries; assessing whether the accounting estimates, judgements and decisions made by management are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

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

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

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 Income and Retained Earnings has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

Regency Trade Finance Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 2 Regency Chambers, Jubilee Way, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0JW.

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. 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 a period of at least 12 months. The directors have received confirmation that the parent company intends to support the company for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements.

These financial statements represent the accounting period from 1 August 2021 to 31 December 2021, in order to align the company's year end with that of fellow group companies. This, therefore, results in comparative amounts presented in these financial statements (including the related notes) not being entirely comparable.

Turnover represented income arising on the disposal of assets acquired in the process of providing asset based funding before the balance sheet date. It is stated after VAT. In March 2021, the company entered into a receivables purchase agreement ("RPA") with Cubitt Trade Capital LLC (the "purchaser") and other parties, under which the company will sell its receivables to the purchaser who will immediately resell to the issuer on the same terms and conditions. Pursuant to the RPA, the company sells, conveys, and assigns to the purchaser all its rights, title, and interest in these receivables. The company earns a management fee from the purchaser for its services, which is included as turnover within these accounts.

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.

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.

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, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, 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.

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.

Prior period adjustment

The comparative financial statements have been restated to correctly reflect the nature of the company's transactions post the company's acquisition in March 2021. At that point the the company entered into a receivables purchase agreement ("RPA") with Cubitt Trade Capital LLC (the "purchaser") and other parties (see note 1.4 for further details). The impact of the restatement on the comparative figures has been to reduce turnover by £28,339,240, to reduce cost of sales by £27,788,400, to reduce administrative expenses by £198,617 and to reduce interest charges by £524,457. Overall, the prior year reported profit and brought forward reserves as at 1 August 2021 have increased by £172,234.

The comparative balance sheet has also been restated, primarily to remove the trade debtors figure of £43,031,225 and the trade creditors figure of £21,578,612, with a compensating decrease in the amounts due to the parent company of £20,911,001, a decrease in accruals of £719,360 and a decrease in cash at bank of £5,514.

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. There were no critical estimates and judgements made by the directors in preparing these financial statements.

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

Exchange differences recognised in profit or loss during the period, except for those arising on financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss, amounted to £8,645 (2021 - £15,652).

The company has no employees. Employee services were provided by a fellow subsidiary undertaking.

The directors received no remuneration during the period.

The actual charge for the period can be reconciled to the expected charge for the period based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:

A UK corporation tax rate of 25% was announced in the Chancellor's Budget of 3 March 2021. The 25% rate will apply from 1 April 2023.

Profit and loss account - includes all current and prior period retained profits and losses net of distributions to shareholders.

The company's immediate parent undertaking is Cubitt Trade Holdings (Europe) LLC, a company incorporated in the United States of America. The ultimate parent company is Petra Group Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.