LAF Holdings Ltd and Subsidiaries - Limited company accounts 23.2

REGISTERED NUMBER: 06195309 (England and Wales)

FOR

Page

Company Information  

1

Group Strategic Report  

2

Report of the Directors  

5

Report of the Independent Auditors  

7

Consolidated Income Statement  

11

Consolidated Other Comprehensive Income  

13

Consolidated Balance Sheet  

14

Company Balance Sheet  

15

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity  

16

Company Statement of Changes in Equity  

17

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement  

18

Notes to the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

19

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

20

DIRECTORS:

W D Lloyd

H D Lloyd

Mrs W J Lloyd

S P Wantling

M W Meynell

J D Lloyd

S L Kynaston

SECRETARIES:

W D Lloyd

S L Haycock

REGISTERED OFFICE:

The Mill

Morton

Oswestry

Shropshire

SY10 8BH

REGISTERED NUMBER:

06195309 (England and Wales)

AUDITORS:

D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited

7 Lower Brook Street

Oswestry

Shropshire

SY11 2HG

The directors present their strategic report of the company and the group for the year ended 31 March 2023.

REVIEW OF BUSINESS

Sales for the year ended 31 March 2023 were £671,616,998 and the gross margin was 19%.

Operating profit was £53,818,086. Profit before tax was £55,883,867.

The group monitors its performance using key performance indicators. The group considers its main key performance indicators to be; like for like sales growth, gross margin percentage, as well as cash generation. Performance of these measures is in line with expectations of the board.

The directors expect the general level of activity to continue for the foreseeable future.

The group operates in a very competitive market which is a continuing risk and may result in sales being lost to competitors. The group manages this risk by providing excellent service in all of its activities.

Financial risk management objectives and policies

The group's activities expose it to a number of financial risks including cash flow and liquidity risk. The board approves treasury policies, which are controlled on a day-to-day basis by senior management.

Employee involvement

The Group's management has an open policy on the communication of information to employees concerning factors affecting their interests as employees and also the development of the Group. It consults employees informally on a regular basis to ensure that their views are taken into account in making decisions on matters likely to affect their interests. The Group operates contributory pension schemes for the benefit of its employees.

Disabled Persons

It is the Group's policy to give full and fair consideration to suitable applications for employment by disabled persons, having regard to particular aptitudes and abilities. Disabled employees are eligible to participate in all training, career development and promotion opportunities available to staff. Opportunities also exist for employees of the Group who become disabled to continue their employment or to be trained in other positions in the Group.

Environmental Policy

The Group is committed to reducing the impact on the environment of the raw materials and manufacturing processes it uses.

Health and Safety

It is the Group's policy to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety and welfare of all of its employees, customers and other visitors to its premises and to comply with relevant health and safety legislation. The Group has a comprehensive health and safety policy, which is reviewed and updated regularly. Risk assessments are undertaken to assess hazards and whom they affect. A formal structure of audit and management reporting exists with a monitoring process, which is regularly reviewed.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The group operates in a very competitive market which is a continuing risk and may result in sales being lost to competitors. The group manages this risk by providing excellent service in all its activities.

SECTION 172(1) STATEMENT

The board of directors of LAF Holdings Ltd and subsidiaries collectively consider that they have acted in a way to promote the success of the business in the decisions taken in the year ended 31 March 2023.

Due to the nature and size of the group the directors fulfil their duties by utilising a governance framework and they delegate the day to day decision making to key management personnel, whilst maintaining the overall control of the processes and procedures the company operates.

Engagement with Suppliers, Customers and Employees

The group's board is committed to being a responsible business. Our behaviours and decision making are focused on growing a strong and stable business and we engage with all its customers, staff and suppliers.

Suppliers

Our business is reliant on brand awareness and quality. As such, we place a significant emphasis on the supply chain and ensure we have strong mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers. We endeavour to ensure all payments and any issues are resolved on a timely basis and uphold the principles upon which our business is built.

Customers

The board engages with all its customers through a very experienced sales and marketing network. We work very closely with them to both promote our brand and ensure that we deliver on our promises. We promote our reputation for being a family owned business who listens to our customers.

STREAMLINED ENERGY AND CARBON REPORTING

The Directors are required to report the following information under the UK Government's energy and carbon reporting framework. The energy consumption and carbon emissions for the 12-month period ending 31st March 2023 for the relevant companies within the group is:

Energy Source

Consumption

Emissions calculation

Boiler Fuel

Total litres from supplier invoices

324,602 litres

972 tCO2e

Electricity

Total kWh taken from supplier invoices

7,403,484 kWh

1,533 tCO2e

Transport

Total litres taken from supplier invoices

1,125,080 litres

3,015 tCO2e

Total

5,520 tCO2e

Intensity ratio

45.6 tCO2e per million pounds

revenue

The group has made efforts to become more environmentally conscious by promoting the use of hybrid cars, installing solar panels and LED lighting along with monitoring power usage.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

W D Lloyd - Director

11 December 2023

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company and the group for the year ended 31 March 2023.

DIVIDENDS

During the year an interim dividend of £48 per share was paid on 28 June 2022. The directors recommended that no final dividend be paid.

The total distribution of dividends for the year ended 31 March 2023 will be £480,000 (2022: £480,000).

DIRECTORS

The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from 1 April 2022 to the date of this report.

W D Lloyd

H D Lloyd

Mrs W J Lloyd

S P Wantling

M W Meynell

J D Lloyd

S L Kynaston

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

The directors are responsible for preparing the Group Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors 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 the group and of the profit or loss of the group 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 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 and the group's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and the group 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 the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the group's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the group's auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors,  D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

W D Lloyd - Director

11 December 2023

Opinion

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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report.  We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the 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 group's and the parent 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.

Emphasis of matter

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors 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 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 the audit:

-

the information given in the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-

the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Group Strategic Report or the Report of the Directors.

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 by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

-

the parent company 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.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page five, 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 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 group's and the parent 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 group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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 a Report of the Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

-the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

-we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the client's operating sector;

-we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;

-we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management; and

-identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

We assessed the susceptibility of the company's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

-making enquiries of management as to their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

-reviewing the client's system notes and internal controls.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

-performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

-tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

-assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 3 were indicative of potential bias;

-investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

-agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

- reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;

-enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims;

-reviewing correspondence with HMRC.

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 for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

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 a Report of the Auditors 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.

Aled Davies FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of D.R.E. & Co. (Audit) Limited

7 Lower Brook Street

Oswestry

Shropshire

SY11 2HG

11 December 2023

TURNOVER

671,616,998

-

671,616,998

Cost of sales

(545,168,840

)

-

(545,168,840

)

GROSS PROFIT

126,448,158

-

126,448,158

Distribution costs

(9,937,886

)

-

(9,937,886

)

Administrative expenses

(64,637,526

)

-

(64,637,526

)

51,872,746

-

51,872,746

Other operating income

1,945,340

-

1,945,340

OPERATING PROFIT

5

53,818,086

-

53,818,086

Interest receivable and similar income

2,747,550

-

2,747,550

Interest payable and similar expenses

6

(681,769

)

-

(681,769

)

PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

55,883,867

-

55,883,867

Tax on profit

7

(10,327,446

)

-

(10,327,446

)

PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

45,556,421

-

45,556,421

Profit attributable to:

Owners of the parent

38,550,999

Non-controlling interests

7,005,422

45,556,421

TURNOVER

526,413,541

2,455,071

528,868,612

Cost of sales

(417,841,933

)

(2,174,870

)

(420,016,803

)

GROSS PROFIT

108,571,608

280,201

108,851,809

Distribution costs

(9,355,537

)

-

(9,355,537

)

Administrative expenses

(53,452,831

)

11,793

(53,441,038

)

45,763,240

291,994

46,055,234

Other operating income

1,578,897

-

1,578,897

OPERATING PROFIT

5

47,342,137

291,994

47,634,131

Interest receivable and similar income

179,603

29

179,632

Interest payable and similar expenses

6

(622,396

)

(7,895

)

(630,291

)

PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

46,899,344

284,128

47,183,472

Tax on profit

7

(8,527,519

)

(4,917

)

(8,532,436

)

PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

38,371,825

279,211

38,651,036

Profit attributable to:

Owners of the parent

31,555,807

Non-controlling interests

7,095,229

38,651,036

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

45,556,421

38,651,036

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

-

-

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE YEAR

45,556,421

38,651,036

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Owners of the parent

38,550,999

31,555,807

Non-controlling interests

7,005,422

7,095,229

45,556,421

38,651,036

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

10

42,375,098

28,591,485

Tangible assets

11

75,845,292

62,522,559

Investments

12

Interest in associate

255

255

Other investments

663,549

553,432

118,884,194

91,667,731

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

13

35,981,450

23,381,679

Debtors

14

100,547,356

81,996,737

Cash at bank and in hand

132,801,017

138,403,219

269,329,823

243,781,635

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

15

68,488,416

61,985,484

NET CURRENT ASSETS

200,841,407

181,796,151

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT

LIABILITIES

319,725,601

273,463,882

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one

year

16

(8,846,454

)

(11,475,481

)

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

20

(4,875,290

)

(1,822,091

)

NET ASSETS

306,003,857

260,166,310

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

21

10,000

10,000

Retained earnings

22

275,019,132

239,230,366

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

275,029,132

239,240,366

NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS

23

30,974,725

20,925,944

TOTAL EQUITY

306,003,857

260,166,310

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 11 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

W D Lloyd - Director