Dale Brothers U.K. Limited - Limited company accounts 23.2

REGISTERED NUMBER: 04331149 (England and Wales)

STRATEGIC REPORT, REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

FOR

DALE BROTHERS U.K. LIMITED

Page

Company Information

1

Strategic Report

2

Report of the Directors

3

Report of the Independent Auditors

4

Statement of Comprehensive Income

7

Statement of Financial Position

8

Statement of Changes in Equity

9

Statement of Cash Flows

10

Notes to the Statement of Cash Flows

11

Notes to the Financial Statements

12

DIRECTORS:

Mr A R Dale

Mr J J Dale

Mr R Dale

Mr N Dale

Mrs J Dale

Mrs J M Dale

SECRETARY:

Mrs J M Dale

REGISTERED OFFICE:

Hortonwood 67

Telford

Shropshire

TF1 7GU

REGISTERED NUMBER:

04331149 (England and Wales)

AUDITORS:

Heywood Shepherd

Chartered Accountants

1 Park Street

Macclesfield

Cheshire

SK11 6SR

The directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31st March 2023.

We aim to present a balanced and comprehensive review of the development and performance of the business during the year and its position at the year end. Our review is consistent with the size and non-complex nature of our business and is written in the context of the risks and uncertainties we face.

REVIEW OF BUSINESS

The company continues to provide chilled distribution for UK businesses.

The company's activities are located at its site in Telford.

We consider that our key financial performance indicators are those that communicate the financial performance and strength of the company as a whole, these being turnover, gross margin and profitability,

The results for the year and the financial position of the company are as shown in the annexed financial statements.

The overall profits have increased from £939,411 to £967,931 and, after taxation and dividends, retained reserves have been increased to £5,165,014.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The haulage industry is challenging and continues to be subject to fluctuations in the cost of fuel, the availability of drivers and the impact of Brexit. We continue to monitor these market fluctuations and react to them as appropriate.

With these risks and uncertainties in mind, we are aware that any plans for the future development of the business may be subject to unforeseen events outside of our control.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Mr J J Dale - Director

30 November 2023

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

DIVIDENDS

Interim dividends were paid monthly, totalling £133,940 (2022 - £112,560) and a final dividend was paid for the year of £391,200 (2022 - £423,500).

DIRECTORS

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

Mr A R Dale

Mr J J Dale

Mr R Dale

Mr N Dale

Mrs J Dale

Mrs J M Dale

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

The directors are responsible for preparing the 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), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'. 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.

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 company'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 company's auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Heywood Shepherd, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Mr J J Dale - Director

30 November 2023

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Dale Brothers U.K. Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Changes in Equity, Statement of Cash Flows and Notes to the Statement of Cash Flows, 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 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 March 2023 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 Auditors' 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 directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the 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 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 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 company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the 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, 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.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page three, 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 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.

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:

The objectives of our audit, in respect to fraud, are: to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses; and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the entity and management.

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.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatements 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 haulage 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, data protection, anti-bribery, 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 inspecting legal correspondence; 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 misstatements, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

- Making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;

- Considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations;

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

- Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or expected relationships;

- Tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

- Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and

- Investigate 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;

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

- reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators and the company's legal advisors.

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 errors 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.

Neil Kennington (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Heywood Shepherd

Chartered Accountants

1 Park Street

Macclesfield

Cheshire

SK11 6SR

30 November 2023

TURNOVER

3

14,657,092

11,769,984

Cost of sales

11,743,621

9,247,262

GROSS PROFIT

2,913,471

2,522,722

Administrative expenses

1,922,297

1,596,453

991,174

926,269

Other operating income

45,430

65,576

OPERATING PROFIT

5

1,036,604

991,845

Interest receivable and similar income

12,971

98

1,049,575

991,943

Interest payable and similar expenses

6

81,644

52,532

PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

967,931

939,411

Tax on profit

7

277,863

96,320

PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

690,068

843,091

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

-

-

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR

690,068

843,091

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

9

4,639,142

3,783,779

Investment property

10

-

435,351

4,639,142

4,219,130

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

11

59,800

59,750

Debtors

12

1,730,211

1,991,310

Cash at bank and in hand

2,106,290

1,652,832

3,896,301

3,703,892

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

13

1,997,417

1,853,564

NET CURRENT ASSETS

1,898,884

1,850,328

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

6,538,026

6,069,458

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

14

(656,604

)

(630,827

)

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

17

(716,408

)

(438,545

)

NET ASSETS

5,165,014

5,000,086

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

18

1,000

1,000

Retained earnings

19

5,164,014

4,999,086

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

5,165,014

5,000,086

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 30 November 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr J J Dale - Director

Called up

share

Retained

Total

capital

earnings

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 1 April 2021

1,000

4,692,055

4,693,055

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(536,060

)

(536,060

)

Total comprehensive income

-

843,091

843,091

Balance at 31 March 2022

1,000

4,999,086

5,000,086

Changes in equity

Dividends

-

(525,140

)

(525,140

)

Total comprehensive income

-

690,068

690,068

Balance at 31 March 2023

1,000

5,164,014

5,165,014

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

1,999,063

1,203,076

Interest element of hire purchase payments paid

(81,644

)

(52,532

)

Tax paid

-

(34,341

)

Net cash from operating activities

1,917,419

1,116,203

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(1,762,244

)

(1,241,871

)

Sale of tangible fixed assets

59,000

142,945

Sale of investment property

355,953

-

Interest received

12,971

98

Net cash from investing activities

(1,334,320

)

(1,098,828

)

Cash flows from financing activities

Hire purchase advances

1,764,873

1,305,011

Hire purchase repayments in year

(1,367,613

)

(827,261

)

Amount introduced by directors

391,200

423,500

Amount withdrawn by directors

(392,961

)

(422,532

)

Equity dividends paid

(525,140

)

(536,060

)

Net cash from financing activities

(129,641

)

(57,342

)

Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

453,458

(39,967

)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

2

1,652,832

1,692,799

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

2

2,106,290

1,652,832

1.	RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION TO CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS

2023

2022

£

£

Profit before taxation

967,931

939,411

Depreciation charges

865,961

652,215

Loss/(profit) on disposal of fixed assets

61,318

(78,610

)

Finance costs

81,644

52,532

Finance income

(12,971

)

(98

)

1,963,883

1,565,450

Increase in stocks

(50

)

(20,500

)

Decrease/(increase) in trade and other debtors

261,099

(497,278

)

(Decrease)/increase in trade and other creditors

(225,869

)

155,404

Cash generated from operations

1,999,063

1,203,076

2.	CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The amounts disclosed on the Statement of Cash Flows in respect of cash and cash equivalents are in respect of these Statement of Financial Position amounts:

Year ended 31 March 2023

31.3.23

1.4.22

£

£

Cash and cash equivalents

2,106,290

1,652,832

Year ended 31 March 2022

31.3.22

1.4.21

£

£

Cash and cash equivalents

1,652,832

1,692,799

3.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT

At 1.4.22

Cash flow

At 31.3.23

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank and in hand

1,652,832

453,458

2,106,290

1,652,832

453,458

2,106,290

Debt

Finance leases

(1,720,994

)

(397,260

)

(2,118,254

)

(1,720,994

)

(397,260

)

(2,118,254

)

Total

(68,162

)

56,198

(11,964

)

1.	STATUTORY INFORMATION

Dale Brothers U.K. Limited is a private company, limited by shares , registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found on the Company Information page.

The presentation currency of the financial statements is the Pound Sterling and is rounded to the nearest £1.

2.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Turnover

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life or, if held under a finance lease, over the lease term, whichever is the shorter.

Land & buildings

-

2% on cost

Plant and machinery

-

20% on reducing balance

Motor vehicles and trailers

-

25% on reducing balance

Fixtures and fittings

-

25% on reducing balance

Investment property

Investment property is shown at most recent valuation. Any aggregate surplus or deficit arising from changes in fair value is recognised in profit or loss.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Taxation

Taxation for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity.

Current or deferred taxation assets and liabilities are not discounted.

Current tax is recognised at the amount of tax payable using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the statement of financial position date.

Deferred tax

Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the statement of financial position date.

Timing differences arise from the inclusion of income and expenses in tax assessments in periods different from those in which they are recognised in financial statements. Deferred tax is measured using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the year end and that are expected to apply to the reversal of the timing difference.

Unrelieved tax losses and other deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits.

Foreign currencies

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the statement of financial position date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of transaction. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.

Hire purchase and leasing commitments

Assets obtained under hire purchase contracts or finance leases are capitalised in the balance sheet. Those held under hire purchase contracts are depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Those held under finance leases are depreciated over their estimated useful lives or the lease term, whichever is the shorter.

The interest element of these obligations is charged to profit or loss over the relevant period. The capital element of the future payments is treated as a liability.

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the company's pension scheme are charged to profit or loss in the period to which they relate.

3.

TURNOVER

The turnover and profit before taxation are attributable to the one principal activity of the company.

An analysis of turnover by geographical market is given below:

2023

2022

£

£

United Kingdom

14,644,404

11,683,903

Europe

12,688

86,081

14,657,092

11,769,984

4.	EMPLOYEES AND DIRECTORS

2023

2022

£

£

Wages and salaries

3,784,451

3,026,071

Social security costs

361,567

265,214

Other pension costs

63,545

48,499

4,209,563

3,339,784

The average number of employees during the year was as follows:

2023

2022

Management

6

6

Administration

16

13

Drivers

90

86

112

105

2023

2022

£

£

Directors' remuneration

103,154

89,628

The number of directors to whom retirement benefits were accruing was as follows:

Money purchase schemes

2

1

5.	OPERATING PROFIT

The operating profit is stated after charging/(crediting):

2023

2022

£

£

Vehicle and trailer hire

1,114,802

1,140,279

Depreciation - owned assets

310,771

265,010

Depreciation - assets on hire purchase contracts

555,190

387,205

Loss/(profit) on disposal of fixed assets

61,318

(78,610

)

Auditors' remuneration

4,735

4,215

Auditors' remuneration for non audit work

31,380

30,860

Foreign exchange differences

259

531

6.

INTEREST PAYABLE AND SIMILAR EXPENSES

2023

2022

£

£

Hire purchase interest

81,644

52,532

7.

TAXATION

Analysis of the tax charge

The tax charge on the profit for the year was as follows:

2023

2022

£

£

Current tax:

Overprovision

-

(14,250

)

Deferred tax

277,863

110,570

Tax on profit

277,863

96,320

Reconciliation of total tax charge included in profit and loss

The tax assessed for the year is higher than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK. The difference is explained below:

2023

2022

£

£

Profit before tax

967,931

939,411

Profit multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 19% (2022 - 19%)

183,907

178,488

Effects of:

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes

-

513

Capital allowances in excess of depreciation

(314,408

)

(208,011

)

Deferred taxation : origination and reversal of timing differences

408,364

139,580

Overprovision in prior year

-

(14,250

)

Total tax charge

277,863

96,320