PROJECT_Q_HOLDCO_LTD - Accounts

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2022.

The principal activity of the company is that of the activities of a holding company.

The results for the year are set out on page 7.

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

LB Group Limited (Stratford) were re-appointed as auditor to the company and in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, a resolution proposing that they be re-appointed will be put at a General Meeting.

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.

The company is financed through group loans, for which can only be settled if the subsidiary companies have sufficient cash resource to repay the amounts that are due. The underlying subsidiaries that this relies upon operate hotels. Support has been provided by our senior lender that debt will not be called in to the detriment of the company or the other companies within the group.

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;

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

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We have audited the financial statements of Project Q Holdco Ltd (the 'company') for the year ended 30 September 2022 which comprise the profit and loss account, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity 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 30 September 2022 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.

Key audit matters

Except for the matter described in the Material uncertainty related to going concern section, we have determined that there are no other key audit matters to be communicated in our report.

Material uncertainty related to going concern

We draw attention to Note 1.3 in the financial statements, which indicates subsequent to the year end the company is seeking to restructure its finance further releasing funds for the group. The funding for the group is not legally contracted for the next 12 months and is subject to either refinance, new finance, or extension of existing funding relationship. As stated in Note 1.3, these events or conditions, along with other matters as set forth in Note 1.3, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our audit opinion is not modified, and our audit opinion is not qualified, in respect of this matter.

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. 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 directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the directors' report has 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 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; or

•     the directors were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

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.

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, but not limited to, 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 holding companies;

• 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, and taxation 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 misstatement, 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; and

• 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 of controls, we:

• Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

• Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates around interest rate on loans to group companies were indicative of potential bias.

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; and

• Enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.

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.

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.

Project Q Holdco Ltd is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 2nd Floor, 32-33 Gosfield Street, London, W1W 6HL.

The financial statements for the current period have been prepared for a year. The prior period was a short accounting period due to including the company's commencement of trade. For this reason, the comparative amounts presented in the financial statements (including the related notes) will not be entirely comparable.

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 £'000.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

This company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements:

• Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;

• Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues: Interest income/expense and net gains/losses for financial instruments not measured at fair value; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;

• Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’: Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements;

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

The financial statements of the company are consolidated in the financial statements of Project Q Topco Limited. Which is both consolidated itself and is consolidated within the group accounts of Conquer Dawn Limited. These consolidated financial statements are available from its registered office, 2nd Floor, Palmerston House, Denzille Lane, Dublin, Ireland.

The company has taken advantage of the exemption under section 400 of the Companies Act 2006 not to prepare consolidated accounts. The financial statements present information about the company as an individual entity and not about its group.

At 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. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.true

The directors foresee the going concern of the business for 12 months from the approval of the financial statements based on the ongoing strong performance of the underlying trading entities of the group, alongside the value of the properties that support the trading structure of the group. With the ongoing support of external lenders in order to support the financial base of the business and fund any required capital work the directors are confident that the strength of the tangible and trading assets are to only improve in the foreseeable future. This will ensure that the group of entities and this company will be able to meet and manage relevant financial and non-financial commitments for the foreseeable future.

The directors are aware that the period in which has been reported includes COVID-19. This resulted in a fall in the profitability and income generated was as a result of the global conditions paramount at that time. Subsequent to this period the directors have overseen a period of growth and stability in the trading capacity of the hotel that has allowed it to continue funding the financial requirements and day to day working capital of the business. To this extent, the directors have comfort and support that they can obtain funds as required in order to precipitate any future and ongoing cashflow issues that may arise in the business.

The directors have been able to call on additional funding in the period from the ultimate parent company and its loan note holders to support the payment of interest in the Project Q Mezz Limited, a related party, and furthermore is able to draw down on funds into to continue the development of the Waterloo site as per the related party accounts. It is this continued financial support that is able to sustain the going concern of the group of companies.

Subsequent to the year end the company is seeking to restructure its finance further releasing greater funds for the development of the hotels and to ensure that interest payments are kept within the operational cashflow of the group. This is ongoing at the year end and on doing so would allow for a strong business moving forward.

Furthermore, the directors are aware of external factors and change in economic environments that will have an impact on the business and its related entities. To this extent they are actively working alongside relevant industry specialists, and external partners, such as HM Revenue & Customs in order to overcome and resolve these issues as they arise.

As such, due to the ongoing support of the main lenders of the group entities, the financial and continued support of the shareholders and directors of the business, and underlying performance of the business and asset value, the directors are confident that the company is a going concern for 12 months from the date of signing of the balance sheet.

Turnover is in relation to interest accrued and received in respects to intercompany loans.

Interests in subsidiaries, associates and jointly controlled entities are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. The investments are assessed for impairment at each reporting date and any impairment losses or reversals of impairment losses are recognised immediately in profit or loss.

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the company. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

An associate is an entity, being neither a subsidiary nor a joint venture, in which the company holds a long-term interest and where the company has significant influence. The company considers that it has significant influence where it has the power to participate in the financial and operating decisions of the associate.

Entities in which the company has a long term interest and shares control under a contractual arrangement are classified as jointly controlled entities.

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

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

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.

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

Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.

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

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, 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.

Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.

Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as being measured at fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.

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.

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 in the period are included in profit or loss.

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.

Impairment of loans in subsidiaries

There is a continual and ongoing assessment and review of recoverability of debts due to and or from related entities. Assessment of this is taken by the underlying operating entities ability to help service the relevant debts as part of the financing arrangement of the group.

Audit fees in relation to this entity are charged to the operating business of HH Waterloo Opco Limited.

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

The long term loan of £27,778,000 (2021: £27,000,000) is advanced to wholly owned subsidiary company Project Q Mezz Limited, repayable in full on 10 September 2026. Interest payable is agreed at 10% per annum to 31 December 2021 and 12.5% per annum thereafter, accruing daily. This rate is considered appropriate in accordance with the arms length principle of the OECD guidelines.

Debtors includes the interest on the loan advanced to wholly owned subsidiary Project Q Mezz Ltd and the amount due towards share capital from the parent company Project Q Topco Limited.

Amounts owed by group undertakings are interest free and repayable on demand.

Creditors includes the interest on loan payable to Project Q Topco Ltd and the amount payable towards share capital for investment in wholly owned subsidiary Project Q Mezz Ltd.

Amounts owed to group undertakings are interest free payable on demand.

The long term debt relates to £27,778,000 (2021: £27,000,000) loan from parent company Project Q Topco Ltd repayable in full on 10 September 2026. Interest payable is agreed at 10% per annum to 31 December 2021 and 12.5% per annum thereafter, accruing daily. This rate is considered appropriate in accordance with the arms length principle of the OECD guidelines.

From 10 September 2021 London and Regional Properties Limited hold a charge over the fixed and floating charges covering this company and all group company property and undertakings.

All group loan agreements are repayable on 10 September 2026 in full with an interest rate of 10% per annum to 31 December 2021 and 12.5% per annum thereafter, accruing daily.

The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:

All group loan agreements are repayable on 10 September 2026 in full with an interest rate of 10% per annum to 31 December 2021 and 12.5% per annum thereafter, accruing daily.

The parent company of Project Q Holdco Ltd is Project Q Topco Ltd, which is both consolidated itself and is consolidated within the group accounts of Conquer Dawn Limited. The registered office is 2nd Floor, Palmerston House, Denzille Lane, Dublin, Ireland. The financial statements of the group are available from the registered office.

There are no ultimate controlling parties.