22 March 2022

 

Fintel Plc

 

("Fintel", the "Company", the "Group" or the "Business")

 

Full year results for the year ended 31 December 2021

 

Robust financial performance. Significant strategic progress. Positioned for strong and sustainable growth.

 

Fintel (AIM: FNTL), the leading provider of Fintech and support services to the UK retail financial services sector, today announces its audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2021. 

 

Financial Highlights 

 

•              5% increase in total revenue up £2.9m to £63.9m (FY20: £61.0m)

•              5% increase in core¹ revenue - up £2.4m to £52.2m (FY20: £49.8m) 

•              6% increase in adjusted EBITDA² - up to £18.3m (FY20: £17.3m) 

•              Positive net cash³ of £2.6m (FY20: net debt of £19.4m)

•              Strong balance sheet with £45m revolving credit facility of which £38m remains undrawn

•              Adjusted EPS⁴ of 10.5 pence (FY20: 11.3 pence), on a like for like basis excluding the impact of the change in the UK Corporation Tax rate EPS would have been 12 pence

•              Final dividend proposed of 2 pence per share, resulting in a full year dividend of 3 pence per share (FY20: 2.85 pence per share)

 

Operational Highlights 

 

•              SaaS and subscription revenues now represent 66% of total core revenues (FY20: 61%) and continuing to grow across all three operating divisions.

•              Continued digitisation of core business.

•              Strategic partnership to deploy proprietary advice technology for up to 2,500 additional users through Tatton Asset Management. 

•              Increasing revenue quality - Successful scaling of distribution as a service ("DaaS") with 14 partners converted to long term subscription agreements.

•              Solid EBITDA margin of 28.6% (FY20: 28.4%) delivered during a year of investment in digital growth and strategic divestment. 

•              Development of comprehensive ESG strategy, following a wide-ranging materiality assessment with key stakeholder groups, supported by formation of an ESG and Wellbeing Committee.

•              ESG research platform expanded to cover 76 retail investment funds with digital ESG client profiler deployed to over 8,000 wealth managers and financial advisers.

•              Significant strategic progress with successful sale of non-core Zest Technology and disposal of Verbatim funds.

 

Joint CEO, Matt Timmins commented:

 

''We have delivered strong results during a year of significant strategic progress and continued robust financial performance. Revenues, EBITDA and recurring income have all increased in line with expectations driven by organic growth, strategic enterprise partnerships and the expansion of our proprietary advice technology. We are well positioned for further growth. 

 

We have maintained earnings in line with our objectives during a year in which we have invested into our digital delivery and completed two strategic divestments. With high levels of cash conversion and a strengthened balance sheet, we now have the financial agility to scale our unique Fintech and services platform and pursue further growth in quality revenues. 

 

The rapid digitisation of our core business has significantly increased our quality of earnings, with SaaS and subscription revenues reaching 66% of total core revenue and continuing to grow across all three operating divisions.

 

We have developed a comprehensive and holistic ESG strategy, addressing stakeholder, industry and consumer needs which further strengthens our market position and purpose. Our central position in the market has enabled us to be a significant force in bringing ESG information to professional advisers and their clients.  

 

We are very excited for the next stage of our journey as we continue to digitise and scale our service model, improve retail financial services, and inspire better outcomes for all.'' 

 

 

¹Core business excludes revenues from Panel Management, Surveying and Employee Benefits software.

²Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share option charges and exceptional operating costs.

³Net cash position excludes any adjustment under IFRS16 "Lease Accounting" and compares gross cash balances to gross borrowings under the Group's £45m Revolving Credit Facility.

⁴Adjusted earnings per share is calculated as adjusted profit after tax attributable to owners of the Company, which excludes operating exceptional costs and amortization of intangible assets arising on acquisition, divided by the average number of Ordinary Shares in issue for the period.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Fintel plc	via Instinctif Partners
Matt Timmins (Joint Chief Executive Officer)
Neil Stevens (Joint Chief Executive Officer)
David Thompson (Chief Financial Officer)
Zeus (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)	+44 (0) 20 3829 5000
Martin Green
Dan Bate
Investec Bank (Joint Broker)	+44 (0) 20 7597 5970
Bruce Garrow
David Anderson
Harry Hargreaves
Instinctif Partners (Financial PR)	+44 (0) 20 7866 7887
Mark Walter	fintel@instinctif.com
Tim Linacre
Joe Quinlan

 

Notes to Editors

 

Fintel is the UK's leading fintech and support services business, combining the largest provider of intermediary business support, SimplyBiz, and the leading research, ratings, and Fintech business, Defaqto.

 

Fintel provides technology, compliance and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses, data and targeted distribution services to hundreds of product providers and empowers millions of consumers to make better informed financial decisions. We serve our customers through three core divisions:

The Intermediary Services division provides technology, compliance, and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses through a comprehensive membership model. Members include directly authorised IFAs, Wealth Managers and Mortgage Brokers.

The Distribution Channels division delivers market Insight & analysis and targeted distribution strategies to financial institutions and product providers. Clients include major Life & Pension companies, Investment Houses, Banks and Building Societies.

The Fintech and Research division (Defaqto) provides market leading software, financial information and product research to product providers and intermediaries. Defaqto also provides product ratings (Star Ratings) on thousands of financial products. Financial products are expertly reviewed by the Defaqto research team and are compared and rated based on their underlying features & benefits. Defaqto ratings help consumers compare and buy financial products with confidence.

For more information about Fintel, please visit the website: www.wearefintel.com

 

 

Analyst Presentation

 

An analyst briefing is being held at 9:30am on 22 March 2022 via an online video conference facility. To register your attendance, please contact fintel@instinctif.com.

 

 

JOINT CHIEF EXECUTIVES' STATEMENT

 

We have delivered strong results during a year of significant strategic progress and continued robust financial performance. We are a stronger organisation with a strengthened purpose through our commitment to ESG.  Total revenue growth has been delivered ahead of prior expectations as non-core surveying bounced back in 2021, up £2.9m to £63.9m (FY20: £61.0m), adjusted EBITDA increased by 5.8% (FY21: £18.3m; FY20: £17.3m) and adjusted EBITDA margin has also increased to 28.6% (FY20: 28.4%).

 

Strategic Delivery

 

The Fintel strategic plan drives three key medium-term performance objectives for our Business:

 

•      core revenue growth between 5% and 7% annually;

•      core EBITDA margin target of between 35% and 40%; and

•      core earnings quality with percentage of SaaS and subscription income between 70% and 80%.

 

Revenue Growth

Total revenue increased by 5% during the year (FY21: £63.9m; FY20: £61.0m). Adjusting for the impact of the two disposals in 2021, total revenue grew by 9%, accelerated by our non-core panel management and surveying business recovering from the downturn caused by COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.

 

We have set out our medium-term objective for core business revenue growth at 5-7% annually during the period 2021 to 2024. Continued digitisation of our core business brought us to the starting point for this objective in 2021, delivering 5% core business revenue growth (FY21: £52.2m; FY20: £49.8m).

 

Our resilient, high quality revenue streams continue to reflect the quality of our customer base. 

 

Division	Intermediary Services	Distribution Channels	Fintech and Research
Revenue share	£24m (38%)	£23.1m (36%)	£16.8m (26%)
Revenue streams	Membership services	Marketing services revenues	Fintech software solutions
	Additional services	Distribution as a service ("Daas")	Research - risk mappings, fund reviews and rating services
	Software licence income	Commission revenues
		Valuation services*

 Note: *Non-core revenue stream

 

EBITDA Margin

 

Fintel's adjusted EBITDA margin grew to 28.6% (FY20: 28.4%) during 2021.

 

Our core business delivered adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.7% (FY20: 31.0%), making strong progress towards our 35-40% medium-term margin objective. Margin was slightly increased year-on-year due to continued growth in software licence sales.

 

Earnings Quality

 

Fintel's SaaS and subscription revenues accounted for 56.3% of total revenue, however, when adjusted for the impact of the disposals, this increases to 64.2%, highlighting the strategic alignment of the transactions.

 

Significant progress has been made in improving our quality of earnings in our core business. SaaS and subscription revenue, as a proportion of core revenue increased to 65.7% (FY20: 60.8%), in line with our medium-term objective of reaching 70-80%. 

 

Our growing Saas and subscription revenues have been driven by improvements in software sales in our Intermediary Services division. Distribution Channels division transitioned 14 customers from annual rolling marketing services agreements to multi-year subscription agreements via the launch of distribution as a service ("DaaS"). This service has now been taken up by a total of 20 partners. The strategic disposal of Verbatim led to the creation of a new strategic partnership to deploy proprietary advice technology for up to 2,500 additional users through Tatton Asset Management, further strengthening our SaaS and subscription revenues.

 

Growth opportunity

 

The UK's retail financial services market is an open, independent and competitive market that delivers choice and value to consumers. It is also complex, with thousands of products to choose from, delivered by hundreds of providers, through thousands of intermediaries. At Fintel, our role is to connect and enable the market, simplifying complexity and delivering better outcomes.

 

We believe our unique proprietary financial data and market insights are key to improving outcomes in retail financial services. Using our information and insights on product features, selection processes, and buyer behaviour, product providers are able to build better products, advisers make better recommendations and consumers make better informed decisions. We are uniquely positioned to provide robust, real-time, and insightful data on key areas of the industry and we see substantial opportunity to further expand our data services. 

 

In addition, in an increasingly digital world, most individuals who interact with the industry want to do so in a frictionless way, supported by software services that reduce complexity. We have considerable experience of software delivery to the retail financial services market, including through internal development and deployment.  In 2021 we deployed our new beta DaaS product provider platform and additional modules on our intermediary platform, CENTRA. We will continue to invest in this area to ensure we continue to meet the demands for products and help the industry evolve to its greatest potential.

 

Our strengthened balance sheet and positive cash position mean we are well positioned to make strategic investments both in terms of internal developments and through strategically aligned acquisitions. Our focus in the year ahead will see further investments made into Fintel's customer relationship management platforms ("CRM") to support our data and digitisation objectives. A new enterprise resource planning system ("ERP") will drive optimal operational performance at Fintel. We will also continue to digitise and develop our client facing services and systems helping the market meet the evolving needs of the end consumer. Externally we maintain an active acquisition pipeline of target businesses. With a proven ability to attract and integrate businesses through a robust acquisition approach, we are well placed to welcome further businesses to Fintel.

 

Value generation

 

Our recurring revenues, combined with the efficiency of our Business, ensure we can sustainably create and maintain the financial, technology and skills capacity to advance our objectives. Reinvestment in our people and our digital platforms is key and we remain focused on advancing in areas where we have a proven capability and long-standing relationships with our customers. Adjusted EPS performance remained in line with expectations at 10.5 pence per share (FY20: 11.3 pence per share). The reduction against the prior year is as a direct result of the one-off impact of the change in UK Corporation Tax rates from 19% to 25%. Excluding this one-off impact, the adjusted EPS would have been 12 pence per share on a like-for-like basis.

 

Strategic priorities

 

Our immediate priorities are to leverage our unique end-to-end platform, to extend our data services and to efficiently deploy capital to make strategic and value accretive investments. Organic growth is expected to be driven by positive market dynamics, driving further increases in average revenue per customer, further conversions to our DaaS model and increased digitisation of our core services. These activities are also key to deliver our medium-term objectives to further improve our margin and underlying quality of earnings. This will be achieved whilst also delivering core operational developments to our CRM and ERP systems.

 

In addition, the strength of our balance sheet, and net positive cash position mean we will continue to actively seek out strategic acquisitions to deliver further value to our shareholders.

 

Ensuring better outcomes

 

In 2021 we pioneered the development of a comprehensive ESG strategy, following a wide-ranging and all-inclusive materiality assessment with key stakeholder groups. We have put in place a robust governance structure including our newly established ESG and Wellbeing Committee, which monitors the delivery of our ESG and Wellbeing action plan. Our central position in the market has enabled us to be a significant force in bringing ESG information to professional advisers and their clients.  

 

Our people

 

We have invested during the year to ensure we have the right systems and support in place, enabling our people to deliver their best. We introduced our Peakon engagement tool which routinely assesses our performance in the areas our people care about the most, launched new flexible and family friendly working policies and further strengthened our wellbeing programme. 2022 is set to deliver further investment in our people as we launch our flexible benefit initiatives, develop our employee ownership strategy and further strengthen our engagement activities.

 

We have enjoyed the contributions of our new Board colleagues Imogen Joss and David Thompson during the year and the new skills and experience they bring. We would also like to recognise the contributions made by Gary Hughes during his time as Chair.

 

Outlook

 

2022 has started positively. Trading has been strong and in line with the Board's expectations. We continue to make rapid progress on our strategic delivery and are confident that the Company is in a strong position for further growth.

 

World events including macro-economic pressures and geo-political concerns will continue to drive market volatility. With operations in the UK only, we are not directly impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but are monitoring ongoing economic developments closely. We remain dedicated to supporting our clients and partners in these difficult times and hope for a swift return to peace.

 

Our high quality recurring revenues and strengthened balance sheet mean that we are well positioned to create and maintain the financial, technology and skills capacity to deliver the tools, connectivity and insights our markets need, even more so in these uncertain times.

 

We are, as always, enormously grateful for the support from all our teams, our Board, and our customers. We firmly believe that our robust and resilient platform, unique market position and our insights and expertise will give us the opportunity to build an even greater business that has a positive impact on society and provides long-term value to all our stakeholders.

 

Matt Timmins and Neil Stevens

 

Joint Chief Executive Officers

 

 

FINANCIAL REVIEW

 

	Year ended 31 December 2021 £m	Year ended 31 December 2020 £m
Group revenue	63.9	61.0
Expenses	(45.6)	(43.7)
Adjusted EBITDA	18.3	17.3
Adjusted EBITDA margin %	28.6%	28.4%
Depreciation	(0.3)	(0.3)
Depreciation of lease asset	(0.6)	(0.8)
Amortisation of development expenditure and software	(1.5)	(1.1)
Adjusted EBIT	15.9	15.1
Gain on sale of subsidiary	4.3	-
Gain on sale of operations	3.5
Operating costs of an exceptional nature	-	(0.8)
Share option charges	(1.1)	(0.9)
Amortisation of other intangible assets	(2.0)	(2.0)
Net finance costs	(0.7)	(1.2)
Profit before tax	19.9	10.2
Taxation	(4.3)	(2.0)
Profit after tax	15.6	8.2
Adjusted earnings per share ("EPS")	10.5p	11.3p

 

Total revenue

 

The Business has performed well in the current financial year, and has seen continued growth across all key areas. Total revenues have grown 5% to £63.9m (FY20: £61.0m). It is important to note revenues in 2020 compared well to 2019, showing a small decrease of 3% but importantly highlighting that the Business is extremely resilient to significant macro-economic factors due to our SaaS and subscription-based revenue model. As the wider UK economy recovered during 2021, we as a business further strengthened our position in our market and continued to grow, exceeding 2019 pre-pandemic levels and achieving record turnover.

 

Further underpinning the financial performance, was that total revenues for the full year on a like-for-like basis would have increased 9% year-on-year.

 

Divisional performance

 

Intermediary Services 

 

Intermediary services revenue decreased 4% to £24.0m (FY20: £25.0m), however, the organic growth year-on-year was 5%.

 

Our Intermediary Services division provides compliance and business services to financial intermediary firms through a comprehensive membership model. Members, including financial advisers, mortgage advisers and wealth managers, are regulated by the FCA. The division also provided employee benefits software to consultants and employers prior to the disposal of Zest Technology.

 

In 2021 Intermediary Services division delivered:

 

•      Average Revenue per Customer ("ARPC") of £7,026 (FY20: £6,729) - an increase of 4%.

•      Membership fee income increase to £10.9m (FY20: £10.7m) due to level customer numbers and fee increasing by 2%.

•      Additional services income increase of 4% to £5.2m (FY20: £5.0m).

•      Software licence income growth of 9% to £6.0m (FY20: £5.5m).

•      Gross profit* of £7.4m (FY20: £8.6m) with gross profit margin** of 30.8% (FY20: 34.4%) reflects increased investment in our delivery platform. 

 

 Note: *  Gross profit is calculated as revenue less direct operating costs. 

 Note ** Gross profit margin is calculated as gross profit as a percentage of revenue.

 

Distribution Channels

 

Distribution Channels revenue increased by 12% to £23.1m (FY20: £20.7m).

 

The Distribution Channels division delivers data, distribution and marketing services to product providers.

 

In 2021 Distribution Channels division delivered:

 

•      Marketing services revenues of £5.1m (FY20: £5.7m) reflecting full year of COVID-19 impact on physical events.

•      Core commission revenues of £8.3m (FY20: £7.9m), an increase of 5% mainly driven by mortgage market buoyancy against a strong lending performance in the year. Core commission revenues include Verbatim revenues of £1.7m to September 2021 being the date of the strategic disposal (FY20: £2.3m).

•      Non-core panel management and valuation services revenues of £9.8m (FY20: £7.1m), also driven by the recovery of the mortgage market.

•      Gross profit of £10.9m (FY20: £11.3m) with gross profit margin of 47.2% (FY20: 54.6%) reflecting increased activity in non-core surveying business.

 

Fintech and Research

 

Fintech and Research revenues grew by 10% to £16.8m (FY20: £15.3m).

 

Fintech and Research comprises our Defaqto business. Defaqto provides market-leading software, financial information and product research to product providers and financial intermediaries.

 

Development of Fintech and Research capabilities:

 

•      Enhancements to fintech adviser software with improved risk profiling functionality, launch of income drawdown solution and ESG fund selection filters. 

•      Expansion of risk mapping and ratings service with launch of new investment trust ratings

•      Defaqto ESG research platform expanded to cover 76 retail investment funds and our Digital ESG Client Profiler has been deployed to over 8,000 wealth managers and financial advisers.

 

In 2021 Fintech and Research division delivered:

 

•      Software revenue of £8.0m (FY20: £7.4m).

•      Product Ratings revenue of £8.0m (FY20: £7.3m) was delivered.

•      Other income of £0.8m (FY20: £0.4m) was delivered from consultancy and ad hoc work.

•      Fintech and Research delivered a strong gross profit margin of 64.3% (FY20: 60.1%).

 

Profitability

 

Our adjusted EBITDA has grown in line with revenue, achieving £18.3m (FY20: £17.3m), an increase of 5.8%.

 

The resulting adjusted EBITDA margin of 28.6% (FY20: 28.4%) compares well with prior periods as we continue to reinvest in the Business to build our platform for scalable, digitally driven growth.

 

Again it is pleasing to see that, in addition to year on year growth over 2020 and 2021, we are also inherently more profitable than 2019, the last full year before the global pandemic, despite continued investment in our operating platform throughout the current financial year.

 

Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated as adjusted EBITDA (as defined in note 8), divided by revenue. Whilst adjusted EBITDA is not a statutory measure, the Board believes it is a highly useful measure of the underlying trade and operations, excluding one-off and non-cash items.

 

Operating income / costs of an exceptional nature

 

Exceptional income of £7.8m (FY20: exceptional net costs of £0.8m) relates entirely to transaction-related activity, being the strategic disposal of Zest Technology Limited and fund assets from operations within Simplybiz Investments Limited (formerly Verbatim Investments Limited). Reported exceptional income is net of transaction costs of £1.3m. No other costs have been treated as exceptional.

 

In the prior year exceptional operating costs in 2020 of £0.8m included £0.6m relating to the restructuring of the cost base in response to the impacts on the Business from the COVID-19 pandemic, and £0.2m of Executive loss of office costs.

 

Share-based payments

 

Share-based payment charges of £1.1m (FY20: £0.9m) have been recognised in respect of the options in issue, including the new "Value Builder Plan" MIP scheme that was introduced for key management personnel during the year. The annualised run rate of that scheme with a three-year vesting period is £1.2m.

 

Financial income and expense

 

Net finance expenses of £0.7m (FY20: £1.2m) relate to the utilisation of the Group's five-year revolving credit facility, which is not due for renewal till March 2024. Strong operating cash inflows and the proceeds from strategic divestment have allowed the Business to significantly reduce the gross debt level within the Group from £30m at the previous year end to £7m as at 31 December 2021. The interest cost on the drawn portion of the facility has reduced directly as a result.

 

Taxation

 

The underlying tax charge of 26% for the year includes the significant one-off impact of the future change in 2023 of Corporation Tax rates in the UK from 19% to 25%. Excluding the effects of this, and prior year adjustments in respect of submission of R&D claims of £0.5m, our effective underlying tax rate would be 20%.  As a significant UK corporation tax paying group, we settle our liability for corporation tax on a quarterly basis in advance, and have paid c.£1.8m in corporation taxes evenly throughout the year.

 

Earnings per share

 

Earnings per share has been calculated based on the weighted average number of shares in issue in both periods. Adjusted earnings per share in the period amounted to 10.5 pence per share (2020: 11.3 pence per share). The reduction against the prior year is as a direct result of the one-off impact of the change in UK Corporation Tax rates from 19% to 25%. Excluding this one-off impact, the EPS would have been 12 pence per share on a like for like basis. 

 

Dividend

 

During the year the Company paid the final dividend in respect of FY20 of £2.8m, and an interim dividend in respect of FY21 of £1.0m. The Board is proposing a final dividend in respect of FY21 of 2.0 pence per share, payable on 7 June 2022, to shareholders on the register on 29 April 2022 with an ex-dividend date of 28 April 2022, subject to shareholder approval at the Company's annual general meeting.

 

Cash flow and closing net debt

 

At 31 December 2021, the Company had net cash of £2.6m, compared to a net debt position of £19.4m at 31 December 2020. Net cash is calculated as borrowings less cash and cash equivalents and amortised arrangement fees. This represents a net cash to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.1 times (31 December 2020: net debt ratio of 1.1 times).

 

Underlying operating cash flow conversion was 116% (FY20: 114%), calculated as underlying cash flow from operations as a percentage of adjusted operating profit. Underlying cash flow from operations is calculated as adjusted operating profit, adjusted for changes in working capital, depreciation, amortisation, CAPEX and share based payments. A reconciliation of free cash flow and underlying cash flow conversion is provided in note 8 to the financial statements. 

 

The Company's significant capitalised development expenditure and corporation tax payments impact the Company's cash generation.

 

Using underlying operating cash flow conversion, our three-year cash conversion is as follows:

 

2021: 116%

2020: 114 %

2019: 74 %

 

Accounting policies

 

The Company's consolidated financial information has been prepared consistently in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards ("UK-adopted IAS"), in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. No new accounting standards were adopted in the current financial year.

 

Going concern

 

The Directors have undertaken a comprehensive assessment to consider the Company's ability to trade as a going concern for a period of 18 months.  The Directors have robustly tested the going concern assumption in preparing these financial statements, taking into account the Group's strong liquidity position at 31 December 2021 and a number of severe but plausible downside scenarios, which collectively would be considered remote, and remain satisfied that the going concern basis of preparation in the financial statement is appropriate. On the basis of the Company's current and forecast profitability and cash flows, and the availability of committed funding, the Directors consider and have concluded that the Company will have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least the next 18 months. As a result, they continue to adopt a going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements.

 

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

for the year ended 31 December 2021

		2021 Underlying	2021 Underlying adjustments	2021 Total	2020 Underlying	2020  Underlying adjustments	2020 Total
	Note	£M	£M	£M	£M	£M	£M
Revenue	4	63.9	-	63.9	61.0	-	61.0
Operating expenses	8	(49.1)	-	(49.1)	(46.8)	(0.8)	(47.6)
Amortisation of other intangible assets	13	-	(2.0)	(2.0)	-	(2.0)	(2.0)
Gain on disposal of subsidiary		-	4.3	4.3	-	-	-
Gain on disposal of operations		-	3.5	3.5	-	-	-
Group operating profit		14.8	5.8	20.6	14.2	(2.8)	11.4
Finance income	9	-	-	-	0.1	-	0.1
Finance expense	10	(0.7)	-	(0.7)	(1.3)	-	(1.3)
Profit before taxation		14.1	5.8	19.9	13.0	(2.8)	10.2
Taxation		(3.6)	(0.7)	(4.3)	(2.0)	-	(2.0)
Profit for the financial year		10.5	5.1	15.6	11.0	(2.8)	8.2
Profit attributable to shareholders:
Owners of the Company				15.4			8.1
Non-controlling interests				0.2			0.1
				15.6			8.2
Adjusted earnings per share	11			10.5p			11.3p
Earnings per share - basic	11			15.7p			8.3p
Earnings per share - diluted	11			15.7p			8.3p

 

There are no items to be included in other comprehensive income in the current year or preceding year.

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of financial position

as at 31 December 2021

		31 December 2021			31 December 2020
	Note	£M	£M		£M	£M
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment	12	1.3			1.5
Lease assets		3.6			5.0
Intangible assets and goodwill	13	96.6			105.4
Trade and other receivables		2.6			-
Total non-current assets			104.1			111.9
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		9.8			10.2
Deferred tax asset		-			0.3
Cash and cash equivalents		9.4			10.3
Total current assets			19.2			20.8
Total assets			123.3			132.7
Equity and liabilities
Equity
Share capital	16	1.0			1.0
Share premium account	16	65.6			64.8
Other reserves	18	(52.3)			(52.2)
Retained earnings		73.9			61.0
Equity attributable to the owners of the Company			88.2			74.6
Non-controlling interest			0.3			0.2
Total equity			88.5			74.8
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		17.0			17.5
Lease liabilities		0.4			0.6
Current tax liabilities		2.0			0.2
Total current liabilities			19.4			18.3
Non-current liabilities
Loans and borrowings	15	6.8			29.7
Lease liabilities		3.2			4.5
Deferred tax liabilities		5.4			5.4
Total non-current liabilities			15.4			39.6
Total liabilities			34.8			57.9
Total equity and liabilities			123.3			132.7

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

for the year ended 31 December 2021

	Share	Share	Other	Non- controlling	Retained	Total
	capital	premium	reserves	interest	earnings	equity
	£M	£M	£M	£M	£M	£M
Balance at 1 January 2020	1.0	64.8	(52.0)	0.1	55.7	69.6
Total comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year	-	-	-	0.1	8.1	8.2
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	0.1	8.1	8.2
Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Dividends	-	-	-	-	(2.8)	(2.8)
Share option charge	-	-	0.9	-	-	0.9
Tax on share options exceeding profit or loss charge	-	-	(1.1)	-	-	(1.1)
Total contributions by and distributions to owners	-	-	(0.2)	-	(2.8)	(3.0)
Balance at 31 December 2020	1.0	64.8	(52.2)	0.2	61.0	74.8
Balance at 1 January 2021	1.0	64.8	(52.2)	0.2	61.0	74.8
Total comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year	-	-	-	0.2	15.4	15.6
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	0.2	15.4	15.6
Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Issue of shares	-	0.8	-	-	(0.1)	0.7
Dividends	-	-	-	(0.1)	(3.7)	(3.8)
Share option charge	-	-	1.1	-	-	1.1
Tax on share options exceeding profit or loss charge	-	-	0.1	-	-	0.1
Release of share option reserve on exercise	-	-	(1.3)	-	1.3	-
Total contributions by and distributions to owners	-	0.8	(0.1)	(0.1)	(2.5)	(1.9)
Balance at 31 December 2021	1.0	65.6	(52.3)	0.3	73.9	88.5

 

 

 

Consolidated statement of cash flows

for the year ended 31 December 2021

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December	31 December
		2021	2020
	Note	£M	£M
Net cash generated from operating activities	19	17.1	16.7
Cash flows from investing activities
Finance income		-	0.1
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(0.2)	(1.3)
Development expenditure		(1.6)	(2.3)
Net proceeds from sale of subsidiary		8.7	-
Proceeds from sale of operations		2.4	-
Net cash flows from/(used in) investing activities		9.3	(3.5)
Cash flows from financing activities
Finance costs		(0.5)	(1.0)
Loan repayments made		(23.0)	(15.0)
Drawdown of loans		-	7.0
Transaction costs related to borrowing		-	(0.1)
Payment of deferred consideration		-	(0.7)
Payment of lease liability		(0.8)	(1.0)
Issue of share capital		0.8	-
Dividends paid		(3.8)	(2.8)
Net cash flows used in financing activities		(27.3)	(13.6)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(0.9)	(0.4)
Cash and cash equivalents at start of year		10.3	10.7
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		9.4	10.3

 

Operating costs of an exceptional nature, as per below, are included in net cash generated from operating activities.

Net proceeds of £8.7m from sale of wholly owned subsidiary Zest Technology Limited, disposed of on 21 July 2021, is included in net cash from investing activities. 

Net proceeds of £2.5m from sale of operations within 100% owned subsidiary Simplybiz Investments Limited (formerly Verbatim Investments Limited) is included in net cash from investing activities. 

In 2020, payment of £725,000 deferred consideration relates to amounts payable for the acquisition of Landmark Surveyors Limited. The deferred consideration is considered financing in nature given the time elapsed since the acquisitions.