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Attraqt Group plc

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FY2020 Annual Report · Attraqt Group plc
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Report &  
financial  
statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

Attraqt Group plc

Company Number 08904529

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

2

Contents

03 

09 

11 

19 

23 

27 

28 

31 

32	

39 

41 

49 

53 

59	

63 

67 

69 

75 

79 

97 

98 

99	

What we do

Solutions and services

Our technology

Market overview

The Attraqt way

Values

Strategy

Chairman’s Statement

Chief	Executive	Officer’s	Statement

Key performance indicators

Risk overview

Board of directors

Executive team

Chief	Financial	Officer’s	Statement

Corporate governance report

Audit committee report

Remuneration committee report

Directors report

Independent auditors report to members of the Attraqt group

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Consolidated	statement	of	financial	position

100 

Consolidated statement of changes of equity

101	

Consolidated	statement	of	cash	flows

103	

Notes	to	the	financial	statements

145	

Company	statement	of	financial	position

146 

Company statement of changes of equity

147	

Notes	to	the	company	financial	statements

151 

Company information

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

4

What we do

Attraqt is a leading European technology 
provider in Search, Merchandising and 
Personalisation. 

We have a proven ability to orchestrate individual shopper 
moments across the entire product discovery journey from 
awareness to discovery, inspiration, conversion and re-engagement. 
Attraqt enables international brands, manufacturers and retailers 
to optimise their ecommerce site performance by delivering 
exceptional shopping experiences for their customers through  
a set of API-enabled, algorithm-driven, intelligent SaaS services 
covering search, navigation, merchandising, recommendations 
and internationalisation, all of which are highly personalised 
through our embedded AI capabilities. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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What we do

Empowering retailers and brands 

Our AI differentiation

Aligned with digital acceleration

Addressable market 

Our capabilities bring together and empower all 
key stakeholders, within our customers, who 
have a responsibility for optimising the shopper 
journey. Through our open and transparent 
technology, we enable business, data and 
technical teams to successfully collaborate 
together and to fully leverage and optimise their 
existing ecommerce technology investments. 
Ultimately, this provides shoppers with 
individualised and connected product discovery 
experiences that drive conversion. This also 
provides	teams	with	real	operational	efficiencies.	

One of Attraqt’s foundational and highly 
differentiated	abilities	is	that	we	don’t	just	rely	on	
just	one	algorithm	to	deliver	Artificial	Intelligence.	
Our	platform	enables	the	customer	to	find	the	
best	algorithm	for	their	specific	needs,	whether	
this be an Attraqt algorithm, a third-party 
algorithm or their own. In this way, the customer 
always selects the best model, resulting in 
curated personalisation strategies that deliver 
differentiated	experiences	at	scale.	Experiences	
that exceed the expectations of today’s shopper, 
motivating higher conversion and resulting in 
delivery of the organisation’s commercial goals.

The market is changing rapidly, and there is a 
strong market impetus for investment to shift 
to digital and customer experience technologies. 
We are enabling our customers to make this 
transition, with agility, speed and operational 
efficiency	through	the	application	of	AI,	as	this 	
is	the	centre	piece	of	our	offering	across	all	our 	
solutions. In addition, we are able to support 
retailers who are seeking to scale and expand 
their	ecommerce	offering	internationally	 
as well as into new market segments and 
vertical categories. 

Attraqt supports over 300 brands globally with 
localised languages. 

Top 6 segments:

–  Fashion & Footwear

–  Home, Garden and Living

–  Sports, Recreation and Leisure

–  Brand Stores

–  Electronics

–  Other

The multi-channel brands and specialist retailers 
we cater to span several sectors including Fashion, 
Footwear, Homeware, Health & Beauty, Grocery, 
Electronics, B2B, Sports & Outdoor. Our analysis 
shows us that Brand Stores are the biggest 
opportunity for us. This rapid growth of Direct-to-
Consumer brands which use their platform and 
infrastructure to grow fast and connect directly  
to their customers, without ‘middle men’, are  
a	significant	sign	of	positive	market	disruption.	
We	are	poised	to	respond	to	this	effectively.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Our capabilities 

The modern online shopper journey is complex 
and not linear. We expect that shoppers will 
engage with retailers on multiple touch points over 
a period of time before making a purchase. This is 
what we refer to as the product discovery journey 
and this is what our capabilities are set against. 

Product Discovery Journey

This enables retailers and brands to create 
end-to-end product discovery experiences 
online by controlling a combination of Smart 
Automation and Strategic Control. This is 
performed by the end user of the platforms, 
who is usually the merchandiser or 
ecommerce marketer.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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10

Solutions and services

Search

Our search system is built exclusively for ecommerce, across all 
verticals to keep the conversation ongoing with shoppers: from  
search suggestions, to user feedback and predictive search.  
Our 2020 deployment of AI in our search engine combines natural 
language processing, computer vision and user behaviour data with 
merchandising creative control, to apply shopper intent for rich 
discovery experiences.

Personalisation

We support and guide customers throughout their journey,  
from discovery, to purchase and beyond. By applying smart 
merchandising	rules	retailers	can	configure,	test	and	deploy	their 	
personalisation algorithms in real-time to build high-performance 
personalisation strategies.

Merchandising

Merchandisers need complete control over the front-end presentation  
to ensure that products are presented to shoppers in the best way.  
Attraqt’s solution make it easy for teams to deliver valuable and 
inspiring	recommendations	for	shoppers	to	easily	find	the	products	
that will surprise and delight them. 

Our solutions have the  
following benefits:

Optimise the Shopper Journey

Understand what shoppers are looking  
for at each step of the customer journey  
to anticipate and respond to their needs.

Enhance the User Experience

Create integrated experiences across 
channels and visits for the entire shopper 
journey. This helps build brand connections 
to drive lifetime value for customers.

Deliver Merchandising and  
Operational Efficiency

With intelligent automation our technology 
lets merchandising teams take control and 
focus on the strategy and creativity to 
deliver both shopper experiences and 
commercial goals. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Our technology

The modern online shopper journey is highly 
complex and non-linear, and we expect that 
shoppers will engage with retailers on multiple 
touch points and channels over a period of time 
before making a purchase. Attraqt allows  
retailers and brands to orchestrate this  
entire product discovery experience. 

The Attraqt product stable
Through a series of acquisitions, we have 
accelerated the speed of our innovation. 

Fredhopper Discovery Platform (FHR)

–  Acquired in 2017

–  World leading search and merchandising platform 

–  Meets the needs of larger, multi-national customers

Experience Orchestrator (XO) 

–  Acquired in 2019 as part of the Early Birds purchase

–  Modern, Cloud native, scalable AI-enabled platform 

–  Personalisation platform 

–  Meets the needs of mid-size retailers, brands  

and partners 

Aleph Search 

–  Acquired in 2020

–  Leading, modern AI powered search capability 

–  Platform for innovation around text/voice/visual search 

–  Modern technology, cloud enabled

–  AI Search capability to FHR and XO  

customers – existing and new 

Embedding AI everywhere
We	are	continually	investing	in	Artificial	
Intelligence (AI) as this is the foundation for 
enabling our customers to orchestrate and 
deliver precisely the right experience for 
every individual shopper at every stage of 
shopper journey. The AI learns and adapts 
more precisely to behaviour over time, as it 
receives ongoing insight every time a 
customer interacts.

POWERED BY AI

SEARCH

Improve search & 
discovery

NAVIGATION

Product	filters	&	
AI ranking

CATEGORIES

Highly curated category 
& landing pages

BRAND 
CONTENT

Banner, text or  
product campaigns

PRODUCT

Similarity, 
complementarity 
compatibility,  
Shop the look

BASKET

Predictive 
product recs

CHECKOUT

Predictive product 
recs/ Landing pages

EMAIL

Predictive email recs

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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AI-powered search enhances  
product discovery 
As a result of the sophistication of search engines 
like Google, consumers today have higher 
expectations of what to expect when they make 
a search query online. At each touch point, 
shoppers expect a seamless experience. Yet, onsite 
search functionality has traditionally been under 
utilised by retailers. However, inaccurate or poor 
search results following a shopper query can 
result in lost revenue if shoppers go elsewhere to 
find	the	product	they	are	looking	for.	Today,	the	
search market is estimated to be worth $8 Billion. 

In 2020, Attraqt acquired Aleph Search, which was  
for the AI IP and at the same time contracted 
their development team to a 2 year term in order 
to utilise their expertise. This has immediately 
fast tracked our AI innovation and our ability 
to embed AI at the core of our search engine. 

Algorithm orchestration 
The underlying purpose of AI orchestration is 
to	enable	a	retailer	to	select	and	configure	the	
right algorithms based on what they are trying 
to achieve. This ensures they present the right 
product to the right shopper at the right time 
in a way that also meets commercial goals. 

The algorithms do this by:

–  Collecting and enriching data based on products 
as well as both historical customer activity to 
learn, and ‘in the moment’ behavioural data,  
to predict and respond to the next interaction 

–  Deriving customer intent and “state of mind” 
from the data in order to deliver content, 
product recommendations and experiences  
that convert 

–  Promoting and orchestrating the right actions  

at the right time to complete the purchase

Finally, the combination of blended algorithms 
with human merchandising and trading strategies 
is	what	drives	the	final	success	of	orchestration.

Many of our customers are introducing or growing  
their data science expertise. Attraqt leads the 
market with orchestration, having developed 
a proprietary native algorithm orchestrator 
which allows clients to create and curate their 
own real-time algorithms for merchandisers 
to use, alongside third-party algorithms and 
our	own.	This	can	all	be	configured,	managed	
and tested within our platform environment.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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16

Techniques within our AI-powered search technology. Together these help retailers form a rich 
representation of the understanding of products, and give meaning to shopper request.

Natural  
Language
Processing

Computer  
vision

Deep  
Learning

Information  
Retrieval

This new search language technology now allows 
shoppers to search for products based on the 
natural language they are using, rather than only 
being based on how the retailer describes the 
products or content. This includes unstructured 
and long-tail search terms that don’t traditionally 
have a direct match with product descriptions. The 
algorithm’s ability to produce accurate results are 
based on both the product attributes and the 
context or sentiment of the shopper behaviour. 

The search algorithms continuously learns this 
natural language, and adapt over time to become 
more precise to provide accurate and personalised 
results. In addition, the image processing within our 
computer vision technology is sophisticated enough 
to identify the visual language of products in the 
same way it can utilise traditional text. 

For example, it can infer whether a product has 
leopard prints, is striped in particular way, or is 
formal wear vs casual wear. 

Attraqt has embedded AI in the heart of the search 
engine. By comparison other vendors apply AI only 
at the pre-or post-processing stage, which means 
results are only as good as the data delivered from 
their traditional search engines. 

A number of Attraqt clients were onboarded  
to AI-powered search, including global brands 
PrettyLittleThing and Superdry. Our clients have 
reported that the results have been both 
immediate and transformational.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Headless and Open Architecture 
Modern retailers seek agility and the ability to scale quickly in the face of demanding 
shopper	expectations	and	fluctuating	market	forces.	As	a	response	to	this	reality,	
our platform is Headless, API-driven and based on delivering microservices. 

A headless architectural approach separates the back-end in a way that allows the 
retailer to be free to adapt the front-end experience easily, and at will. This open 
approach enables customers to easily connect their own systems, analytics and 
algorithms alongside Attraqt’s to deliver the best combination of tools to meet 
their business needs. 

This best-of-breed architecture not only enables scalability, but also enables 
continuous improvement with instant access to onboarding new functionalities  
as and when required. 

Platform Architecture

Infrastructure: Agile response to managing scale 
Our	customers	have	experienced	significant	fluctuations	of	traffic	to	their	site	
over the course of the 2020 pandemic. For many, like those in the homeware, 
grocery	and	DIY	sector,	this	included	unprecedented	traffic	spikes.	

Outages	or	breaks	in	our	ability	to	scale	with	traffic	could	result	in	a	loss	of	
revenue for our customers. We handled over 130 billion queries in 2020 and 
have	also	proven	our	ability	to	handle	extreme	fluctuations	and	spikes	in	site	
traffic.	During	the	2020	Peak	trading	week	in	November,	we	handled	almost	 
3 billion queries with a 100% uptime. At its highest point, 7,819 queries were 
handled in a single second. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Market overview

2020 industry trends

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated 
the adoption of online shopping and has 
resulted in digital transformation now 
being the number one priority 
investment for retailers. 

Consumer spend in ecommerce has advanced by 4-6 years 

27% 

Online sales during period of the 
pandemic now at 27% of overall 
retail sales up from 19% pre Covid*

A focus on conversation optimisation 
as	a	result	of	huge	traffic	spikes

48% 

December data shows ecommerce 
at 48% of all retail for the month

19% 

It took 12 years for ecommerce to 
get from 4% to 19% of retail sales

27% 

It took for ecommerce three 
quarters to go from 19% to 27%*

*Office	of	National	Statistics 	

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020
Year ended 31st December 2020

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Internet sales as a percentage of all retail sales

Jan 2019 – Nov 2020

Retail eCommerce began to boom in H1 with strong growth in H2
–		Through	H1	we	were	operating	at	above	peak	levels	consistently	in	H2	traffic	initially	slowed	as	stores	

re-opened but didn’t drop back fully

–		Sectors	such	as	homeware,	groceries,	health	and	beauty	and	DIY	peaked	during	the	first	lockdown	and	

continue to see high adoption rates

Industry revenue Stats YoY 2020 vs. 2019

Jan 2019 – Nov 2020

Acceleration of digital commerce is 
expected to continue post-pandemic 

–  Shopping behaviour has changed as a result  
of the pandemic and new habits will stick 

–  Click & collect pick up has grown 

–  A whole new segment of customers are 

shopping	online	for	first	time

–  New business models like take-away and  

delivery services have been created

Shopper expectations of online experiences  
are still high 

–  After	the	initial	panic	of	the	first	lockdown,	

consumers have had to adjust to a new normal 
in shopping experiences

–  Expectations of retailers and brands are still 
high, with the added pressure for online to 
deliver as compelling an experience as in-store

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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The Attraqt way

Our core purpose

Our core purpose is to enable leading international 
brands, manufacturers and retailers to deliver 
exceptional shopper experiences. Experiences that 
drive product discovery and conversion whilst also 
exceeding commercial goals and accelerating growth.

Consumers demand highly relevant, inspiring and emotional shopping 
experiences	that	enable	them	to	find	the	products	that	meet	or	exceed	their	
expectations. We are integral to these companies by orchestrating individual 
shopping moments, across the entire length of the customer journey, from 
discovery through to inspiration, purchase, and beyond.

We will embed AI everywhere and embrace continuous innovation in a way that 
is	both	open	and	scalable	to	ensure	that	our	customers	can	benefit	from	the	
perfect blend of human-guided decision-making and machine-led science.

Smart Automation
Our API enabled, algorithm driven solutions ingest, enrich and 
understand disparate data sources and signals to intelligently 
automate personalized experiences, in real-time.

Strategic Control
Our solutions are transparent, open, and easy to work with 
so that all stakeholders can apply the resulting insights with 
their own creativity and expertise to deliver immersive 
experiences that drive performance uplift.

The secret to success is combining the insights and 
efficiencies	that	AI	provides,	and	fusing	these	with	
the tried and-tested brand strategy and creativity 
that have proven their worth for years. This perfect 
blend of human-guided decision-making and 
machine-led science is the key to retail’s future.  
It is the foundation to delivering exceptional 
shopping experiences that shoppers both love  
and embrace by returning to a retailer site. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) 
In 2020 we launched company OKRs which will be rolled out over 2021. This collaborative  
goal-setting tool used by our teams and individuals is poised to drive further growth at Attraqt. 
It will achieve this by unifying our organisation with clear goals that challenge and cultivate 
ambition with measurable results. 

Diversity & Inclusion

2020 also saw the launch of the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiative and steering group.  
This steering group works towards and advocates to create an equal, diverse and inclusive 
environment by welcoming and encouraging respectful dialogue and exploration of diverse 
ideas, topics, perspectives and issues to enrich our company culture. We believe this will further 
guide	us	to	cultivate	diversified	business	relationships.	

We have committed to create a company-wide D&I strategy sponsored by the senior Executive 
team as well as measuring employees’ perspectives of the objectives progress. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

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Values

Strategy

Our values-led culture drives our shared success.

Better, together

Pioneering 

We are motivated by the desire to connect, 
advance and succeed together, in order to learn, 
challenge and empower each other through 
diverse perspectives. This is why our clients view 
us as trusted partners, and our long-term 
relationship with global customers is a 
testament to this.

We pioneered an industry almost two decades 
ago and innovation is in our DNA to solve 
problems and create opportunities. Today we 
pick up that pioneering innovation baton once 
again and prove ourselves to be unafraid of 
challenging ourselves and the industry around 
us – we dare to be bold enough to imagine and 
create new things.

We have a customer-centric approach and believe that 
by continually improving our offering we can strengthen 
relationships with current clients, win new clients, and 
increase efficiencies in the business. 

By	focusing	on	the	five	key	strategic	priorities	outlined	below,	we	will	
ultimately create value for all our stakeholders: our clients, employees and  
our shareholders. 

As our business evolves we believe it is prudent to continually build upon  
and	refine	our	strategic	priorities.	

Key Strategic priorities

Data-led

We believe in the power of sharing data-led 
insight to drive shared success. Above all, what 
defines	us	is	to	be	transparent	and	open	about	
our technology, our projects and achievements 
and to share them with our team and our client. 

1

2

3

4

5

Evolving our data-led approach

Improving the customer and developer experience

Increasing the speed of our innovation

Executing our partnership strategy

Replicating our UK success  
in other geographies

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020
Year ended 31st December 2020

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30

Evolving our data-led approach
We will help our clients to use their customer data, 
offsite	tracking	and	third-party	data	to	better	target	
their onsite search and personalization strategies 
via our data services platform, ultimately boosting 
their average order values.

Executing our partnership strategy
By working with partners in the retail technology 
space Attraqt is equipped to cater for every 
possible requirement and scenario. We plan to 
foster further Technology, Integrator and 
Ecommerce partnerships. 

We will also use this focus on data within our own 
business, making sure to track every part of our 
operations	to	see	that	they	are	as	efficient	and	
effective	as	possible.	

Improving the customer and  
developer experience
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. 
We are focused on optimizing all areas of the 
business to support and enhance the customer 
journey, including the provision of unique insights 
to optimize client site search and merchandising 
performance to support their customers’ journeys. 

Partnerships	have	several	benefits,	including	
driving innovation providing access to new markets 
and supporting our ability to scale quickly. 

Replicating our UK success in other 
geographies
We believe we are leaders in the UK and we will 
seek to replicate that in other key markets where 
we have an established footprint such as Benelux, 
The Nordics, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.  
We	will	also	seek	opportunities	further	afield,	 
for example in China, where we have the ability  
to execute.

Increasing our speed of innovation
We have a compelling product vision and a 
progressive roadmap to further broaden our 
capabilities and continue to deliver for our clients  
in an evolving retail environment. 

This includes further investment in six key areas: 
Cloud, Smart Data, Creative Control, Actionable 
Insight, Shopper Experiences, & AI.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

32

Chairman’s statement

Nick Habgood

For the year ended 31 December 2020

First and foremost, I would like to take this 
opportunity to thank our team for their exceptional 
work this year. The pressures of the pandemic, and 
remote working have presented unique challenges 
and yet, across the Group, we have seen our people 
continuing to tackle each day with enthusiasm, 
diligence and a positive outlook. It has been an 
impressive response and underlines why our team 
continues to be our most valuable asset. 

2020	was	year	of	significant	strategic	and	
operational progress at Attraqt. The world 
dramatically changed as a result of Covid-19, with 
the business moving quickly to adapt. The middle 
of the year saw the appointment of Mark Adams as 
Chief	Executive	Officer	following	a	smooth	hand-
over and transition of leadership. The Company 
also successfully completed the acquisition of Aleph 
Search and associated fund raising. The Attraqt 
business of today has come a long way from 2019 
and we are now in excellent shape for growth.

As has been widely reported, there was strong and 
sustained growth in the adoption of online retail 
during the period. With visits to the high street 
restricted for much of the year, we saw a new wave 
of shoppers getting comfortable with eCommerce 
as well as an increased activity from existing online 
shoppers. Whilst there will naturally be some shift 
back once the high street is reopened, the trends 
seen during times when restrictions were relaxed 
this	year	suggest	that,	going	forward,	a	significant	
proportion of retail will remain online. Success in 
this online channel is therefore increasingly 
important for retailers and brand owners who  
are investing in customer experience and 
performance optimisation. 

Brands and retailers need online shopping 
solutions which are not only leading-edge, but also 
scalable, robust, able to support very high levels of 
throughput and activity. Attraqt has again shown 
itself capable of that, with over 130 billion queries 
handled during 2020.

Attraqt remains committed to delivering accelerated 
product innovation. Following the acquisition of 
Early Birds in May 2019 we continue to invest in 
innovation and product development and have 
further accelerated our product roadmap through 
the acquisition of Aleph Search in October. Aleph is 
an AI-powered search technology that delivers a 
step improvement in search performance over 
traditional methods. Although it is a relatively new 
addition to our product stable, in-market performance 
and customer adoption have both been strong.  
The acquisition was achieved through an 
oversubscribed fund raise, and the Board and  
I would like to thank again all our shareholders  
for their support.

Alongside this we made good progress against  
our strategic priorities in the period. Our focus  
on servicing the needs of our customers, plus an 
increased pace of innovation and delivery has paid 
off,	with	38	multi-year	renewals	signed	and	net	
customer retention exceeding 100%.

Our new CEO, Mark Adams - who joined the business 
in June – has built on the foundations put down by 
former CEO Luke McKeever. Mark has brought an 
increased focus on execution, a valuable network 
and deep eCommerce domain expertise to the 
team. It is remarkable the impact that he has had 
on the business, despite having been working 
remotely since his appointment. We are pleased 
that Luke McKeever also remains with the business 
as a Non-Executive Director which has assisted a 
smooth	and	effective	transition.	Together	with	the	
rest of the Board and the Management Team we 
have a very talented and capable group. 

As we look to 2021, we are excited by the opportunity 
available to us. eCommerce represents an increasingly 
large share of retail industry sales and, as such can 
no longer be overlooked by retailers of any size. 
Attraqt’s value proposition is proven to be able to 
help materially improve customer experience and 
site performance. We operate in a growing, exciting 
and competitive market and our key focus going 
forward will be on the continued servicing of our 
customers’ needs, achieving operational excellence 
and bringing further innovation to the market.

Chief Executive  
Officer’s statement

Nick Habgood

Mark Adams

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Review of sales and operations

Over the last nine months I have had the 
opportunity to review the business, understand its 
strengths and the opportunities for improving our 
performance. I have also witnessed the importance 
that Attraqt’s technology and people play in the 
success of our customer’s digital businesses, which 
is relied upon today more than ever. 

The pandemic has bought about numerous  
changes to how we work and the environment  
we are operating in. Whilst clearly there have  
been challenges to overcome in the way we sell 
our solutions and interact with our clients, at the 
same time the acceleration of digital commerce 
has	driven	demand	for	our	offering	from	customers,	
and the Attraqt value proposition has never been 
more relevant. Consumer spend in eCommerce 
has advanced by 4-6 years in twelve months, and 
digital is now the number one investment priority 
for many retailers and brands. Attraqt’s software 
is	integral	to	the	effective	delivery	of	our	clients’	
online retail operations and we directly impact 
the conversion and revenue performance of  
their businesses. 

Despite all the changes happening in the wider world, 
we are pleased to have successfully pushed ahead 
with several key tenets of our strategy over the period. 
Key achievements include the acquisition of Aleph 
Search, accelerating the pace of innovation, a 
continued	growth	in	net	retention,	a	significant	
increase in multi-year renewals signed in the  
period and furthering our international growth.

As previously stated, at the onset of the pandemic 
decision making was naturally impacted by 
uncertainty. We then saw momentum build in the 
second	half	of	the	year,	driven	by	the	significant	
growth in online retail, the addition of Aleph’s 
innovative AI Search capabilities, and an enhanced 
focus on sales and marketing execution. Overall, 
we achieved our bookings target with most of the 
new booking activity falling in the second half of 
the year.

Revenue was up 8% to £21.0m for the period, 
reflecting	a	full	year	contribution	from	Early	Birds	
alongside a good level of high value multi-year 
renewals, new logos won and uplift from clients’ 
website use increases. On a like for like basis (i.e. 
as if Early Birds was owned from 1 January 2019) 
total revenue was up 2% with SaaS revenue 
increasing by 9%. 

We secured 38 multi-year contract renewals in the 
year worth £15.72m, compared with 21 renewals 
in 2019 worth £5.35m. This included a three-year 
contract renewal in the second half with one of 
our	top	five	customers,	a	leading	global	sportswear	
retailer. The 81% increase in multi-year renewals 
reflects	our	continued	focus	on	customer	success	
and illustrates the adoption of online-focused 
strategies for many of the world’s leading  
retail brands.

We signed 29 new logos in the year, a 32% 
improvement on our 2019 new logo volume. 
Overall, we achieved 60% of our total bookings 
number of £4.7m in the second half of the year 
much of which was heavily backloaded and to be 
implemented in H1 2021. 

We	also	benefited	from	incremental	capacity	 
upsells from March onwards, as many retailers  
saw	significant	increases	in	site	traffic	and	activity	
as consumers embraced online shopping. Whilst 
we expect some return to in-store shopping when 
the	high	street	reopens,	we	are	confident	that	the	
levels of activity seen online will continue to be 
materially higher than pre-Covid.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

34
34

We experienced net retention for the period of 
102%, achieving our ambition to surpass 100%, as 
outlined last year. It is clear our work on customer 
success and product innovation is helping to 
mitigate attrition. Whilst for any SaaS business 
retention continues to be an ongoing focus, the 
majority of causes for attrition are now driven by 
external factors which Attraqt has limited control 
over including the challenges faced on the high 
street, and the pervasive threat of e-commerce 
software re-platforming. 

This focus on customer success and operational 
excellence has also driven a sizeable improvement 
in our Net Promoter Score. We ended 2020 with  
a	NPS	of	29,	a	significant	improvement	from	15	 
for FY2019 and this continues to be area of focus 
for our Customer Success teams with the goal  
of driving towards 40 by the end of this year. 

We are also adapting our strategy to be less reliant 
on	larger	enterprise	customers	and	specific	verticals,	
with strong capabilities to cater to a broad range of 
mid-market size brands and retailers. The launch of 
Search in our XO product stack, with its self-service 
customer and partner onboarding features will 
allow us to realise the mid-market opportunity  
and	scale	growth	faster	in	a	more	diversified	
manner moving forward. 

Market developments

Performance against growth strategy

There is no doubt that Covid-19 has dramatically 
impacted our market dynamics. Shopping habits 
have changed and there is evidence to suggest that 
these will persist. As a result, the online channel will 
be of greater importance and, in our view, will receive 
greater investment going forward. According to 
research	by	the	Office	of	National	Statistics,	
eCommerce was under 19% of total retail sales pre 
Covid-19, taking 12 years to move from 4% to 19%, 
however since March 2020 it took only nine months 
to rise from 19% to 27%. 

Our own data also demonstrates a clear increase 
in activity. In 2020 our platform handled over  
130 billion requests, up from 92 billion in 2019. 
The impact of restrictions during the Black Friday 
was particularly profound as we handled almost  
3 billion queries over Cyber 5 (the period of time 
from Thanksgiving through to Cyber Monday) 
trading, in comparison to our average monthly 
total of 10.4 billion. The fact that our platforms 
were able to handle this surge is testament to the 
quality of our product and a genuinely world class 
cloud operations team. 

We have continued to deliver against our strategy, 
focusing on leveraging our strengths as well as 
driving a client-centric approach, a culture of 
idea-sharing and innovation, creating a world class 
sales & marketing operation, and on using data to 
drive every decision that we take.

Our ongoing priorities, from the strategy set 
out in FY2019 are:

–  Evolving our data-led approach

–  Increasing the speed of our innovation

–  Executing our partnership strategy

–  Replicating our UK success in other geographies

–  Improving the customer and developer 

experience

We have evolved our sixth strategic priority from a 
‘Product	first	brand	strategy’	to	‘Being	recognised	
as a market leader’. We will establish a market 
leading position as a focused ecommerce 
disruptor	by	demonstrating	the	differentiated	
value of our platforms, innovation in AI and sector 
expertise through targeted customer, analyst and 
employee engagement. We will develop a top-
class, integrated sales & marketing operation to 
spread the message amongst our existing and 
prospective direct customers and partners, 
bolstered by a coherent and ‘stand-out’ Attraqt 
brand. Our progress in reaching this objective can 
be measured by speed of growth, market share 
and industry analyst ratings.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

36
36

Some of the key achievements in line with these priorities are laid out below. 

Acquisition of Aleph Search 

New partnerships

Product development 

As previously mentioned, Aleph Search was 
acquired in October 2020, following a partnership 
where we had been working together for six 
months.	Their	innovative	Artificial	Intelligence	(AI)	
Search capabilities has already improved search 
query performance and relevancy on the customers’ 
websites we have deployed this on, increased the 
speed of our innovation and accelerated the product 
roadmap for search by an estimated two years.  
AI	is	now	the	centre	piece	of	our	offering	across	 
all our products providing greater competitive 
differentiation.	In	addition,	it	provides	a	platform	
for innovation around text, voice and visual search 
which we expect to become more widely adopted 
over the coming years.

Building on our partnership with BigCommerce, 
we	were	named	a	certified	commercetools	
technology partner in July last year. We have also 
put in place strategic partnerships with content 
management system specialists Content Stack, 
Amplience, Magnolia and Frontastic which allow  
us to improve the customer experience and agility 
of our joint and new prospective customers. 
Furthermore, we have signed eight digital agency 
and system integration partnerships and have go 
to market initiatives running with most of them 
today.	This	should	help	drive	lead	flow	as	well	 
as provide additional support to integrate  
our technology into the customers’ technology 
ecosystem.

In the six months we partnered with Aleph prior to 
the	acquisition,	we	saw	the	combined	offering	provide	
tangible results to our existing customers. 
Contract value up-sell in the period stands at 27% 
for existing customers, with a 100% conversion 
rate from proof of concept trials to December 2020.

These partnerships are vital to our growth ambitions 
and we have made strong progress in the contribution 
they	make	towards	our	lead	flow	and	revenue	in	
the period. Partnerships now account for 27% of 
all	our	new	business	lead	flow	and	16%	of	our	new	
business revenue, up from 14% and 5% respectively 
compared to 2019. 

Across Attraqt’s product range, of Fredhopper, XO 
(Experience Orchestrator) and our new AI Search 
capabilities, we now have the ability to address a 
broad addressable market; ranging all the way 
from the mid-market to the very largest retailers 
and brands. Our solutions can orchestrate the 
entire shopper journey in real-time.

Developments over recent periods have meant 
that our technology now boasts a headless and 
open	architecture,	meaning	that	it	is	agile	and	flexible,	
with the capability to connect in with other software 
tools.	Importantly,	it	is	also	scalable,	able	to	benefit	
from continuous improvements and get faster 
access to new functionalities. Two of our major 
differentiators	are	our	ability	to	orchestrate	
algorithms (allowing clients to create their own 
real-time algorithms) and our AI Search functionality 
(which applies machine learning at the heart of the 
search engine). 

These are the cornerstone of our latest innovation, 
but we have exciting plans to take it further.  
In January we set up Attraqt Labs, a new innovation 
unit tasked with rapidly developing functional 
prototypes that demonstrate our innovation to 
customers and drive organic innovation into our 
product set. This new team is being led by Nicolas 
Mathon, the Co-Founder of Early Birds who moved 
into a new role as VP of Innovation in February  
this year. 

Moving forward we are focused on continuing  
to infuse AI everywhere across our platforms, 
reinforcing	our	search	offering,	accelerating	the	
development of XO (Experience Orchestrator), 
increasing our partner engagement and also 
refreshing Fredhopper.

Replicating our UK success in other geographies

In 2020, alongside the UK we had success in both 
Australia thanks to increased investment in the region 
in line with strategy. We have a strong team in 
place in this region, and we have signed a number 
of	the	country’s	most	significant	retailers	including	
Country Road Group, Myer and Accent Group. 

Looking ahead to 2021 we are appointing a direct 
sales team for the Benelux region and set up a 
new partnership for a go to market activity in the 
German region. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

38
38

Outlook

Despite there being continued uncertainty ahead, 
we believe that shopping behaviour has changed 
as a result of the pandemic and new habits will 
persist. A whole new segment of customers are 
now shopping online. Attraqt’s technology is 
integral to the delivery of online retail operations 
and we are therefore well positioned to capitalise 
on this opportunity. 

The backloading of bookings in 2020 will have a 
marginal impact on recognised revenue in 2021. 
We do remain cautious on our outlook for 2021 
given the continued headwinds associated to the 
pandemic and its impact on our customers and 
our business expansion plans. However, the sales 
momentum coupled with our continued 
investment in innovation, product development, 
sales	and	marketing	gives	us	confidence	that	there	
are	significant	opportunities	for	growth	in	2021	
and beyond.

We have re-focused our sales organisation so that 
we can concentrate more productively on our new 
business acquisition and the strategic upsell of 
new products to our existing customers. In addition, 
partnerships are integral to our growth ambitions 
and we are focussing our go to market strategy to 
be more partner-led which will drive expansion 
into new territories as well as the mid-market 
opportunity. With a more competitive product set 
than we have ever had before, we are well placed 
to achieve our long-term growth ambitions. 

Mark Adams

Chief Executive 
11 March 2021

Key performance  
indicators (KPI’s)

Attraqt uses KPIs to measure progress in the 
business, as we become more data-led we 
plan to expand our suite of KPI’s. The KPIs 
were revisited following the acquisition of 
Early Birds SAS in May 2019, with the impact 
of this shown here.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

40

Revenue growth

Logos 

Our goal is to deliver double digit organic 
revenue growth per year.

Our goal is to increase logos year-on-year.

Year

2020

2019

Year

2020

2019

New logos

29

22

Closing logos

201

210

Gross Attrition and Net Revenue 
Retention (NRR and GA)

Our goal is to obtain 100% net revenue 
retention and reduce gross attrition so that 
any new client wins grow the existing business.

Year

2020

2019

Net revenue 
retention

Gross 
attrition

102%

98%

14%

12%

Net revenue retention refers to December 
2019 ARR, plus all new business sold to these 
customers, minus lost customers or down 
sells. Gross Attrition is December ARR minus 
lost customers.

Year

2020

2019

Revenue

Growth %

£21.0m

8%

£19.4m*

13%

* Post Early Birds SAS Acquisition

Adjusted EBITDA (pre-exceptionals)1 

Our goal is to have positive EBITDA. 

Year

2020

2019

Adjusted EBITDA1

£1.1m

£0.3m

1  Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before 

interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, other 
income and foreign exchange (see note 6), 
share based payments (note 17) and exceptional 
items being those set out in note 5.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) 

Our goal is to win higher contract values 
in order to increase the annual contract 
value so the ARR continues to grow.

Year

2020

2019

Exit rate

£21.1m

£19.2m

Annual Recurring Revenue is the annualised 
revenue per customer contract as at the end 
of the reporting period and includes any new 
customer wins in development phase. This 
excludes one-time fees.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

42

Risk overview

The Board is responsible for Attraqt’s 
system of internal control and for 
reviewing its effectiveness.  
The system employed is designed 
to mitigate the risk of failure to 
achieve business objectives and  
can only provide reasonable, but 
not absolute, assurance against 
material misstatement or loss. 

The Board has identified the following 
key risks facing the business: 

Competitive risk
The growth in e-commerce has resulted in a 
significant	increase	in	software	companies	 
seeking to supply online retailers with enabling 
technology. Attraqt aims to mitigate this risk  
by maintaining a close relationship with leading 
customers, reinvesting in new product features 
and innovation, delivering best-in-class customer 
support, enhancing brand recognition and 
service delivery.

The loss of key clients is always a potential threat. 
However, Attraqt seeks to mitigate this risk in 
several ways:

a.  Working closely with clients on the product 
innovation roadmap to provide competitive 
advantage to them;

b.  Investment in strategic partnerships to bring 

new capabilities;

c.  Investment in extensive client support and 
training to ensure users are able to use the 
solutions	effectively;

d.  Client contracts for a minimum of 12 months  
or longer with automatic annual renewals.

Platform outage
As a provider of a SaaS service, Attraqt relies on its 
hosting partners to provide an uninterrupted 
service. This risk is mitigated by partnering with 
best-of-breed cloud computing providers (Amazon 
Web Services and Google Cloud), the architectures 
of which facilitates quick recovery in the event of a 
single data region failure.

Recruitment and retention
As with any fast-growing software business, 
Attraqt’s growth strategy is predicated on hiring 
people	who	will	be	effective	in	realizing	its	growth	
ambitions. Attraqt is committed to the delivery of 
a comprehensive program of formal and informal 
learning and development opportunities aligned 
to the needs and goals of the business. Attraqt has 
mitigated this risk by recruiting an interim head of 
talent dedicated to develop and manage Attraqt’s 
talent management function.

Retail sector exposure
Due	to	the	nature	of	the	technology	Attraqt	offers,	
our customers are predominantly in the retail sector.

A widespread downturn in the economy could put 
pressure on capital expenditure budgets for software 
spending if overall retail volumes dropped, which 
could result in early termination of customer 
contracts and deter new customers from using 
Attraqt’s services.

Recently, there has been an increase in company 
voluntary arrangements and administrations in 
the retail sector. This places customer contracts 
and unpaid invoices at risk, increasing the risk  
for churn and bad debt.

Attraqt seeks to mitigate such risks by:

a. Signing clients on 12 - 36 month contracts and;

b.  Continually considering new  
market opportunities and;

c.  Ensuring that our customers success  

team engages with customers that fall  
into administration at an early stage to 
negotiate new contracts where novation  
is not possible and;

d.  Invoicing clients in advance of the  

service provided.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

44

Technological risk
Attraqt operates in an industry where competitive 
advantage is heavily dependent on technology. It 
is possible that technological development may 
reduce the importance of Attraqt’s function in the 
market. To remain competitive and adapt to 
evolving consumer buying trends, we continue to 
enhance and improve the responsiveness, 
functionality, accessibility and other features of 
our solutions, services and technologies. 

Attraqt’s	Chief	Partner	and	Strategy	Officer	is	
responsible for developing partnerships with 
complementary technology businesses, systems 
integrators and strategic partners.

Data privacy
Attraqt handles the personal data of its customers 
and prospective customers, suppliers, contractors, 
partners and employees. Attraqt is therefore 
affected	by	the	Data	Protection	Act	2018,	the	UK’s	
implementation of the General Data Protection 
Regulation (“GDPR”).

Attraqt complies with applicable data protection 
legislation and obligations. All areas of the 
company that handle personal data have been 
identified	and	reviewed.	

Attraqt data protection obligations regularly 
changes as local laws are updated. In that regard, 
Attraqt reviews and upgrades its security 
measures, processes and disclosures on an on-
going basis.

Other proposed legislation could impose 
additional requirements and prohibit the use of 
certain technologies, such as those that track 
individuals’ activities on web pages or record when 
individuals click on an in-email link. Such laws and 
regulations could restrict customers’ ability to 
collect and use email addresses, web browsing 
data and personal information, which may reduce 
demand for its products.

Climate change
In recent years, both climate change and global 
warming have become highly topical due to their 
increasingly	visible	harmful	effect	worldwide	on	
the environment, society and economic activity. 
Attraqt had considered its climate change 
reporting obligations and as a technology 
company it has a minimal impact on the climate.

Brexit risk
At the time of writing, on 30th December 2020  
the UK signed the EU-UK trade and co-operation 
agreement with the European Union, and that has 
been applied provisionally at 1 January 2021 when 
the Brexit transition ended. At the date of writing, 
Attraqt does not consider that this has had a 
material impact on its ability to trade. However,  
as new provisions come into force Management  
is putting in place appropriate mitigation plans.

Coronavirus
If the virus is not controlled and continues to 
spread, the Board anticipates it may cause 
customers to delay planned investment into 
technology	services	due	to	(1)	an	uncertain	financial	
outlook (2) disruption in the supply chain and (3) 
the ability of suppliers to produce products.

Foreign exchange risk
Attraqt has exposure to foreign exchange rate risk 
due to the nature of its operations and cost base. 
The current uncertainty means that this risk has 
increased. Attraqt constantly monitors the 
currency market and adjusts forecasts based on 
expected rates.

Attraqt follows the advice provided by the UK 
government in relation to COVID-19, as published 
on its website (https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/guidance-to-employers-and-
businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-
employers-and-businesses-on-covid-19).  
Attraqt’s workforce has been working remotely 
since March 2020. The business has not experienced 
any	significant	decrease	in	productivity	or	work	
output. Management considers the companies 
migration to remote working a success. 

COVID-19 has had an impact on some of our 
customers’ ability to trade due to lockdown 
restrictions imposed in certain countries. This has 
impacted customers that have a bricks and mortar 
physical presence disproportionately. However, 
purely online retailers have experienced increases 
in	sales	and	traffic	volume	as	consumers	have	been	
forced to shop online. Attraqt has been working 
closely with customers that have been impacted to 
manage payment schedules and related contractual 
obligations. Management considers that this 
initiative has been successful in reducing bad debt.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

46

Any misappropriation of intellectual property 
could	have	a	materially	adverse	effect	on	business,	
financial	condition	or	operating	results.

Furthermore, legal action may need to be taken to 
enforce intellectual property or to protect trade 
secrets. Defending such claims may result in 
substantial costs and the diversion of resources 
and management attention and there can be no 
guarantees as to the outcome of any such 
litigation,	or	that	it	can	be	effectively	used	to	
enforce the Attraqt’s rights.

Attraqt has reviewed its trade secrets policy 
following its acquisition of intellectual property 
assets from Aleph-One GmbH and have put in 
place improvements to protect the intellectual 
property from misuse.

Intellectual property
Attraqt’s intellectual property rights are important 
assets, which rely on a combination of copyright, 
registered and unregistered trademarks, 
registered domain names, database rights and the 
law	protecting	confidential	information	to	define	
and protect its rights to brands, technologies and 
databases is critical to its ability to compete in the 
online comparison market.

Attraqt discloses proprietary knowledge, 
information and technology to third parties under 
licensing or other agreements. There is always a 
possibility that such a party may misappropriate 
or challenge Attraqt’s right to such knowledge, 
information and technology.

To the extent that Attraqt’s brands, technologies 
and databases are not protected by intellectual 
property rights, third parties, including 
competitors, may be able to commercialize or 
otherwise use Attraqt’s brand, technologies and/or 
databases without compensating.

Attraqt also seeks to maintain certain intellectual 
property as trade secrets. The security of its trade 
secrets could be compromised by contractors or 
outside parties, or intentionally or accidentally by 
its employees, which would cause Attraqt to lose 
part of its competitive advantage.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

48

Section 172 Statement
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires Directors to 
take into consideration the interests of stakeholders in their 
decision making. The Directors continue to have regard to the 
interests of the Company’s employees and other stakeholders, 
including the impact of its activities on the community, the 
environment and the Company’s reputation, when making 
decisions. Acting in good faith and fairly, the Directors consider 
what is most likely to promote the success of the Company 
for its members in the long term. We explain in this annual 
report, and below, how the Board engages with stakeholders. 

–  Relations with key stakeholders such as employees, 
shareholders and suppliers are considered in more  
detail on page 66.

–  The Directors are fully aware of their responsibilities to 

promote the success of the Company in accordance with 
section 172 of the Companies Act 2006. To ensure the Company 
was operating in line with good corporate practice, all Directors 
received refresher training on the scope and application of 
section	172	in	writing.	This	encouraged	the	Board	to	reflect	on	
how the Company engages with its stakeholders and 
opportunities for enhancement in the future and was 
considered at the Company’s February 2020 board meeting. 

–  The Board regularly reviews our principal stakeholders  
and how we engage with them. This is achieved through 
information provided by management and also by direct 
engagement with stakeholders themselves. 

–  The Board has enhanced its methods of engagement with 
the workforce. In that regard, the Board has appointed a 
non-executive Director with designated responsibility for 
workforce engagement, Robert Fenner has taken on this 
role at Attraqt.

–  We aim to work responsibly with our stakeholders, including 

suppliers. The Board has recently reviewed its anti-
corruption and anti-bribery, equal opportunities and 
whistleblowing policies.

–  A section 172 notice has been included with board papers. 

As required, the Senior Legal Counsel and Company 
Secretary will provide support to the Board to help ensure 
that	sufficient	consideration	is	given	to	stakeholder	issues.

Key decisions made impacting stakeholders are set out below:

Significant events/
decisions

Acquisition of 
intellectual property 
assets from Aleph-
One GmbH

COVID-19 remote 
working

Key stakeholders Actions and impact

Shareholders, 
employees

Shareholder consultation took place in accordance with 
regulatory requirements.

Employees

–		Decisions	were	made	for	all	offices	to	work	from	home	

where	possible	to	protect	staff	from	COVID-19.

Restructuring

Employees

–  The company has invested in remote working technology 
leading to a minimal impact on employee productivity.

–  The company has made available mental and physical 

wellbeing counselling services to all employees to support 
them during these challenging times.

–  Decisions were made by the executive team in consultation 
with the Board after carefully considering employee impact. 

–  Impacted departments were consulted in respect of 

changes to job descriptions.

–		Key	employees	were	offered	a	retention	bonus	to	mitigate	

the risk of them leaving the Company.

Downturn in the 
retail sector

Customers

–  Customers have been consulted in relation to how the 

Company’s technology could be used to mitigate this risk.

–		The	Company’s	product	offering	has	been	diversified	 
to assist customers to generate more revenue from 
eCommerce.

Expansion of the 
product 
management 
department

Customers, 
employees

–  Customer consultation in relation to the Company’s 
roadmap has increased to ensure that products 
developed match customer needs.

–  The development teams have been consulted and trained to 
work with an expanded product management department.

Share option 
participation

Employees

Share option participation was widened to include employees 
meeting a one-year service criteria to improve retention.

Eric Dodd

Chief	Financial	Officer	
11 March 2021

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

50

Board of directors

Nick Habgood 
Chairman

Grahame Cook
Independent  
non-executive director

Robert Fenner
Non-executive director

Luke McKeever
Non-executive director

Nick joined Attraqt in 2015 as a Non-Executive 
Director and became Chairman the following year. 
In January 2018, Nick became Interim Executive 
Chairman while Attraqt undertook the search for  
a	new	Chief	Executive	Officer.	

Following a successful executive career with  
GKN, Mars Corporation and MasterCard, Nick 
moved into private equity and is the Founder  
and Managing Partner of Azini Capital Partners  
LLP,	a	London	based	private	equity	firm	with	a	
shareholding in Attraqt and a track-record of 
successful investments in growth stage private  
and public technology companies.

Nick has a Master’s Degree in Mechanical 
Engineering (M.Eng) from the University of Bristol.

Grahame joined the Group in January 2020, 
Grahame is an experienced FTSE and AIM non-
executive, with extensive experience as an audit 
committee chairman. With a background in 
banking, where he has specialised in the life 
sciences, pharma and biotech sectors, Grahame 
has over 20 years experience of M&A, equity capital 
markets and investor relations. Grahame started 
his	career	at	Arthur	Andersen,	where	he	qualified	
as a chartered accountant and worked within audit 
and corporate investigations. 

Subsequent positions include UBS, where he was  
a member of the global investment banking 
management committee and global head of equity 
advisory, and WestLB Panmure, where he was joint 
Chief	Executive	Officer.	Grahame	is	a	graduate	of	
the University of Oxford and remains a member  
of the ICAEW.

Robert joined the Group in 2014, Robert has 
been	a	partner	in	the	international	law	firm	
Taylor Wessing LLP since 2005, and a solicitor 
for 28 years. He is a corporate lawyer 
specializing in advising companies on all aspects 
of corporate law including listings and mergers 
&	acquisitions.	Robert	and	his	firm	advises	
companies (including Attraqt) at all stages of 
their development whether they be large 
multinationals or younger growing businesses 
and has many years of experience advising on 
listed company transactions.

Luke joined Attraqt in May 2018 as Chief 
Executive having led several successful 
international private and public technology 
businesses, including Portrait Software Plc, 
OB10 and Neighbourly. He left his position as 
Chief	Executive	Officer	on	30th	June	2020	and	
was appointed as a Non-Executive Director.

He has also worked in leadership and  
advisory positions for international data  
and technology companies including  
Experian, Metia and Alterian.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

52

Mark Adams
Executive Director

Eric Dodd
Executive Director

Mark joined Attraqt in June 2020 as Chief 
Executive having previously founded and led 
European operations for BigCommerce, a leading 
SaaS eCommerce technology player that went 
onto IPO for $5bn. He has also built and ran along 
with Paul Tough, Attraqt’s CTO, one of Europe’s 
most successful SAP Hybris eCommerce systems 
integrators between 2005 and 2014.

Eric Dodd has over ten years of experience in a 
CFO role and joined Attraqt in 2017 from lptor 
Supply Chain Systems UK Limited, a private equity-
backed software and services business.

Eric has extensive public company experience, 
having been CFO at KBC Advanced Technology plc, 
an oil-focused technology services business, from 
2015 until its successful sale to Yokogawa Electric 
Corporation in April 2016.

Eric	qualified	as	a	Chartered	Accountant	with	
Deloitte, has an MBA from London Business 
School and a BEng from Loughborough University.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

54

Executive team

Mark Adams
Chief Executive Officer

Eric Dodd
Chief Financial Officer

John Rapp
Chief Strategy and 
Partner Officer

Johan De Wijs
Director of Revenue

Mark joined Attraqt in June 2020 as Chief Executive 
having previously founded and led European 
operations for BigCommerce, a leading SaaS 
eCommerce technology player that went onto IPO 
for $5bn. He has also built and ran along with Paul 
Tough, Attraqt’s CTO, one of Europe’s most 
successful SAP Hybris eCommerce systems 
integrators between 2005 and 2014.

Eric Dodd has over ten years of experience in a CFO 
role and joined Attraqt in 2017 from lptor Supply 
Chain Systems UK Limited, a private equity-backed 
software and services business.

Eric has extensive public company experience, 
having been CFO at KBC Advanced Technology plc, 
an oil-focused technology services business, from 
2015 until its successful sale to Yokogawa Electric 
Corporation in April 2016.

Eric	qualified	as	a	Chartered	Accountant	with	
Deloitte, has an MBA from London Business School 
and a BEng from Loughborough University.

In early 2016, John joined Fredhopper as 
Managing Director. His major focus was building 
the Marketing & Sales presence and actively 
supporting the Fredhopper sales process. 
Following Attraqt’s acquisition of Fredhopper in 
March 2017 John became CCO of Attraqt. In 
January 2019, John became Attraqt’s Chief 
Strategy	and	Partner	Officer.

John’s career includes more than 18 years 
experience in the European e-commerce and 
digital marketing industry. Prior to joining 
Fredhopper, John successfully established and 
managed various pan-European and regional 
sales organizations at companies such as 
lntershop, Scene 7, Adobe, Jive and SDL.

Johan joined Fredhopper in 2016, and as 
following the Fredhopper acquisition in 2019, 
joined Attraqt. Johan has held various roles in 
the commercial organization from marketing to 
building	an	effective	sales	development	
function. He joined the executive team in 
October 2020 to boost the data driven 
approach of the commercial teams and 
support the company’s growth plan. Johan has 
a Masters in Management from Nyenrode 
Business University.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

56

Allyson Barclay
Global SVP, Sales

Jonathan Schradi
Director of Customer 
Success

Peter Thomas
Outgoing Chief 
Technology Officer

Paul Tough
Chief Technology Officer

Ally leads commercial teams to support growth in 
key international markets and guides existing 
customers with their expansion plans. Key to her 
role is helping customers access Attraqt’s product 
innovation pipeline to help support their growth 
plans, as well as the onboarding of new customers. 

Jonathan is responsible for Attraqt’s customer 
success program, ensuring that our clients receive 
the best possible outcomes from their partnership 
with Attraqt. As part of his responsibility for client 
retention and customer experience, he leads Attraqt’s 
Net Promoter Score (NPS) benchmarking program.

Ally joined Fredhopper in early 2012, having 
worked	in	digital	tech	sales	for	six	years	specifically	
focused on the e-commerce sector for most of 
that period. She helped steer the transition of the 
Fredhopper sales team through acquisition, 
divestment and further acquisition.

Jonathan has spent his entire professional career 
in customer-facing roles in a number of industries, 
where he was primarily focused on ensuring that 
businesses meet their client expectations. He joined 
Fredhopper in 2016 as a customer success manager 
and has been leading the customer success 
function for Attraqt since September 2017.

Peter has more than 30 years experience in the 
software technology sector, with over two 
decades spent delivering scalable online 
software and services, including time at Oracle.

Peter joined Fredhopper in 2016 as CTO. 
Following Attraqt’s acquisition of Fredhopper in 
March 2017 Peter remained CTO, where his 
main responsibilities include product 
development and client delivery services.

Peter has a wealth of experience in business 
across public and private companies. Previously 
he was CTO of the cloud division for IRIS 
Software and Director of Development at Betfair 
across UK, Romania and Portugal.

Peter leaves the company on 31st March 2021, 
and will be replaced by Paul Tough.

Paul joined the business in July 2020 as Chief 
Product	Officer.	Following	an	opportunity	to	
lead the Engineering team, Paul transitioned to 
the Chief Technology role in February 2021. 
Paul is a business leader with 20+ years’ 
experience in leading and building successful 
award-winning product software and services 
businesses within consulting, Digital and 
eCommerce. He has also built with Mark 
Adams, Attraqt’s CEO, one of Europe’s most 
successful SAP Hybris eCommerce systems 
integrators between 2005 and 2014. Paul is a 
Member (MIoD) of the Institute of Directors 
and a Chartered Engineer (C.Eng.).

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

58

Terence Tsang
General Counsel

Samuel Clara
Director Of Product

Kevin Abbott
Director of Programme 
Management

David Newberry
Chief Marketing Officer 

Terence joined Attraqt in March 2018 and oversees 
the	legal	and	business	affairs	of	the	group	including	
commercial contracts, litigation, intellectual 
property, employment and corporate governance.

Terence	qualified	as	a	solicitor	in	private	practice	
as a media, entertainment and sports litigator. He 
also has considerable experience in the anti-piracy 
arena	advising	filmmakers,	musicians	and	
computer game companies with digital rights 
enforcement in the UK and internationally. Prior 
to joining Attraqt, Terence was Senior Legal 
Counsel and Company Secretary at Guinness 
World Records.

Samuel joined Early Birds in September 2017 
where he created the product function and held a 
senior leadership role in the business. After the 
acquisition of Early Birds in 2019, Samuel joined 
Attraqt and led the integration of EB into Attraqt. 
Samuel has 13 years’ experience in the technology 
industry with a computer engineering background. 
In February 2021 Samuel joined Attraqt’s 
Executive team as Director of Product.

Kevin joined Attraqt in February 2021 as Director 
of Programme Management. Kevin has many 
years of project and programme experience 
having	been	involved	in	significant	large-scale	
transformation and software delivery projects 
over the past 25+ years. Working both client and 
supplier side across many verticals, Kevin has 
gained	valuable	first-hand	experience	from	both	
perspectives often in demanding and fast paced 
environments. Over the years Kevin has also 
owned and run his own businesses and more 
recently has taken leadership positions helping 
organisations deliver change strategy and growth 
ambitions with a strong focus on customer.

David represents the interests of Attraqt’s 
Customers. He joined Attraqt in September 
2018 having held a number of CMO roles in 
leading technology companies, both in the UK 
and US, including Pitney Bowes. David has held 
brand marketing and general management 
positions in a large FMCG company been a senior 
marketing consultant as well as a co-founder 
of two marketing technology companies.

Chief Financial  
Officer’s statement

Revenue for the year increased by 8% to £21.0m 
(2019: £19.4m), including a full year contribution 
from Early Birds SAS that was acquired in May 2019. 
Revenue increased by 2% on a proforma basis.

SaaS revenues increased by 9% to £19.3m (2019: 
£17.7m) driven by strategic upsells and capacity 
growth in existing accounts. Services Revenue 
remained flat at £1.7m (2019: £1.7m) due to fewer, 
large implementations.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

60

Revenue

2020  
Statutory

2020  
Proforma

2019  
Statutory

2019  
Proforma

Growth

Proforma

SaaS

£19.3m

£19.3m

£17.7m

£18.9m

Services

£1.7m

£1.7m

£1.7m

£1.7m

Total

£21.0m

£21.0m

£19.4m

£20.6m

9%

–

8%

2%

–

2% 

*Statutory – this is the Group owned element (2020 compared with 2019).
# Proforma – this is the impact had the Attraqt Group owned Early Birds for the full 2019 financial year.

Gross	profit	increased	by	10%	to	£15.5m	(2019:	
£14.1m) and the gross margin increased by 2 
percentage points to 74%. The SaaS gross margin 
increased by 1 percentage point to 80% due to 
careful management of our Amazon Web Services 
(AWS) estate and engaging external suppliers to 
optimise the estate. The Services gross margin 
increased by 6 percentage points to 9% due to 
having a stable team through 2020 and not having to 
divert changeable resource to onboard new starters.

Adjusted EBITDA (pre-exceptional)1	of	£1.1m	profit	
(2019: £0.3m).
1As	per	definition	in	KPI’s

The exceptional costs of £0.3m in the year relate 
mainly to restructuring and the asset purchase of 
Aleph software; legal and professional advice 
associated with the transaction and post-
acquisition integration activities.

Admin expenses increased in line with the full year 
impact of the enlarged team following the 
acquisition	of	Early	Birds	in	2019	and	offset	by	 
a reduced marketing spend due to COVID-19.

Depreciation and amortisation totalled £3.5m (2019: 
£3.0m) and increased due to the full year impact of 
the acquired intangibles that were created on the 
Early Birds acquisition. There was a share-based 
payment charge of £0.1m (2019: £0.2m).

Loss before tax was £2.6m (2019: £4.4m loss), with 
the tax credit in the period £0.4m (2019: credit 
£0.4m). Therefore, loss for the year after tax was 
£2.2m (2019: £4.0m loss).

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

62

Foreign exchange exposure
Cash	flow	forecasts	will	be	maintained	for	each	
major operating currency (GBP, EUR, USD, AUD) to 
manage transaction exposure. The expectation is 
that the Group will have excess AUD than required 
and short on USD. Exposures may be hedged in 
the current statutory period using forward 
contracts. The forecast exposures as well as the 
value hedged will be regularly reviewed. Hedging 
instruments as well as spot deals may only be 
traded with approved counterparties.

COVID-19 pandemic
The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 
on Attraqt’s trading performance and all our 
principal risks has been assessed with mitigation 
plans put in place. Up to the date of this report, 
the pandemic has, as anticipated, positively 
impacted capacity upsells, but negatively impacted 
the close rate on new business opportunities.  
We continue to monitor the situation closely, as 
this continues to be a very dynamic and uncertain 
situation, with the ultimate severity, duration and 
impact unknown at this point including potential 
impacts on trading results and our employees.  
The situation could change at any time and there 
can be no assurance that the COVID-19 pandemic 
will not have a material adverse impact on the 
future results of the Group.

Cash
The cash balance at the end of the period was 
£6.6m (2019: £4.0m), which was an increase of 
£2.6m during the year. The increase was due to the 
additional equity and working capital raised during 
the fundraise for the Aleph software acquisition. 

Business Drivers
The key to growing value in a SaaS business is to 
grow the Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by 
understanding and then moving the levers that 
impact it. The ARR grew by 10% to £21.1m (2019: 
£19.2m) and was driven by strategic and capacity 
upsells to our existing customer base.

The	first	lever	that	impacts	ARR	is	the	booking	of	
new, recurring revenue. Recurring bookings in 
2020 were £3.9m (2019: £2.5m). Gross Attrition is 
an important KPI for our business, because it 
challenges us to understand why our customers 
leave	and	find	preventative	actions.	Another	
important KPI is Net Revenue Retention because it 
indicates how well we are serving our existing 
customers. Gross Attrition for 2020 was 14% 
(£2.7m) and the NRR was 102% (2019: 98%). 

Share Lock-in Agreement
Further to the announcement of 8 May 2019, the 
Company has brought forward the expiry date, to 
today, for certain ordinary shares subject to lock-
up agreements, comprising 2,596,651 ordinary 
shares	beneficially	held	by	Ms.	Laetitia	Comes-
Bancaud and 2,596,651 ordinary shares 
beneficially	held	by	Mr.	Nicolas	Mathon.	The	
lock-up and escrow terms of the remaining 
5,152,982 ordinary shares held by Mrs, Comes-
Bancaud, Mr Mathon and EB Growth, in aggregate, 
remain unchanged.

This strategic report has been approved and is 
signed on behalf of the Board:

Eric Dodd

Chief	Financial	Officer	
11 March 2021

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

64

Corporate  
governance report

As an AIM listed company, the Board place the importance 
of applying sound governance principles in the successful 
running of the Company. We adopt and adhere to the 
QCA Corporate Governance Code for Small and Mid-Size 
Quoted Companies (the QCA Code) in so far as is 
practical and appropriate. 

The Board refers to the detailed disclosures that may be found on the 
Company’s website at the following address:

https://www.attraqt.com/about/investors/corporate-governance/

The Chairman’s role and responsibility 
for corporate governance
The Chairman has overall responsibility for 
corporate governance working in conjunction with 
Attraqt’s company secretary and senior legal 
counsel. In this regard, Attraqt believes that good 
corporate governance is about having the right 
people (in the right roles), working together, and 
doing the right things to deliver value for 
shareholders as a whole over the medium to 
long-term. This is achieved through robust 
decision making by the board, keeping it dynamic, 
while at the same time ensuring a consistent 
corporate culture throughout the organisation.

The remuneration and audit committees were 
established following Attraqt’s admission to AIM 
on 19 August 2014.

The board of directors
The details of Attraqt’s board, together with the 
audit and remuneration committees, are set out in 
the governance section. 

The board aims to meet monthly with a minimum 
of 9 meetings per annum and is responsible for 
the overall management of the Attraqt’s long-term 
strategy and objectives and the monitoring of 
performance. It oversees operations and ensures 
the maintenance of sound internal controls and 
risk management systems.

Certain	matters	are	specifically	reserved	for	the	
approval of the board, including approval of 
significant	capital	expenditure,	material	business	
contracts and corporate transactions. To enable 
the board to discharge its duties all directors 
receive appropriate and timely information.

Board Meeting Attendance 

1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020

Board Member

Independence

Eligible to attend

Attended

Nick Habgood

Non-independent

Robert Fenner

Non-independent

Luke McKeever

Non-independent

Mark Adams

Non-independent

Eric Dodd

Non-independent

Grahame Cook

Independent

13

13

13

7

13

13

13

13

13

7

13

12

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

66

Directors’ remuneration
As set out in the remuneration report, the 
remuneration of the executive directors is 
determined by the remuneration committee. 
The remuneration of the non-executive directors 
is determined by the chairman and the executive 
directors. The directors recognize the importance 
of performance related incentives and executive 
directors are paid bonuses as deemed appropriate 
by the remuneration committee.

External advice
The board and its committees have only sought 
significant	external	legal	advice	in	relation	to	the	
acquisition of intellectual property asset from 
Aleph-One GmbH.

Relations with shareholders
Attraqt recognizes the value of communications 
with its shareholders. As well as the statutorily 
required news releases via the Stock Exchange, 
Attraqt issues updates on matters that it considers 
of interest to shareholders and the wider investing 
public. It responds quickly to enquiries and 
requests from shareholders subject to the 
limitations of providing price sensitive information.

All shareholders receive at least 21 days notice of 
the annual general meeting at which all the 
directors and the chairman are normally available 
to answer from shareholders attending the meeting.

Internal advisory responsibilities of the 
company secretary
The company secretary at Attraqt acts as a trusted 
adviser to the Chairman and the Board. In particular, 
the company secretary plays a vital role in relation 
to both legal and regulatory compliance.  
The company secretary also plays a proactive and 
central role in ensuring good governance. In this 
regard, assistance is provided to the board in 
preparing	for	and	running	effective	board	meetings,	
including the timely dissemination of appropriate 
information.

Effective risk management
The Company’s system of internal control and for 
reviewing	its	effectiveness	set	out	in	detail	on	the	
Company’s website:

https://www.attraqt.com/about/investors/
corporate-governance/

Board evaluation
The	Board	conducted	its	first	board	evaluation	in	
July 2018. This took the form of a chairman led 
questionnaire based on clear and relevant 
objectives, seeking continuous improvement. In 
doing so, it was established that the board was 
well-functioned, balanced and led by the chair.

The Board intends to conduct its second board 
evaluation in 2021, this was postponed in 2020 
due to COVID-19.

Training and development  
of board members
Where appropriate to do so, and if requested by 
board members, Attraqt funds training 
opportunities and development of board 
members to further its business objectives.

Accountability and audit
Financial reporting

The	chief	executive	and	chief	financial	officer	
statements contain detailed reviews of the 
performance	and	financial	position	of	the	
company. Attraqt uses these statements and the 
directors’ report to present and explain the 
company’s	financial	position	and	performance.	
The	directors’	responsibility	for	the	financial	
statements is described the directors report.

Internal control

The	board	confirms	that	it	has	established	the	
procedures necessary to implement the guidance 
set out in the Financial Reporting Council’s 
“Guidance on risk management, internal control 
and	related	financial	and	business	reporting”.	The	
identification,	evaluation	and	management	of	risk	
has been considered by the board. It is intended 
that this will continue to be kept under constant 
review and will be considered at each board 
meeting. The board continues to take steps to 
embed internal control and risk management 
further into the operations of the business and to 
deal with areas of improvement which come to 
management and board attention. The directors 
acknowledge their responsibilities for Attraqt’s 
system of internal control. Such a system can 
provide reasonable but not absolute assurance 
against material misstatement or loss. The board 
has considered the major business risks and the 
control environment. Important control 
procedures, in addition to the day to day 
supervision of the business, include comparison of 
monthly management accounts to the budget.

Audit committee and auditors

The audit committee comprised of Grahame Cook 
and Robert Fenner, both non-executive directors, 
together with Eric Dodd. 

The auditors of Attraqt may also attend part or all 
of each meeting and they have direct access to the 
committee for independent discussions, without 
the presence of an executive director, if required. 
The audit committee may examine any matters 
relating	to	the	financial	affairs	of	Attraqt	and	the	
audit. This includes reviews of the annual accounts 
and announcements, accounting policies, 
compliance with accounting standards, the 
appointment of auditors and their fees and other 
such related functions as the board may require. 
There were two meetings during the year, two of 
which were for audit planning and two to review 
the	financial	statements,	all	meetings	were	
attended by the auditors.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

68

Internal control
The board is responsible for establishing and 
maintaining Attraqt’s system of internal control 
and	for	reviewing	its	effectiveness.	The	system	of	
internal control is designed to manage, rather 
than eliminate, the risk of failure of the 
achievement of business objectives and can only 
provide reasonable but not absolute assurance 
against material misstatement or loss.

The audit committee monitors and reviews the 
effectiveness	of	the	system	of	internal	control	 
and reports to the board when appropriate  
with recommendations.

The main features of the system of internal 
control are:

–  A control environment exists through the close 
management of the business by the executive 
directors.	Attraqt	has	a	defined	organization	
structure with delineated approval limits. 
Controls are implemented and monitored by the 
executive directors.

–  The board has a schedule of matters expressly 
reserved for its consideration and this schedule 
includes acquisitions and disposals, major capital 
projects, treasury and risk management policies 
and approval of budgets.

–  Attraqt uses a detailed budgeting and 

forecasting process. Budgets are prepared 
annually by the executive directors and 
submitted to the board for approval. Forecasts, 
including	cash	flow	projections,	are	updated	at	
least	quarterly	to	reflect	changes	in	the	business	
and are monitored by the board. Actual results 
are monitored against the budget on a monthly 
basis, with variances highlighted to the board.

–		Financial	risks	are	identified	and	evaluated	for	

any major transactions for consideration by the 
board and senior management.

–		Standard	financial	control	procedures	are	

operated throughout Attraqt to ensure that the 
assets are safeguarded and that proper 
accounting records are maintained.

Board meeting attendance during the year 
were as follows:

Board Member

Eligible to attend Attended

Robert Fenner

Nick Habgood

Grahame Cook

3

0

3

3

0

3

Audit committee report

Composition and terms of reference

1st January 2020 to 6th January 2020 
Robert Fenner (Chair), Nick Habgood (Member) 

7th January 2020 to 31st December 2020 
Grahame Cook (Chair), Robert Fenner (Member)

Nick Habgood resigned as member on 6th January 2020 
when Grahame Cook was appointed as Chair and Robert 
Fenner was appointed as member.

The	audit	committee	meets	as	required	and	specifically	
to review the interim report and annual report and to 
consider	the	stability	and	effectiveness	of	the	internal	
control processes. The audit committee reviews the 
findings	of	the	external	auditor	and	reviews	accounting	
policies and material accounting judgements.

The	independence	and	effectiveness	of	the	external	
auditor is reviewed annually. The audit committee is able 
to meet separately with the external auditor without any 
executive director present to discuss their independence 
and objectivity, the annual report, any audit issues 
arising, internal control processes, appointment and fee 
levels and any other appropriate matters. As well as 
providing audit related services the auditors also provide 
taxation	advice	and	corporate	finance	fees.	Fees	in	
respect of audit and tax service are disclosed in note 6. 
Fees for non-audit services paid to the auditors are not 
deemed	to	be	of	such	significance	as	to	impair	their	
independence and therefore the audit committee 
considers that the objectivity and independence of the 
auditors is safeguarded. The committee reviews the 
audit tender and rotation annually, in line with applicable 
laws and regulations.

 
Remuneration  
committee report

Introduction

Attraqt presents its remuneration committee report 
for	the	2020	financial	year,	which	sets	outs	the	
remuneration framework for the executive chairman, 
our executives and our non-executive directors.  
The remuneration committee report is designed to 
provide shareholders with a clear and detailed 
understanding of Attraqt’ s remuneration framework.

1st January 2020 to 6th January 2020 
Robert Fenner (Chair), Nick Habgood (Member) 

7th January 2020 to 31st December 2020 
Grahame Cook (Chair), Robert Fenner (Member)

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

70

Nick Habgood resigned as member on 6th January 
2020 when Grahame Cook was appointed.

Robert Fenner is a non-executive director who the 
Board does not consider to be independent due to 
Attraqt’s on-going relationship with Taylor Wessing. 
Attraqt’s chairman may attend committee meetings 
as an observer. Grahame Cook is considered to be 
an independent director. The remuneration 
committee is expected to meet not less than once a 
year and at such other times as required. 

The remuneration committee has responsibility for 
determining, within the agreed terms of reference, 
the Group’s policy on the remuneration packages of 
the	chief	executive	officer,	chairman,	and	the	
executive directors, the group secretary, senior 
managers and such other members of the executive 
management as it is designated to consider. The 
remuneration committee also has responsibility for 
determining (within the terms of Attraqt’s policy and 
in consultation with the chairman of the board and/
or	the	chief	executive	officer)	the	total	individual	
remuneration package for each executive director, 
the group secretary and other designated senior 
executives (including bonuses, incentive payments 
and share options or other share awards).

The remuneration of non-executive directors is a 
matter for the chairman and executive directors of 
the board. No director or manager is allowed to 
partake in any discussions as to their own 
remuneration. In addition, the remuneration 
committee has the responsibility for reviewing the 
structure, size and composition (including the 
skills, knowledge and experience) of the board and 
giving full consideration to succession planning. It 
also has responsibility for recommending new 
appointments to the board.

Policy on executive directors’ 
remuneration
Executive remuneration packages are designed to 
attract and retain executives with the qualities and 
skills responsible for delivering the long-term growth 
of Attraqt. The remuneration committee 
recommends to the board remuneration packages 
by reference to individual performance and uses the 
knowledge and experience of the committee 
members, published surveys relating to AIM 
companies and data on companies of similar size 
and in similar industries.

There are three main elements of the remuneration 
package	for	executive	directors	and	staff:	Basic	
salaries,	pension	and	benefits	in	kind.

Basic salaries are recommended to the board by the 
remuneration committee, taking into account the 
performance of the individual and the rates for 
similar	positions	in	comparable	companies.	Benefits	
in kind comprising death in service and private 
medical	insurance	are	available	to	all	staff	and	
executive directors.

Share options
Attraqt operates a share option scheme for the 
executive directors and other employees to motivate 
those individuals through equity participation. 
Exercise of share options under the scheme is 
subject	to	specified	exercise	periods	and	compliance	
with the AIM Rules. The scheme is overseen by the 
remuneration committee which recommends to the 
board all grants of share options based on the 
remuneration committee’s assessment of personal 
performance and specifying the terms under which 
eligible individuals may be invited to participate. 
There is no long term incentive plan for 2021 that 
has yet been approved. Details about the 
performance and vesting period can be found in 
note 17.

 
Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

72

Bonus scheme
Attraqt	has	a	discretionary	bonus	scheme	for	staff	and	executive	directors.

The bonus in relation to the 2020 performance will be paid in March 2021. A separate bonus with  
a guaranteed amount of £13,358 will be paid in 2021.

Mark Adams

Eric Dodd

Total

EBITDA bonus

Guaranteed bonus

Total bonus payable

20,035

22,027

42,062

13,359

-

13,359

33,394

22,027

55,421

Service contracts
The executive directors are employed under service contracts requiring six months notice by either 
party. Non-executive directors and the chairman receive payments under appointment letters which 
are terminable by two months’ notice by either party. The service contracts of the non-executive 
directors are made available for inspection at the AGM.

Policy on non-executive director’s remuneration
Non-executive directors are paid a fee for services as a director. The fee, which is approved by the 
board, mindful of the time commitment and responsibilities of the role and of current market rates 
for comparable organizations and appointments. All non-executive directors and the chairman are 
reimbursed for travelling and other incidental expenses incurred on company business.

The emoluments of the directors were as follows (audited):

Salary & 
directors’ 
fees

£

125,615

183,559

114,750

70,421

19,916

-

40,039

-

Executive directors

Mark Adams

Eric Dodd

Luke McKeever (ii)

Non-executive directors

Nick Habgood (iii)

Luke McKeever(ii)

Ed Ewing (iv)

Robert Fenner (v)

Ivor Dunbar (vi)

Grahame Cook (vii)

40,000

Year ended 31 December 2020

Year ended 
31 December 
2019

Bonus

Benefits  
in kind

Pension

Total

Total

£

-

59,561

91,800

-

-

-

-

-

-

£

£

£

210

2,586

1,356

-

459

-

-

-

-

3,768

5,507

3,442

-

200

-

-

-

-

129,594

251,213

211,349

70,421

20,575

-

40,039

-

40,000

£

-

191,387

243,237

40,000

-

6,667

40,000

34,564

-

Total

594,300

151,361

4,611

12,917

763,190

555,855

i. Appointed 30 June 2020.

ii. Resigned 30 June 2020, appointed as a non executive director 30 June 2020.

iii. Is a partner in Azini Capital Partners, the fee for Nick’s services is paid to Azini Capital Partners, see note 20.

iv. Resigned 28 February 2019

v. A partner in Taylor Wessing, the fee for his services is paid to Taylor Wessing, see note 20.

vi. Resigned 12 November 2019

vii. Appointed 6 January 2020

Bonus in the table above was for the 2019 performance paid out in 2020.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

74

On the 5 August 2020 the following share options were issued to the executive directors, details are 
shown in note 17.

Statement of directors’ shareholding and share interests
The table below sets out the Directors and non executive shareholdings in the Company.

Executive directors

No of Shares

Grant Price

Grant date

Vesting period

Mark Adams

2,250,000

27.5p

5 August 2020

4 years

On 30 June 2020 the following shares were forfeited by the Directors:

Executive directors

No of Shares

Grant Price

Forfeit date

Vesting period

Shareholdings

Share options 
granted

Shareholdings

Share options 
granted

As at 31 December 
2020

As at 31 December 
2020

As at 31 December 
2019

As at 31 December 
2019

Mark Adams

-

Eric Dodd

123,842

2,250,000

2,127,370

-

92,592

-

2,127,370

Nick Habgood

24,777,955

-

23,946,695

-

Luke McKeever

2,254,743

31.5p

30 June 2020

3 years

Luke McKeever

370,370

2,000,000

370,370

4,254,743

On the 28 May 2019 the following share options were issued to the executive directors, details are 
shown in note 18 for the 2018 Consolidated Financial Statements for Attraqt Group plc.

Executive directors

No of Shares

Grant Price

Forfeit date

Vesting period

Robert Fenner

Ed Ewing

Ivor Dunbar

Grahame Cook

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,214,000

-

-

-

-

-

Luke McKeever

1,063,685

27.0p

28 May 2019

3 years

There are no performance measure in connection with the share options that have been granted.

There are no performance conditions attached to the share options and no share options were 
exercised in either years.

Outstanding share awards:

Executive directors

Date of award

Shares granted

Share exercisable

Eric Dodd

15 Dec 2017

1,063,685 16 Dec 2020 – 15 Dec 2027

% change in basic salary

Chairman

-

CEO

CFO

1.5%

1.5%

Non executive 
Directors

-

The shares against Mr Habgood’s name are held by Azini 3 LLP, a private equity fund which is managed by Azini Capital Partners LLP. 

Mr Habgood is a Managing Partner of Azini Capital Partners LLP and has a minority interest in Azini 3 LLP.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

76

Directors report

The directors present their report with the financial statements of Attraqt 
Group plc for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Results
The Group made a loss after tax in 2020 of 
£2,227,000 (2019 - £4,022,000) on turnover of 
£21,003,000 (2019 - £19,434,000) representing a 
loss of £0.01 per share (2019: £0.03). The net cash 
generated from operating activities was £517,000 
(2019 – used in £475,000).

Dividends
The board do not propose the payment of  
a dividend for the year (2019: £nil).

Directors
All directors are expected to devote as much time as 
is required for the proper performance of their 
duties. Overall, we anticipate that each director will 
spend a minimum of three days a month working  
for Attraqt.

The	directors	shown	below	either	held	office	during	
the reporting period or to the date of this report:

– Nick Habgood

– Eric Dodd 

– Mark Adams (appointed 30 June 2020)

– Luke McKeever

– Robert Fenner

– Grahame Cook (appointed January 2020)

The biographical details of the current directors may 
be found on pages 49 to 51 and are incorporated 
into this report by reference.

Qualifying third party indemnity 
provisions
Attraqt	purchases	directors	and	officer’s	insurance	
against their cost in defending themselves in legal 
proceedings taken against them in that capacity, 
and in respect of damages resulting from the 
unsuccessful defence of any proceedings.

Financial instruments
Details of Attraqt’s risk management objectives and 
policies	together	with	its	exposure	to	financial	risk	
are	set	out	in	note	19	to	the	financial	statements.

Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the directors 
consider that Attraqt has adequate resources  
to continue in operational existence for the 
foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue 
to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the 
financial	statements.	

Research and Development
Attraqt will continue the research and development 
of new products and product enhancements using 
its internal expertise and jointly with technology 
partners. The selection of developments to be 
undertaken is based on feedback from existing 
and prospective clients and prioritised according 
to the return they can be expected to generate. 
Attraqt will continue to invest in research and 
development at the same rate as the current year, 
to ensure the technological risk as set out in the 
strategic report is mitigated.

Listing
Attraqt’s ordinary shares have been traded on the 
AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange since 19 
August 2014. Canaccord Genuity Limited is Attraqt’s 
nominated advisor and broker. The closing mid-
market share price at 31st December 2020 was 38p.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

78

Statement of directors’ responsibilities
The directors are responsible for preparing the 
strategic report, the directors’ report and the 
financial	statements	in	accordance	with	applicable	
law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare the 
financial	statements	for	each	financial	year.	Under	
that law the directors have elected to prepare the 
financial	statements	in	accordance	with	
international accounting standards in conformity 
with the requirements of Companies Act 2006 and 
international	financial	reporting	standards	adopted	
pursuant to Regulation (EC No 1606/2002) as it 
applies to the European Union. 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	and	of	
the	profit	or	loss	for	that	period.	The	directors	are	
also	required	to	prepare	financial	statements	in	
accordance with the rules of the London Stock 
Exchange for companies trading securities on the 
Alternative Investment Market.

In	preparing	these	financial	statements,	the	directors	
are required to:

–  Select suitable accounting policies and then apply 

them consistently;

–  Make judgements and accounting estimates that 

are reasonable and prudent;

–  State whether they have been prepared in 
accordance with international accounting 
standards in conformity with the requirements of 
Companies	Act	2006	and	international	financial	
reporting standards adopted pursuant to 
Regulation (EC No 1606/2002) as it applies to the 
European Union, subject to any material 
departures	disclosed	and	explained	in	the	financial	
statements;

–		Prepare	the	financial	statements	on	the	going	

concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume 
that Attraqt will continue in business.

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

Website publication
The directors are responsible for ensuring the 
annual	report	and	the	financial	statements	are	
made available on a website. Financial statements 
are published on Attraqt’s website in accordance 
with legislation in the United Kingdom governing 
the	preparation	and	dissemination	of	financial	
statements, which may vary from legislation in 
their jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity 
of the website is the responsibility of the directors. 
The directors’ responsibility also extends to the 
ongoing	integrity	of	the	financial	statements	
contained therein.

Key future developments
The period ahead we will continue to focus on 
driving	the	underlying	operational	effectiveness	
and performance of the business. We made solid 
progress during 2020 with customer renewals and 
upsells to the existing customer base, and we have 
a new product in 2021 that we believe this will 
increase our total addressable market and will 
enable future growth. 

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 
Attraqt’s auditors are unaware, and each director 
has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken 
as a director in order to make himself aware of 
any relevant audit information and to establish 
that the Attraqt’s auditors are aware of that 
information.

Branches outside the United Kingdom
The Group operates a number of subsidiaries 
which	include	five	within	the	EU.

Auditors
The auditors, BDO LLP, will be proposed for re-
appointment at the forthcoming Annual General 
Meeting.

Eric Dodd

Chief	Financial	Officer	
11 March 2021

Independent auditors  
report to the members  
of the Attraqt Group

Opinion on the financial statements

In our opinion

–		The	financial	statements	give	a	true	and	
fair view of the state of the Group’s and 
of	the	Parent	Company’s	affairs	as	at	31	
December 2020 and of the Group’s  
loss for the year then ended.

–		The	Group	financial	statements	have	

been properly prepared in accordance 
with international accounting standards 
in conformity with the requirements  
of the Companies Act 2006.

–		The	Parent	Company	financial	statements	

have been properly prepared in accordance 
with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice.

–		The	financial	statements	have	been	
prepared in accordance with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

80

We	have	audited	the	financial	statements	of	
ATTRAQT Group Plc (the ‘Parent Company’) and 
its subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) for the year ended 31 
December 2020 which comprise the consolidated 
income statement, the consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income, the consolidated 
statement	of	financial	position,	the	consolidated	
statement of changes in equity, the consolidated 
statement	of	cash	flows,	the	company	statement	
of	financial	position,	the	company	statement	
of	changes	in	equity	and	notes	to	the	financial	
statements,	including	a	summary	of	significant	
accounting policies. 

The	financial	reporting	framework	that	has	been	
applied	in	the	preparation	of	the	Group	financial	
statements is applicable law and international 
accounting standards in conformity with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006. The 
financial	reporting	framework	that	has	been	
applied in the preparation of the Parent Company 
financial	statements	is	applicable	law	and	United	
Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial 
Reporting Standard 101 Reduced Disclosure 
Framework (United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice).

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	
believe that the audit evidence we have obtained 
is	sufficient	and	appropriate	to	provide	a	basis	for	
our opinion. 

Independence
We remain independent of the Group and the 
Parent 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 as applied to listed entities, and 
we	have	fulfilled	our	other	ethical	responsibilities	
in accordance with these requirements. 

82

Overview

Coverage

100% (2019: 96%) of Group revenue

88% (2019: 83%) of Group expenditure

99% (2019: 99%) of Group total assets

Key audit matters

The following key audit matters are relevant to both current and prior year:

1. Revenue recognition 

2. Capitalisation of internal development costs

3. Recoverability of Group goodwill, intangible assets and Parent Company investments

In the prior year, our audit report included discussion of the Early Birds acquisition 
accounting,	a	specific	transaction	in	the	prior	year.	There	were	no	business	combinations	
in the current year.

Materiality

Group materiality was £315,000 (2019: £286,000) based on 1.5% (2019: 1.5%)  
of Group revenue.

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.	Our	evaluation	of	the	Directors’	
assessment of the Group and the Parent Company’s ability to continue  
to adopt the going concern basis of accounting included:

–  We evaluated of Management’s prior budgeting accuracy, through 

comparison of 2020 budget to actual, noting that results were ahead  
of budget for the year.

–  We discussed the movements in budget with management, focussing on 
more judgemental areas including revenue growth and margin updates 
on FY20 results. We reviewed management’s sensitivity analysis on 
these key inputs and performed additional sensitivity analysis to 
consider the Group’s sensitivity to these inputs. 

–		We	confirmed	arithmetic	accuracy	of	Management’s	cash	flow	forecasts	
to March 2022, including comparison of operating and working capital 
movements with reference to current year movements, adjusted for 
budgeted	increases,	and	agreement	of	financing/investing	cash	flow	
amounts and timing to supporting evidence or management 
calculations.

–  We reviewed post year end results and cash against budget, post year 
end Board meetings, and held discussions with those charged with 
governance	to	confirm	that	there	were	no	significant	changes	to	
business operations that would impact going concern.

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

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

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our 
professional	judgement,	were	of	most	significance	
in	our	audit	of	the	financial	statements	of	the	current	
period	and	include	the	most	significant	assessed	
risks of material misstatement (whether or not 
due	to	fraud)	that	we	identified,	including	those	
which	had	the	greatest	effect	on:	the	overall	audit	
strategy, the allocation of resources in the audit, 
and	directing	the	efforts	of	the	engagement	team.	
These matters were addressed in the context of 
our	audit	of	the	financial	statements	as	a	whole,	
and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do 
not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

An overview of the scope of our audit
Our Group audit was scoped by obtaining an 
understanding of the Group and its environment, 
including the Group’s system of internal control, 
and assessing the risks of material misstatement 
in	the	financial	statements.	We	also	addressed	the	
risk of management override of internal controls, 
including assessing whether there was evidence of 
bias by the Directors that may have represented a 
risk of material misstatement. 

Based on our assessment, we focused our Group 
audit	scope	on	the	Group’s	significant	components	
within the UK, France and the Netherlands, as well 
as the Parent Company, and BDO LLP performed 
full scope audits on these four entities as the books 
and records are kept in the UK. For the other 
components	that	were	not	identified	as	significant	
to the Group, we performed limited procedures  
at a Group level on key items and risk areas, 
including revenue, and analytical review procedures. 

Key audit matter
Revenue recognition (notes 2 and 4)

IFRS 15 focuses on revenue being recognised 
in conjunction with performance obligations 
being	satisfied	either	“at	a	point	in	time”	or	
“over time”. 

Software as a service (SaaS) revenue is 
recognised the period of the contract.

Services revenue is project based and 
recognised based on amount of work 
completed.

We consider there to be a fraud and 
judgemental risk arising from the inappropriate 
or incorrect calculation of the split between 
revenue and deferred or accrued revenue 
around	year	end	(cut	off)	as	there	is	a	risk	
that revenue will be incorrectly accrued at 
year end due to the pressure on 
management	to	achieve	forecast	profits.	

Additionally	there	is	significant	judgement	
and complexity in the application of appropriate 
IFRS 15 accounting for contracts or contract 
amendments where these contracts contain 
unusual or new contract clauses.

84

Our response
Our audit work included, but was not restricted to, 
the following:

–  Where appropriate, we obtained an understanding 
regarding the design and implementation of the 
controls over revenue invoicing and recognition.

–  We recalculated expected revenue and deferred 

revenue	based	on	verified	contract	value	and	relevant	
invoicing frequency and time periods for a sample of 
Software as a service (SaaS) revenue.

–  We substantively tested a sample of SaaS revenue 
customers with no deferred revenue balance to 
confirm	revenue	was	correctly	recognised	in	 
the period.

–  We recalculated a sample of Service revenue and 

deferred/accrued	revenue	balances	based	on	verified	
contract values, hourly rates and timecard data.

–		We	completed	cut	off	testing	and	traced	a	sample	of	
December 2020 and January 2021 Service invoices 
through to supporting documentation and ensured 
that these items had been appropriately accounted 
for in either 2020 or in 2021.

–  For both revenue streams, we reviewed post year end 
credit notes raised to ensure any items relating to the 
financial	year	under	audit	had	been	correctly	
accounted for.

–  For both revenue streams, we reviewed manual 
journal postings over a set threshold to revenue, 
deferred	and	accrued	revenue	and	verified	any	
entries outside our expectations.

–  We reviewed customers with revenue or revenue 

movements on prior year over a set threshold and 
obtained any relevant new contracts or contract 
amendments. We reviewed the contract clauses and 
considered management’s revenue recognition policy 
applied against the requirements of IFRS 15.

Key observations: We did not identify any indicators to 
suggest that revenue has not been recognised 
appropriately in accordance with the applicable 
accounting standards.

Key audit matter
Capitalisation of Internal Development 
Costs (Notes 2,3 and 12)

The Group capitalises costs incurred in 
relation to the development of the 
software utilised in the Group’s service 
offerings	to	customers.	

In accordance with IAS 38, management’s 
policy is to capitalise development 
expenditure on internally developed 
software products if these costs can be 
reliably measured and the asset meets the 
relevant criteria.

There	is	a	significant	management	
judgement in the application of IAS 38 
criteria to research and development costs 
and therefore we assessed that this 
reflects	a	significant	risk	that	development	
costs are incorrectly capitalised in the year.

Our response
Our audit work included, but was not restricted  
to, the following:

–  We reviewed a sample of development additions 
capitalised in the year and assessed whether the 
IAS 38 criteria for capitalisation were met.

–			This	included	recalculation	of	staff	rates	based	on 	
contractual employment terms for the relevant 
staff	member,	and	hours	charged	to	timecard 	
data, as well as discussion with the appropriate 
project managers in the development team to 
obtain an understanding of the project nature, 
timing and feasibility. 

Key observation: We did not identify anything to 
suggest that the judgements made by management 
in the capitalisation of internal development costs 
were inappropriate or materially incorrect.

86

Key audit matter
Recoverability of Group goodwill and 
Parent Company Investments

Group (Notes 2, 3 and 12) Parent 
(Parent Company notes 1 and 2)

As a result of acquisition activity, the 
Group has goodwill of £25,649k. 

IAS 36 ‘Impairment of Assets’, requires 
management to test goodwill for 
impairment annually. 

Any potential impairment would have a 
significant	impact	on	reported	results	of	
the Group.

We	consider	there	to	be	a	significant	risk	
in this impairment review due to the 
extent of management judgement in 
determining the underlying assumptions 
used in the impairment review. These 
assumptions include the discount rate, 
revenue and margin growth and the 
terminal growth rate.

As a result of the acquisitions made,  
the	Parent	Company	holds	a	significant	
investment in subsidiaries balance  
of £40,991k.

Management	exercise	significant	
judgement in assessing whether  
there is an indication of impairment  
of this balance.

Our response
Our audit work included, but was not restricted to, 
the following to consider the valuation of goodwill, 
and Parent Company Investments:

–  We utilised our internal valuation experts to assess 
the methodology employed by management and 
review key inputs including discount rate and 
terminal growth rate against externally available 
data, best practise and applicable accounting 
standard requirements.

–  We recalculated the Group’s value in use using our 

calculated discount rate, based on applicable 
gearing, risk and equity premiums, and methodology 
in line with accounting standards and compared 
these values against the Group’s net asset value 
and the investment in subsidiaries value within the 
parent company. 

–   We have assessed management’s sensitivity 

analysis performed on discount and growth rates 
and	confirmed	the	disclosures	in	the	financial	
statements	reflect	analysis	performed.	We	performed	
further downside sensitivity analysis on key drivers 
of the valuation including revenue growth, terminal 
value and discount rate.

–  We reviewed the market capitalisation of the 

Group for any indication of impairment against the 
Group’s assets or Parent company investments.

Key observation: We did not identify anything to 
suggest that the judgements made by management 
in their annual impairment review were inappropriate, 
or that the impairment review failed to identify 
indicators impacting the recoverability of goodwill  
in the Group or investments in subsidiaries in the 
Parent Company.

Our application of materiality

We apply the concept of materiality both in planning  
and	performing	our	audit,	and	in	evaluating	the	effect	 
of misstatements. We consider materiality to be the 
magnitude by which misstatements, including omissions, 
could	influence	the	economic	decisions	of	reasonable	users	
that	are	taken	on	the	basis	of	the	financial	statements.	

In order to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability 
that any misstatements exceed materiality, we use a lower 
materiality level, performance materiality, to determine the 
extent of testing needed. Importantly, misstatements below 
these levels will not necessarily be evaluated as immaterial 
as	we	also	take	account	of	the	nature	of	identified	
misstatements, and the particular circumstances of their 
occurrence,	when	evaluating	their	effect	on	the	financial	
statements as a whole. 

88

Based	on	our	professional	judgement,	we	determined	materiality	for	the	financial	statements	as	a	
whole and performance materiality as follows:

Group financial statements

Parent company financial statements

2020

£’000

315

2019

£’000

286

2020

£’000

284

2019

£’000

215

1.5% Group  
revenue

1.5% Group  
revenue

90% Group 
materiality

75% Group 
materiality

65% Materiality

75% Materiality

75% Materiality

75% Materiality

Materiality

Basis for 
determining 
materiality

Performance 
materiality

Rationale for Group materiality 
Under	auditing	guidelines	the	default	performance	measure	for	profit	driven	entities	should	be	profit	
before tax, however in the case of this Group revenue was considered to be most appropriate due to 
the focus on on-going investment in growth through acquisition and development of software and 
losses made in the year. Revenue provides a consistent year on year basis for determining materiality 
and has been concluded as the most relevant performance measure to the stakeholders of the Group.

Rationale for Parent Company materiality 
The	materiality	for	the	Parent	Company	financial	statements,	as	a	holding	company,	was	based	on	2%	
of total assets but restricted to 90% of Group materiality (2019: 75%).

Rationale for performance materiality threshold
Performance materiality threshold for the Group and Parent Company takes into account various 
factors including the expected total value of known and likely misstatements, brought forward 
misstatements, the number of material estimates and the expected use of sample testing.

90

Component materiality
We set materiality for each component of the Group 
based on a percentage of between 47% and 90% 
of Group materiality dependent on the size and 
our assessment of the risk of material misstatement 
of that component. Component materiality  
ranged from £149k to £284k. In the audit of each 
component, we further applied performance 
materiality levels of between 65-75% of the 
component materiality to our testing to ensure 
that the risk of errors exceeding component 
materiality was appropriately mitigated.

Reporting threshold 
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we 
would	report	to	them	all	individual	audit	differences	
in excess of £6,300, being 2% Group materiality 
(2019: £5,700 – 2% Group materiality). We also 
agreed	to	report	differences	below	this	threshold	
that, in our view, warranted reporting on 
qualitative grounds.

Other information
The directors are responsible for the other 
information. The other information comprises the 
information included in the Annual Report other 
than	the	financial	statements	and	our	auditor’s	
report	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. 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.

92

Other Companies Act 2006 reporting
Based on the responsibilities described below and our work performed during the course of the audit, 
we are required by the Companies Act 2006 and ISAs (UK) to report on certain opinions and matters as 
described below. 

Strategic report and 
Directors’ report 

Matters on which 
we are required to 
report by exception

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

–		the	information	given	in	the	Strategic	report	and	the	Directors’	report	for	the	financial	
year	for	which	the	financial	statements	are	prepared	is	consistent	with	the	financial	
statements; and

–  the Strategic report and the Directors’ report have been prepared in accordance with 

applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Parent Company and 
its	environment	obtained	in	the	course	of	the	audit,	we	have	not	identified	material	
misstatements in the Strategic report or the Directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the 
Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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

–		the	Parent	Company	financial	statements	are	not	in	agreement	with	the	accounting	

records and returns; or

–	certain	disclosures	of	Directors’	remuneration	specified	by	law	are	not	made;	or

– we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Directors
As explained more fully in the statement of 
Director’s responsibilities, 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 Group’s and the 
Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related 
to going concern and using the going concern basis 
of accounting unless the Directors either intend to 
liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or to 
cease operations, or have no realistic alternative 
but to do so.

Auditor’s 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 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.

94

Our audit procedures were designed to respond 
to	risks	of	material	misstatement	in	the	financial	
statements, recognising that the risk of not 
detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is 
higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting 
from error, as fraud may involve deliberate 
concealment by, for example, forgery, 
misrepresentations or through collusion. 

There are inherent limitations in the audit 
procedures performed and the further removed 
non-compliance with laws and regulations is from 
the	events	and	transactions	reflected	in	the	
financial	statements,	the	less	likely	we	are	to	
become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities is 
available on the Financial Reporting Council’s 
website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. 

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
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:

–  We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks through our accumulated 

knowledge and consideration of sector information that is applicable to the entity. We communicated 
relevant	identified	laws	and	regulations,	potential	fraud	risks	and	how	and	where	this	might	occur	to	 
all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with 
laws and regulations throughout the audit. We focused on laws and regulations that could give rise 
to	a	material	misstatement	in	the	Group	and	Parent	Company	financial	statements,	including,	 
but not limited to, accounting standards, Companies Act 2006 and certain requirements from  
UK and overseas sales tax, employment tax and corporation tax legislation.

–  We obtained an understanding of how the Group is complying with those legal and regulatory 

frameworks by making enquiries to management and those responsible for legal and compliance 
procedures. We corroborated our enquiries where appropriate through our review of board  
minutes and correspondence with the relevant tax authorities.

–			We	assessed	the	susceptibility	of	the	entities	financial	statements	to	material	misstatement,	including	how	
fraud might occur by discussing with management where it is considered there was a susceptibility of 
fraud relating to management override of controls and improper revenue recognition. In addressing the 
risk of fraud including the management override of controls, and improper revenue recognition we  
tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments including substantive testing  
of journals considered to be unusual or higher risk; reviewed application of assessing whether  
the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; tested  
the	application	of	cut-off	and	revenue	recognition,	and	evaluated	the	business	rationale	of	 
any	significant	transactions	that	are	unusual	or	outside	the	normal	course	of	business.

96

Use of our report
This report is made solely to the Parent 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 Parent 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 
Parent Company and the Parent Company’s 
members as a body, for our audit work, for this 
report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Nigel Harker 

Senior Statutory Auditor 
For and on behalf of BDO LLP, Statutory Auditor
Gatwick
United Kingdom

11 March 2020

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in 

England and Wales (with registered number OC305127).

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

98

Consolidated  
income statement

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Consolidated statement  
of comprehensive income

For the year ended 31 December 2020

The	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

The	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

Notes20202019£’000£’000Revenue421,00319,434Cost of Sales4(5,502)(5,354)Gross profit15,50114,080Administration expenses(17,822)(16,933)Exceptional administrative expenses5(256)(1,507)Total administrative expenses(18,078)(18,440)Loss from operations6(2,577)(4,360)Net finance costs(58)(48)Loss before tax (2,635)(4,408)Taxation credit/(charge)8408386Loss for the year(2,227)(4,022)Notes20202019£’000£’000(Loss) for the year(2,227)(4,022)Foreign exchange translation differences(50)40Total comprehensive (loss) for the year, attributable to shareholders of the parent(2,277)(3,982)Loss per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the companyBasic and diluted EPS9(1.2p)(2.7p)Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

100

Consolidated statement  
of financial position 

Consolidated statement  
of changes of equity

For the year ended 31 December 2020

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Balance at 1 January 2019

Loss for the year

Foreign	currency	translation	differences

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Contributions by and distributions to 
owners

Shares issued

Issue costs

Share based payment charge

Total contributions by and  
distributions to owners

Balance at 31 December 2019

Loss for the year

Foreign	currency	translation	differences

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Contributions by and distributions to 
owners

Shares issued

Issue costs

Contingent shares to be issued

Share based payment charge

Total contributions by and  
distributions to owners

Balance at 31 December 2020

Notes

Share 
capital

Share 
premium

Merger 
reserve

Share 
based 
payment 
reserve

Foreign 
exchange 
reserve

Retained 
earnings

Total

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

1,063

30,108

1,457

1,238

(265)

(12,020) 21,581

-
-
-

-
-
-

737

-
-
737

19,156

(748)

-
18,408

-
-
-

-
-
-
-

-
-
-

-
-
185

185

-
40

40

(4,022)

(4,022)

-
(4,022)

40

(3,982)

-
-
-
-

- 19,893
(748)
-
-
- 19,330

185

1,800

48,516

1,457

1,423

(225)

(16,042) 36,929

-
-
-

161

-
-
-
161

-
-
-

4,991

(256)

-
-
4,735

16

17

-
-
-

-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-

-
-
103

59

162

-
(50)

(50)

(2,227)

(2,227)

-
(2,227)

(51)

(2,227)

-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-
-

5,152

(256)

103

59

5,058

1,961

53,251

1,457

1,585

(275)

(18,269) 39,710

The	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

These	Consolidated	financial	statements	and	the	accompanying	notes	were	approved	for	issue	by	the	Board	on	11	March	2021	
and signed on its behalf by:

Eric Dodd 
Chief	Financial	Officer

The	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements

Notes20202019£’000£’000Non-current assetsPlant and equipment10243318Right of use assets111,0731,354Intangible assets1240,58540,154Total non-current assets41,90141,826Current assetsTrade and other receivables146,1555,401Cash and cash equivalents156,5913,950Corporation tax573217Total current assets13,3199,568Total assets55,22051,394Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables1811,66710,182Corporation tax267229Total current liabilities11,93410,411Non-current liabilitiesDeferred tax liability82,8393,197Lease liability11738857Non current liabilities  3,5774,054Net Assets39,71036,929EquityIssued capital161,9611,800Share premium1653,25148,516Merger reserve1,4571,457Share based payment reserve171,5851,423Foreign exchange reserve(275)(225)Retained earnings(18,269)(16,042)Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent39,71036,929Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

102

Consolidated statement  
of cash flows

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Notes

2020

£’000

2019

£’000

Cash flows from operating activities

Loss for the year

Adjustments for:

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Amortisation	of	intangible	fixed	assets

Amortisation of right of use assets

Income tax (credit)/charge

Share based payment expense

Finance costs

Foreign	exchange	differences

Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables

Increase in trade and other payables

Cash generated/(used) in operating activities before interest and tax

Taxation received /(paid)

Net cash generated/(used) in operating activities

Cash flows used in investing activities

Acquisition of subsidiaries net of cash acquired

Fair value gain on forward contract

Purchases of Property, plant and equipment

Additions of internal software development intangible

Net cash used in operating activities

10

12

11

8

17

10

12

(2,227)

(4,022)

139

2,817

574

(408)

59

58

(99)

913

(1,110)

880

683

161

2,387

466

(386)

185

48

(92)

(1,253)

415

314

(524)

(166)

517

49

(475)

-

-

(66)

(1,341)

(1,407)

(10,875)

149

(282)

(946)

(11,954)

Cash flows from financing activities

Lease payments

Lease interest

Interest received

Issue of ordinary shares, net of issue costs

Loan received

Repayments of loan

Net cash generated from financing activities

Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Effect	of	foreign	currency	exchange	rate	changes

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

The	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

Notes

15

2020

£’000

(626)

(61)

3

2019

£’000

(393)

(56)

8

3,744

16,352

450

(27)

-

(20)

3,483

15,891

2,593

3,950

48

6,591

3,462

509

(21)

3,950

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

104

Notes to the financial statements

1. General Information 
Attraqt Group plc (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the ‘Group’) principal activity is the 
development and provision of eCommerce site search, merchandising and product recommendation 
technology.

The	financial	statements	for	the	year	ended	31	December	2020	were	authorised	for	issue	by	the	Board	of	
Directors of the Company on 11 March 2021.

The Company is a public limited company which is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market on the 
London Stock Exchange, and is incorporated, registered and domiciled in England and Wales (registered 
number:	08904529).	The	address	of	its	registered	office	is	7th	Floor,	222-236	Gray’s	Inn	Road,	London,	WC1X	
8HB.

2. Accounting Policies
The	principal	accounting	policies	applied	in	the	preparation	of	these	financial	statements	are	set	out	below.	
These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

Basis of preparation

The	consolidated	financial	statements	of	Attraqt	Group	plc	for	the	year	ending	31	December	2020	comprise	
the	results	of	Attraqt	Group	plc	(‘the	Company’)	and	its	subsidiaries	(together,	the	‘Group’).	These	financial	
statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and in accordance with international accounting 
standards	in	conformity	with	the	requirements	of	Companies	Act	2006	and	international	financial	reporting	
standards adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC No 1606/2002) as it applies to the European Union. The 
parent	company	financial	statements	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	FRS	101,	Financial	Reporting	
Standards	Framework.	The	Group	financial	statements	are	presented	in	UK	sterling	and	all	values	are	
rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£’000), except when otherwise indicated.

The requirements of the Companies Act 2006 here means accounts being prepared in accordance with 
‘international	accounting	standards’	as	defined	in	section	471(1)	of	the	Act,	as	it	applied	immediately	before	
the Implementation Period completion day (end of transition period), including where the company also 
makes use of which have been adopted for use within the United Kingdom in accordance with regulation 
1(5) of the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited Liability Company (Amendment 
etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. 

The	preparation	of	financial	statements	in	conformity	with	IFRS	requires	the	use	of	certain	critical	accounting	
estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s 
accounting policies. Further details on the Group’s critical judgements and estimates are included in note 3.

Going concern

As part of the Directors’ consideration of the appropriateness of adopting the going concern basis in 
preparing	the	financial	statements,	given	the	uncertainty	of	COVID-19.	The	Group	has	continued	to	monitor	
the impact of COVID-19 by reviewing the monthly results versus the budget set for 2020. The Group has not 
seen a severe impact in the year, due to national lockdowns, with consolidated Revenue being just 1% 
behind budget, and consolidated EBITDA remains on budget.

The consolidated cash balance available to the Group is healthy at £6,591,000. The Group has continued to 
offer	services	and	support	to	our	clients	uninterrupted	by	the	national	lockdowns	and	has	not	materially	
relied upon any furlough schemes available. The Group, via Attraqt Limited, took advantage of available

options to defer VAT payment for Q1 2020 until March 2021, and to delay payments for PAYE under a 
payment plan with HMRC which has now all been paid. 

To address uncertainties arising in the current environment, the Group took steps to secure additional 
financing:	extending	overdraft	facilities	from	£100,000	to	£250,000	in	September	2020	within	Attraqt	Limited,	
and receiving a EUR 500,000 loan via its French subsidiary Early Birds S.A.S. in July 2020. This loan is 
repayment free for at least 12 months, with options to defer full or partial repayment up to 5 years past July 2021.

The Group’s Directors have revised the Groups forecast taking into account the resilience of future sales, 
customers and the impacts of future possible COVID-19 related national lockdowns  
and	performed	sensitivity	analysis	on	monthly	consolidated	cash	flows	to	March	2022.	 
Those forecasts make assumptions in respect of future trading conditions, notably the economic 
environment and its impact on Group’s revenues. The forecasts take into account foreseeable downside risks, 
based	on	the	information	that	is	available	to	the	Directors	at	the	time	of	approval	of	these	financial	
statements, however it is not possible to quantify the ongoing impact with certainty.

Directors	have	identified	that	there	is	sensitivity	to	a	reduction	in	revenue	receipts,	with	sustained	reduction	
of over 15% of annual recurring revenue bringing the Group outside existing cash facilities without any 
mitigating cost reductions, however they consider this to be unlikely given the impact seen within the 
business	in	the	current	financial	year	to	date.

Should	revenue	cash	flows	deteriorate,	management	would	take	some	mitigating	actions,	which	include	but	
are not limited to:

–  Negotiating longer credit terms with suppliers, for instance 30 day to 60 days;
–  Alter invoicing terms with customers, for instance from annual bills to quarterly;
–  Reduction in marketing spend in relation to events; and
–		Reduction	in	staff	costs,	for	instance	reduction	in	bonus	payments	if	the	Group	does	not	meet	financial	

targets	or	suspension	of	pay	rises	and	reduction	of	temporary	staff	usage.

Based on the above, acknowledging the uncertainty in the economic environment as a result of the 
pandemic,	the	Board	remains	satisfied	that	the	Group	holds	sufficient	cash	together	with	bank	and	other	
facilities and has further options available to meet its working capital requirements for at least 12 months 
from	the	date	of	approval	of	these	financial	statements	and	therefore	supports	the	preparation	of	the	
financial	statements	on	a	going	concern	basis.

Revenue

Revenue represents sales to external customers at invoiced amounts less value added tax or local taxes on 
sales. Where work is completed at the year-end but not invoiced, the Attraqt Group accrues for this income. 
The Group derives the majority of its revenue from the provision of e-commerce services via a license fee to 
online retailers which includes site search, merchandising and product recommendation technology. The 
Group determines the transaction price to which it expects to be entitled in return for providing the promised 
obligation	to	the	customer	based	on	the	committed	contractual	amounts	fixed	cost	agreed	it	with	clients.	The	
Group has the following revenue streams:

SaaS license fee: In the case of SaaS Licence Fee only contracts, revenue is recognised over time which is 
measured	based	on	the	dates	defined	in	the	contract,	as	the	customer	has	access	to	the	vendor’s	intellectual	
property as it exists at any given time throughout the licence period. Implementation fees associated with 
these	licenses	are	recognised	over	the	transaction	period	which	is	defined	in	the	contract,	fees	not	associated	
with a license are recognised at the end of the implementation period.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

106

On-going services: Revenue in relation to Technical Consulting/Business consulting contracts have 
distinct	performance	obligations	I.e.	the	number	of	consulting	days	defined	in	the	contract,	will	be	
recognised at a point in time according to time and materials used – therefore, once the customer 
consumes	the	benefits	from	the	service	provided,	the	revenue	is	recognised.	Revenue	from	the	sale	of	
prepaid services are deferred until such time that the client utilises the services, or the contract expires. 
Utilisation of services can include either milestones set out in the project or consultancy days, therefore 
revenue	is	recognised	when	the	consultancy	days	have	been	consumed	or	milestones	defined	in	the	
project have been met.

Overage fees: In the case where overage charges apply, revenue is recognised immediately based on 
the	terms	defined	in	the	contract,	as	Attraqt	Group	do	not	become	entitled	to	revenue	for	these	charges	
until it is certain that the usage will breach 100% of the allowance in the contract. 

Contract assets represent prepaid commission to employees, this is recognised over the life of the 
corresponding customer contract in order to match the liability with the revenue earned.

Contract liability represents deferred income, which is recognised in over time in accordance with the 
customer contract.

Exceptional items

Exceptional items are those which, by virtue of their nature, size or incidence, either individually or in 
aggregate, need to be disclosed separately to allow full understanding of the underlying performance of 
the Group. 

Foreign currency translation

The functional and presentation currency of Attraqt Group plc is GBP. Transactions in foreign currencies 
are translated into the functional currency using exchange rates prevailing at the date of the 
transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the 
rate	of	exchange	ruling	at	the	balance	sheet	date.	Exchange	differences	arising	on	the	settlement	of	
monetary items and on the retranslation of monetary items are taken to the consolidated income 
statement. 

For	the	purposes	of	preparing	consolidated	financial	statements,	the	assets	and	liabilities	of	foreign	
subsidiary	undertakings	are	translated	at	the	exchange	rates	ruling	at	statement	of	financial	position	date.	
Profit	and	loss	items	are	translated	at	the	exchange	rate	ruling	at	the	date	of	the	transaction.	Exchange	
differences	arising	are	taken	to	the	Group’s	foreign	currency	translation	reserve.	

Pension

The	Group	operates	a	defined	contribution	scheme.	Obligations	for	contributions	to	the	defined	
contribution pension schemes are recognised as an expense in the income statement as incurred.

Government grants

Government grants are recognised at fair value when the grant is received and recognised in the 
statement	of	profit	or	loss.	The	government	grants	are	netted	against	the	expenses	of	the	same	nature.

Intangible assets

Externally acquired intangible assets are initially recognised at cost and subsequently amortised on a 
straight-line basis over their useful economic lives.

Externally acquired intangible assets 

Intangible assets are recognised on business combinations if they are separable from the acquired 
entity or give rise to other contractual/legal rights. 

The	significant	intangibles	recognised	by	the	Group,	their	useful	economic	lives	and	the	methods	used	
to determine the cost of intangibles acquired in a business combination are as follows:

 Intangible Asset

Useful  
economic life  
for Fredhopper 
intangibles

Useful 
economic life 
for Early Birds 
intangibles

Valuation Method

Customer Relationships

11 years

9 years

Existing Technology

7 years

10 years

Trade Names

10 years

10 years

Excess Earnings Method - the value of the 
intangible asset is the present value of the 
after-tax	cash	flows	potentially	attributable	to	it,	
net of the return on fair value attributable to 
tangible and other intangible assets.

Relief from Royalty Method - the value of 
intangible assets are estimated by capitalising 
the royalties saved because the company owns 
the intangible asset.

Relief from Royalty Method - the value of 
intangible assets are estimated by capitalising 
the royalties saved because the company owns 
the intangible asset.

Externally acquired intangible assets not acquired as part of a business combination are initially 
recognised at cost and subsequently amortised on a straight line basis over their useful economic lives. 
Useful economic life of the Aleph software is 10 years.

The amortisation expense is charged to the administrative expense line in the consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

108

Internally generated intangible assets (development costs)

Business combinations

Expenditure on internally developed products is capitalised if it can be demonstrated that:

–  it is technically feasible to develop the product for it to be sold;

–  adequate resources are available to complete the development;

–  there is an intention to complete and sell the product;

–  the Group is able to sell the product;

–		sale	of	the	product	will	generate	future	economic	benefits;	and

–  expenditure on the project can be measured reliably.

Capitalised development costs are amortised over three years. The amortisation expense is included 
within administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

Development expenditure not satisfying the above criteria and expenditure on the research phase of 
internal projects are recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income as incurred.

Business combinations completed prior to 1 January 2020 are accounted for using the acquisition method. 
Business combination completed on or after 1 January 2020 the Group has a choice, on a transaction by 
transaction basis to use a concentration test whereby if substantially all of the fair value of the gross 
assets	acquired	is	concentrated	in	a	single	identifiable	asset	then	this	is	recognised	as	an	asset	
acquisition and not a business combination, if this test is not met the acquisition is accounted for using 
the acquisition method. 

The cost of an acquisition is measured as the aggregate of the consideration transferred measured at 
acquisition date fair value and the amount of any non-controlling interests in the acquiree. For each 
business combination, the Group elects whether to measure the non-controlling interests in the 
acquiree	at	fair	value	or	at	the	proportionate	share	of	the	acquiree’s	identifiable	net	assets.	 
Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred and included in administrative expenses. 

When	the	Group	acquires	a	business,	it	assesses	the	financial	assets	and	liabilities	assumed	for	
appropriate	classification	and	designation	in	accordance	with	the	contractual	terms,	economic	
circumstances and pertinent conditions as at the acquisition date.

Where there is an event or change in circumstance in relation to such judgement, the Group must make 
an	estimate	of	the	expected	future	economic	benefits	to	determine	that	assets	are	not	impaired.

Goodwill

Impairment of assets

Assets that are subject to depreciation or amortisation are reviewed for impairment whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss 
is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The 
recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. For the 
purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately 
identifiable	cash	flows.

Consolidation

The	results	of	all	subsidiary	undertakings	are	included	in	the	consolidated	financial	statements.	Assets,	
liabilities, income and expenses of a subsidiary acquired or disposed of during the year are included in 
the	consolidated	financial	statements	from	the	date	the	Group	gains	control	until	the	date	the	Group	
ceases to control the subsidiary. 

Control is achieved when the Group is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement 
with	the	investee	and	has	the	ability	to	affect	those	returns	through	its	power	over	the	investee.	
Specifically,	the	Group	controls	an	investee	if,	and	only	if,	the	Group	has:	

–  power over the investee (i.e., existing rights that give it the current ability to direct the relevant activities 

of the investee); 

–  exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee; and 

–		the	ability	to	use	its	power	over	the	investee	to	affect	its	returns.	

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of the assets, liabilities and 
contingent liabilities of acquired businesses at the date of acquisition. Goodwill is stated at cost less 
accumulated impairment losses. 

Goodwill is allocated to one cash-generating unit and is not amortised but is tested annually for 
impairment, or more frequently if there is an indication that the value of the goodwill may  
be impaired.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment is initially recognised at cost and is stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation. 

Property, plant and equipment is depreciated to reduce the carrying amounts of the assets, less their 
estimated residual values, over their expected useful lives, as follows:

Plant and machinery

3 years

Fixtures and fittings

3 years

Leasehold Improvements

Leasehold improvements are initially recognised at cost and is stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation. 

Leasehold improvements are depreciated to reduce the carrying amounts of the assets, less their 
estimated residual values, over their expected useful lives, as follows:

Leasehold 
improvements

Over the life of the lease

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

110

Leases

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances, call deposits and a bank loan. The bank loan is 
repayable	over	a	five	year	period	with	no	interest.	There	are	no	bank	overdrafts	in	either	year	presented.	

Share capital

Ordinary	shares	are	classified	as	equity.	Incremental	costs	directly	attributable	to	the	issue	of	new	
shares are deducted from share premium. 

Share based payments

The Group has issued share options to certain employees, in return for which the Group receives 
services from employees. The fair value of the employee services received in exchange for the grant of 
the options is recognised as an expense, the Group fair values the options at the grant date using the 
Black Scholes valuation model to establish the relevant fair values. 

The total amount to be expensed is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted 
including any market performance conditions (for example the Group’s share price) but excluding the 
impact of any service or non-market performance vesting conditions (for example the requirement of 
the grantee to remain an employee of the Group).

Non-market vesting conditions are included in the assumptions regarding the number of options that 
are expected to vest. The total expense is recognised over the vesting period. At the end of each period 
the Group revises its estimates of the number of options expected to vest based on the non-market 
vesting conditions. It recognises the impact of any revision in the income statement with a 
corresponding adjustment to equity.

The	group	leases	various	offices	and	equipment.	Rental	contracts	are	typically	made	for	fixed	periods	of	1	to	
5 years but may have extension options. Lease terms are negotiated on an individual basis and contain a 
wide	range	of	different	terms	and	conditions.	The	lease	agreements	do	not	impose	any	covenants,	but	
leased assets may not be used as security for borrowing purposes. 

Payments associated with short-term leases and leases of low-value assets are recognised on a straight-
line	basis	as	an	expense	in	profit	or	loss.	Short-term	leases	are	leases	with	a	lease	term	of	12	months	or	
less.	Low-value	assets	comprise	IT-equipment	and	small	office	leases.

Leases not meeting low value or short term criteria are recognised as a right-of-use asset and a corresponding 
liability at the date at which the leased asset is available for use by the group. Each lease payment is 
allocated	between	the	liability	and	finance	cost.	The	finance	cost	is	charged	to	profit	or	loss	over	the	lease	
period so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for 
each period. The right-of-use asset is depreciated over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease 
term on a straight-line basis.

Assets and liabilities arising from a lease are initially measured on a present value basis. Lease liabilities 
include the net present value of the following lease payments: 

–		fixed	payments	(including	in-substance	fixed	payments),	less	any	lease	incentives	receivable;	

–  variable lease payment that are based on an index or a rate; 

–  amounts expected to be payable by the Group under residual value guarantees; 

–  the exercise price of a purchase option if the Group is reasonably certain to exercise that option; and 

–		payments	of	penalties	for	terminating	the	lease,	if	the	lease	term	reflects	the	Group	exercising	that	

option.

The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease. If that rate cannot be 
determined, the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate is used, being the rate that the Group would have 
to pay to borrow the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value in a similar economic 
environment with similar terms and conditions.

Right-of-use assets are measured at cost comprising the following: 

–  the amount of the initial measurement of lease liability 

–  any lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received 

–  any initial direct costs, and 

–  restoration costs.

When the Group renegotiates the contractual term of a lease, the lease liability is remeasured using the 
discount	rate	applicable	on	the	modification	date,	with	the	right	of	use	asset	being	adjusted	by	the	
same amount. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

112

Taxation including deferred taxation

Total income tax on the result for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Income tax is recognised in 
the income statement except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity and other 
comprehensive income, in which case it is recognised directly in equity and other comprehensive income.

Current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable result for the year, using tax rates enacted, or 
substantively enacted, at the balance sheet date, and any adjustments to tax payable in respect of 
previous years.

Current	income	tax	assets	and	liabilities	comprise	those	obligations	to	fiscal	authorities	in	the	countries	in	
which the Group carries out its operations. They are calculated according to the tax rates and tax laws 
applicable	to	the	fiscal	period	and	the	country	to	which	they	relate.	All	changes	to	current	tax	liabilities	are	
recognised as a component of tax expense in the income statement unless the tax relates to an item taken 
directly to equity in which case the tax is also taken directly to equity. Tax relating to items recognised in 
other comprehensive income is recognised in other comprehensive income.

Deferred	tax	is	provided	on	all	temporary	differences	between	the	carrying	amounts	of	assets	and	liabilities	
for	financial	reporting	purposes	and	the	amounts	used	for	taxation	purposes,	except	for:	

– goodwill not deductible for tax purposes;

–  the initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business combination and which, 

at	the	time	of	the	transaction,	affects	neither	the	accounting	profit	nor	the	taxable	profit	or	loss;	and

–		investments	in	subsidiary	companies	where	the	timing	of	the	reversal	of	the	temporary	difference	is	

controlled	by	the	Group	and	it	is	probable	that	the	temporary	difference	will	not	reverse	in	the	foreseeable	
future.

The amount of deferred tax recognised is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the 
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities, using tax rates enacted, or substantively enacted, at the balance 
sheet	date.	A	deferred	tax	asset	is	only	recognised	to	the	extent	that	it	is	probable	that	future	taxable	profits	
will be available against which the asset can be used.

Financial instruments 

Recognition, derecognition and measurement of financial instruments 

Financial	assets	and	financial	liabilities	are	recognised	when	Attraqt	Group	becomes	party	to	the	
contractual	provisions	of	the	financial	instrument.	Financial	assets	are	derecognised	when	the	contractual	
rights	to	the	cash	flows	from	the	financial	asset	expire,	or	when	the	financial	asset	and	all	substantial	
risks	and	rewards	are	transferred.	A	financial	liability	is	derecognised	when	the	related	contractual	
obligation is extinguished, discharged or cancelled, or when it expires. Financial instruments are 
recognised	and	derecognised	using	settlement	date	accounting.	On	initial	recognition,	financial	
instruments are measured at fair value. Fair value on initial recognition includes transaction costs 
directly	attributable	to	the	acquisition	or	issue	of	financial	instruments,	except	for	financial	instruments	
carried	at	fair	value	through	profit	or	loss,	for	which	transaction	costs	are	recognised	in	the	
consolidated statement of comprehensive income in the period when they are incurred. 
The Groups Financial assets include trade receivables, other receivables, and cash and cash equivalents, 
financial	liabilities	include	trade	payables,	employee	benefits,	bank	loan	and	employee	benefits.

Classification	of	financial	instruments

Financial assets 

On	initial	recognition,	a	financial	asset	is	classified	and	subsequently	measured	at:	

– amortised cost 

–	fair	value	through	profit	or	loss	(FVTPL);	or

–  fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI)

Business model assessment 

The	classification	depends	on	Attraqt	Group’s	business	model	for	managing	these	financial	assets	and	
the	contractual	terms	of	the	financial	asset’s	cash	flows.	The	business	models	objectives	are	broken	
down into three categories: 

–		Financial	assets	held	solely	to	collect	contractual	cash	flows;	

–		Financial	assets	held	both	to	collect	contractual	cash	flows	and	selling	the	assets;	and	

–  Financial assets that are managed on a fair value basis.

A	financial	asset	is	measured	at	amortised	cost	if	it	meets	both	of	the	following	conditions	and	is	not 	
designated as FVTPL: 

–		The	asset	is	held	within	a	business	model	whose	objective	is	to	hold	assets	to	collect	contractual	cash	flows.

–		The	contractual	terms	of	the	financial	asset	give	rise	on	specified	dates	to	cash	flows	that	are	solely 	

payments of principal and interest on the principal outstanding.

A	financial	asset	is	measured	at	FVOCI	only	if	it	meets	both	of	the	following	conditions	and	is	not 	
designated as FVTPL: 

–  The asset is held within a business model whose objective is achieved by both collecting contractual 

cash	flows	and	selling	financial	assets.	

–		The	contractual	terms	of	the	financial	asset	give	rise	on	specified	dates	to	cash	flows	that	are	solely 	

payments of principal and interest on the principal outstanding. 

All	other	financial	assets	are	classified	as	measured	at	FVTPL.

Impairment	of	financial	assets	measured	at	amortised	cost

The Group assesses on a forward looking basis expected credit losses associated with its debt 
instruments carried at amortised cost. The impairment methodology applied for trade receivables is 
the	simplified	approach,	which	requires	expected	lifetime	losses	to	be	recognised	from	initial 	
recognition of the receivables.

Write-off	policy	

Financial	assets	are	written-off	after	the	Group	has	exhausted	all	possible	avenues	of	recovery	from 	
the customer and there is no realistic prospect of recovering the amounts owed.

	
Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

114

Financial liabilities 

Equity Instruments

The	Attraqt	Group	classifies	its	financial	liabilities	at	amortised	cost	unless	it	has	designated	liabilities	at	
FVTPL or is required to measure liabilities at FVTPL, these include trade payables and short-term 
monetary	liabilities.	The	Attraqt	Group	designates	a	financial	liability	as	measured	at	FVTPL	on	initial	
recognition when it eliminates an accounting mismatch that would otherwise arise from measuring 
assets	or	liabilities	on	a	different	basis.	A	description	of	the	basis	for	each	designation	is	set	out	in	the	
major	types	of	financial	instruments	section	of	this	note.

Subsequent	measurement	of	financial	instruments

Financial instruments are measured in subsequent periods either at fair value or at amortised cost 
depending	on	the	financial	instrument	classification.

Financial instruments classified as at amortised cost 

Subsequent	to	initial	recognition,	financial	assets	and	liabilities	classified	in	this	category	are	recognized	
at	amortised	cost	using	the	effective	interest	method.	The	effective	interest	rate	is	the	rate	that	exactly	
discounts	the	estimated	future	cash	payments	and	receipts	through	the	expected	life	of	the	financial	
asset	or	liability	to	its	carrying	amount.	When	calculating	the	effective	interest	rate,	the	Attraqt	Group	
estimate	future	cash	flows,	considering	all	contractual	terms	of	the	financial	instrument.	Interest	
income, interest expense and the amortisation of loans fees are presented in the Consolidated 
Statement of Income.

Financial instruments classified as at fair value through profit or loss 

The Attraqt Group measures equity instruments at FVTPL, changes in the fair value would be recognised 
in Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Changes in accounting policy

New standards, interpretations and amendments not applied

As	at	date	of	approval	of	the	Group	financial	statements,	the	following	new	and	amended	standards,	
interpretations	and	amendments	in	issue	are	applicable	to	the	Group	but	not	yet	effective	and	thus,	
have not been applied by the Group:

Amendments to IFRS 16: Rent concessions

Amendments	to	IAS	1:	Classification	of	Liabilities	as	Current	or	Non-Current

Annual improvements to IFRS standards 2018-2020

Effective date*

30 June 2020†

1 January 2022†

1 January 2022†

*		The	effective	dates	stated	above	are	those	given	in	the	original	IASB/IFRIC	standards	and	interpretations.	Following	the	UK’s	withdrawal	from	
the EU on 31 December 2020, the UK-adopted international accounting standards will be applicable. In the majority of cases this will result in 
an	effective	date	consistent	with	that	given	in	the	original	standard	or	interpretation	but	the	need	for	endorsement	restricts	the	Group’s	
discretion to early adopt standards.

†		At	the	date	of	authorisation	of	these	financial	statements,	these	standards	and	interpretation	have	not	yet	been	endorsed	or	adopted	by	 

the UK.

Subsequent	to	initial	recognition,	gains	and	losses	upon	the	sale,	disposal	or	write-off	of	these	financial	
instruments are included directly in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and are 
reported within administrative expenses.

The Directors do not expect the adoption of these standards, interpretations and amendments  
to	have	a	material	impact	on	the	Consolidated	or	Parent	Company	financial	statements	in	the	period	 
of initial application.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

116

–  Goodwill Impairment

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that the carrying amount of goodwill has been impaired. In order to determine if the value of goodwill 
has been impaired, the cash-generating unit to which goodwill has been allocated must be valued using 
present value techniques. When applying this valuation technique, the Group relies on a number of 
factors, including historical results, business plans, forecasts and market data. This is further described 
in note 12. As can be deduced from this description, changes in the conditions for these judgments and 
estimates	can	significantly	affect	the	assessed	value	of	goodwill.

– Valuation of acquired intangible assets

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination are required to be recognised separately from goodwill 
and amortised over their useful life if they are subject to contractual or legal rights or are separately 
transferable and their fair value can be reliably estimated. The Group has separately recognised the 
intangible assets acquired during the acquisition for acquisition in prior years (see note 12).

The fair value of these acquired intangible assets is based on valuation techniques. The valuation 
models require input based on assumptions about the future. The management uses its best 
knowledge to estimate fair value of acquired intangible assets as of the acquisition date. The value of 
intangible assets is tested for impairment when there is an indication that they might be impaired (see 
below). The management must also make assumptions about the useful life of the acquired intangible 
assets	which	might	be	affected	by	external	factors.

3.  Critical accounting judgements and estimates 
In the application of the Group’s accounting policies, the Directors are required to make judgements 
and estimates about the carrying amounts 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.	There	were	
no material judgements or estimates used on application of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments or IFRS 15 
Revenue from contracts with customers, there were no contracts that straddled year end which required 
any	judgement.	The	following	accounting	policies	have	been	identified	as	involving	 
particularly complex judgements or subjective estimates:

Judgements

– Leases

Extension and termination options are included in a number of property leases across the Group as 
well as contracts that include rolling lease periods. These terms are used to maximise operational 
flexibility	in	terms	of	managing	contracts.	The	majority	of	extension	and	termination	options	held	are	
exercisable only by the Group and not by the respective lessor. 

In determining the lease term, management considers all facts and circumstances that create an 
economic incentive to exercise an extension option, allow the lease to roll forward for a further lease 
period or not exercise a termination option. Extension options and rolling lease periods (or periods 
after termination options) are only included in the lease term if the lease is reasonably certain to be 
extended	(or	not	terminated).	The	assessment	is	reviewed	if	a	significant	event	or	a	significant	change	in	
circumstances	occurs	which	affects	this	assessment	and	that	it	is	within	the	control	of	the	Group.

–  Capitalisation and impairment of development costs

It is a requirement under IFRS that development costs that meet the criteria prescribed in the standard 
are capitalised. The assessment of each project requires that a judgement is made as to the commercial 
viability and the ability of the Group to bring the product to market. Where there is an event or change in 
circumstance in relation to such judgement, the Group must make an estimate of the expected future 
economic	benefits	to	determine	that	assets	are	not	impaired.

Estimates

– Share based payments

Share	options	are	recognised	as	an	expense	based	on	their	fair	value	at	date	of	grant	and	staff	
turnover. The fair value of the options is estimated through the use of a valuation model – which 
require inputs such as the risk-free interest rate, expected dividends, expected volatility and the 
expected option life – and is expensed over the vesting period. Some of the inputs used to calculate the 
fair value are not market observable and are based on estimates derived from available data, such as 
employee exercise behaviour and employee turnover.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

118

4. Segmental reporting 
For the purpose of IFRS 8, the chief operating decision maker takes the form of the Board of Directors. 
The Directors’ opinion is that the business of the group is to provide cloud-based e-commerce solutions. 
Based on this, there is one reportable segment. The internal and external reporting is on a consolidated 
basis with transactions between group companies eliminated on consolidation.

Revenue by type

SaaS

Services

Total Revenue

Cost of Sales by type

SaaS

Services

Total Cost of Sales

Gross profit

2020

£’000

19,278

1,725

21,003

3,932

1,570

5,502

2019

£’000

17,745

1,689

19,434

3,719

1,635

5,354

15,501

14,080

There is one customer which contributes more that 10% which is £2.1m of the Group’s revenues  
(2019: 1 customer – contributing £2.5m).

The table below provides an analysis of the Group’s revenue by geographical market where the 
customer is based.

Geographical split of revenue

UK

France

Netherlands

Rest of Europe

Rest of the World

Total Revenue 

2020

£’000

9,861

4,979

2,441

2,619

1,103

21,003

2019

£’000

10,255

3,616

2,111

2,532

920

19,434

Contract assets and liabilities

Contract Assets

At 1 January

Recognised

Paid out

At 31 December

Contract liabilities

At 1 January

Recognised as revenue

Accrued as deferred income

At 31 December

2020

£’000

175

1,360

(707)

828

2020

£’000

5,438

(20,015)

20,122

5,545

2019

£’000

213

44

(82)

175

2019

£’000

5,196

(19,658)

19,900

5,438

Contract assets are included within trade and other receivables, contract liabilities are included within 
trade and other payables as Deferred income. The contract liability balance arises from contracts that 
relate	to	the	next	financial	year.	Contract	assets	relate	to	contracts	which	can	span	up	to	3	years,	
because cumulative payments received from customers at each balance sheet date do not necessarily 
equal the amount of revenue recognised on the contracts.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

120

5. Exceptional items 
During 2020, total exceptional costs incurred £256,000 (2019: £1,507,000) of which £38,000 relates to 
restructuring, £35,000 relates to entity closure costs and £183,000 relates to the legal and professional 
advice associated with the asset purchase and post-acquisition integration. The exceptional costs for 
2019 consist of £580,000 relating to restructuring and £927,000 relating to the legal and professional 
advice associated with the acquisition and post-acquisition integration. 

6. Loss from operations

Loss from operations is taken after taking account of the following items

Staff	costs	(see	note	7)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (see note 10)

Amortisation of intangible assets (see note 12)

Amortisation of Right of use assets (see note 11)

Operating lease expense

Research and Development costs

Foreign	exchange	(profit)/loss

Other income

Audit and non-audit services

2020

£’000

12,368

139

2,817

574

100

1,254

(99)

(54)

2019

£’000

11,917

161

2,387

466

204

1,139

(92)

–

7. Staff costs 
The average number of persons employed by the Group (including directors) during the year, analysed 
by category was as follows:

(No.)

Sales

Technical

Management (including directors)

Administration

2020

15

105

6

33

159

2019

18

102

8

30

158

The average number of full-time equivalent persons employed by the Group during the year, analysed 
by category, was as follows:

(No.)

Sales

Technical

Management (including directors)

Administration

Fees payable to the company’s auditors for the audit of the Group annual accounts:

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

Group annual accounts and subsidiary undertakings

130

134

Fees payable to the company’s auditor and its associates for other services:

Tax services

Interim fee

Other services

21

10

5

25

28

28

Staff costs (including directors) comprise:

Wages and salaries

Social security contributions and similar taxes

Pension

Share Based Payment

2020

15

104

6

32

157

2020

£’000

10,225

1,827

257

59

12,368

2019

18

102

7

29

157

2019

£’000

9,771

1,632

329

185

11,917

Capitalised	staff	costs	total	£873,000	(2019:	£853,000).	Pension	costs	are	in	respect	of	the	defined	
contribution scheme; unpaid contributions at 31 December 2020 were £91,000 (2019: £70,000).

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

122

8. Taxation

Tax (credit)/charge comprises:

Current tax on loss for the year

Current tax adjustment in relation to prior years

Deferred Tax for the year 

2020

£’000

(242)

192

(358)

(408)

2019

£’000

(85)

-

(301)

(386)

The	effective	tax	assessed	for	the	year,	all	of	which	arises	in	the	UK,	differs	from	the	standard	weighted	
rate of corporation tax in the UK. 

The reconciliation of the actual tax charge to that at the domestic corporation tax rate is as follows:

Deferred tax

At 1 January 2019

Arising through business combinations

Recognised	in	profit	or	loss

At 31 December 2019

Recognised	in	profit	or	loss

At 31 December 2020

Categorised as

Non-current

£’000

1,476

2,022

(301)

3,197

(358)

2,839

2019

£’000

3,197

2020

£’000

2,839

Loss for the year

Expected tax charge based on the standard rate of United Kingdom corporation tax 
at the domestic rate of 19.00% (2019 – 19.00%)

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes

Adjustment in respect of prior years

Fixed	asset	differences

Unrelieved losses arising in the period

Additional deduction for R&D expenditure

Surrender of tax losses for R&D tax credit refund

Changes in rates of tax

Adjustment	for	different	rates	of	corporation	taxation	in	overseas	jurisdictions

Total tax (credit)/charge

2020

£’000

(2,635)

(501)

191

192

(39)

270

(642)

91

-

30

(408)

2019

£’000

(4,408)

(838)

84

-

(8)

625

(287)

67

(15)

(14)

(386)

Deferred	tax	on	acquired	intangibles	are	the	differences	between	the	carrying	value	of	the	relevant	
assets and the tax base. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax rates that are 
expected to apply in the period when the asset is realised or the liability settled, based on tax rates  
that have been enacted, or substantively enacted, at the balance sheet date. 

9. Loss per share

Numerator

2020

£’000

2019

£’000

Loss for the year and loss used in basic and diluted EPS

(2,227)

(4,022)

Denominator

Weighted average number of shares used in basic and diluted EPS

Loss per share – basic and diluted

184,051,542

149,970,774

(1.2p)

(2.7p)

The outstanding share options calculation are antidilutive, due to loss made in the year.

At 31 December 2020, tax losses estimated at £8.5m (2019: £7.5m) were available to carry forward by 
the Attraqt group, arising from historic losses incurred. Management believe it is prudent not to 
recognise	the	deferred	tax	asset	until	they	can	be	utilised	against	future	profits.	

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

124

10. Property, plant and equipment

Cost

At 1 January 2019

Additions

Disposals

At 31 December 2019

Additions

Disposals

At 31 December 2020

Depreciation

At 1 January 2019

Charge for the year

Foreign exchange

Disposals

At 31 December 2019

Charge for the year

Disposals

At 31 December 2020

Net Book Value

At 1 January 2019

At 31 December 2019

At 31 December 2020

Leasehold 
Improvements

Plant and 
Machinery

Fixtures and 
Fittings

£’000

£’000

£’000

-

124

-

124

-

-

124

-

15

-

-

15

21

-

36

-

109

88

262

121

(43)

340

66

(150)

256

95

127

3

(40)

185

94

(148)

131

167

155

125

2

72

- 

74

-

-

74

1

19

-

-

20

24

-

44

1

54

30

Total

£’000

264

317

(43) 

538

66

(150)

454

96

161

3

(40)

220

139

(148) 

211

168

318

243

11. Right of use assets and lease liabilities

Amounts recognised on the statement of financial position

Cost

At 1 January 2019

Additions

Remeasurement of lease

Acquired through business combinations

At 31 December 2019

Remeasurement of lease

At 31 December 2020

Amortisation

At 1 January 2019

Charge for the year

At 31 December 2019

Charge for the year

At 31 December 2020

Net Book Value

At 1 January 2019

At 31 December 2019

At 31 December 2020

Leasehold  
Properties

£’000

349

839

425

207

1,820

293

2,113

-

466

466

574

1,040

349

1,354

1,073

Total

£’000

349

839

425

207

1,820

293

2,113

-

466

466

574

1,040

349

1,354

1,073

The	Group	lease	various	offices.	Rental	contracts	are	typically	made	for	fixed	periods	between	12	months	
and 6 years but may have extension options as well as leases that include rolling contractual periods 
when	the	existing	lease	expires	these	are	described	below.	Rental	contracts	are	signed	at	a	fixed	price	
however some have variable increases which are linked to RPI.

Extension and termination options are included in some of the property leases across the group.  
These	are	used	to	maximise	operational	flexibility	in	terms	of	managing	assets	used	in	the	Group’s	
operations including variable increases to the rental amounts. In determining the lease term, management 
considers all facts and circumstances that create an economic incentive to exercise and option, or not 
exercise the option. Extension options are only included in the lease term if the lease is reasonably 
certain	to	be	extended.	Management	have	determined	that	termination	option	for	the	London	office	
will not be exercised. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

126

11. Right of use assets and lease liabilities continued

12. Intangible assets

The	following	property	leases	were	modified	due	to	extension	terms	agreed:	in	December	2020	Early
Birds renewed the lease for a period of 18 months and in November 2020 the lease for Bulgaria was
extended for a period of 3 years.

Goodwill

Customer 
relationships

Existing 
Technology

Trademark

Software 
Development

Total

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

Amounts recognised in the statement of profit or loss

Amortisation

Interest expense

Expenses relating to short term leases and low value assets

Total cash outflow for lease in 2020

Lease liability recognised as at 31 December

Of these which are:

Current lease liabilities

Non-current lease liabilities

2020

£’000

574

61

100

735

626

2020

£’000

416

738

1,154

2019

£’000

466

56

204

726

449

2019

£’000

573

857

1,430

The total future value of minimum short term and low value operating lease payments is due as follows:

Not later than one year

Later	than	one	year	and	not	later	than	five	years

2020

£’000

40

3

43

2019

£’000

66

6

72

Cost

At 1 January 2019

Additions - internally developed

Acquired through business combinations

Foreign Exchange

16,585

4,439

4,804

-

9,064

-

-

2,295

(25)

-

3,881

-

788

-

348

-

At 31 December 2019

25,649

6,709

8,685

1,136

2,633

29,249

946

644

-

4,223

1,341

-

95

946

16,232

(25)

46,402

1,341

1,826

134

-

-

-

-

-

39

-

1,826

-

-

-

-

25,649

6,748

10,511

1,136

5,659

49,703

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

732

551

-

1,283

659

14

1,245

912

-

2,157

1,113

-

1,956

3,270

16,585

25,649

25,649

3,707

5,426

4,792

3,559

6,528

7,241

143

99

-

242

114

-

356

645

894

780

1,697

825

44

2,566

931

39

3,536

936

1,657

2,123

3,817

2,387

44

6,248

2,817

53

9,118

25,432

40,154

40,585

Additions - internally developed

Acquired through asset purchase

Foreign Exchange

At 31 December 2020

Amortisation

At 1 January 2019

Charge for the period

Foreign Exchange

At 31 December 2019

Charge for the period

Foreign Exchange

At 31 December 2020

Net Book Value

At 1 January 2019

At 31 December 2019

At 31 December 2020

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

128

The	net	book	value	and	expiry	dates	for	the	most	significant	intangibles	are	as	follows:

Expiry
Fredhopper 
BV

Expiry
Early Birds 
SAS

Expiry
Aleph

Early Birds 
SAS Net 
book value

Fredhopper 
BV
Net book 
value

Aleph
Net book 
value

Early Birds 
SAS Net 
book value

Fredhopper 
BV
Net book 
value

Customer 
relationships

Existing 
technology

Trademark

2028

2028

-

£’000

2020

1,891

£’000

2020

2,796

£’000

2020

-

£’000

2019

2,146

£’000

2019

3,280

2024

2029

2030

3,267

2,186

1,804

3,655

2,873

2027

2029

-

293

487

-

328

566

The	Group	is	required	to	test,	on	an	annual	basis,	whether	goodwill	has	suffered	any	impairment.	 
There is only one CGU as services are tied to SaaS revenue. The recoverable amount is determined 
based on value in use calculations. The use of this method requires the estimation of future cash  
flows	and	the	determination	of	a	discount	rate	in	order	to	calculate	the	present	value	of	the	cash	flows.	

The carrying amount of goodwill is allocated to the cash generating units (CGUs) as follows:

Attraqt Group plc

2020

£’000

25,649

2019

£’000

25,649

The key assumptions used in the estimation of the recoverable amounts are set out below. The values 
assigned to the key assumptions represent management’s assessment of future trends in the relevant 
industries and have been based on historical internal data:

Discount rate

Revenue growth rate

Budgeted EBITDA margin (average of next 5 years)

Terminal growth rate

2020

12.25%

14%

14%

5%

2019

20.5%

12%

10%

1.5%

The	cash	flow	projections	include	specific	estimates	for	5	years	and	a	terminal	growth	rate	thereafter.	
The	terminal	growth	rate	was	determined	based	on	long	term	inflation	growth	rate	due	to	the	
expectations of the market in which Attraqt Group plc operates.

The discount rate was a pre-tax measure based on weighted average cost of capital, with no debt leveraging.

Budgeted EBITDA is estimated by taking into account past practice as follows:

–  Revenue is assumed to grow at 14% based on historical growth and management’s expectations of 

future trends.

–  The cost base is assumed to grow at an average rate 10% over the next three years, this is non 

consistent rate of growth.

Management	has	identified	that	a	reasonably	possible	change	in	the	following	key	assumptions	could	
cause the carrying amount to exceed the recoverable amount. The following table shows the amount by 
which the these assumptions would need to change individually for the estimated recoverable amount 
to be equal to the carrying amount.

In percent

Revenue growth rate*

2020

(5.1)

2019

(3.6)

*assumes that the variable costs base associated with cost of sales reduces in line with revenue reduction as the cost base is driven by 
customer usage.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

130

13. Subsidiary undertakings 
As at 31 December 2020, the subsidiaries of Attraqt Group plc, all of which have been included in these 
consolidated	financial	statements,	are	as	follows:

14. Trade and other receivables

Name

Proportion  
of ownership  
Interest

Country of 
Incorporation and 
principal place  
of business

Registered Office

Attraqt Limited

100%

Attraqt Inc. 1

Early Birds SAS 

Fredhopper BV

Spring Technologies 
EOOD2

100%

100%

100%

100%

Fredhopper SARL2

100%

Fredhopper GmbH2

Fredhopper (Australia) 
Pty Limited2

100%

100%

FCLS RM 7 Limited

100%

1 - Held through Attraqt Limited

2 - Held through Fredhopper BV

UK

USA

France

Netherlands

Bulgaria

France

Germany

Australia

UK

7th Floor, 222-236 Gray’s Inn Road, London, 
WC1X 8HB

330 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

10 Rue Treilhard. 75008, Paris, France

Wework Metropool, Weesperstraat, 61-105 
Amsterdam 1018VN

1000	Sofia	city,	Sredec	district,,	47A,	
Tsarigradskok	shosse	blvd,	bl.	B,	fl.	2,	apt.	201A

RCS Paris27 Avenue de l’Opéra, 75001, Paris, 
France

Neuer Wall 50, 20354 Hamburg, Germany

Level 19, 207 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000

7th Floor, 222-236 Gray’s Inn Road, London, 
WC1X 8HB

Fredhopper Limited and Early Birds London limited were dissolved on 29th December 2020. FCLS RM 7 
Limited was acquired on 1st October as part of the asset purchase of the Aleph software transaction.

The principal activity of all companies with the Group is the provision of software as a service, with the 
exception of FCLS RM 7 Limited which is a holding company.

Trade receivables

Less: expected credit losses

Trade receivables – net

Prepayments and accrued income

Other receivables

Total trade and other receivables

2020

£’000

4,215

(142)

4,073

1,829

253

6,155

2019

£’000

4,380

(95)

4,285

746

 370

5,401

Trade receivables comprise amounts due from customers for goods sold or services performed in the 
ordinary course of business. Invoices to customers are settled between 30 – 90 day credit terms with 
the average being 45 days of the date of issue. The ageing of trade receivables is shown below and 
shows amounts that are past due at the reporting date. A provision for expected credit losses has been 
recognised	at	the	reporting	date	through	consideration	of	the	ageing	profile	of	the	Group’s	receivables	
and the perceived credit quality of its customers. 

The	Group	applies	the	IFRS	9	simplified	approach	to	measuring	expected	credit	losses	using	lifetime	
expected loss rates, these have been derived from historical default rates or the Group, adjusted for 
credit quality of each customer and forward looking estimates including consideration for the risk of a 
downturn in the high street.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

132

Expected credit losses

The lifetime expected loss provision for the trade receivables is as follows:

At 31 December 2020 trade receivables of £66,000 (2019: £64,000) had life time expected credit losses 
of the full value of the receivables. All other trade receivables have been calculated on a life time 
expected credit loss rate.

31 December 2020

Expected loss rate

Gross carrying amount

Loss provision

Gross carrying amount for 
lifetime credit loss

Loss provision for lifetime 
credit loss

Total loss provision

31 December 2019

Expected loss rate

Gross carrying amount

Loss provision

Gross carrying amount for 
lifetime credit loss

Loss provision for lifetime 
credit loss

Total loss provision

Current

0.5%

3,547

18

-

-

18

Current

0%

2,859

-

-

-

-

Up to 30  
days old

More than 30 
days old

More than 60 
days old

More than 120 
days old

3%

272

5

-

-

5

4%

11

-

-

-

-

9%

96

9

-

-

9

20%

216

44

66

66

Total

4,143

76

66

66

As at 1 January

Write	off

Acquired through business combinations

Recognised

FX movement

As at 31 December

110

142

Up to 30  
days old

More than 30 
days old

More than 60 
days old

More than 120 
days old

0%

1,040

3.3%

240

6.6%

105

-

-

-

-

8

-

-

8

7

-

-

7

23%

72

16

64

64

80

Total

4,316

31

64

64

95

15. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank

Bank loan

2020

£’000

95

(23)

-

88

(18)

142

2020

£’000

6,672

(81)

6,591

2019

£’000

31

(7)

15

58

(2)

95

2019

£’000

4,048

(98)

3,950

The Group acquired the bank loan as part of the Early Birds acquisition, the terms of loan are interest 
free	and	is	repayable	over	five	years.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

134

16. Share capital and reserves
Allocated, called up and fully paid

2020

2020

2020

2019

2019

2019

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

Number of 
Shares

Share 
capital

Share 
Premium

Number of 
Shares

Share 
capital

Share 
Premium

Ordinary shares of £0.01 each

17. Share based payments
The company operates two equity-settled share based remuneration schemes for employees: a United 
Kingdom tax authority approved scheme and an unapproved scheme for executive directors and 
certain senior management. Both options are valid for 10 years from the date of grant. After satisfaction 
of any performance condition included in the award the options will become exercisable on the earlier 
of any of the following events:

– The third anniversary of the date of grant (with the exception of the below);

– 2,250,000 shares granted on 5th August 2020 vest 25% per annum over 4 years;

– Shares granted on 10th July vested immediately;

At 1 January

180,048,207

1,800

48,516

106,368,589

1,063

Shares issued for cash during the year

Shares issued to sellers as part of asset 
purchase and acquisition

12,500,000

3,600,964

125

36

3,619

1,116

63,333,334

10,346,284

633

104

30,108

15,718

2,690

–	On	a	change	of	Control	of	the	Company	as	defined	in	the	Plan	rules;

–	On	a	Sale	or	Disposal	of	the	Company	as	defined	in	the	Plan	rules;	or

– Following the exercise of discretion by the Board.

At 31 December

196,149,171

1,961

53,251

180,048,207

1,800

48,516

Details of the number of share options and the weighted average exercise price outstanding during the 
year are as follows:

The Company raised £4,000,000 before expenses, by private placing of 12,500,000 1p Ordinary shares at 
32p on 1 October 2020. 3,600,964 Ordinary shares were issued to the sellers as consideration for the 
asset purchase of the Aleph software. In 2019, the Company raised £17,100,000 before expenses, by a 
private placing of 63,333,334 1p Ordinary shares at 27p on 29 May 2019. 10,346,284 Ordinary shares 
were issued to the sellers as consideration for the acquisition of Early Birds SAS.

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity:

Reserve

Description and purpose

Share premium

Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.

Share based payment reserve

The share based payment reserve represents equity settled share based employee 
remuneration until such share options are exercised and contingent shares.

Merger reserve 

Retained earnings

The merger reserve results from the application of merger accounting on the 
merger of Attraqt Inc and Attraqt Limited.

All other net gains and losses and transactions with owners (e.g. dividends) not 
recognised elsewhere.

Outstanding at the beginning of the year

Granted during the year

Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at the end of the year

Exercisable at the year end

2020 WAEP

2019 WAEP

Number

Price (pence)

Number

Price (pence)

12,607,818

3,710,000

(3,087,827)

13,229,991

4,948,806

31.67

27.37

33.49

32.59

36.57

10,431,116

3,051,185

(874,483)

12,607,818

1,578,992

34.80

30.35

34.42

31.67

42.98

The options granted in the table above do not reconcile to the table below, as some of the options granted 
in 2020 have been forfeited by employees due to them leaving employment as well as 80,000 shares 
included as granted in 2020, but were granted in 2019 and omitted from the amounts granted in 2019.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

136

The options outstanding at the year-end are set out below:

Date of Grant

Expiry Date

Exercise Price 
(p)

2020

2019

Share options

Remaining life

Share options

Remaining life

(Number)

(Years)

(Number)

(Years)

24-Jul-13

24-Jul-23

29-May-14

29-May-24

19-Aug-14

19-Aug-24

25-Sep-15

15-Dec-17

25-May-18

06-Aug-18

25-May-19

16-Aug-19

08-May-20

10-Jul-20

05-Aug-20

05-Aug-20

25-Sep-25

15-Dec-27

25-May-28

06-Aug-28

25-May-29

16-Aug-29

08-May-30

10-Jul-30

05-Aug-30

05-Aug-30

31.59

31.59

31.59

50.00

35.00

31.50

33.50

27.00

34.50

24.50

27.50

28.00

27.50

246,600

177,590

-

616,719

3,722,898

936,315

1,063,685

1,688,685

1,197,500

455,000

125,000

750,000

2,250,000

3

4

-

5

7

7

8

8

9

9

10

10

10

246,600

177,590

177,590

977,212

3,722,898

3,191,058

1,063,685

1,688,685

1,362,500

-

-

-

-

4

5

5

6

8

8

9

9

10

-

-

-

-

The company uses a Black Scholes model to estimate the fair value of share options.

The following information is relevant in the determination of the fair value of options granted. The 
assumptions inherent in the use of this model are as follows:

– The option life is the estimated average period over which the options will be exercised.

– No variables change during the life of the option (e.g. dividend yield remains zero).

– Volatility has been calculated over a 6 year period prior to the grant date.

–		Expectations	of	staff	retention	over	the	vesting	period	have	been	calculated	by	reference	to	the	six	

year period prior to the grant date.

Details of the share options granted as follows:

Grant date

Option pricing model

Number of shares

Fair Value per share at grant date

Share price on grant date

Exercise price (£)

08-May-20

10-Jul-20

05-Aug-20

05-Aug-20

Black Scholes

Black Scholes

Black Scholes

Black Scholes

505,000

125,000

2,250,000

750,000

7.1p

24.5p

24.5p

8.3p

28.0p

27.5p

8.5p

28.5p

27.5p

8.4p

28.5p

28.0p

Weighted average contractual life

6 years

6 years

6 years

6 years

Staff	retention	rate

Risk-free interest rate

Volatility

Total Fair Value (£)

-

0.09%

30.17%

35,900

-

0%

30.19%

9,750

-

0%

30.04%

202,500

-

0%

30.04%

63,000

The total expense recognised during the year by the Group, for all schemes, was £59,000  
(2019: £185,000) net of forfeitures. The weighted average remaining life of the options outstanding  
at the end of the year was 7.8 years (2019: 8.1 years). No options were exercised during the year. 

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

138

18. Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Accrued and other payables

Bank loan

Lease liability (note 11)

Other taxes

Deferred income

Employee	benefits

Employee taxes

Total Trade and other payables

2020

£’000

1,268

1,460

450

416

741

5,545

1,334

453

11,667

2019

£’000

1,055

891

-

573

469

5,438

 1,398

358

10,182

Included within other payable is £350,000 of deferred cash consideration in relation to the Aleph  
asset purchase. 

The bank loan has restrictions on sale of assets without prior agreement, whereby we would need  
to seek approval if we were to sell assets greater than 50% of gross assets.

The following have not been included within the movement trade payables of the consolidated cash 
flow	statement,	£350,000	deferred	cash	consideration	payable	in	relation	to	the	Aleph	asset	purchase,	
£450,000	bank	loan	included	within	the	financing	section,	and	£416,000	lease	liability	which	is	included	
within	the	financing	section.

19. Financial risk management and impairment of financial assets
The	Group	is	exposed	through	its	operations	to	the	following	financial	risks:

– Credit risk

– Foreign exchange risk

– Liquidity risk

In	common	with	all	other	businesses,	the	Group	is	exposed	to	risks	that	arise	from	its	use	of	financial	
instruments. This note describes the Group’s objectives, policies and processes for managing those 
risks and the methods used to measure them. Further quantitative information in respect of these risks 
is	presented	throughout	these	financial	statements.

There	have	been	no	substantive	changes	in	the	Group’s	exposure	to	financial	instrument	risks,	its	
objectives, policies and processes for managing those risks or the methods used to measure them from 
previous periods unless otherwise stated in this note.

Principal financial instruments

The	principal	financial	instruments	used	by	the	Group,	from	which	financial	instrument	risk	arises,	are	
as follows:

– Trade receivables

– Cash and cash equivalents

– Trade and other payables

A	summary	of	the	financial	instruments	held	by	category	is	provided	below.

Financial assets at amortised cost

Current

Trade receivables

Accrued income

Other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

2020

£’000

4,073

189

253

4,515

6,591

2019

£’000

4,285

66

370

4,721

3,950

All	financial	assets	held	by	the	Group	at	31	December	2020	are	classified	as	cash	and	cash	equivalents	
or	financial	assets	at	amortised	cost	and	there	is	no	difference	between	the	carrying	amount	and	the	
fair value.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

140

Financial liabilities at amortised cost

Financial liabilities at amortised cost

Trade receivables

Accrued income

Lease liabilities

Bank loan

Employee	benefits

2020

£’000

1,268

1,460

1,154

450

1,334

5,666

2019

£’000

1,055

891

1,427

-

2,289

5,662

All	financial	liabilities	held	by	the	Group	at	31	December	2020	are	classified	as	held	at	amortised	cost.

General objectives, policies and processes

The Board has overall responsibility for the determination of the Group's risk management objectives 
and policies and, whilst retaining ultimate responsibility for them, it has delegated the authority for 
designing	and	operating	processes	that	ensure	the	effective	implementation	of	the	objectives	and	policies	
to	the	Company's	Chief	Executive	Officer.	The	Board	receives	reports	from	the	Company	Chief	Financial	
Officer	through	which	reviews	the	effectiveness	of	the	processes	put	in	place	and	the	appropriateness	
of the objectives and policies it sets.

The overall objective of the Board is to set policies that seek to reduce risk as far as possible without 
unduly	affecting	the	Group's	competitiveness	and	flexibility.	Further	details	regarding	these	policies	are	
set out below:

Credit risk

Credit	risk	is	the	risk	of	financial	loss	to	the	Group	if	a	customer	or	counterparty	to	a	financial	
instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations. The Group is mainly exposed to credit risk from 
credit sales. It is Group policy, implemented locally, to assess the credit risk of new customers before 
entering contracts. Such credit ratings take into account local business practices. The carrying amount 
of	financial	assets	represents	the	maximum	exposure.	The	credit	quality	of	all	financial	assets	that	are	
neither	past	due	nor	impaired	is	high.	In	accordance	with	internal	policy,	Attraqt	promptly	identifies	the	
deterioration	of	the	financial	condition	for	our	customer	base	by	monitoring	the	credit	ratings	and	
publicly available information. The risk is not expected to be material as payment is generally received 
in advance of services and good provided. 

The Group considered if that there was an impairment if any of the following indicators were present:

–		Significant	financial	difficulties	of	the	debtor;

–		Probability	that	the	debtor	will	enter	bankruptcy;	or	financial	reorganisation;	and

–  Default or late payments (more than 30 days past payment due date).

Receivables	for	which	an	impairment	provision	was	recognised	was	written	off	against	the	provision	
when there was no expectation of recovering additional cash.

Credit	risk	also	arises	from	cash	and	cash	equivalents	and	deposits	with	banks	and	financial	institutions.	
For	banks	and	financial	institutions,	only	independently	rated	parties	with	minimum	rating	"A"	are	
accepted.

Further disclosures regarding trade and other receivables are provided in note 14.

Foreign exchange risk

Foreign exchange risk arises when the group entities enter into transactions denominated in a currency 
other than the functional currency. The Group’s policy is, where possible, to allow entities to settle 
liabilities denominated in their functional currency with the cash generated from their own operations 
in that currency.

In	order	to	monitor	the	continuing	effectiveness	of	this	policy,	the	CFO	reviews	a	monthly	forecast,	
analysed by the major currencies held by the Group, of liabilities due for settlement and expected cash 
reserves.

Transaction risk

The Group’s material transaction exposure arises on costs denominated in currencies other than the 
functional currency of the Group, including salaries and our hosting platform. This has been mitigated 
as far as possible by matching revenue and costs with the respective currencies in each of the 
subsidiaries locations resulting in an immaterial foreign currency risk at an entity level. Foreign 
currencies are not hedged.

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

142

Liquidity risk

Capital management

Liquidity risk arises from the Group’s management of working capital. The Group manages the risk that 
it	will	encounter	difficulty	in	meeting	its	financial	obligations	as	they	fall	due	by	forecasting	its	short-
term cash position on a regular basis.

The	Group’s	objective	is	to	maintain	an	appropriate	balance	of	debt	and	equity	financing	to	enable	the	
Group to continue as a going concern, to continue the future development of the business and to 
optimise	returns	to	shareholders	and	benefits	to	other	stakeholders.

The	Group’s	policy	is	to	ensure	that	it	will	always	have	sufficient	cash	to	allow	it	to	meet	its	liabilities	
when they become due. To achieve this aim, it seeks to maintain cash balances (or agreed facilities) to 
meet expected requirements for a period of at least 30 days.

The	Board	closely	manages	trading	capital,	defined	as	net	assets	plus	net	debt.	The	Group’s	net	assets 	
at 31 December 2020 were £39.7 million (2019: £36.9 million) and net debt, calculated as total debt 
(comprising bank loans), less cash and cash equivalents amounted to £6.1 million (2019: £4.0 million).

The	Board	receives	rolling	12-month	cash	flow	projections	on	a	quarterly	basis	as	well	as	information	
regarding	cash	balances.	At	the	end	of	the	financial	year,	these	projections	indicated	that	the	Group	
expected	to	have	sufficient	liquid	resources	to	meet	its	obligations	under	all	reasonably	expected	
circumstances.

In the year, the Group issued shares via a fund raise of £16.1m this was to purchase the Aleph Search 
software, a subsidiary was a granted a loan of £450,000 this was due to the uncertainty of the impact of 
COVID-19 and foreign exchange forward purchases were made in order to protect the cost base, there 
were no foreign exchange forward purchases that were outstanding at year end. 

In the management of liquidity risk, the group monitors and tries to maintain a level of cash and cash 
equivalents	deemed	adequate	by	management	to	finance	the	Group’s	operations	and	mitigate	the	
effects	of	fluctuations	in	cash	flows.

The principal focus of capital management revolves around working capital management and compliance 
with	externally	imposed	financial	covenants.	Throughout	the	year	and	up	to	the	date	of	approval	of	these	
financial	statements,	the	Group	complied	with	all	covenants	required	by	our	lending	group.

The following table sets out the contractual maturities (representing undiscounted contractual cash-
flows)	of	financial	liabilities:

Major	investment	decisions	are	based	on	reviewing	the	expected	future	cash	flows	and	all	major	capital	
expenditure requires approval by the Board.

2020 £’000

Up to 3 months

3 – 12 months

1 – 2 years

2 – 5 years

Over 5 years

Trade payables and 
employee	benefits

Accruals and other payables

Lease liabilities

2,602

1,460

143

4,205

-

-

325

325

-

-

293

293

-

-

440

440

-

-

-

-

2019 £’000

Up to 3 months

3 – 12 months

1 – 2 years

2 – 5 years

Over 5 years

Trade and other payables

Bank loan

Lease liabilities

3,344

-

144

3,488

-

450

429

429

-

-

349

349

-

-

429

429

-

-

79

79

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

144

21. Capital commitments
Capital commitments comprise amounts payable under contracts which are duly authorised and in 
progress at the balance sheet date. Amounts contracted but not provided for £242,000 cash payable in 
January 2021 and £1,950,000 in relation to 5,131,374 shares at 38p per share based on the share price 
on 31 December 2020, which is to be issued for completion of the IP transfer of the Aleph software and 
contracted enhancement of the Aleph project (2019: £nil).

20. Related party transactions
During the year Group companies entered into the following transactions with related parties who are 
not members of the Group.

Azini Capital Partners1

Taylor Wessing2

Taylor Wessing3

Purchase of services

Amounts owed to related parties

2020

£’000

70

40

213

2019

£’000

40

40

295

2020

£’000

20

-

-

2019

£’000

-

12

-

1. Azini Capital Partners – Nick Habgood is a partner in Azini Capital Partners, and his Directors fees were paid to Azini Capital.

2. Robert Fenner is a partner in Taylor Wessing LLP, and his Directors fees were paid to Taylor Wessing LLP.

3.  During the current year Taylor Wessing provided various legal and professional fees, in the prior period, the fees were in relation to the Fund 

raising and asset purchase of Aleph software and in the prior year the fund raising and acquisition of Early Birds SAS.

4. Azini Capital Partners – Nick Habgood’s daughter was previously employed by the Group and was paid market rate salary as an Account Manager.

Details of the directors’ emoluments, together with the other related information, are set out in the 
Report of the Remuneration Committee.

Key Management personnel

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing 
and controlling activities of the Group, which comprises only the directors of the company.

Salary,	Director	fees,	bonus	and	benefits	in	kind

Pension

Share based payments

2020

£’000

750

13

(4)

759

2019

£’000

545

11

321

877

Further information about the remuneration of individual Directors is provided in the Directors 
remuneration report on page 69 to 74.

The Employer’s National Insurance contributions expensed in the period relevant to the Key 
management personnel compensation was £109,000 (2019: £80,000).

Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

146

Company statement  
of financial position 

For the year ended 31 December 2020 
Company number 08904529

Company income statement

As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the income statement of the parent company is not presented as  
part	of	these	financial	statements.	The	parent	company’s	result	after	taxation	for	the	financial	year	was	a	profit	of	£105,000	 
(2019: loss £374,000).

The	accompanying	accounting	policies	and	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

Eric Dodd 
Director
Date: 11 March 2021

Company statement  
of changes of equity

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Balance at 1 January 2019

Loss for the year

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Contributions by and distributions to 
owners

Shares issued

Issue costs

Share based payment charge

Total contributions by and  
distributions to owners

Balance at 31 December 2019

Profit	for	the	year

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Contributions by and distributions to 
owners

Shares issued

Issue costs

Share based payment charge

Contingent shares to be issued

Total contributions by and  
distributions to owners

Balance at 31 December 2020

Notes

Share capital

Share 
premium

Share based 
payment 
reserve

Retained 
earnings

Total

£’000

1,064

-
-

736

-
-
736

£’000

30,108

-
-

19,156

(748)

-
18,408

£’000

1,238

-
-

-
-
185

185

£’000

£’000

(3,471)

28,939

(374)

(374)

(374)

(374)

-
-
-
-

19,892

(748)

185

19,329

1,800

48,516

1,423

(3,845)

47,894

-
-

161

-
-
-
161

-
-

4,991

(256)

-
-
4,735

-
-

-
-
59

103

162

105

105

105

105

-
-
-
-
-

5,152

(256)

59

103

5,058

1,961

53,251

1,585

(3,740)

53,057

5

5

6

5

5

6

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity:

Reserve

Share premium

Description and purpose

Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.

Share based payment reserve

The share based payment reserve represents equity settled share based employee 
remuneration until such share options are exercised.

Retained earnings

All other net gains and losses and transactions with owners (e.g. dividends) not recognised 
elsewhere.

The	accompanying	accounting	policies	and	notes	form	an	integral	part	of	these	financial	statements.

Notes20202019£’000£’000Non-current assetsInvestments240,99139,105Amounts owed by group undertakings712,3438,736Total non-current assets53,33447,841Current assetsTrade and other receivables3332214Total current assets332214Total assets53,66648,055Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables4609161Total current liabilities609161Net Assets53,05747,894EquityShare capital51,9611,800Share premium553,25148,516Share based payment reserve61,5851,423Retained earnings(3,740)(3,845)Total equity53,05747,894 
Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

148

Notes to the company  
financial statements

1. Accounting policies
Basis of preparation

The	company	financial	statements	have	been	prepared	in	accordance	with	Financial	Reporting	Standard	
100 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements and Financial Reporting Standard 101 Reduced 
Disclosure Framework.

The	principal	accounting	policies	adopted	in	the	preparation	of	the	financial	statements	are	set	out	
below. The policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

The Company applies consistent accounting policies, as applied by the Group with the exception of the 
below.	To	the	extent	that	an	accounting	policy	is	relevant	to	the	Group	and	the	Company	financial	
statements,	refer	to	the	Group	financial	statements	for	disclosure	of	the	accounting	policy.

The	financial	statements	have	been	prepared	under	the	historical	cost	convention	and	are	in	accordance	
with applicable accounting standards. The following principal accounting policies have been applied.

Disclosure exemptions adopted

In	preparing	these	financial	statements	the	company	has	taken	advantage	of	all	disclosure	exemptions	
conferred	by	FRS	101.	Therefore,	these	financial	statements	do	not	include:

The	following	accounting	policies	have	been	identified	as	involving	particularly	complex	judgements	 
or subjective estimates:

Estimates

–  Share based payments

Please refer to note 3 and note 17 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

– Investments

The Company’s investments in subsidiaries are carried at cost less provisions resulting from 
impairment. Where there are indicators of impairment, the carrying value of the investment is 
compared to its recoverable amount, being its value-in-use (Note 2).

– Intercompany receivables

The Company’s intercompany receivable balance is carried at amortised cost less provision for expected 
credit losses, management have assessed the probability of default to estimate the impact  
of credit loss (Note 7).

–  certain comparative information as otherwise required by EU endorsed IFRS;

2. Investments

–  certain disclosures regarding the company’s capital;

–		a	statement	of	cash	flows;

–		the	effect	of	future	accounting	standards	not	yet	adopted;

–  share-based payments;

–  the disclosure of the remuneration of key management personnel; and

–  disclosure of related party transactions with other wholly owned members of the group headed by 

Attraqt Group plc.

Investments

The Company’s investments are carried at cost less provisions resulting from impairment. In testing for 
impairment, the carrying value of the investment is compared to is recoverable amount, which is its 
value in use.

Accounting judgements and estimates
In the application of the Company’s accounting policies, the Directors are required to make judgements 
and estimates about the carrying amounts 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.	There	were	
no material judgements or estimates used on application of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments or IFRS 15 
Revenue from contracts with customers, there were no contracts that straddled year end which  
required any judgement. 

As at 31 December 2020, the subsidiaries of Attraqt Group plc, are shown in note 13 of the Consolidated 
Group	financial	statements.

The Company’s investment in subsidiaries have been tested for impairment by comparison against  
the underlying value of the subsidiaries’ assets based on value in use calculated using the same 
assumptions	as	noted	for	the	testing	of	goodwill	impairment	in	note	12	of	the	Group	financial	statements.

20202019£’000£’000As at 1 January39,10524,405Additions1,88614,700As at 31 December40,99139,105Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

150

3. Trade and other receivables

6. Share based payments

For details of the share based payments please refer to the Group note 17.

7. Financial instruments

The	fair	values	of	trade	and	other	receivables	are	not	materially	different	to	their	carrying	values.

4. Trade and other payables

All	financial	liabilities	held	by	the	Company	at	the	reporting	period	are	classified	as	held	at	amortised	cost.

8. Employees

Intercompany receivables have been assessed and it has been considered no entity requires a loss 
allowance	based	on	a	review	of	future	cash	flows	over	the	next	5	years,	the	risk	of	default	is	considered	
to be negligible and no allowance has been recognised against this balance (2019: £486,000). 

Amounts owed from intercompany balances bear interest at 0.01% per annum (2019: nil). The balances 
are unsecured and repayable on demand, the Company does not intend to request repayment of these 
balances	and	therefore	these	have	been	classified	as	non-current.

The company had no employees during the year (2019: none) excluding directors. Further information 
about the remuneration of the directors is provided in the remuneration report on page 69 to 74. 

5. Share capital

Allocated, called up and fully paid

2020

2020

£’000

2020

£’000

2019

£’000

2019

£’000

2019

£’000

Number of  
Shares

Share 
capital

Share 
Premium

Number of 
Shares

Share 
capital

Share 
Premium

Ordinary shares of £0.01 each

At 1 January

180,048,207

1,800

48,516

106,368,589

1,064

Shares issued for cash during the year

Shares issued to Early Birds sellers as part  
of the acquisition during the period

12,500,000

3,600,964

125

36

3,619

1,116

63,333,334

10,346,284

633

103

30,108

15,718

2,690

At 31 December

196,149,171

1,961

53,251

180,048,207

1,800

48,516

The Company raised £4,000,000 before expenses, by private placing of 12,500,000 1p Ordinary shares 
at 32p on 1 October 2020. 3,600,964 Ordinary shares were issued to the sellers as consideration for the 
asset purchase of the Aleph software. In 2019, the Company raised £17,100,000, before expenses, by a 
private placing of 63,333,334 1p Ordinary shares at 27p on 29 May 2019. 10,346,284 Ordinary shares 
were issued to the sellers as consideration for the acquisition of Early Birds SAS.

20202019£’000£’000Trade and intercompany receivables12,4498,849Financial assets at amortised cost12,4498,849Trade and other payables52876Financial liabilities at amortised cost5287620202019£’000£’000Prepayments11582Trade receivables106113VAT1111933221420202019£’000£’000Trade payables13327Other payables350-Deferred income8185Accruals4549609161Attraqt Report & Financial Statements

Year ended 31st December 2020

152

Company information

Country of incorporation

England and Wales

Legal form

Public limited company

Directors

Nick Habgood 

Luke McKeever

Mark Adams

Eric Dodd

Grahame Cook

Robert Fenner 

Secretary and registered office

E Dodd

7th Floor

222-236 Gray’s Inn Road

London 

WC1X 8HB

Company number

08904529

Auditors

BDO LLP, 2 City Place, Gatwick, West Sussex, RH6 0PA

Bankers

Barclays Bank Plc, Barclays Business Centre, 27 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QR

Lawyers

Taylor Wessing LLP, 5 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3TW

Orchestrating experiences 
across the shopper journey 
for over 300 global brands

236 Grays Inn Road,  
London 
United Kingdom 
WC1X 8HB

+44 (0)20 3675 7800
sayhello@attraqt.com