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FY2018 Annual Report · Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation
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Registered No: 8211361 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc  

Annual Report and Accounts 

31 December 2018  

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc  

Contents 

CORPORATE DIRECTORY 

STRATEGIC REPORT 

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT 

REMUNERATION REPORT  

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF  
CAMBRIDGE COGNITION HOLDINGS PLC  

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

PARENT COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 

PARENT COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY 

NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

PAGE 

2 

3-8 

9-10 

11-14

15-16 

17-23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28-48 

49 

50 

51-52 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc  

Corporate Directory 

Directors:

Michael Lewis  
Steven Powell  
Nicholas Walters   
Eric Dodd   
Nicholas Kerton    

(Non-Executive Chairman) 
(Chief Executive Officer) 
(Chief Financial Officer) 
(Non-Executive) 
(Non-Executive) 

Secretary:

Nicholas Walters 

Registered Office:

Tunbridge Court 
Tunbridge Lane 
Bottisham 
Cambridge 
CB25 9TU 

Company number:

8211361 

Auditor:

Legal Advisers: 

Bankers: 

Registrars: 

Nominated Advisor 
and Joint Broker: 

Joint Broker:

Grant Thornton UK LLP 
Chartered Accountants 
Statutory Auditor 
101 Cambridge Science Park 
Milton Road 
Cambridge 
CB4 0FY 

Baker Botts (UK) LLP 
41 Lothbury 
London 
EC2R 7HF

Barclays
28 Chesterton Road 
Cambridge 
CB4 3AZ

Link Asset Services
The Registry 
34 Beckenham Road 
Beckenham 
Kent 
BR3 4TU 

finnCap
60 New Broad Street
London 
EC2M 1JJ 

Dowgate Capital Limited 
15 Fetter Lane  
London 
EC4A  1BW

2 

 
 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW 

Financial summary  









Total revenues of £6.13m (2017: £6.73m)* 
Gross profit of £5.23m (2017: £6.11m)* 
Adjusted** loss before tax of £1.50m (2017: loss of £0.07m)* 
Loss before tax of £1.49m (2017: loss of £0.28m)* 
Loss per share of 7.0 pence per share (2017: loss of 1.3 pence per share)* 
Cash balance at 31 December 2018 of £1.11m (2017: £1.86m) 
Equity placing raised £2.50m in March 2019 

* For each of these items, 2018 results were prepared using IFRS 15 and 2017 results prepared using IAS 18. 
** Adjusted for share-based payments charge  

Operational highlights 

Sales orders won in the year up 49% to £7.93m (2017: £5.31m) 
Contracted order book at year end: £6.08m (2017: £4.01m) 



 Wider application of Cambridge Cognition technology platform to host a broader range of electronic 

clinical outcome assessments (‘eCOA’): £2.67m of sales orders won in the year (2017: nil) 
Continued strong growth in digital healthcare: £0.63m of sales orders won in the year (2017 and 
earlier: £0.12m in total) 
Continued investment in research and innovative technology 





Overview 

2018 has seen the business progress into a new phase of commercial development with a strong increase in the 
order book for both the core clinical trials outcomes and digital health businesses.  

Four key contracts were announced during the year and whilst each of these contracts has unique features the 
key  common  factor  is  their  bespoke  nature.  It  has  become  clear  during  the  year  that  there  is  a  key  market 
demand  for  a  custom  approach  for  both  our  core  CANTAB  proprietary  products  and  our  digital,  near-patient 
technologies.  While  this  presents  operational  challenges,  the  equity  placing  enables  us  to  capitalise  on  these 
significant market opportunities more quickly than we otherwise would have been able to.    

Our  NeuroVocalix  voice  platform  has  been  included  in  its  first  contract  and  continues  to  be  the  subject  of 
collaborative interest from many parties. We also launched our new healthcare offering – CANTAB BrainHealth - 
and we won our first contracts with this product.  

Taking  all  of  these  factors  together,  the  Group  remains  on  track  with  its  previously  stated  corporate goals of 
expanding our technology base, bringing cognitive testing closer to the user and positioning the Company’s offer 
across the full clinical development cycle, including research and continuous monitoring. This was reflected in an 
increase  in  our  R&D  costs  from  £1.13m  in  2017  to  £1.41m.  We  also  deepened  our  relationships  with  many 
academic and industrial collaborators during the year, not least through our partnership with the University of 
Bristol announced in June 2018.  

Financial Results 

Group revenues for 2018 and 2017 by product segment are as follows: 

2018 £m 

2017 £m 

Change £m 

Change % 

Software 

Services 

Total Software & Services 

Hardware 

Total Group Revenues 

3.09 

2.83 

5.92 

0.21 

6.13

3.32 

3.30 

6.62 

0.11 

6.73

(0.23) 

(0.47) 

(0.70) 

0.10 

(0.60)

(6.9) 

(14.2) 

(10.6) 

90.9 

(8.9)

Software and Services revenue were lower than 2017 for two key reasons. First, a low order intake in 2017 meant 
lower revenues carried forward into 2018 as a significant proportion of orders are recognised as revenue over 

3 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

several financial years as clinical trial contracts are implemented.  Second, of those contracts signed in 2017 and 
2018,  a  greater  proportion  of  contracts  than  normal  are  for  periods  of  more  than  one  year.  As  the  Company 
performs more bespoke work, a pattern of higher value, but longer period contracts will become the norm, as 
has been seen with key contract announcements made in 2018. This will give the Company much better visibility 
over future revenues. 

Hardware revenues remain a small proportion of overall revenues. While the quantum of hardware sales continues 
to be insignificant, we are seeing a continuing desire of large pharmaceutical companies to source hardware from 
us as part of the full service package. 

Gross profit was £5.23m (85.3%) in 2018 compared with £6.11m (90.8%) in 2017, a reduction of 5.5 percentage 
points. This reduction is a result of a slight increase in low-margin hardware sales and higher cost of sales relating 
to the increased customisation of products.    

Administration costs increased by 4% in the year from £6.49m in 2017 to £6.75m. Overheads, excluding research 
and  development,  have  been  maintained  at  similar  levels  to  the  prior  year.  The  ongoing  commitment  to 
innovation, with a £0.28m rise in research and development costs, continues to position Cambridge Cognition as 
a leader in its field and drives the development of its digital health business. 

The loss before tax in the year was £1.49m, compared with a loss of £0.28m in 2017. R&D tax credits of £0.07m 
offset tax charges in the United States of America of £0.02m. Loss for the year was £1.44m, which equates to a 
loss per share for the year of 7.0 pence, compared with 1.3 pence in 2017.  

Cash outflow from operating activities was £0.64m (2017: £0.62m outflow). In the second half of the year the 
Company generated cash of £0.31m. The annual cash outflow was lower than the loss as our billing pattern will 
typically result in invoicing ahead of revenue recognition. Capital expenditure remains low at £0.03m. The 
Company’s Employee Benefit Trust purchased £0.05m of ordinary shares in the year to ensure that future 
obligations under employee incentive schemes could be met. Our cash balance of £1.11m has been 
subsequently boosted by the equity placing in March 2019.  

The Company will use the net funds arising from the equity placing, being approximately £2.3 million to accelerate 
expansion of the Company's operations and strengthen its balance sheet as follows: 

Replicate US ‘prime’ and digital health activities in the EU and Far East 
£0.5m 
Expand software group for eCOA and digital health opportunities – additional sprint teams  £0.6m 
£0.6m 
Digital intervention projects 
£0.6m 
Strengthen management team and balance sheet 
£2.3m
Total 

The major change in the balance sheet came on the adoption of IFRS 15 on 1 January 2018, when £1.96m was 
added to deferred income and taken out of retained earnings. This adjustment, alongside the loss for the year 
meant that the business entered a net liability position on the balance sheet. Of the £1.96m adjustment, £0.62m 
remains on the balance sheet at 31 December 2018. The Group has no long-term debt and, after the completion 
of the equity placing, has returned to a net asset position.   

The impact of the new accounting standard for revenues: IFRS 15 

The Group has adopted the new revenue accounting standard, IFRS 15, using the prospective method with effect 
from 1 January 2018. Accordingly, 2018 reported figures are prepared using IFRS 15, whilst 2017 reported figures 
were prepared under IAS 18.  The main impact is that much of the Company’s software revenue is now recognised 
as our customers use it, rather than on signature of contract as previously. We believe this new standard will 
result in a smoother spread of revenue over the life of all contracts.  

Our estimate of revenues and loss before tax on each accounting basis for each of 2018 and 2017 are as follows: 

On an IFRS 15 basis: 

2018 (as reported) 2017  

Difference

Revenue 

£6.13m 

£6.89m 

(£0.76m) 

Loss before tax

£1.49m 

£0.12m 

(£1.37m) 

4 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

On an IAS 18 basis: 

2018  

2017 (as reported)  Difference

Revenue 

£7.11m 

£6.73m 

£0.38m 

Loss before tax £0.61m 

£0.28m 

(£0.33m) 

Operational Review 

Our  new  sales  team  delivered  an  improved  performance  this  year.  Sales  orders  booked  in  the  year  totalled 
£7.93m  representing  a 49%  increase  on  the prior year  order  intake figure of £5.31m.  Accordingly,  there  has 
been an increase in the value of contracted revenues yet to be recognised of £2.07m in the year to £6.08m at 
31 December 2018 (2017: £4.01m).    

We continue to raise the profile of products in our core neuroscience disease areas, particularly Alzheimer’s and 
schizophrenia.  As we  announced  in April 2018, our Recruit  offering  is  now  established  in  two  major  Phase  III 
trials for Alzheimer’s disease, and its profile is also rising through inclusion in large public-private and EU-funded 
consortia  such  as  Dementias  Platform  UK  and  the  Europe-wide  project  Models  of  Patient  Engagement  for 
Alzheimer’s Disease (MOPEAD). In schizophrenia, both our technology and our clinical trial design expertise are 
being increasingly recognised as world-leading. Our scientists are leading international working groups building 
industry consensus around schizophrenia trial design and are in demand as thought leaders, independent from 
their product-specific expertise.   

The number of clinical studies using our technology at any time continues to increase, with our Operations team 
managing  55  studies  in  December  2018  (compared  with  37  in  December  2017).  A  growing  number  of  these 
studies use our cloud-based clinical trials platform (Connect) to deliver digital forms of questionnaires and other 
electronic  clinical  outcomes  assessments  (eCOA)  in  addition  to,  or  instead  of,  CANTAB  cognitive  tests.  This 
opportunity  to  expand  the  use  of  Connect  has  arisen  as  customers  recognise  the  versatility  of  our  Connect 
platform and benefits the customer by being able to run more outcome measures on a single platform. By adding 
non-cognition outcome measures into our capabilities it also means that we can target more customers in non-
CNS fields and so widens our potential customer audience. 

In the USA, our ‘digital health hub’ in Boston has flourished in 2018 building a strong local presence and a 
network of relationships through the East Coast pharmaceutical clusters. Under the Cognition Kit brand we 
have continued to translate expertise in software and neuroscience into patient-centric applications that enable 
our pharmaceutical company partners to assess patients beyond the clinical trial site. These applications, 
whether delivered on patients’ own mobile phones or integrated into other digital systems, are in increasing 
demand to enable lower cost data collection through remote or ‘virtual’ clinical trials and the opportunity to 
collect ‘real world evidence’ more easily and at earlier stages in the drug development cycle. While customer 
requirements for these purposes are typically of a bespoke product, we are gaining in efficiency as we build a 
menu of interoperable modules and user interface available for re-use in subsequent mobile apps. As we have 
noted in previous announcements, a significant attraction of this market is that each individual win in this area 
brings the potential for recurring license revenue over time. 

Matthew  Stork  agreed  to  join  the  Company  as  Chief  Operating  Officer  on  completion  of  the  equity  placing  in 
March 2019.  This gives further breadth to the management and it is expected that Matthew will join the board 
in due course. 

Innovation

Our innovation and R&D activities continued apace during 2018, supported in part by grants from Innovate UK. 
A project to develop and deliver voice-based cognitive tasks through our new Neurovocalix voice-based platform 
has  generated  considerable  interest  from  pharmaceutical  partners.  The  funded  project  continues  into  2019, 
however we have already commercialised our first tests into voice-products for two pharmaceutical partners as 
part of their drives to innovate clinical development in psychiatric and neurological indications. The second part 
of this project, to derive new biomarkers of mental state from the voice signal, is now gaining momentum as we 
collaborate with academic researchers to collect patient data from multiple disease states during 2019.  

5 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

The digital phenotyping programme, using cognitive testing to match responsive sub-populations of patients with 
specific drugs, progressed rapidly during 2018. The initial Innovate UK-funded project focussing on schizophrenia 
was  completed successfully  at  the end  of 2018  and  has  led  to  a  valuable  development pipeline of biomarker-
indication  combinations  that will  be explored  further  in  2019.  We  have  developed  a  new  partnership with  the 
University of Bristol School of Experimental Psychology in order to develop a broader pipeline of opportunities in 
this space. This allows us to take advantage of the discovery and early stage research expertise of the Bristol 
group, including access to clinical and experimental research facilities, and population cohorts such as the ALSPAC 
study.  In  return,  we  provide  insight  into  regulatory  and  commercialisation  paths  and  scale-up  and  adoption 
issues. We believe that as this joint team builds a portfolio of grant-funded projects it will rapidly accelerate our 
ability to translate new ways of phenotyping and treating mental ill-health through from initial discovery to applied 
R&D. 

Outlook 

In  2018  we  identified  a  key  opportunity  to  accelerate  the  growth  of  our  core  clinical  trials  business  with  the 
addition  of  more  outcome  measures  onto  our  Connect  platform.  We  also  made  substantial  progress  in 
commercialising our digital health business. With additional financial resources from the equity placing and over 
£6m of future revenues already secured we believe we are well positioned to drive growth and fulfil our primary 
objective  of  sustainable  profitability.  We  also  expect  our  digital  phenotyping  programme  to  make  significant 
advances in 2019 which will drive our corporate partnering activities. 

We operate in a market with increasing levels of investment in both neuroscience and digital health. Our ability 
to provide innovative, customised solutions from our R&D activities positions the Company well for growth and 
recognition  as  a  leader  in  its  fields.  As  a  result,  we  remain  both  optimistic  and  assured  of  more  significant 
contracts and partnerships being secured in 2019. 

As always, none of this would be possible without the continued support of our investors and the creativity and 
hard work of our operational teams. 

6 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES 

The Group is exposed to a number of risks and uncertainties in undertaking its day to day operations. The key 
business risks affecting the Group and how they are managed are set out below:

Financial 

The Group has a history of operating losses, with 2016 being the Group’s first and so far only profitable year. 
Profitability depends on the success and market acceptance of current and new products and investment in sales 
infrastructure, without which the Group will make losses and consume cash. Until the profitable commercialisation 
of  new  products  and  markets  is  proved  sustainable  the  Group  will  carefully  monitor  costs  and  cash  flow  with 
reference to ensuring the Group is able to continue as a going concern. In particular, the rate of investment in 
new technologies will be limited to the extent of any surplus cash reserves of the Group and the positive cash 
flow derived from the core business and recently launched products.  

The  directors  have  prepared  a  strategic  plan,  including  financial  forecasts  and  cash  flows,  for  the  period  to 
December 2021. The monitoring of cash and future projected cash flows, as well as the sales pipeline is included 
in the monthly finance report to the Board. 

Product and market development 

Future success of the Group is principally focussed on growth of near term revenues through existing products 
as  well  as  the  successful  commercialisation  of  innovative  new  products  and  services.  The  ability  to  transition 
current products to new markets and the development of new products and services for both existing and new 
markets will determine how successful the Group will be in growing. As noted in the Strategic Report, we have 
seen  early  successes  in  our  most  recent  product  innovations.  However,  the  rate  of  future  growth  will  be 
determined by the take up of these products in the various markets we serve.  

Brexit 

Uncertainty  remains  around  the  impacts  of  Brexit.  The  directors  and  management  continue  to  monitor 
developments and plan for potential impacts. The key considerations for the Group are as follows: 









People:  the  group  has  a  number  or  EU  nationals  as  employees.  The  Group  is  working  with  these 
employees to ensure that impacts of Brexit on our people are understood and can be managed. Whilst 
longer-term implications may be unclear, what does seem clear is that there will be no immediate impact 
on EU nationals working in the UK. 
Currency: as the Group is a net exporter to the US and the EU, a decline in the value of GBP against the 
USD and the EUR is of benefit to the group in the immediate term. Strengthening of the GBP will result 
in a reduction in the GBP value of the Group’s revenues. 
Regulations: the Group is working to ensure that compliance with regulations, especially those in relation 
to data sharing, continue to be adhered to, regardless of the nature of the UK’s relationship with the 
EU. 
Impacts on the broader market: Directors and management continue to consider what impacts there 
may be on our customers and the broader economy. Virtually all of the Group’s suppliers are UK based 
so there is minimal risk to our supply chain. 

Technology and regulation 

The  success of  the Group  and  its  ability  to  compete effectively with  other  companies  partly  depends  upon  its 
ability to protect its intellectual property and exploit its technology. During the year significant development work 
has continued on the product range to ensure that the Group’s products remain competitive and at the forefront 
of the sector. The Group files patent applications as it strives to protect and enhance its intellectual property. 

Growth management 

The Group's ability to manage its growth effectively requires it to continue to improve its operations, financial 
and management controls, reporting systems and procedures and to train, motivate and manage its employees. 
The Group’s future success depends on its ability to hire, train and retain key technical, scientific, regulatory, 
sales and marketing personnel. The Group seeks to recruit and retain high calibre staff through offering share 
ownership  incentives  and  rewards  commensurate  with  their  seniority  in  the  business  and  maintaining  open 
communication with employees. 

7 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Strategic Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

Reliance on key customers 

The Group maintains close relationships with a number of customers but aims not to be overly dependent on any 
one of them. During 2018, one customer accounted for 12% (2017: 14%) of the total revenue of the business 
though no other customer accounted for more than 10%. Over recent years, the increased diversity of our product 
offering  has  led  to  an  increased  diversity  in  our  customer  base  that  has  continued  to  mitigate  this  risk. 
Nonetheless, there is a risk that the loss of a major customer would result in a revenue shortfall. 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 

The  directors  have  monitored  the  performance of  the  Group with  particular  reference  to  the  key  performance 
indicators being revenue and sales orders, operating margin and cash flow. An overview of the financial results 
for the year is provided earlier in this report.  

KPIs at a glance: 

KPI 

2018 result  2017 result  Movement 

Revenue 

£6.13m  (as 
reported 
under 
15) 

IFRS 

£6.73m  (as 
reported 
under 
18) 

IAS 

£0.60m 
decrease 
(9%) 

Summary management 
commentary 

Revenue  has  declined  on  an  as 
reported  basis  and  a  consistent 
IFRS  15  basis  given  the  low 
volume  of  sales  orders  taken  in 
2017.  

Sales orders 

£7.93m 

£5.31m 

£6.08m 

£4.01m  

Order book (revenue yet 
recognised  on 
to  be 
orders  won  –  IFRS  15 
basis for both years) 

Operating margin  

£2.62m 
increase 
(49%) 

£2.07m 
increase 
(52%) 

This  increase  reflects  improved 
commercial 
infrastructure  and 
execution. 

Increase  principally  due  to  sales 
(29%) 
orders  being  £1.80m 
greater than revenue recognised. 

(24%) 
reported 
under 
15) 

(as 

IFRS 

(4%) 
reported 
under 
18) 

(as 

IAS 

20 
percentage 
point 
decrease 

As well as the revenue result and 
change  in  accounting  basis,  this 
reflects the continued investment 
in research and development. 

Cash flow 

£0.72m 
outflow 

£0.48m 
outflow 

Increase in 
outflow of 
£0.24m  

This  is  driven  by  the  operating 
result,  though  billing  in  advance 
affords  us  some  positive  cash 
movement.   

The Group monitors progress on a regular basis and will add to the key performance indicators as circumstances 
dictate. The directors value greatly the progress and innovation demonstrated by the Group, and in particular 
the increased investment in research and development. Unfortunately, this cannot be readily measured in the 
style of a KPI. The directors are pleased with the innovation successes during 2018, and the plans for continued 
innovation going forward.  

Approved by the Board of Directors and signed on behalf of the Board. 

Steven Powell 
Chief Executive Officer 
21st March 2019  

8 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Report of the Directors for the year ended 31 December 2018

The Directors present their report on the affairs of the Group and Company together with the financial statements 
for the year to 31 December 2018. The Group financial statements are prepared under International Financial 
Reporting Standards (EU-adopted IFRS).  

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES 

Cambridge  Cognition  Holdings  plc  (‘the  Company’)  and  its  subsidiaries  (together,  ‘the  Group’)  specialises  in 
improving brain health by developing and marketing near-patient cognitive testing techniques. 

GOING CONCERN AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT 

Having reviewed the financial forecasts and business plan of the Company and its subsidiaries and taking into 
account the level of cash resources available to them, the Directors have, at the time of approving the financial 
statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in 
operational  existence  for  the  foreseeable  future.  Thus  they  continue  to  adopt  the  going  concern  basis  of 
accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

In particular this consideration includes the raising of £2.3m (net) through a share placement on 12 March 2019. 

Further information on the Group’s financial risk management strategy can be found in note 25. 

SHARE ISSUES 

The  issued  share capital  of  the  Company  is  set  out  at Note  19  to  the  accounts.  During 2018,  2,000 Ordinary 
shares were issued to satisfy the exercise of employee share options. On 12 March 2019 3,472,223 shares were 
issued in connection with the raising of £2.3m (net) referred to above. 

DIRECTORS 

The Directors who held office at 31 December 2018 and their interest in the share capital of the Company were: 

Name 

Michael Lewis (Chairman) 

Steven Powell 

Nicholas Walters 

Eric Dodd 

Nicholas Kerton 

Ordinary Shares of 1p each 

2018

33,375 

70,541 

2017

33,375 

70,541 

186,937 

186,937 

- 

- 

22,899 

22,899 

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION AND SHARE OPTIONS 

Details  of Directors’ remuneration  and  share options  are provided  within  the Remuneration  Report  and  are  in 
addition to the interests in shares shown above. 

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors and the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.   

Company law requires the Directors to prepare such financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, 
the Directors have elected to prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and have elected to prepare the Parent Company 
financial  statements  in  accordance  with  United  Kingdom  Accounting  Standards  and  applicable  laws  including 
Financial Reporting Standard 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’. 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 of the Company and Group for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the 
Directors are required to: 



select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

9 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Report of the Directors for the year ended 31 December 2018

 make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;





state whether the applicable IFRSs, or for the Parent Company, applicable UK GAAP have been followed, 
subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the Company’s financial statements 

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

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

The Directors confirm that: 





so far as each Director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditor 
is unaware; and 

the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as Directors to make themselves aware 
of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information. 

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included 
on the Company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. 

DIRECTORS’ INDEMNITY ARRANGEMENTS 

During the year the Company purchased Directors' and Officers' liabilities insurance in respect of itself and its 
directors. 

SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS 

The Company’s major shareholders at 15 March 2019 were:  

Name 

Nigel Wray 
Canaccord Genuity Group Inc 
Michael Buxton 
Octopus Investments Nominees Ltd 
Lombard Odier 

AUDITOR 

No. of  
Ordinary 
Shares 
4,651,547 
3,620,150 
2,889,589 
1,429,771 
1,388,889 

% 

19.2 
15.0 
12.0 
5.9 
5.7 

A resolution to re-appoint Grant Thornton UK LLP as the Company’s auditor will be proposed at the forthcoming 
Annual General Meeting. In accordance with normal practice, the Directors will be authorised to determine the 
Auditor’s remuneration. 

Approved by the Board of Directors and signed on behalf of the Board 

Nick Walters 
Company Secretary 
21st March 2019

10 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 December 
2018 

Chairman’s Statement 

As Chairman of the Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc (“the Company”) Board, it is my responsibility to ensure 
that the Board is performing its role effectively and has the capacity, ability, structure and support to enable it 
to continue to do so. 

We believe that a sound and well understood governance structure is essential to maintain the integrity of the 
Group in all its actions, to enhance performance and to impact positively on our shareholders, staff, customers, 
suppliers and other stakeholders. 

After due consideration, the Company has adopted the QCA Corporate Governance Code (“the QCA Code”) as 
the benchmark for measuring our adherence to good governance principles. These principles provide us with a 
clear framework for assessing our performance as a board and as a company, and the report below shows how 
we apply the Code’s ten guiding principles in practice. 

The QCA Code requires that some disclosures are available on the Company website, whilst others are required 
in the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts and the Company has followed this recommendation. The 
Corporate Governance disclosure on our website can be found at
http://www.cambridgecognition.com/investors/corporate-governance/

All members of the Board of the Company believe in the value and importance of good Corporate Governance. 
The Chairman is personally responsible for establishing and monitoring Corporate Governance. 

The Company is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (“AIM”). 

Whilst the Board considers that it does not depart from any of the principles of the QCA Code, the Board will 
continue to develop its governance processes in the coming year. 

Michael Lewis 

Chairman 

Disclosures recommended under the QCA Code 

Principle 1: Establish a strategy and business model which promotes long-term value for 
shareholders 

The Company has a rolling three-year detailed strategic plan that is updated and approved by the Board 
annually. This is supported by an annual operating plan, which is also subject to Board review. 

The Company’s Strategic Report, including an assessment of principal risks and uncertainties and key 
performance indicators can be found on pages three to eight of this Annual Report and Accounts. 

Principle 4: Embed effective risk management, considering both opportunities and threats, 
throughout the organisation 

Risks are considered as part of the strategic planning process referred to above. The CEO is also ultimately 
responsible for the quality management of the company and reports to the Board on key matters. The Board 
will periodically receive presentations on specific operational and financial risks. 

The principal risks and uncertainties of the Group are summarised on pages seven and eight of this Annual 
Report and Accounts. 

Principle 5: Maintain the Board as a well-functioning, balanced team led by the Chair

Profiles of each of the Directors are given below. 

The Board consists of two executive directors, the non-executive Chairman and two further independent 
directors. The non-executive Chairman has a small shareholding, and one non-executive director holds shares 
and options, which are a result of their previous role as CEO. These holdings are not considered material. 

11 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 December 
2018  

All directors are expected to devote sufficient time to their duties as may be necessary. Typically, this would be 
around two days per month for the non-executive directors. 

The Board is provided with monthly business and finance reports from the CEO and CFO respectively. Further 
information will be given to the Board for discussion at meetings as relevant. 

The Board is supported by three sub-committees: the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the 
Nomination Committee. All non-executive directors sit on all sub-committees. Board and Committee attendance 
for 2018 is as follows: 

Board 

Audit 

Nomination 

Remuneration 

No. of Meetings 

M. Lewis 

Dr S. Powell 

N. Walters 

E. Dodd 

Dr N. Kerton 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

2 

2 

- 

- 

2 

2 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

2 

2 

- 

- 

2 

2 

Principle 6: Ensure that between them the Directors have the necessary up-to-date experience, 
skills and capabilities 

Profiles of each of the Directors are given below. 

Principle 7: Evaluate board performance based on clear and relevant objectives, seeking continuous 
improvement 

Since the Company’s listing in 2013, board evaluation has been an informal process led by the Chairman and 
principally consisting of one on one meetings to gather, compare and consider the views of each of the 
directors. This approach has, to date, been deemed appropriate given the small size of the Company. 

With effect from 1st January 2019 the Board will conduct formal internal performance reviews every year 
supplemented by an external evaluation review every alternate year.  

Principle 8: Promote a corporate culture that is based on ethical values and behaviours 

The Board ensures that the Company culture is based on ethical values through the following means: 












The employee handbook clearly setting out values and employment codes 
All new employees benefit from an induction programme which emphasises our ethical values and 
behaviours 
These behaviours are re-iterated through the various employee communication and reward channels 
outlined above 
Particular training on topics relating to ethical behaviour, ranging from compliance in clinical trials to 
share dealing rules are given at regular intervals and attendance monitored 
Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”) that outline the Company’s process and the values that 
underpin them are required to be read by employees and documentation of compliance maintained 
Receiving monthly reports from human resources and other departments to ensure that any instances 
of behaviours not being recognised or respected are considered and resolved appropriately 

Principle 10: Communicate how the Company is governed and is performing by maintaining a 
dialogue with shareholders and other relevant stakeholders 

Descriptions of the work of the Board and its Committees are below. The Remuneration Report is on pages 15 
and 16. 

12 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 December 
2018  

Further information on the Company’s Corporate Governance framework, including on those principle of the 
QCA code not listed here can be found at http://www.cambridgecognition.com/investors/corporate-
governance/

Director profiles 

Michael Lewis Non-Executive Chairman

Mr Lewis has 25 years global Health and Pharma industry experience. He is currently Executive Chairman of 
iPlato an m-Health provider with 9M patient connections in the UK, Chairman of Haem02, a biotechnology 
company developing artificial human haemoglobin, Chairman of Glyconics Ltd, developing diagnostics for COPD 
and director of Mikale Ltd. Mr Lewis is also a lecturer, speaker and invited Chair of innovation sessions at NHS 
Expo, Chairs the KTN Medtech group, and was past Chair of the Assisted Living Innovation platform. He 
previously has held senior roles at Gambro (Brussels), Boston Scientific (Paris), C.R. Bard (New Jersey), Sybron 
(Switzerland) and Becton Dickinson (UK). 

Dr Steven Powell Chief Executive Officer

Dr Powell graduated in microbiology from the University of Wales and was awarded a PhD from the University 
of Aberdeen. He has over thirty years operational and investment experience in pharmaceutical and healthcare 
companies in the UK, USA and Scandinavia. Including his current role at Cambridge Cognition he has held five 
CEO roles, three in public companies. In 2003, he joined Gilde Healthcare, a pan-European life sciences 
investment fund as a partner and remained an adviser to the fund until 2016.  

Nick Walters Chief Financial Officer 

A chartered accountant, Mr Walters has served as Finance Director, Deputy Chairman and Chairman on a 
number of Boards. Mr Walters has over thirty years’ experience across a wide range of industry sectors and a 
track record for addressing the fundamentals in these companies and setting them up for sustainable growth. 
He has experience of start-ups in both the USA and the Far East as CFO.  

Dr Nicholas Kerton Non-Executive Director

Dr Kerton is an experienced director of public and private companies in the healthcare industry. Having 
completed a PhD in Organic Synthetic Chemistry at Nottingham University, he progressed through the 
Wellcome Foundation, and then joined DuPont and Whatman Reeve Angel plc in senior business development 
and sales roles before moving into microbiology as Managing Director of Malthus Instruments, a subsidiary of 
Radiometer of Denmark. Dr Kerton was a member of the management team who established Celsis PLC, one of 
the first biotechnology companies to float on the London Stock Exchange, led the successful sale of Maybridge 
to Fisher Scientific International, founded Lab21 (a molecular diagnostics service funded by Merlin Biosciences) 
during which time he acquired three companies, and managed the Sirigen Group from initial venture capital 
funding in 2008 through to selling the business to Becton Dickinson in August 2012. 

Eric Dodd Non-Executive Director

Mr Dodd brings significant experience in board-level positions to the Company, including having been Chief 
Financial Officer of Antisoma plc, Morse plc, Stanmore Implants Worldwide Holdings Limited and KBC plc. Mr 
Dodd is presently Chief Financial Officer at ATTRAQT PLC, an AIM-listed software company. 

Board sub-committees 

The Board is supported by three sub-committees, the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee and 
Remuneration Committee.  

The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include making recommendations to the Board on the appointment of 
the Company’s auditors, approving the auditor’s fees, safeguarding the objectivity and independence of the 
auditors, reviewing the findings of the audit and monitoring and reviewing effectiveness of the Company’s 
systems of risk management and internal control. The Audit Committee is also responsible for monitoring the 
integrity of the financial statements of the Company, including its annual and half yearly reports and interim 
management statements. 

The main issues considered by the Committee during the year in relation to the financial statements included 
the appropriateness of revenue recognition policies especially in light of the adoption of IFRS 15, adequacy of 

13 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 December 
2018  

systems of internal control and going concern. The Committee notes the auditors’ inclusion of revenue 
recognition as a key audit matter.   

No significant fees were paid in the year to the auditors for services other than audit and tax compliance and 
related work. The independence and objectivity of the auditors is important to the Company and the Committee 
keeps track of fees paid to the auditors for any change in this position.  Periodically the Audit Committee 
chairman speaks directly with the audit partner to set out the needs of the committee and to receive any 
feedback without the presence of any executive directors.  

The Committee also reviews the Group’s risk management and continues to believe that the Company’s risk 
management strategy properly addresses the main risk areas.     

The Nomination Committee’s responsibilities include reviewing the structure, size and composition of the 
Board, making recommendations to the Board concerning membership of Board committees and identifying and 
nominating candidates for the Board for Board approval. Every director appointed by the Board is subject to re-
election by the shareholders at the AGM following their appointment and every third AGM thereafter. 

The Remuneration Committee’s responsibilities include determining the remuneration of the executive 
directors, reviewing the design of all share incentive plans and determining each year whether awards will be 
made, and if so, the overall amount of such awards, the individual awards to executive directors and the 
performance targets to be used. Annual performance evaluation is based on targets set at the outset of each 
year and bonuses paid, as appropriate, in line with the agreed incentive plan.  

14 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2018 

The Company has established a Remuneration Committee. The members of the Remuneration Committee are: 

Michael Lewis (Chair) 
Eric Dodd 
Nicholas Kerton 

The Committee makes recommendations to the Board. No director plays a part in any discussion about his own 
remuneration. 

Components of Executive Directors’ remuneration 

Executive  remuneration  packages  are  prudently  designed to  attract,  motivate  and retain  directors  of  the  high 
calibre needed to enhance the Group’s market position and to reward them for increasing value to shareholders. 
The  performance  measurement  of  the  executive  directors  and  key  members  of  senior  management  and  the 
determination of their annual remuneration package are undertaken by the Committee. 

There are five main elements of the remuneration package for the executive directors and senior management: 
• Basic annual salary; 
• Benefits-in-kind; 
• Annual bonus payments; 
• Share option incentives; and  
• Pension arrangements. 

Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration 

The  remuneration  of  Non-Executive  Directors  is  determined  by  the  Board  and  reflects  their  anticipated  time 
commitment to fulfill their duties. The Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration is subject to the same principles of 
the Group Remuneration policy. The letters of appointment of Non-Executive Directors can be terminated with 
one month’s notice given by either party. 

Directors’ remuneration (audited) 
The remuneration of the Directors is as follows: 

Current Directors: 
Executive Directors: 
   Steven Powell 
   Nicholas Walters 
Non-Executive Directors: 
   Michael Lewis 
   Eric Dodd 
   Nicholas Kerton 
   Andrew Blackwell*  

Total 

Salary
/Fee 
£’000 

Benefits 

Bonus 

Pension 

£’000 

£’000 

£’000 

2018 
Total 
£’000 

2017 
Total 
£’000 

147 
48 

44 
30 
30 
- 
299

- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
-

- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
-

- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
-

147
48

44
30
30
-
299

150 
48 

44 
30 
30 
15 
317 

* Resigned as Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2017 

Payments were also made to third parties for the services of Nicholas Walters. See note 26 to the consolidated 
financial statements. 

15 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2018 

Share Options: 

Granted 

Nicholas Kerton 

Sept 2014  

Number of 
Options 
75,000 

Performance 
criteria 
Vested (1) 

Exercise price 
in pence 
60 pence 

Exercise period 

To 30 Sep 2024  

Steven Powell 

July 2015 
May 2018 

62,500 
100,000 

Vested (2) 
 (3) 

82.5 pence 
1 penny 

Dec 2017 - July 2025 
May 2021 – May 2028 

Nicholas Walters 

May 2018 

25,000 

(3) 

1 penny 

May 2021 – May 2028 

Performance Criteria 

(1) Options vest once the average of the closing price of shares in the Company over two consecutive 

dealing days, as derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List, has equalled or exceeded 
90 pence. This condition was fulfilled on 1 October 2015 

(2) Options vest once the average of the closing price of shares in the Company over two consecutive 

dealing days, as derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List, has equalled or exceeded 
120 pence. This condition was fulfilled on 4 May 2017 

(3) 55% of these options will vest if the average closing mid-market price of an Ordinary Share for the 

final 10 trading days of 2019 is greater than 170 pence per share. A pro rata sliding scale will apply if 
the average closing mid-market price of an Ordinary Share for the final 10 trading days of 2019 is 
between 130 pence and 170 pence. 45% of these options granted will vest if the Group reports a 
profit after tax in both of the years ended 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2019. In the case that 
the Group reports a profit after tax in only one of these years, 10% of the total options granted will 
vest. 

On 31 December 2018, 550,000 options in favour of Steven Powell and 150,000 options in favour of 
Nicholas Walters were forfeited as the performance criteria were not met. These criteria required that the 
average closing mid-market price of an Ordinary Share for the final 10 trading days of 2018 was a 
minimum of 100 pence; and that the total revenue of the three financial years ended 31 December 2018 
exceeded £23m. 

Upon his resignation as a Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2017, Andrew Blackwell forfeited 112,567 
options. On 11 October 2017, he exercised 225,135 options at an exercise price of 70 pence. 

16 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 
Opinion 

Our opinion on the financial statements is unmodified 
We have audited the financial statements of  Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc (the ‘parent company’) and 
its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2018 which comprise 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 Parent company statement of 
financial position, the Parent company statement of changes in equity and notes to the Consolidated and 
Parent company 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 Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union. 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).

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 2018 and of the group’s loss for the year then ended; 
the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted 
by the European Union; 
the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United 
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and 
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies 
Act 2006. 

Basis for opinion 
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and 
applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the ‘Auditor’s responsibilities 
for the audit of the financial statements’ section of our report. We are independent of the 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. We believe that the audit evidence we have 
obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

Conclusions relating to going concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to 
report to you where: 





the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial 
statements is not appropriate; or 
the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that 
may cast significant doubt about the group’s or the parent company’s ability to continue to adopt the 
going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the 
financial statements are authorised for issue. 

17 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

Overview of our audit approach 
 Overall materiality: £184,000 which represents 3% of the group’s 

revenue; 

 Key audit matter identified was revenue recognition  
 We performed full scope audit procedures on the financial statements 
of Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc and on the financial information 
of Cambridge Cognition Limited which itself accounts for 71% of the 
group loss before tax. 

 We performed targeted audit procedures on Cambridge Cognition 
LLC and analytical procedures on CANTAB Corporate Health 
Limited, Cambridge Cognition Trustees Limited and Cognition Kit 
Limited 

Key audit matter 
The graph below depicts the audit risks identified and their relative significance based on the extent of the 
financial statement impact and the extent of management judgement. 

Revenue 
recognition 

Management 
override of 
controls

High 

Potential 
financial 
statement 
impact

Low 

Recoverability 
of debtors

Goodwill 
impairment 

Low               Extent of management judgement                   High 

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, 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. These matters included those that 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. 

18 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

Key Audit Matter – Group 

How the matter was addressed in 
the audit – Group  

The risk of improper recognition of 
revenue due to multiple revenue 
streams with different recognition 
criteria

Under International Standard on Auditing 
(UK) 240 ‘The Auditor’s Responsibilities 
Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial 
Statements’, there is a rebuttable presumed 
risk that revenue may be misstated due to 
the improper recognition of revenue. 

The Group adopted IFRS 15 ‘Revenue 
from Contracts with Customers’ using the 
modified retrospective method of adoption 
with the date of initial application of 1 
January 2018. Inappropriate interpretation 
and application of the new and complex 
standard could result in possible material 
misstatement to the cumulative effect of 
initial application of the standard  
recognised as an adjustment to the opening 
balance of retained earnings at 1 January 
2018 and revenue recognised in the period.  

The Group provides multiple products or 
services to their customers as part of a 
single arrangement that may include 
licences of IP, sale of hardware, data 
management services, study management 
services, study support services, training, or 
other maintenance services.  
Management apply significant judgement 
to: 


identify the separate performance 
obligations in an arrangement based on 
the terms of the contract and the 
Group’s customary business practices 
determine whether the performance 
obligation is satisfied over time or at a 
point in time; and 
select an appropriate method for 
measuring progress of that 
performance obligation if it is satisfied 
over time. 





A number of the products or services may 
be sold together as a bundled contract. 
Determining whether the products or 

Our audit work included, but was not 
restricted to:  
 Assessing whether revenue recorded in 
the period was consistent with the 
Group’s accounting policy and whether 
that was compliant with IFRS 15 
‘Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers’;  



For a sample of contracts, we: 









checked that the performance 
obligations have been 
appropriately identified in 
accordance with the Group’s 
accounting policy; 
checked that revenue recognised in 
the year relates to amounts 
allocated to performance 
obligations that were satisfied in 
the year; 
inspected evidence of delivery of 
the products or rendering of 
services, such as delivery of licence 
keys, number of assessments 
completed in the period, and 
notifications that the assessments 
have been completed; and 
evaluated the significant 
judgements made by management 
in identifying the separate 
performance obligations and 
selecting an appropriate method 
for measuring progress 

 Testing the deferred revenue and 
accrued income for a sample of 
contracts that were not complete at 1 
January 2018 (cumulative adjustment to 
retained earnings as at the date of initial 
application of IFRS 15) and at the 
reporting date, as follows: 


inspecting evidence that invoices 
raised relate to milestones met in 
the period in accordance with the 

19 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

Key Audit Matter – Group 

services are distinct from other goods and 
services in an arrangement is key to the 
appropriate recognition of revenue.  

Revenue is a material figure in the financial 
statements (2018: £6,134,000; 2017: 
£6,730,000).   

How the matter was addressed in 
the audit – Group  

payment schedule agreed with the 
customer; 
checking revenue has been 
recognised in accordance with the 
Group’s accounting policy 
recalculating the deferred revenue 
and accrued income  





We therefore identified revenue occurrence 
as a significant risk, which was one of the 
most significant assessed risks of material 
misstatement. 

The group's accounting policy on revenue 
recognition is set out in note 3.3 to the 
financial statements and related disclosures 
are included in note 27.  

Key observations 
Based on our audit work we consider the 
Group’s revenue recognition to be 
appropriate and in accordance with IFRS 
15.

We did not identify any Key Audit Matters relating to the audit of the financial statements of the parent 
company.

Our application of materiality 
We define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement in the financial statements that makes it probable that 
the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable person would be changed or influenced. We use 
materiality in determining the nature, timing and extent of our audit work and in evaluating the results of that 
work.  

Materiality was determined as follows: 

Materiality Measure Group  
Financial statements 
as a whole 

£184,000 which is 3% of group 
revenue. This benchmark is 
considered the most 
appropriate because the group’s 
results fluctuate annually. 

Materiality for the current year 
is lower than the level that we 
determined for the year ended 
31 December 2017 to reflect 
the decrease in the group’s 
revenues. 

20 

Parent 
£6,000 which is 5% of losses 
before tax. This benchmark is 
considered the most 
appropriate because the entity 
is cost based and not revenue 
generative. 

Materiality for the current year 
is lower than the level that we 
determined for the year ended 
31 December 2017 to reflect 
the decrease in the parent’s loss 
before tax. 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

Performance 
materiality used to 
drive the extent of 
our testing 
Specific materiality 

75% of financial statement 
materiality. 

75% of financial statement 
materiality. 

We also determine a lower level 
of specific materiality for 
certain areas such as directors' 
remuneration and related party 
transactions of £1,000 due to 
the inherent sensitivity of these 
transactions and related 
disclosures. 

We also determine a lower level 
of specific materiality for 
certain areas such as directors' 
remuneration and related party 
transactions of £1,000 due to 
the inherent sensitivity of these 
transactions and related 
disclosures. 

The graph below illustrates how performance materiality interacts with our overall materiality and the tolerance 
for potential uncorrected misstatements. 

Overall materiality - group

Overall materiality - parent

25%

75%

Tolerance for
potential uncorrected
mistatements

Performance
materiality

25%

75%

An overview of the scope of our audit 
Our audit approach was a risk-based approach founded on a thorough understanding of the group's business, 
its environment and risk profile and in particular included: 

 Assessing the risk of material misstatement to the group’s financial statements. We considered the 

transactions undertaken by each entity and therefore where the focus of our work was required;  

 Full scope audit procedures were completed for the main trading subsidiary, Cambridge Cognition Limited 
and on Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc. Targeted audit procedures were undertaken on Cambridge 
Cognition LLC and analytical procedures on CANTAB Corporate Health Limited, Cambridge Cognition 
Trustees Limited and Cognition Kit Limited 

 The total percentage coverage of full scope procedures over the Group’s total revenues was 99% and 

Group’s total assets was 95%. 

 All accounting is centralised, and we completed our onsite audit work at the Group’s main operating 

location with all audit work undertaken by the Cambridge based group audit team. 

 The audit risks identified for each trading component are the same audit risks identified for the Group as a 

whole. 

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.  

21 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, 
in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or 
our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such 
material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a 
material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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. 

Our opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 is unmodified 
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. 

Matter on which we are required to report under the Companies Act 2006 
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment 
obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the 
directors’ report.  

Matters on which we are required to report by exception 
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 for the financial statements 
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 9-10, 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 

22 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Cambridge Cognition 
Holdings plc 

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. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial 
Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our 
auditor’s report. 

Use of our report 
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of 
the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s 
members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the 
fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company 
and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

David Newstead 
Senior Statutory Auditor 
for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP 
Statutory Auditor, Chartered Accountants 
Cambridge 

21st March 2019 

23 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income   

Revenue 

Cost of sales 

Gross profit 

Administrative expenses 

Other operating income 

Loss before tax 

Income tax  

Loss for the year  

Attributable to:

Equity holders in the Parent 

Non-controlling interest 

Earnings per share (pence)

Basic and diluted earnings per share 

Other comprehensive income

(Loss) for the year 

Items that may subsequently be reclassified  to profit or 
loss 

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 

Total comprehensive income for the year 

Notes 

Year to
31 December 
2018

Year to
31 December 
2017

5 

6 

7 

10 

11 

£’000

6,134 

(900) 

5,234 

£’000

6,730 

(622) 

6,108 

(6,749) 

(6,485) 

27 

(1,488) 

46 

93 

(284) 

6 

(1,442) 

(278) 

(1,442) 

- 

(1,442) 

(257) 

(21) 

(278) 

(7.0) 

(1.3) 

(1,442) 

(278) 

(92) 

(1,534) 

38 

(240) 

All items of other comprehensive income are attributable to the equity holders in the Parent. 

The above results relate to continuing operations. 

24 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Consolidated statement of financial position  

Assets 

Non-current assets  

Intangible assets  

Property, plant and equipment 

Total non-current assets 

Current assets 

Inventories

Trade and other receivables 

Cash and cash equivalents 

Total current assets 

Total assets

Liabilities 

Current liabilities  

Trade and other payables  

Total liabilities  

Equity 

Share capital  

Share premium account 

Other reserves  

Own shares  

Retained earnings  

Total equity  

Notes 

At 31 December 
2018

At 31 December 
2017

£'000

£’000

12 

13 

15 

16 

390 

58 

448 

26 

1,868 

1,110 

352 

88 

440 

33 

2,246 

1,859 

3,004 

4,138 

3,452

4,578 

18 

3,978 

1,547 

19 

20 

20 

3,978

1,547 

207 

7,707 

5,931 

(94) 

207 

7,707 

6,023 

(43) 

(14,277) 

(10,863) 

(526)

3,031 

Total liabilities and equity

3,452

4,578 

The financial statements on pages 23 to 48 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue 
on 21st March 2019 and were signed on its behalf by: 

Steven Powell 
Chief Executive Officer 

25 

Share 
capital

Share 
premium

Other 
reserves

Own 
shares

Retained 
earnings

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Non- 
controlling 
interest
£'000

Total

£'000

204

7,517

5,985

(47)

(10,748)

(50)

2,861

(257) 

(21) 

(278)

- 

- 

38

(257) 

(21) 

(240)

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity 

Balance at  
1 January 2017  

Profit for the year 
Other comprehensive 
income 

Total comprehensive 
income for the year 

Issue of new share 
capital 

Transfer on allocation of 
shares held in trust 

Credit to equity for 
equity-settled share-
based payments 

Transactions with 
owners  
Transfer of accumulated 
loss on acquisition of 
non-controlling interest 

Balance at  
31 December 2017  
Impact of adopting IFRS 
15 
Balance at  
1 January 2018 
(restated) 

Profit for year 
Other comprehensive 
income 

Total comprehensive 
income for the year 

Purchase of own shares 

Charge to equity for 
equity-settled share-
based payments 

Transactions with 
owners  

Balance at  
31 December 2018  

- 

- 

- 

3 

- 

- 

3 

- 

- 

- 

- 

190 

- 

- 

190 

- 

- 

38 

38 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

4 

- 

4 

- 

- 

(4) 

217 

213 

(71) 

207

7,707

6,023

(43)

(10,863)

- 

- 

-

-

(1,957) 

207

7,707

6,023

(43)

(12,820)

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

(92) 

(92) 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

(1,442) 

- 

(1,442) 

(51) 

(1) 

- 

(14) 

- 

(51) 

(15) 

207

7,707

5,931

(94)

(14,277)

26 

-

-

-

-

193

-

217

410

71 

-

-

- 

-

- 

- 

- 

-

-

-

-

3,031

(1,957)

1,074

(1,442)

(92)

(1,534)

(52)

(14)

(66)

(526)

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Consolidated statement of cash flows

Net cash flows from operating activities  

21 

(644) 

(624) 

Notes 

Year to
 31 December 
2018

Year to
 31 December 
2017

£'000

£’000

Investing activities  

Purchase of property, plant and equipment  

Net cash flow used in investing activities 

Financing activities  

Proceeds from the issue of share capital 

Purchase of own shares 

Net cash flows from financing activities  

Net (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents  

Cash and cash equivalents at start of year  

Exchange differences on cash and cash equivalents 

(25) 

(25) 

- 

(51) 

(51) 

(720) 

1,859 

(29) 

(48) 

(48) 

193 

- 

193 

(479) 

2,384 

(46) 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

21 

1,110 

1,859 

27 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

1. General information 

Cambridge  Cognition  Holdings  plc  (‘the  Company’)  and  its  subsidiaries  (together,  ‘the  Group’)  specialises  in 
improving brain health by developing and marketing near-patient cognitive testing techniques. 

The  Company  is  a  public  limited  company  which  is  listed  on  the  AIM  market  of  the  London  Stock  Exchange 
(symbol:  COG)  and  is  incorporated  and  domiciled  in  the  UK.  The  address  of  its  registered  office  is  Tunbridge 
Court, Tunbridge Lane, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB25 9TU.  

In  the  period  since  the  principal  trading  company,  Cambridge  Cognition  Limited  was  formed  in  2002,  it  has 
created a well-established business through sales of its proprietary CANTAB® (Cambridge Neuropsychological 
Test Automated Battery) software into academic and pharmaceutical research locations around the world.  

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards  (‘IFRS’)  as  adopted  by  the  European  Union,  IFRIC  interpretations  and  the  Companies  Act  2006 
applicable to companies operating under IFRS. The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those followed 
in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, other than 
that IFRS 15: Revenue from contracts with customers, and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments which have been adopted 
in the 2018 financial statements. See notes 3.3, 4 and 27 for more details on the impacts of adopting IFRS 15. 
There is no material impact on the adoption of IFRS 9. The financial statements have been prepared under the 
historical cost convention. 

The subsidiary undertakings included within the consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2018 are 
given in note 14. 

2. Outlook for adoption of future Standards (new and amended) 

At the date of authorisation of the Consolidated Financial Statements, the following Standard which has not been 
applied in the Consolidated Financial Statements were in issue but not yet effective: 



IFRS 16 Leases (effective 1 January 2019) – see note 22 for discussion of the impact of IFRS 16 on 
the Group. 

All other Standards and Interpretations that are in issue but not yet effected are considered to have no impact 
on the Group as they do not apply to the Group at present. 

3. Significant accounting policies 

3.1 Basis of consolidation 
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of the Company and of its subsidiaries.  

All  intra-group  transactions,  balances,  income  and  expenses  are  eliminated  in  full  on  consolidation.  Where  a 
subsidiary is not wholly-owned, it is consolidated in full, and the percentage not owned by the Group is recorded 
as a non-controlling interest. 

3.2 Going concern 
At the time of approving the financial statements, and based on a review of the Group’s forecasts and business 
plan, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to 
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis 
of accounting in preparing the financial statements.   

3.3 Revenue recognition 
From  1  January  2018,  revenue  is  accounted  for  in  accordance  with  IFRS  15  Revenue  from  contracts  with 
customers. 

Revenue  is  measured  at  the  fair  value  of  the  consideration  received  or  receivable  and  represents  amounts 
receivable for goods and services, net of discounts, VAT and other sales-related taxes. Contracts are identified 
and the constituent parts are assessed separately to ensure that revenue is recognised appropriately. The Group 
sales can be placed into three categories as follows: software, services and hardware. Revenue recognition for 
each of these items are considered in turn below. 

28 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

3. Significant accounting policies (continued) 

3.3 Revenue recognition (continued) 

Software: 
The Group sells licences to use its software and/or its software hosting platform. These licences can take different 
forms, which are described in turn below: 

Software licences hosted on our servers: 
Where software is hosted on our servers the revenue is recognised over a period of time, as we have a continuing 
performance obligation to provide services (e.g. to ensure our servers are available). 







For contracts where the software value is greater than or equal to £20,000, and software is sold on a 
cost  per  assessment  basis,  the  Group  uses  the  assessment  price  to  recognise  the  revenue  as  the 
assessments are used.  

For  contracts  where  the  software  value  is  less  than  £20,000,  and  software  is  sold  on  a  cost  per 
assessment basis, the Group uses a portfolio estimate of the revenue being recognised over 12 months. 
This period has been chosen as it best represents the average life of this portfolio of contracts. 

For contracts where the licence is sold for unlimited uses over a limited period of time, the revenue is 
taken equally over the course of the licence period. 

Software licences not hosted on our servers: 
Where software is not hosted on our servers, it is used as it exists at the point in time the licence is granted and 
as such revenue is recognised at that point in time. The time of recognition is once the licence has been delivered 
to the customer, either through delivery of a physical software key or installation on the client systems, as this 
is when our performamce obligations are satisfied. 

Services: 
The Group provides a range of services that include supporting clinical studies, bespoke software development 
and scientific consultancy. Some services will be ongoing services provided over a period of time, whilst some 
will be clearly tied to a deliverable or other project milestone. 

Services delivered over a period of time: 
When services are delivered over a period of time (e.g. study support services) the revenue is recognised equally 
over the relevant period. In some instances, the period in question may be for the life of the contract, and in 
these  instances  management  will  estimate  the  length  of  the  contract  for  this  purpose.  When  that  estimate 
changes, revenue that has not yet been recognised will be adjusted prospectively to match the revised estimate. 
Study support services can be separated into set-up, ongoing management and close out phases with separate 
performance  obligations.  Where  material  and  clearly  identifiable,  these  phases  will  be  recognised  separately. 
Where immaterial or not clearly identifiable, these revenues will be recognised evenly over the course of the total 
relevant period. 

Services delivered at a point in time: 
Some services, such as training and delivery of scientific reports will be delivered at a point in time and as such 
will be recognised at a point in time, as the performance obligation is discharged on delivery.  
In some cases, whilst the end product is a specific deliverable, it may be that the work required is executed over 
an  extended  period  of  time.  In  these  cases,  management  may  make  an  estimate  of  revenue  earned  to  date 
consistent with the principles of services delivered over a period of time.  

Customer support services: 
Aside from any specific services contracted, our customers have access to our customer support team should 
they have problems with their software. The life of this support matches the life of the software licence, and as 
such this support is not separated from the software licence revenue recognition as described above.  

Hardware: 
The Group does not manufacture hardware, but will acquire, configure and sell hardware to customers as part of 
our offering. Hardware revenue is recognised when hardware is despatched to the customer, and the performance 
obligation is discharged at this point. 

Bill and hold arrangements: 
On some occasions, a customer may ask that we purchase and configure hardware on their behalf and then store 
the  hardware  awaiting  specific despatch  instructions. In  these  cases,  the  customer  assumes  ownership of  the 
assets even though they may still be in our physical possession. Once all of the specific criteria under IFRS 15 
are met, the Group will recognise this hardware revenue, even though the hardware has not yet been despatched.  

29 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

3. Significant accounting policies (continued) 

3.3 Revenue recognition (continued) 

Revenue recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income but not yet invoiced is held on the Statement of 
Financial  Position  within  ‘Accrued  income’.  Revenue  invoiced  but  not  yet  recognised  in  the  Statement  of 
Comprehensive Income is held on the Statement of Financial Position within ‘Deferred revenue’.

3.4 Grants 
Grants of a revenue nature are credited to profit and loss to match with the expenses incurred. Where the grant 
relates directly to the Group’s principal activities, it is taken as revenue. Where the grant relates to payments for 
the use of the Group’s products or resources to support broader projects, the grant is taken as other income. 

3.5 Sales commissions 
Commissions are accrued and subsequently paid based on the contractual terms reached with the salesperson. 
Where  commissions  are  paid  related  to  revenues  that  are  not  expected  in  the  same  accounting  period,  the 
commission amount is capitalised and held as an asset on the balance sheet, before being amortised in line with 
the related revenue. 

3.6 Leasing 
This policy is in accordance with IAS 17 Leases, which is replaced by IFRS 16 Leases as of 1 January 2019.  

Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and 
rewards of  ownership  to  the  lessee.  All other  leases  are classified  as  operating  leases. Rentals  payable  under 
operating leases are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant lease. 

In the event that lease incentives are received at the time the entity enters into an operating lease agreement, 
such  incentives  are  recognised  as  a  liability  and  released  through  profit  and  loss  over  the  term  of  the  lease 
agreement. The aggregate benefit of incentives is recognised as a reduction to rental expense on a straight-line 
basis,  except  where  another  systematic  basis  is  more  representative  of  the  time  pattern  in  which  economic 
benefits from the leased asset are consumed. 

3.7 Foreign currencies 
The  individual  financial  statements  of  each  subsidiary  are  presented  in  the  currency  of  the  primary  economic 
environment  in  which  it  operates  (its  functional  currency).  The  UK  pound  is  the  functional  currency  of  the 
Company and presentation currency for the consolidated financial statements. 

In  preparing  the  financial  statements  of  the  individual  companies,  transactions  in  currencies  other  than  the 
entity’s functional currency (foreign currencies) are recognised at the rates of exchange prevailing on the dates 
of  the  transactions.  At  each  reporting  date,  monetary  assets  and  liabilities  that  are  denominated  in  foreign 
currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing at that date.  

Exchange differences are recognised in the period in which they arise. 

On consolidation, assets and liabilities have been translated into the UK pound at the closing rate at the reporting 
date.  Income  and  expenses  have  been  translated  into  the  UK  pound  at  the  average  monthly  rates  over  the 
reporting period. Exchange differences are charged or credited to other comprehensive income and recognised 
in the currency translation reserve in equity. 

3.8 Post employment benefit costs 
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

3.9 Taxation 
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax. 

Current tax 
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported 
in the income statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other 
years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The Group’s liability for current tax is 
calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting date. 

Deferred tax 
Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of 
assets  and  liabilities  in  the  consolidated  financial  statements  and  the  corresponding  tax  bases  used  in  the 
computation of taxable profit, and is accounted for using the balance sheet liability method. Deferred tax liabilities 
are recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it 
is probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be utilised. 
However, such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from the initial  

30 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

3. Significant accounting policies (continued) 

3.9 Taxation (continued) 

recognition of goodwill or from the initial recognition (other than in a business combination) of other assets and 
liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the taxable profit nor the accounting profit. 

Deferred  tax  liabilities  are recognised for  taxable  temporary differences  arising  on  investments  in subsidiaries 
except where the Group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the 
temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future. 

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting date and reduced to the extent that it 
is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. 

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or 
the asset is realised based on tax laws and rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting 
date. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates to items charged or 
credited in other comprehensive income, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in other comprehensive 
income. 

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets 
against current tax liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the 
Group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis. 

3.10 Goodwill 
Goodwill  arising  in  a business  combination  is  recognised  as  an  asset  at  the  date  that  control  is  acquired  (the 
acquisition date). Goodwill is measured as the excess of the sum of the consideration transferred, the amount of 
any non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the fair value of the acquirer’s previously held equity interest (if 
any) in the entity over the net of the acquisition-date amounts of the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities 
assumed. 

Goodwill is not amortised but is reviewed for impairment at least annually. For the purpose of impairment testing, 
goodwill is allocated to each of the Group’s cash-generating units expected to benefit from synergies arising from 
the  combination.  Cash-generating  units  to  which  goodwill  has  been  attributed  under  IFRS  3  Business 
Combinations are tested for impairment annually, or more frequently when there is an indication that the unit 
may be impaired. If the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit is less than the carrying amount of the 
unit, the impairment loss is allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the unit and 
then to the other assets of the unit pro-rata on the basis of the carrying amount of each asset in the unit. An 
impairment loss recognised for goodwill is not reversed in a subsequent period. For impairment review purposes 
the value in use is assessed with reference to cash flows arising from the Board approved three-year plan using 
a 7.5% discount rate. If this calculation suggests the recoverability of goodwill is sensitive to any of these factors, 
appropriate scenario modelling is performed.  

3.11 Tangible and intangible assets 

Property, plant and equipment 

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment 
loss. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual 
value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases: 

Fixtures, fittings and equipment 
Leasehold improvements 

- 
- 

25% - 33% per annum straight line 
straight line over the lesser of 5 years or over the term of the lease 

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds 
and the carrying amount of the asset and is recognised in profit and loss on the transfer of the risks and rewards 
of ownership. 

Purchased licences 

Where a licence for software used in the provision of services to customers in purchased, the amount is capitalised 
and amortised over the period of the licence. The amortisation charge is charged to cost of sales. 

Internally-generated intangible assets – research and development expenditure 

The Group undertakes research and development expenditure in view of developing new products. Expenditure 
on research activities is recognised as an expense in the period in which it is incurred. An internally-generated 
intangible asset arising from the Group’s development is recognised only if all of the following conditions are met: 

31 

 
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

3. Significant accounting policies (continued) 

3.11 Tangible and intangible assets (continued) 






an asset is created that can be identified (such as software and new processes); 
it is probable that the asset created will generate future economic benefits, for example it is technically 
and commercially feasible and the Group has sufficient resources to complete development; and 
the development cost of the asset can be measured reliably. 

Where no internally-generated intangible asset can be recognised, development expenditure is recognised as an 
expense in the period in which it is incurred. 

3.12 Inventories 
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost comprises direct materials and, where 
applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the inventories to their 
present  location  and  condition.  Cost  is  calculated  using  the  First-In-First-Out  method.  Net  realisable  value 
represents the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, 
selling and distribution. 

3.13 Financial instruments 
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Group’s Statement of Financial Position when the 
Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets are initially measured 
at amortised cost, and financial liabilities at fair value, plus or minus directly attributable transaction costs. 

Financial assets 
Financial assets are subsequently measured at amortised cost. The Group currently holds no assets at fair value 
through profit and loss or fair value through other comprehensive income. Accordingly, where the Group believes 
that  there  is  a  change  in  the  fair  value  of  a  financial  instrument  (e.g.  a  trade  receivable  is  considered 
unrecoverable)  this  amount  will  be  adjusted  through  the  income  statement.  A  financial  asset  is  derecognised 
once the contractual rights expire (e.g. when cash has been received for a trade receivable). 

Expected credit losses on trade receivables 
The  Group  estimates  expected  credit  losses  by  taking  the  credit  losses  over  the  preceding  36  months  and 
comparing this to the revenue over the same period. The percentage derived is then applied to the outstanding 
trade receivables. This has resulted in an immaterial amount and as such no provision has been booked. 

Financial liabilities 
All  the  Group’s  financial  liabilities  are  subsequently  measured  at  amortised  cost  using  the  effective  interest 
method, with interest expense recognised on an effective yield basis. Financial liabilities are derecognised when 
the related obligation is discharged, cancelled or expires. 

Equity instruments 
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of an entity after deducting 
all of its liabilities. Equity instruments issued are recognised as the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs. 

Hedge accounting 
The Group does not have any relationships that qualify for hedge accounting. 

3.14 Share-based payments 
Equity-settled share-based payments to employees and others providing similar services are measured at the 
fair value of the equity instruments at the grant date. The fair value excludes the effect of non-market-based 
vesting  conditions.  Details  regarding  the  determination  of  the  fair  value  of  equity-settled  share-based 
transactions are set out in note 23. 

The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-based payments is expensed on a straight-
line basis over the vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of equity instruments that will eventually vest. 
At each reporting date, the Group revises its estimate of the number of equity instruments expected to vest as 
a result of the effect of non-market-based vesting conditions. The impact of the revision of the original estimates, 
if  any,  is  recognised  in  profit  or  loss  such  that  the  cumulative  expense  reflects  the  revised  estimate,  with  a 
corresponding adjustment to equity reserves. 

3.15 Employee Benefit Trust
In order to facilitate the exercise of share options the Group maintains an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT). This is 
consolidated in accordance with IFRS10. The costs of purchasing own shares held by the EBT are deducted from 
equity under ‘Own Shares’ reserve. Neither the purchase nor sale of own shares leads to a gain or loss being 
recognised  in  the  Group’s  profit  and  loss  or  other  comprehensive  income.  When  shares  are  subsequently 
transferred to employees for less than their purchase price the difference is a realised loss recognised directly in 
reserves. 

32 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

4. Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty 

In the application of the Group’s accounting policies, which are described in note 3, the directors are required to 
make judgements, estimates and assumptions 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. 

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates 
are  recognised  in  the  period  in  which  the  estimate  is  revised  if  the  revision  affects  only  that  period  or  in  the 
period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods. 

Critical judgements in applying the Group’s accounting policies 
The following are the critical judgements that the directors, supported by management have made in the process 
of  applying  the  Group’s  accounting  policies.  Where  estimation  uncertainty  exists,  the  directors,  supported  by 
management take account of all available information in forming their judgement. 

Revenue recognition 
In  the  adoption  and  subsequent  continuous  application  of  IFRS  15,  many  judgements  may  be  required  in 
recognising revenue and cost. These judgements include



The extent to which, and the way in which, contracts are separated into their component parts and the 
values attributed to those parts; 

 Whether  software  licences  are  granted  to  allow  the  customer  the  benefit  of  use  of  our  intellectual 
property  over  a period of  time  (including benefitting  from future  maintenance  and  improvements) or 
whether that right is given as the intellectual property exists at the point of time the licence is granted. 
In  the  case  of  the  former,  software  is  recognised  over  the  period  of  use,  for  the  latter  revenue  is 
recognised when the licence commences and the customer is able to use the software; 
The adoption of the portfolio approach for lower value sales and the recognition criteria applied; 


 Where performance obligations are satisfied over time, the length of time remaining for performance, 



and whether this needs revising over time; and 
The  length  of  time  for  performance  also  dictates  the  initial  deferral  and  subsequent  recognition  of 
commissions in cost of sales.  

Goodwill 
The Group reviews the carrying value of its goodwill balances by carrying out impairment tests at least on an 
annual basis. These tests require estimates to be made of the value in use of its CGUs which are dependent on 
estimates of future cash flows and long-term growth rates of the CGUs. See note 12.

Capitalisation of development costs 
The point at which development costs meet the criteria for capitalisation is critically dependent on management 
judgement of the probability of future economic benefits. No development was completed in the year which met 
the requirements for capitalisation under IAS 38 Intangible Assets. The research and development expenditure 
primarily relates to ongoing research as outlined in the Strategic Report. Therefore, no development costs have 
been capitalised during 2018 (2017: £nil). 

Recovery of deferred tax assets 
Deferred tax assets have not been recognised for deductible temporary differences, share options and tax losses 
as management considers that there is not sufficient certainty that future taxable profits will be available to utilise 
those temporary differences and tax losses. 

Share-based payment transactions 
The Group measures the cost of equity-settled transactions with employees by reference to the fair value of the 
equity  instruments  at  the  date  at  which  they  are  granted.  The  fair  value  is  determined  using  either  a  Black-
Scholes model or a Binomial Option model, with the assumptions detailed in note 23. The accounting estimates 
and assumptions relating to equity settled share-based payments would have no impact on the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities within the next annual reporting period but may impact profit and loss and equity. 

33 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

5. Segmental Information 

An analysis of the Group’s revenue for each major product and service category is as follows: 

   Software  
   Services 
   Hardware 

2018
£'000

3,088
2,831
215
6,134

2017
£'000

3,322
3,302
106
6,730

The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the accounting policies described in note 3. 
Costs cannot be directly attributed to the products and services above so profit measures are not presented.  

Geographical information 

The revenue from external customers by geographical location is detailed below: 

United Kingdom 
United States of America 
European Union 
Rest of world 

All non-current assets are held in the United Kingdom. 

Information about major customers 

2018
£'000

745 
4,070 
612 
707 
6,134 

2017
£'000

1,087
4,094
578
971
6,730

Revenue of £731,000 (2017: £966,000) can be attributed to one (2017: one) customer who accounted for more 
than 10% of reported revenue for the related year. No other customers accounted for more than 10 per cent of 
reported revenue.   

6. Other operating income 

Other operating income is made up of the following: 

Grant income 
Sub-lease income 

7. Operating loss 

Operating loss has been arrived at after charging: 

Net foreign exchange losses 
Research and development costs 
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 
Staff costs (see note 9) 

34 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

- 
27 
27 

47 
46 
93 

2018
£'000

68 
1,414 
55 
4,434 

2017
£'000

32 
1,129 
77 
4,341 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

8. Auditor’s remuneration  

The analysis of the auditor’s remuneration is as follows: 

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of:  
the Company’s annual accounts 
the subsidiaries’ annual accounts 
Total audit fees 

Audit-related assurance services  
Taxation compliance services 
Other taxation advisory services 
Total non-audit fees 

Fees payable to affiliate firms of the Company’s auditor: 
Taxation compliance services 
Total fees payable to affiliate firms of the Company’s auditor 

9. Staff costs 

The average monthly number of employees (including executive directors) was: 

Operations 
Sales and business development 
Administrative support 

Their aggregate remuneration comprised: 

Wages and salaries 
Social security costs 
Other pension costs (see note 24) 
Share-based payments charge (see note 23) 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

15
24
39

9
9
-
18

27
27

14
21
35

8
9
2
19

45
45

2018
Number

2017
Number 

45 
16
12
73

2018
£'000

3,898
327
223
   (14)
4,434

42
14
12
68

2017
£'000

3,605
315
204
217
4,341

35 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

10. Taxation 

Corporation tax: 
Current year 

Adjustments in respect of prior years 

Deferred tax (see note 17) 
Total tax credit 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

23 
(69) 
(46) 
- 
(46) 

4 
(10) 
(6)
- 
(6)

Corporation tax is calculated at 19.00% (2017: 19.25%) of the estimated taxable loss for the year. 

The tax charge for each year can be reconciled to the loss per statement of comprehensive income as follows: 

Loss before tax on continuing operations    
Tax at the UK corporation tax rate of 19.00%  
(2017: 19.25%) 

Difference in foreign tax rates 

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 

Deduction on exercise of share options 

Unrecognised deferred tax on IFRS 15 transition adjustment 

Movement in unprovided deferred tax on losses 

Adjustment in respect of prior years 

Foreign tax charge 

Tax credit for the year 

2018
£’000

2017
£'000

(1,488) 

(284) 

(283) 

(55) 

(4) 

(10) 

- 

69 

(3) 

(216) 

120 

180 

(69) 

23 

(46) 

- 

202 

(10) 

4 

(6) 

The adjustment in respect of prior years relates to the receipt of R&D tax credits in respect of 2016 and 2017 
(2017: in respect of 2015).  No claim has yet been made for 2018 and no credit has been recognised in the 
financial statements.  

11. Earnings per share 

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) is based on the following data: 

Earnings 

Earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted EPS per share being net loss 
attributable to owners of the Company 

Number of shares 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic EPS 

2018
£'000

(1,442)

2018
'000

20,553

2017
£'000

(257)

2017
'000

20,398

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted EPS 

20,553

20,398

For 2018 and 2017, the effect of options would be to reduce the loss per share and as such the diluted loss per 
share is the same as the basic loss per share.  

36 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

12. Intangible assets 

Cost 

At 1 January 2018 
Additions 
At 31 December 2018 

Amortisation 
At 1 January 2018 
Charge for the year 
At 31 December 2018 

Net Book value 

At 31 December 2018 

At 31 December 2017 

Goodwill
£'000

Licences
£'000

Total
£'000

352 
- 
352 

- 
- 
- 

352 

352 

- 
40 
40 

- 
2 
2 

38 

- 

352 
40 
392 

- 
2 
2 

390 

352 

The Group tests goodwill annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might 
be impaired. Forecast cash flows for 2018 and beyond validate the value in use of the goodwill and no impairment 
provision is required.  

13. Property, plant and equipment 

Cost 

At 1 January 2018 
Additions 
Disposals 
At 31 December 2018 

Depreciation 
At 1 January 2018 
Charge for the year 
Disposals 
At 31 December 2018 

Net Book value 

At 31 December 2018 

At 31 December 2017 

Leasehold 
Improvements
£'000

Fixtures 
and fittings
£'000

76 
- 
(38) 
38 

73 
3 
(38) 
38 

- 

3 

552 
28 
(8) 
572 

467 
52 
(5) 
514 

58 

85 

Total
£'000

628 
28 
(46) 
610 

540 
55 
(43) 
552 

58 

88 

37 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

14. Subsidiaries and joint ventures 

Details of the Company’s subsidiaries at 31 December 2018 are as follows: 

Name 

Place of 
incorporation 
(or registration) 
and operation 

Cambridge Cognition Limited 

United Kingdom 

Cambridge Cognition Trustees Limited

United Kingdom 

Cambridge Cognition LLC

Delaware, United 
States of America 

Proportion 
of 
ownership 
interest 
% 
100% 

100% 

100% 

Cantab Corporate Health Limited 

United Kingdom 

100% 

Cognition Kit Limited 

United Kingdom 

50% 

Proportion 
of 
voting 
power held 
% 
100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

50% 

The results and assets of Cognition Kit Limited are immaterial to the Group. Accordingly, detailed joint venture 
disclosures have not been presented. 

All the above companies, except Cambridge Cognition Limited, are held via Cambridge Cognition Limited. All UK 
entities have their Registered Office at the Company’s registered office. The Registered Office of Cambridge 
Cognition LLC is 2750 Rasmussen Road, Park City, UT 84098, USA. 

All holdings are in ordinary shares. 

15. Inventories 

Finished goods and goods for resale 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

26

33

During the year inventories with a total value of £115,000 (2017: £77,000) were included in the income 
statement as an expense. 

38 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

16. Trade and other receivables 

Amount receivable for the sale of goods and services 
Accrued income 
Prepayments  
Other receivables 

2018
£'000
823
223
165
657
1,868

2017
£'000
1,201
662
192
191
2,246

Trade receivables 
Trade receivables disclosed above are classified as financial assets are measured at amortised cost. 

The average credit period offered on sales of goods varies from 30 days to 90 days. The Group has recognised 
an  allowance  for  doubtful  debts  based  on  estimated  irrecoverable  amounts  determined  by  reference  to  past 
default experience of the counterparty and an analysis of the counterparty’s current financial position. 

Trade  receivables  disclosed  above  include  amounts  which  are  past  due  at  the  year-end  (see  below  for  aged 
analysis) but against which the Group has not recognised an allowance for doubtful receivables. There has not 
been a significant change in credit quality and the amounts are still considered recoverable. The average age of 
these receivables is 29 days in 2018 (2017: 46 days). 

Aging of past due but not impaired receivables:  

31-60 days  
61-90 days 
91-120 days 
121 or more days 

Movement in the allowance for doubtful debts: 

Balance at the beginning of the year 
(Decrease) in provision 
Balance at the end of the year 

2018
£'000
29
21
42
38
130

2018
£'000
-
-
-

2017
£'000
72
8
-
36
116

2017
£'000
30
(30)
-

In determining the recoverability of a trade receivable the Group considers any change in the credit quality of 
the  trade  receivable  from  the  date  credit  was  initially  granted  up  to  the  reporting  date.  The  concentration  of 
credit risk is limited due to the customer base being large and unrelated.  Management considers that all the 
above financial assets that are not impaired or past due are of good credit quality. Under IFRS 9, the credit losses 
provision for the Group would be immaterial and has not been booked. 

A total of £5,000 of bad debt was written off in the year.  

17. Deferred Tax 

At the reporting date, the Group has unused tax losses of £8.9 million (2017: £8.7 million) available for offset 
against future profits. No deferred tax asset has been recognised in respect of these losses as there is uncertainty 
over the timing of future taxable profits. Losses may be carried forward indefinitely.  No deferred tax asset has 
been recognised in respect of share options. 

39 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

18. Trade and other payables 

Amounts falling due within one year 

Trade payables 
Accruals 
Deferred income 
Social security and other taxes 
Other payables 

2018
£'000

406 
604 
2,847 
93 
28 
3,978 

2017
£'000

278 
410 
739 
92 
28 
1,547 

Trade payables and accruals principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs. 
The average credit period taken for trade purchases is 38 days (2017: 48 days). For all suppliers no interest is 
charged on  the  trade  payables.  Group policy  is  to ensure  that  payables  are  paid within  the  pre-agreed credit 
terms and to avoid incurring penalties and/or interest on late payments. The Directors consider that the carrying 
amount of trade payables approximates their fair value. 

19. Share capital 

Issued and fully paid 
20,697,870 (2017: 20,697,870) Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each 

2018 
£’000 

2017 
£’000 

207 

207 

During 2018, no Ordinary Shares were issued. On 12 March 2019, 3,472,223 Ordinary Shares were issued in a 
placing that raised net proceeds of £2.3m. 

20. Own Shares Reserve and Other Reserve 

Own Shares Reserve 

2018 
£’000 

2017 
£’000 

94 

43 

The  Own  Shares  Reserve  represents  the  cost  of  shares  acquired  by  the  two  Cambridge  Cognition  Employee 
Benefit Trusts to satisfy options under the Group’s share options schemes. The number of shares held by the UK 
Employee Benefit Trust at 31 December 2018 was 102,693 (2017: 102,693). 

During the year employees exercised 2,000 share options at an exercise price of £0.01 which were satisfied by 
the UK Employee Benefit Trust. These shares were bought back by the UK Employee Benefit Trust and the value 
of own shares held grew by £2,000 as a result of these transactions. 

The Group established an Employee Benefit Trust in Jersey in 2018. The Jersey Employee Benefit Trust purchased 
48,250 shares for consideration of £49,000 in the year.   

The Other Reserve in the consolidated statement of changes in equity is made up of £5,981,000 which arose 
when the Company became the new Group holding company in April 2013, and £50,000 of cumulative exchange 
differences on the translation of foreign operations. 

40 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

21. Notes to the cash flow statement 

Loss before tax 

Adjustments for: 
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 
Share-based payment expense 

Operating cash flows before movements in working capital 
Decrease in inventories 
Decrease/ (increase) in receivables 
Increase/ (decrease) in payables 
Cash generated by operations 

Tax credit received less tax paid 

Net cash from operating activities 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

(1,488)

(284) 

57
(14)

(1,445)
7
513
304
(621)

77 
217 

10 
4 
(52) 
(592) 
(630) 

(23)

6 

(644)

(624) 

The total adjustments of £1,957,000 made to working capital as a result of the introduction of IFRS 15 (see note 
27) are a non-cash item and accordingly excluded from this reconciliation.  

Cash and cash equivalents 

Cash and bank balances 

2018
£'000

1,110

2017
£'000

1,859

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash and short-term bank deposits with an original maturity of three months 
or less. The carrying amount of these assets is approximately equal to their fair value. 

22. Operating lease arrangements 

Lease payments under operating leases  
recognised as an expense in the year 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

127

171

At the reporting date, the Group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-
cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows: 

Within one year 
In the second to fifth years inclusive 
After five years 

2018
£'000

113
85
-

2017
£'000

98
-
-

Operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the Group for rent. Property rental across two buildings 
has an average of 21 months to expiry at 31 December 2018.  

IFRS 16 Leases applies to the Group from 1 January 2019. On application, operating leases with a duration of 
greater  than  one  year  will  be  recognised  as  both  a  fixed  asset  and  a  financial  liability.  These  will  be  realised 
subsequently  in  the  income  statement  through  depreciation  and  a combination  of  cash payments  and  finance 
charges respectively.  At  1  January  2019  an equal  and  opposite  asset  and  liability of £201,000 was  booked  in 
respect of the leases above.   

41 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

23. Share-based payments 

Equity-settled share option scheme 
The Company has a share option scheme for key employees of the Group. The vesting periods vary between 0 
and 3 years. Options are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group before the options vest. Details of the share 
options outstanding during the year are as follows: 

2018 

2017 

Number of 
share 
options 

Weighted 
average 
exercise price
(in £) 

Number of 
share 
options 

Weighted 
average 
exercise price
(in £) 

Outstanding at beginning of year 
Exercised during the year 
Granted during the year 
Forfeited during the year 
Outstanding at the end of the year 

1,793,606
(2,000)
404,500
(1,386,700)
809,406

0.17 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 
0.36 

2,155,708
(278,135)
287,200
(371,167)
1,793,606

0.35 
0.70 
0.01 
0.71 
0.17 

Exercisable at the end of the year 

389,406

0.73 

391,406

0.73 

The options outstanding at 31 December 2018 had a weighted average remaining contractual life of 7.3 years.  

Options were granted on 2 May 2018. The performance conditions attached to some of these options are such 
that options vest dependent on the Company achieving certain performance hurdles. The performance conditions, 
which are both market and non-market conditions, have been incorporated into the measurement by actuarial 
modelling. The aggregate of the estimated fair values of the options granted is £222,000. The inputs into the 
Binomial Option model for the performance related options were as follows: 

Share price at date of issue 
Exercise price 
Expected volatility 
Expected life 
Risk-free rate 
Expected dividend yields 

May 2018

151p
1p
51%
3 years
0.77%
0.0%

Expected volatility was determined by considering the expected share price movements and other comparable 
listed companies in the sector. For each option tranche a minimum share price hurdle for the options to vest was 
set in accordance with the individual terms set out in the option contracts. 

The Group recognised a total credit of £14,000 (2017: expense of £217,000) in relation to equity-settled share-
based payment transactions. 

24. Post-employment benefit schemes 

Defined contribution schemes 
The Group operates a defined contribution retirement benefit scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of 
the scheme are held separately from those of the Group in funds under the control of independent trustees.  

The  total  cost  charged  to  income  of  £223,000  (2017:  £204,000)  represents  contributions  payable  to  these 
schemes by the Group at agreed rates. As at 31 December 2018, contributions of £22,000 (2017: £19,000) due 
in respect of the current reporting year had not been paid over to the schemes. 

42 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

25. Financial instruments 

Capital risk management 
The Group manages its capital to ensure the Group is able to continue as a going concern while maximising the 
return to stakeholders through optimising the balance between the Group debt and equity. The Group had no 
borrowings at 31 December 2018.   

The current capital structure of the Group consists of cash and cash equivalents and equity attributable to equity 
holders of the Parent, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as follows: 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Equity shareholder funds  

2018
£'000

1,110
(526)

2017
£'000

1,859
3,031

The Group is not subject to any externally imposed capital requirements. 

Significant accounting policies 
Details of the significant accounting policies and methods adopted (including the criteria for recognition, the basis 
of measurement and the bases for recognition of income and expenses) for each class of financial asset, financial 
liability and equity instrument are disclosed in note 3. 

Categories of financial instruments 

Financial assets classified at amortised cost 
Cash and bank balances 
Trade and other receivables  

Financial liabilities at amortised cost 

Trade and other payables 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

1,110
1,105

1,859
1,391

1,113

771

The Group has reviewed the requirements of IFRS 9 and ascertained that our financial assets that were 
previously designated as loans and receivables under IAS 39 are now appropriately classified as debt 
instruments at amortised cost, as they form both part of the Group’s business model and are solely payments 
of principal and interest.

Financial risk management objectives 
The Group’s Finance function is responsible for all aspects of corporate treasury. It co-ordinates access to financial 
markets, monitors and manages the financial risks relating to the operations of the Group through internal reports 
which analyse exposures by degree and magnitude. The risks reviewed include market risk (including currency 
risk), credit risk and liquidity risk. 

Liquidity Risk 
Liquidity risk is that the Group might be unable to meet its obligations. The Group manages its liquidity needs by 
monitoring cash outflows due in day-to-day business. The Board reviews an annual 12 month financial projection 
as well as information regarding cash balances on a monthly basis, which includes projections of at least a further 
12 months.  The Group maintains cash and cash equivalents to meet its liquidity requirements for up to a 30-
day period. 

At 31 December 2018, the Group’s financial liabilities had contractual maturities which are summarised below: 

Trade payables 
Other payables 

2017
£'000
Within 1 year Within 1 year

2018
£'000

406
707

1,113

278
493

771

43 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

25. Financial instruments (continued) 

Market risk 
The Group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates (see 
below).  The  Group  has  limited  exposure  to  foreign  currency  exchange  rates  and  does  not  believe  the  use  of 
financial derivatives is appropriate.  

There  has  been  no  change  to  the  Group’s  exposure  to  market  risks  or  the  manner  in  which  these  risks  are 
managed and measured. 

Foreign currency risk management 
The Group undertakes transactions denominated in foreign currencies; consequently, exposures to exchange rate 
fluctuations arise.  

The carrying amounts of the Group’s foreign currency denominated monetary assets and monetary liabilities at 
the year-end were as follows: 

US Dollar 
Euro 
Qatari Riyal 
Canadian Dollar 

                     Liabilities 

              Assets 

2018
£'000

115
-
-
-

2017
£'000

31
3
-
-

2018
£'000

809
263
57
21

2017
£'000

1,124
246
61
-

A movement in the £/$ exchange rate of +/- 5% from 31 December 2018 to the date of realising the US dollar 
net asset position would result in a gain/loss of £52,000 (2017: £55,000).  Similarly with the Euro, the gain/loss 
would be £15,000 (2017: £12,000). With the Qatari Riyal, the gain/loss would be £3,000 (2017: £3,000). With 
the Canadian Dollar, the gain/loss would be £1,000 (2017: £nil). 

Credit risk management 
Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial 
loss to the Group. The Group has adopted a policy of only dealing with creditworthy counterparties and obtaining 
sufficient collateral where appropriate, as a means of mitigating the risk of financial loss from defaults. The Group 
makes appropriate enquiries of the counter party and independent third parties to determine credit worthiness. 
Use of other publicly available financial information and the Group’s own trading records is made to rate its major 
customers. The Group’s exposure and the credit worthiness of its counterparties are continuously monitored and 
the aggregate value of transactions is spread amongst approved counterparties. Credit exposure is also controlled 
by counterparty limits that are reviewed and approved by Group management continuously. 

The Group does not have any significant credit risk exposure to any single counterparty or group of counterparties 
having  similar  characteristics.  The  Group  defines  counterparties  as  having  similar  characteristics  if  they  are 
related entities.  

The  carrying  amount  recorded  for  financial  assets  in  the  Statement  of  Financial  Position  is  net  of  impairment 
losses and represents the Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk. The Group has calculated its expected credit 
losses and the amount is immaterial. This is consistent with the position under IAS 39 at 31 December 2017. No 
guarantees have been given in respect to third parties. 

Fair value of financial instruments 
The  directors  consider  that  the  carrying  amounts  of  financial  assets  and  financial  liabilities  recorded  in  the 
Statement of Financial Position approximate their fair values. 

44 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

26. Related party transactions 

Balances  and  transactions  between  the  Company  and  its  subsidiaries,  which  are  related  parties,  have  been 
eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this note. Transactions between the Group and other related 
parties are disclosed below. 

Transactions with Cognition Kit Limited 

Cognition Kit Limited is the Group’s 50% owned joint venture.  

During the year the Group invoiced £34,000 (2017: £47,000) in respect of the value of time and expenses of the 
Group committed  to  the  activities  of  Cognition  Kit  Limited.  At year-end  a balance of  £nil  (2017:  £5,000)  was 
owed  to  the  Group  by  Cognition  Kit  Limited.  The  Group  has  also  accrued  for  the  repayment  of  £88,000 
representing the value of time and expenses of the Group (2017: £59,000).  

Further, the Group paid Cognition Kit Limited £1,000 in referral fees in the year (2017: £7,000). No balance was 
outstanding at 31 December 2018 (2017: nil). The Group has also accrued costs in respect of licence fees and 
other services payable to Cognition Kit Limited of £101,000 (2017: nil). 

Remuneration of directors and key management personnel 

The remuneration of the key management personnel of the Group is set out below in aggregate for each of the 
categories  specified  in  IAS  24  Related  Party  Disclosures.  The  key  management  personnel  of  the  Group  at  31 
December 2018 consist of the Directors and three additional senior staff. 

Short-term employee benefits 
Post-employment benefits 
Termination benefits 
Share-based payments 

2018
£'000

2017
£'000

626
19
-
(10)
635

631
12
-
148
791

Payments in respect of each director are set out in the Remuneration Report. The audited section of that Report 
forms part of the financial statements. 

Other transactions 

In addition to the above, during 2018 the Group incurred consultancy fees of £24,000 (2017: £36,000) from MCR 
Holdings, a partnership of which Nicholas Walters is a partner.  At 31 December 2018 a balance of £5,820 (2017: 
£2,714) was outstanding to MCR Holdings. 

27. Introduction of IFRS 15: Revenue from contracts with customers 

IFRS 15 became effective for  the  Group on 1  January  2018.  The  Group  has  chosen  to adopt IFRS 15  as  of  1 
January  2018  and  recognise  the  cumulative  effect  of  the  initial  application  at  that  date.  This  means  that  the 
results for 2017 in these financial statements are presented under IAS 18: Revenues. 

Differences between IAS 18 and IFRS 15 for the Group 

There are three changes in accounting policy for the Group given the adoption of IFRS 15. 

1) For licences that are hosted on our own servers, we are now measuring these in one of two ways: 

a.

b.

For contracts where we also provide study and data management services, and also for any 
other contract greater than £20,000 in value, we are allocating a per assessment price to the 
assessments  sold  and  amortising  the deferred  revenue over  the  period  the  assessments  are 
used. 
For  all  other sales,  we  are  recognising revenue  on  a straight  line  period of  12  months.  This 
period has been chosen as it best represents the average life of this portfolio of contracts. 

In  either  of  these  cases,  the  customer  purchases  a  right  to  use  our  intellectual  property  as  it  exists 
throughout the licence period, and our performance obligation is therefore executed over a period of 
time. 

45 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

27. Introduction of IFRS 15: Revenue from contracts with customers (continued) 

2) For licences that are not hosted on our own servers, we now only recognise the revenue when the licence 
period commences, even if the order has been placed and accepted, and software prepared, prior to this 
date. In this case, the customer purchases a right to use our intellectual property at the point in time 
the licence commences, and so our performance obligation is discharged upon delivery of the licence. 

3) Where commissions are paid related to revenues that are not expected in the same accounting period, 
the commission amount is capitalised and held as an asset on the balance sheet, before being amortised 
in line with the related revenue. Previously, all commissions paid were recognised immediately in the 
income statement. 

Adjustment posted to the accounts on 1 January 2018 

As described above, the Group posted an adjustment to its accounts on 1 January 2018. This adjustment impacts 
the balance sheet, with the corresponding value being debited or credited to accumulated reserves.  

The value of this adjustment with respect to each of the three changes detailed above was as follows: 

1) Deferred revenue increased by £1,843,000 
2) Deferred revenue increased by £164,000 
3) An asset of £50,000 created 

This resulted in a total debit to opening reserves of £1,957,000. The following table shows the 31 December 2017 
values as per these financial statements and the revised balance as at 1 January 2018. 

Balance sheet caption 

Prepayments  and  accrued  income 
(part of trade and other receivables) 
Total assets 
Accruals  and  deferred  income  (part 
of trade and other payables) 
Total liabilities 
Retained earnings 
Total equity 
Total liabilities and equity 

As  presented  at  31 
December 2017 (£’000)
854 

As 
revised  on  1 
January 2018 (£’000) 
904 

Difference 
(£’000) 
50 

4,578 
1,149 

1,547 
(10,863) 
3,031 
4,578 

4,628 
3,156 

3,554 
(12,820) 
1,074 
4,628 

50 
2,007 

2,007 
(1,957) 
(1,957) 
50 

Comparison of 2018 results as reported under IFRS 15 to 2018 results under IAS 18 

The statements below compare the reported results to the results that would have been recorded if IFRS 15 
had not been adopted on 1 January 2018. 

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income:

Revenue 

Cost of sales 

Gross profit 

Administrative expenses 

Other operating income 

Loss before tax 

Income tax  

Note 

Year to
31 December 2018 
(Reported under 
IFRS 15)

Year to
31 December 
2018
(IAS 18)

Difference

A 

B 

£’000

6,134 

(900) 

5,234 

£’000

7,108 

(993) 

6,115 

(6,749) 

(6,749) 

27 

(1,488) 

46 

27 

(607) 

46 

£’000

974 

(93) 

881 

- 

- 

881 

- 

Loss for the year  

(1,442) 

(561) 

881 

Basic and diluted earnings per share under IAS 18 would have been a loss of 2.7 pence, rather than the 7.0 
pence loss as reported under IFRS 15.   

46 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position:

Notes 

Year to
31 December 2018 
(Reported under IFRS 15)

Assets 

Non-current assets  

Intangible assets  

Property, plant and equipment 

Total non-current assets 

Current assets 

Inventories

Trade and other receivables 

B 

Cash and cash equivalents 

£’000

390 

58 

448 

26 

1,868 

1,110 

Difference

Year to
31 December 
2018
(IAS 18)

£’000

£’000

390 

58 

448 

26 

1,775 

1,110 

- 

- 

- 

- 

(93) 

- 

Total current assets 

3,004 

2,911 

(93) 

Total assets

3,452

3,359 

(93)

Liabilities 

Current liabilities  

Trade and other payables  

A 

3,978 

3,004 

(974) 

Total liabilities  

3,978

3,004 

(974)

Equity 

Share capital  

Share premium account 

Other reserves  

Own shares  

Retained earnings  

207 

7,707 

5,931 

(94) 

207 

7,707 

5,931 

(94) 

- 

- 

- 

- 

A, B 

(14,277) 

(13,396) 

881 

Total equity  

(526)

355 

881

Total liabilities and equity

3,452

3,359 

(93)

Note A: Under IAS 18, more revenue would have been recognised because software revenue would be 
recognised upfront. In the year, the value of new software sales exceeded the value recognised under IFRS 15 
so this impact would be to increase revenue if IAS 18 was still being used. The balance sheet impact would be 
that the value of deferred income would be lower.   

Note B: Under IAS 18, given more revenue would have been recognised, more commission would have been 
expensed. Deferred commissions are held as a current receivable and so the value of current receivables would 
be reduced under IAS 18.   

47 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the financial statements 

Other required disclosures under IFRS 15 









Of the £2,007k deferred revenue recognised on transition at 1 January 2018 £1,386,000 was 
recognised as revenue in 2018. 
Payment terms can vary from customer to customer and are subject to negotiation. Normally, 
software will be invoiced at the point of initial sale and services invoiced as delivered. This will mean 
that a deferred revenue balance is created in respect of software which will be reduced as the software 
is used.  
At 31 December 2018, the Group has sales orders worth £6,084,000 for which performance 
obligations are currently unsatisfied. At that date the Group estimates that £3,391,000 of this will be 
recognised in 2019, £1,321,000 will be recognised in 2020 and £1,372,000 in 2021 and thereafter. 
Of the £50,000 deferred commission asset created on transition, £34,000 was amortised in the year, 
in line with revenue recognition on the applicable contracts. 

Results for 2018 and 2017 under IFRS 15 and IAS 18 

For information, the summary below shows management’s estimate of key results had IFRS 15 been applied to 
2017, and also if IAS 18 had been applied to 2018. 

On an IFRS 15 basis: 

2018 (as reported) 2017  
£6.13m 
Revenue 
Loss before tax £1.49m 

£6.89m 
£0.12m 

Difference
(£0.76m) 
(£1.37m) 

On an IAS 18 basis: 

2018  
Revenue 
£7.11m  £6.73m 
Loss before tax £0.61m  £0.28m 

2017 (as reported)  Difference

£0.38m 
(£0.33m) 

48 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Parent Company statement of financial position 

Assets 

Non-current assets 

Investments  

Total non-current assets 

Current assets 

Trade and other receivables 

Cash and cash equivalents 

Total current assets 

Total assets 

Liabilities 

Current liabilities 

Trade and other payables 

Total liabilities 

Equity 

Share capital  

Share premium account 

Retained earnings  

Total equity 

Notes 

At 31 December 
2018

At 31 December 
2017

£'000

£’000

2 

3 

4 

5 

375 

375 

5,587 

19 

5,606 

351 

351 

5,117 

562 

5,679 

5,981

6,030

61 

61

62 

62

207 

7,707 

(1,994) 

207 

7,707 

(1,946) 

5,920

5,968

Total liabilities and equity

5,981

6,030

No profit and loss account is presented for Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc as provided by section 408 of the 
Companies Act 2006.  The Company’s loss after tax for the financial year was £34,000 (2017: £197,000). 

The financial statements of Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc on pages 49 to 52 were approved and authorised 
for issue by the Board on 21st March 2019 and were signed on its behalf by: 

Steven Powell 
Chief Executive Officer 

49 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Parent Company statement of changes in equity 

Share 
capital
£’000

Share 
premium
£’000

Retained 
earnings
£’000

Total

£’000

Balance at 1 January 2017 

204

7,517 

Loss for the year 

Issue of new share capital 

Credit to equity of equity-settled share-
based payments 

Transactions with owners 

At 31 December 2017 

Loss for the year 

Charge to equity of equity-settled share-
based payments 

Transactions with owners 

At 31 December 2018 

Balance at 1 January 2018 

207

7,707 

(1,946) 

207

7,707

(1,946)

5,968

-

3

-

3

- 

190 

- 

190 

-

-

-

- 

- 

- 

(1,966) 

(197) 

5,755 

(197) 

- 

217 

193 

217 

217 

410 

(34) 

5,968 

(34) 

(14) 

(14) 

(14) 

(14) 

207

7,707

(1,994)

5,920

50 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the Parent Company financial statements 

1. Significant accounting policies 

1.1 Basis of accounting 

The separate financial statements of the Company are presented as required by the Companies Act 2006. They 
have  been  prepared  under  the  historical  cost  convention  and  in  accordance  with  applicable  United  Kingdom 
Accounting Standards and law. The Company has elected to use Financial Reporting Standard – ‘The Reduced 
Disclosure  Framework’  (FRS  101).  The  Company  has  taken  advantage  of  the  following  disclosure  exemptions 
afforded by FRS 101: 

-  Disclosure exemption allowing no cash flow statement or related notes to be presented 
-  Disclosure exemption allowing the Company not to disclose related party transactions when transactions 

are entered into wholly within the Group 

-  Disclosure exemption around Key Management Personnel compensation (though see note 26 of the Group 

accounts and the Directors Remuneration Report) 

-  Capital management disclosures (though see note 25 of the Group accounts) 
-  Disclosure exemption on the effect of future accounting standards 
-  Disclosure exemption on share-based payment information disclosures (IFRS 2), as this information has 

been presented for the Group in note 23 of the consolidated financial statements  

-  Disclosure exemption on financial instrument disclosures (IFRS 7) as this information has been presented 

for the Group in note 25 of the consolidated financial statements.   

The principal accounting policies are summarised below. They have all been applied consistently throughout the 
year. The accounts are presented in Pounds Sterling (“£”), and to the nearest £1,000. 

1.2 Investments 

Fixed asset investments in subsidiaries are shown at cost less provision for impairment. The Company accounts 
for share options granted to the employees of subsidiary undertakings by recognising an increased investment 
in the subsidiary, with the corresponding credit recognised in reserves. 

1.3 Financial instruments 

The Company’s financial instruments accounting policy is as per the Group’s policy (see note 3.13). 

1.4 Going concern 

The directors have, at the time of approving the financial statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company 
has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to 
adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

1.5 Employee Benefit Trust 

Two Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) are maintained in order to facilitate the exercise of employee share 
options. Assets and shares of the EBTs are not consolidated into the Parent company. Neither the purchase nor 
sale of own shares leads to a gain or loss being recognised in the Company’s profit and loss account or 
statement of total recognised gains and losses. 

51 

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc 

Notes to the Parent Company financial statements 

2. Investments 

Cost 
At 1 January 2018 
Additions 
At 31 December 2018 

Provisions for impairment 
At 31 December 2017 and At 31 December 2018 

Net Book value 
At 31 December 2018 

At 31 December 2017 

Investment in 
Subsidiaries
£'000

351 
24 
375 

- 

375 

351 

The subsidiary undertaking at the end of the year was as follows: 

Name 

Cambridge Cognition Limited 

Country 
of 
Operation 
United 
Kingdom 

Proportion of 
Ownership and 
Voting Power Held 
100% 

Nature of Business 

Development and sale of 
computerised 
neuropsychological tests 

Other Group subsidiaries, all of which are owned indirectly through Cambridge Cognition Limited are detailed in 
note 14 of the Group accounts. All subsidiaries have been included in the consolidated accounts. 

3. Trade and other receivables 

Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings  
Other receivables 

2018
£’000

5,568
19
5,587

2017
£'000

5,103
14
5,117

£5,100,000  of  the  amounts  due  from  subsidiary  undertakings  is  considered  a  long  term  loan  to  Cambridge 
Cognition Limited, and the Company receives interest at a rate of 7.5% per annum on this amount. The remaining 
balance is of an operating nature and is cleared regularly. 

4. Trade and other payables 

Trade payables 
Social security and other taxes 
Accruals 

5. Share capital 

2018 
£’000

2017
£'000

28 
10 
23 
61 

27 
13 
22 
62 

The details on the share capital of the Company are provided at note 19 to the Group’s accounts. 

6. Employment costs 

The only employees of the Company are the Directors. Payments in respect of each director are set out in the 
Remuneration Report. The audited section of that Report forms part of the financial statements.

52