Dewhurst Group plc
Annual report and accounts 2023
Enhancing the way that people
live, work and move
Annual report and accounts 2023
Contents
Strategic report
Financial highlights 01
Chairman’s statement 02
Group overview 04
Chief Executive Officer’s review 06
Financial review 12
Sustainability report 14
Principal risks and uncertainties 20
Section 172(1) Stakeholder compliance statement 21
Governance
Corporate governance 23
Board of Directors 24
Directors’ report 25
Group financial statements
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 28
Consolidated statement of financial position 29
Consolidated statement of changes in equity 30
Consolidated cash flow statement 31
Notes to the financial statements 32
Company financial statements
Company statement of changes in equity 54 54
Company statement of financial position 55 55
Company cash flow statement 56 56
Other information
Report of the independent auditor 57
Notice of meeting 62
Group companies 63
Advisers and company information 64
Strategic report
Financial highlights
£58.0m
Revenue
£7.8m
Operating
profit*
62.45p
Earnings
per share
15.75p
Dividend
per share
2023 £58.0m
2022 £57.6m
2021 £56.2m
2020 £55.6m
2019 £56.4m £65.9m†
2023 £7.8m
2022 £8.8m
2021 £9.2m
2020 £8.6m
2019 £7.7m £8.8m†
2023 62.45p
2022 60.00p
2021 65.33p 86.98p^
2020 51.78p
2019 32.09p
2023 15.75p
2022 14.75p
2021 14.00p
2020 13.00p
2019 13.00p
* Operating profit before goodwill write down, amortisation of acquired intangibles, gain on property disposal, GMP equalisation
† Total including discontinued operations
^ Total including gain arising on the disposal of old premises at Dupar Controls Inc.
01
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Chairman’s statement
The strength of our balance sheet and
consistent profitability allows us to invest
in broadening our product range and
strengthening our intellectual property.
Richard Dewhurst
Non-executive Chairman
Results
Group sales for the year to
30 September 2023 marginally
increased 0.7% to £58.0 million (2022:
£57.6 million). Adjusted operating
profit is lower but profit before tax has
recovered from last year’s result,
which was affected by cyber attack
remediation costs. Adjusted
operating profit was £7.8 million
(2022: £8.8 million before cyber attack
remediation costs) and profit before
tax was £8.1 million (2022: £7.2 million).
Earnings per share increased 4.1% to
62.45p (2022: 60.00p).
Although reported sales were slightly
up overall, the sales performance
varied greatly across the divisions and
companies. Transport and Highways
grew 10% although there were swings
within the division in that rail
infrastructure work fell back while
highways grew strongly. Keypad sales
suffered a severe drop due to our main
customer carrying out substantial
destocking prior to a planned split of
the company into two entities. The Lift
division improved 4% with stronger
sales in the UK and particularly North
America, although this was offset by
lower sales in Australia. This was the
same pattern of change as the
previous year. Currency movements
had little impact on the reported sales
overall. Although there were
significant movements in currencies
over the year, the average rates on our
most used currencies varied by less
than 5% with a weaker Australian
dollar partially offset by a stronger
US dollar.
We are proposing an increase in our
final dividend of 0.75p, making a total
increase of 1.00p for the year. If
approved, this would result in a total
dividend for 2023 of 15.75p per share
which is 6.8% up on 2022.
Operations and people
The economic conditions over the past
year of high levels of inflation and
rapidly increasing interest rates have
created a less stable and benign
financial environment than we have all
been used to. Against this volatile
backdrop several of our companies
have achieved record results and
I would like to extend my thanks to
our staff in these companies for
their excellent contributions, as well as
to our colleagues in other businesses
who have faced their particular
challenges with determination and
resolve.
There is no question that the
pandemic challenged our ability to
maintain the communication and
level of engagement with our staff we
would have liked. In the aftermath of
the pandemic and in common with
many companies we saw employee
turnover rates increase. John Bailey, in
his new role as CEO, has introduced a
number of initiatives which should
assist us in our goal of growing
employee satisfaction and improving
retention. Having our staff fully
engaged is fundamental to our ability
to support our customers in the way
we would like and to our overall
performance as a business.
The rapid and escalating increases in
costs of material and components
have abated somewhat during this
year. However the expiry of the last of
our fixed energy contracts in the UK
during the first half meant we have
felt the full impact of energy cost
escalation over the last twelve months.
In addition, wage and salary costs
have increased more this year than
last to mitigate cost of living increases
and to ensure we can recruit and
retain the staff the business needs.
13%
improvement
in profit
before tax
02
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 now in a better position to respond
more quickly to any increases that
occur. Where possible contracts
have been adjusted to allow for
material cost changes, but there will
still be some medium term
contracts where prices are fixed.
Our key objective for the immediate
future is to capitalise on the
opportunities afforded by our
acquisition of the E-motive display
range. This means we will need to
invest in engineering development
of the products, in stock and in
ensuring the manufacturing
process is robust and meets our
quality standards.
Our strong balance sheet allows the
Group to continue to explore other
opportunities to deploy its cash
resources.
Investment
We have expended considerable
management resources exploring
opportunities to invest for growth
this year. In June we announced
agreement with Avire to take on
their E-motive lift display brand, IP
and products. These products will
allow us to extend the range of
Dewhurst Group branded products
we can offer our customers. Our
team has worked hard to set up
manufacturing of the range; that is
now underway and the products
are available for our customers to
order. The team and our suppliers
have done a great job getting
everything set up as quickly as
possible. Our management and
development of these products will
be located in Singapore where a
new subsidiary has been
established.
We have invested more time,
energy and funds in IT following
2022’s cyber attack. No system is
completely impervious, but we have
worked hard to increase our
resilience to any further attempt to
compromise our systems. At the
same time we have put additional
investment into systems to improve
our customer service and our own
efficiency. An example of this is our
continued development of A&A’s
E-commerce with the introduction
of delivery tracking.
It is encouraging to be able to
report the installation of solar panel
systems at two more of the Group’s
properties during the year. More
details are set out in the
Sustainability report.
Outlook
Group sales have started the year
slightly up on last year and in line
with our expectations. Lift product
demand in all regions currently
seems to be holding up reasonably
well. On keypads it appears our
major customer has completed its
de-stocking program and current
demand seems a little more stable
than the volatile demand last year.
Highways and transport products
should continue their steady
improvement.
We are carefully monitoring cost
increases at all companies and are
We are putting
people at the
very heart of
our business
03
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Group overview
We are a global supplier of
quality components to the lift,
transport and keypad industries.
Our mission
To enhance
the way that
people live,
work and
move
Our vision
To shape the
future of our
industries
and make a
meaningful
contribution
to a more
connected and
sustainable
world
Our values
Integrity
We act with honesty, integrity,
and transparency in everything
we do.
Quality
We are passionate about
quality, and take pride in
delighting our customers with
quality products, services and
solutions.
Curiosity
We empower our people to
think outside the box and find
the ingenious solution.
Progression
We challenge each other
and invest in our people to
continuously learn and
develop each day.
Sustainability
We are committed to
sustainability, to make the
world better for future
generations.
04 Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
£58m
global
sales
£000
338
global sales
employees
worldwide
000
12
employees
group trading
worldwide
companies
Sales by region
Employees by region
Group companies by region
The Americas
27%
The Americas
UK, Europe & Middle East
35%
UK & Europe
Australia & Asia
38%
Australia & Asia
69
173
96
Our global reach
The Americas
Dupar Controls Inc.
Elevator Research & Manufacturing Corp.
UK & Europe
Dewhurst Ltd
A&A Electrical Distributors Ltd
Traffic Management Products Ltd
Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft
Australia & Asia
Australian Lift Components Pty Ltd
P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd
Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd
Dual Engraving Pty Ltd
Dewhurst (Hong Kong) Ltd
Dewhurst Singapore Pte Ltd
05
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Chief Executive Officer’s review
Our focus on People and maximising
operational efficiencies is having a positive
impact on our performance. It provides a
solid platform on which to grow.
John Bailey
Chief Executive Officer
particular challenges in both our
Keypads market and our Australian
lift interior businesses which have
distorted an otherwise positive
performance with several business
registering record results.
We have focussed heavily this year
on People, IT and operational
efficiencies as we seek to improve
our business resilience and position
the Group and our individual
businesses for growth. Our first ever
companywide staff survey was
conducted towards the end of the
financial year and the results shared
with the leadership teams across all
our businesses.
We have identified the key areas for
improvement which, along with the
results of our survey, will help shape
our People strategy.
Although there has been a
reduction in the volume and level of
cost increases during the latter half
of the year, price pressure remains a
constant threat. We have worked
hard to mitigate the impact through
various initiatives including increasing
prices more promptly in response to
cost increases as and when market
conditions allow. The improvement
in our operational efficiency has
helped reduce our costs whilst
enhancing our competitive
advantage. We remain committed
to our Customer First philosophy
and continue to strive to provide the
most reliable and efficient service
possible to our customers.
We secured the exclusive rights to
the E-Motive brand and range of
displays and position indicators
toward the end of the financial year
and the team have worked
incredibly hard in setting up our
new entity based in Singapore. This
is an exciting opportunity for
Dewhurst Group and one that will
require us to invest further in several
areas of the business in order to
meet our growth objectives.
Despite the challenges of a
geographically diverse Group it has
been my pleasure to meet all of our
people in person throughout this
year and I would like to join the
Chairman in thanking them all for
their hard work and support during
the year.
UNITED KINGDOM
Dewhurst Limited
The fall in sales and profit versus last
year is partly attributable to a drop
off in demand for keypad and rail
products but also the timing of a
price increase which pulled
forward demand and profit from
2023 into 2022.
The appointment of Nick George as
Operations Director has brought
greater focus to our manufacturing
processes and procedures, but our
commercial resource was stretched
in the second half of the financial
year as a result of taking on the
E-Motive brand. Inevitably this has
slowed our progression on
operational efficiencies.
We have moved to address this with
the appointment of a new
Commercial Manager at the start of
the new financial year. This
appointment has allowed Peter
Dewhurst to take on direct
responsibility for our Displays
business as well as continue in his
current role as Commercial Director
for Dewhurst.
Despite these challenges lift fixtures
performed strongly with some
Business review
The Group’s principal activity in the
year continued to be the
manufacture of electrical
components and control equipment
for industrial and commercial
capital goods. The Group
maintained its position as a
speciality supplier of equipment to
lift, transport and keypad sectors.
A business review of the Group’s
operations is dealt with below
in operating highlights, in the
Chairman’s statement and in the
Financial review.
Key performance indicators
The Directors believe that the key
financial performance indicators
relevant to the Group are earnings
per share, adjusted operating profit,
profit before tax and return on
equity which are stated in the
five-year review within the Financial
review. The key non-financial
performance indicators relevant to
the Group are on-time deliveries to
our customers and those relating to
our sustainability commitments.
Operating highlights
The transition in leadership was well
planned and executed and
continues to be well supported. The
first year has seen significant
progress in many of our key objectives.
We have developed our mission,
vision and values as well as seeking
to engender a positive mindset
amongst our global leadership
teams as we position the Group for
growth.
Conditions in the markets in which
we operate have in general have
been relatively stable despite the
turbulent geopolitical and economic
backdrop. However there have been
06
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 2023 Review text 8.5/11 Montserrat
reg
ENTERING THE LIFT DISPLAY
MARKET WITH E-MOTIVE
E-motive products have been
consistently redefining the industry
since their launch in 1993. Our
comprehensive range of products
provide the building owner with
choice, flexibility and an opportunity
to truly differentiate their buildings.
new
markets
07
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Chief Executive Officer’s review
future
proof
08
DEVELOPING A WEATHERPROOF
PUSHBUTTON
Designed for outdoor use, the
Dewhurst weatherproof
pushbutton uses innovative
proprietary waterproof technology
integrated within our compact 3 XR
pushbutton body.
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 prestigious projects being secured
which demanded some hugely
impressive designs and finishes.
We have continued our
commitment to reduce the
environmental impact of our
manufacturing processes and have
been able to increase the proportion
of recycled plastic in our mouldings
whilst maintaining quality and
performance.
The launch of our XR pushbutton
range which offers improved
resistance to chemical attack has
been well received as has the
introduction of our new
Weatherproof buttons which were
launched during the year. Further
product launches are planned for
2024.
At the beginning of the financial
year Nigel Green our hugely
experienced and valued production
planning manager sadly passed
away. Nigel’s untimely passing, a few
years short of retirement, was a
shock to everyone within the Group.
Traffic Management Products
(TMP)
Despite the continued uncertainty
around local authority spending,
sales showed a significant
improvement on the previous year.
Given that there has been very little
spending activity since the first
phase of the Government’s Active
Travel Fund trial cycle schemes
some two years ago it was pleasing
to see all product sectors perform
strongly.
Traffic bollards continue to attract
strong demand both in the UK and
export markets. Signlights, in
particular, saw strong growth in the
year supported, in part, by our
continued focus on sustainability.
We have extended the use of
bio-polymers on certain product
ranges and are seeing more
attention being paid to our ESG
credentials by main contractors and
local authorities.
Good progress has also been made
on our operational efficiencies which
has helped streamline our
manufacturing operation and is
facilitating the cross skilling of our
production team.
A&A Electrical Distributors
(A&A)
Following the successful transition
of senior leadership at the
beginning of the financial year A&A
saw both sales and margin growth.
The latest tranche of continuous
improvement initiatives throughout
all areas of the business focussed
attention on increased efficiency
and customer service which in turn
has improved profitability.
A&A have continued to progress
their sustainability commitments,
reducing waste and their overall
impact on the environment. A&A
achieved ISO14001 accreditation
during the year.
Our E-Commerce platform is now
being used by many customers as
well as our own Internal Sales
Engineers (ISE) which is helping to
accelerate uptake. Further
development has seen the launch of
A&A’s driver delivery app which
automatically maps the most
efficient delivery route. The proof of
delivery and associated delivery
information is immediately
uploaded to the Ecommerce
platform allowing customers
prompt access to the information.
There are further enhancements
currently being trialled, which we
expect to launch during 2024. The
continued investment in technology
has supported significant
operational efficiency improvements
some of which are now being
trialled at Lift Material.
As a result of the landline telephone
network switch from analogue to
digital technology (Voice over
Internet Protocol: VoIP), A&A have
introduced GSM gateways to their
range and have seen strong sales.
These products facilitate the
transmission of lift emergency call
and text messages over the mobile
phone network. New product
development and range extension
remains a key part of A&A’s strategy.
EUROPE
Dewhurst Hungary
Following somewhat of a resurgence
in the use of cash following the
pandemic, sales were significantly
impacted by our major customer’s
Operational
efficiency
improvements
are delivering
improved
profitability
TMP’S NEW MANCHESTER
BIO BOLLARD
The Manchester Bio is made from
bio polymer, is available as an
anti-ram or rigid bollard, and is
easier to install than traditional
cast iron alternatives.
09
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Chief Executive Officer’s review
customer
first
NEW TRACKING APP
A&A’s new app enhances our
customers’ experience through
dynamic delivery routing, order
tracking, and proof of delivery
functionality.
10
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 restructuring of their business into
two separately traded entities of
digital commerce and ATMs as well
as a significant change in their
manufacturing locations. As a result
we have restructured our business
to reflect the reduced demand for
ATMs whilst exploring additional
manufacturing opportunities.
NORTH AMERICA
Dupar Controls
Despite supply and lead time
challenges within our supply chain
we have seen further strong sales
and profit growth at Dupar resulting
in a second consecutive year of
record sales and profit.
The move to our new facility a little
over 18 months ago provided the
opportunity to implement a new
layout and new workflows, but is
pleasing to see the team continue to
drive improvement whilst managing
the increased demand.
At the end of the financial year, we
took delivery of our latest new
machine, an automatic stud welder.
The equipment has now been
commissioned and the transition
from manual stud welding, where
possible, is underway.
Recruitment continues to be a
challenge at Dupar. This has been
somewhat offset by the process
efficiency improvements, but
remains a key area of focus.
Elevator Research &
Manufacturing (ERM)
Our continued focus on process
controls, margin improvement and
customer engagement at ERM
helped to deliver a double-digit
sales increase as well as a significant
improvement in profitability.
Having sustained our position
within our immediate market we
are now seeking to expand our
success within the wider California
market which will be supported by
our celebration of ERM’s 60th
anniversary in 2024.
AUSTRALIA & ASIA
Australian Lift Components
(ALC)
Sales grew marginally at ALC
although market conditions have
remained challenging. The lack of
new projects and the continued
drive by the major lift companies to
procure product through their own
factories has reduced our available
market.
We have been successful in winning
some projects for special material,
but we need to improve our market
share by the introduction of new
products and positive differentiation.
P&R Lift Cars (P&R)
Performance at P&R fell for a second
year running fuelled in part by fewer
new projects but also as a result of
increased competition. As a
consequence price pressure has had
a significant impact and remains a
key challenge.
During the second half of the year
we saw positive signs of increasing
activity and managed to secure
some decent orders. Whilst it is
difficult to manage the peaks and
troughs it is important that we
continue to make improvements in
our operational efficiency as we seek
to build better resilience and
competitive advantage.
Lift Material
A third consecutive year of record
sales and profit as a result of strong
product sales and service work
across all product sectors. We have
worked hard on both customer and
supplier engagement throughout
the year which has provided further
opportunities to extend Lift
Material’s product range as well as
increased sales opportunities.
We have made significant
improvements in our reduction and
reuse of packaging waste and the
installation of solar panels on our
roof will help offset increased energy
costs as well as meeting our
sustainability objectives. The focus
remains on continuing to improve
our operational efficiency to support
profitable sales growth.
Dual
We replaced the Managing Director
at Dual at the start of the financial
year and developed a plan to make
the business more sustainable for
the long term. Sales, as expected,
were lower than last year’s record.
Profit, although lower than the
previous year, exceeded expectation
as we undertook the necessary
improvements throughout the
business.
We successfully recruited into the
key roles with the team working
incredibly hard throughout the year
to meet both customer
requirements as well as our
improvement objectives. The
transformation across all areas of
Dual has improved efficiency, safety,
accountability and morale. With
increased project opportunities
secured in recent months we are
well positioned to deliver improved
profitability as a result.
Dewhurst Hong Kong
Once again, Dewhurst Hong Kong
achieved double digit sales and
profit growth setting a new record
for the year. The easing of travel
restrictions during the second half
of the year has allowed Feona Lai to
visit customers as well as attend the
Dewhurst Group forum in October.
I have also been able to visit the
team in the Hong Kong and thank
them for their continued hard work
in person.
The success of the business has
been built on the sales of our
pushbutton range and selected
distributed products. The
introduction of a new rope gripper is
awaiting approval by the relevant
authority in Hong Kong and we shall
consider the addition of new
product ranges without detracting
from our focus on our core
pushbutton sales.
Dewhurst Singapore
Dewhurst Singapore is the newest
addition to Dewhurst Group having
secured the exclusive rights to the
E-Motive brand with its range of
displays and position indicators
towards the end of the financial year.
We have worked quickly to set up
our new entity based in Singapore.
Despite the challenges faced with
scaling up new manufacturing and
administration facilities we have
made good progress. The addition
of this new business supports our
global growth objectives and our
commitment to supplying our
customers with innovative quality
products.
11
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Financial review
4
subsidiaries
delivered
record sales
and profits
Shareholders’ return
2000p
1900p
1700p
1500p
1300p
1100p
900p
700p
500p
300p
100p
Sept
2018
Sept
2019
Sept
2020
Sept
2021
Sept
2022
Sept
2023
Ordinary share
‘A’ Ordinary share
12
Continuing the Group's upward trend there
has been double digit growth in profit
before tax delivered by more than half of
our Group subsidiary companies.
Jared Sinclair
Chief Financial Officer
Trading results
The Group continued its upward
trend with a modest 0.7% increase
in total sales to £58.0 million
(2022: £57.6 million). Lift sales overall
increased 4% due to strong UK and
North America sales for a second
year running at A&A and Dupar
Controls, along with double digit
growth in lift distribution sales at Lift
Material and Dewhurst Hong Kong.
These increases were offset by a
tough year in Australian lift interiors,
particularly at P&R who continued
to experience construction project
delays, outside of their control. It is
pleasing to see these projects now
starting. Dual who delivered a
record year of interior sales in 2022,
returned to more normal levels.
Transport sales increased 10%
through TMP delivering award
winning ESG products and great
service but unfortunately Keypad
demand continues to fluctuate and
whilst seeing a 16% increase last
year, we reported a 37% decrease in
sales in 2023.
With increasing inflation impacting
labour costs throughout this year it
was pleasing to see the hard work in
procurement deliver a 1.8% direct
material cost reduction across the
Group. Overall operating profit
increased 6.2% to £7.8 million
(2022: £7.3 million) and profit before
taxation increased 12.8% to £8.1
million (2022: £7.2 million).
Overall adjusted operating profit
decreased by 12.1% to £7.8 million
(2022: £8.8 million before cyber
attack remediation costs).
Although a significant proportion
of the Group’s revenue and profits
are generated and held in foreign
currency, the foreign exchange
retranslation impact on the
reporting performance of the Group
this year decreased both like-for-like
revenue and profit before tax by
under 1% (2022: an increase of
2% each).
Strong cash position
The subsidiaries continued to trade
throughout 2023 without the need
for Group cash support, and paid
dividends back to Group totalling
£7.9 million. £6.4 million of this cash
was generated from operating
activities during the year and as a
result Group cash is strong. Further
details can be seen from the
consolidated cash flow statement.
During the year, the Group spent
£0.8 million on the purchase of
property, plant and equipment and
the first of two £0.4 million
payments to secure the exclusive
rights to the E-Motive brand and all
products within the E-Motive range.
The second £0.4 million payment
will be made in January 2024.
The Group started and ended the
year without any bank borrowings.
The cash balance at year end was
£24.4 million, up £2.6 million from
£21.8 million in 2022.
Pension scheme deficit
The Company paid a total of
£1.6 million deficit reduction
contributions into the
pension scheme this year and
despite this the scheme deficit still
increased by £0.3 million to
£2.1 million (2022: £1.8 million).
The main reason for the increase
was an underperformance of the
pension scheme assets, which was
partially offset by the liability
discount rate increasing from 5.25%
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group five year review
Continuing operations
2019
£(000)
2020
£(000)
2021
£(000)
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
Revenue
56,446
55,617
56,249
57,565
57,962
Adjusted operating profit*
7,700
8,630
9,214
8,818
7,750
Profit before taxation
5,244
6,740
9,563
7,169
8,088
As a percentage of total equity
12.3%
15.7%
18.1%
11.7%
13.4%
Taxation
2,149
2,061
2,110
2,051
2,966
Profit after taxation
3,095
4,679
7,453
5,118
5,122
Total equity
ROTIC1
EPS^
Dividends per share
On time delivery (%)
42,680
42,826
52,731
61,533
60,317
12.5%
13.6%
13.4%
11.6%
10.4%
32.09p
51.78p
86.98p
60.00p
62.45p
13.00p
13.00p
14.00p
14.75p
15.75p
90%
91%
90%
86%
93%
* Operating profit before goodwill write down, amortisation of acquired intangibles, gain on property disposal, GMP equalisation and
cyber attack remediation costs.
1 ROTIC – Return on Total Invested Capital being Adjusted operating profit*/Total invested capital. Total invested capital is total equity
adjusted for net retirement benefit obligations and the associated deferred tax, cumulative amortisation of acquired intangibles and
historical depreciation or impairments to goodwill.
^ Earnings per share (EPS) – basic and diluted.
to 5.50% at the year-end and
increased mortality rates. Recent
increases in mortality rates were
initially blamed on Covid-19, but
unfortunately these are now being
sustained primarily due to other
causes. As a result the changes are
being reflected in actuarial rates for
future expectations of life
expectancy.
A more detailed analysis of the
retirement benefit fund assets and
liabilities movements is reported in
note 21 and all recommendations
made by the scheme's actuary to
eliminate the scheme deficit within
an agreed timeframe have been
fully implemented.
Capital management and
treasury policy
The Group defines capital as total
equity plus net debt. The objective is
to maintain a strong and efficient
capital base to support the Group’s
strategic objectives, provide optimal
returns for shareholders and
safeguard the Group’s assets and
status as a going concern. The
Group is not subject to externally
imposed capital requirements and
the Group’s philosophy is to have
minimal or no borrowing where
possible.
The Group seeks to reduce or
eliminate financial risk to ensure
sufficient liquidity is available to
meet foreseeable needs and to
invest cash assets safely and
profitably. The policies and
procedures operated are regularly
reviewed and approved by the
Board. By varying the duration of its
fixed and floating cash deposits, the
Group maximises the return on
interest earned.
The Group continues to hedge
foreign currencies internally where
possible and did not use derivatives
during the year in the form of
foreign exchange contracts to
manage its currency risk, as
reported in note 24.
Dividends
The Board is proposing a final
dividend of 11.00p (2022: 10.25p).
If approved, this would be paid on
26 February 2024 and would result
in a total dividend for 2023 of
15.75p per share which is 6.8% up on
2022 and is covered 4.1 times by
earnings. The dividend would be
paid to members on the register
at 19 January 2024 (ex-dividend
18 January 2024). Dividends are
accounted for when paid or
approved by shareholders, and not
when proposed, therefore the
proposed final dividend for 2023 has
not been accrued at the end of the
reporting period.
Following two share repurchases,
there was a reduction in the
number of allotted shares during
the year, and these have been fully
reported in the Directors' report on
page 25.
13
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Sustainability report
We are focusing our efforts on understanding
our position as a Group, setting targets,
and embedding sustainability into all our
businesses and their operations.
Richard Dewhurst
Non-executive Chairman
Introduction from the
Chairman
Since our baseline year in 2022, we
have continued to focus our efforts
on understanding our position as a
Group, setting targets, and
embedding sustainability into all
our businesses and their operations.
A key strand of our Group strategy is
our People strategy, and as part of
this we have reassessed the
collective capabilities that bind our
people together, and refreshed our
mission, vision, and values this year.
We hope and believe that this will
continue to strengthen our culture
and the ethos that underpins the
Dewhurst Group.
We have a clear commitment to
sustainability as a Group, and have
made good progress against our
targets in 2023. There is still much
more we can do as we carry on
down this path, and I am confident
that we will continue to make real,
positive, sustainable change.
Environment
Strategy
At Dewhurst Group, we are
committed to promoting
sustainability and managing our
impact across all areas of our
operations. Our strategy is to
minimise our environmental impact
by reducing our carbon emissions,
to make a meaningful contribution
to a more sustainable world.
Carbon emissions
Globally, we have successfully
reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2
emissions by 10% in 2023 vs our 2022
baseline, which is driven by the 14%
reduction from our UK operations.
This reduction is a direct result of
our green energy practices such as
driving operational energy
efficiencies, green gas and electricity
procurement and on-site renewable
electricity installations. We have also
achieved a 10% decrease in our
Group carbon emissions intensity
ratio in 2023 compared to 2022,
which is pleasing.
As of September 2023, 73% of our
company's electricity consumption
comes from renewable sources. We
have achieved this by increasing our
on-site renewable electricity
consumption by 200%. We have
globally reduced our grid electricity
consumption by 19% by installing
207 kWp, 36 kWp and 60 kWp
capacity solar panels at our Feltham,
UK and Australia sites. Overall, we
have successfully reduced our global
energy consumption by 4%, and we
look forward to continuing to
improve that in the coming year.
Two of our New South Wales sites
have recently installed solar panels,
with 80 kWp and 36 kWp capacity
panels at Australian Lift Components
and Lift Material Australia
respectively. From 2024, we aim to
generate 70% of the power used in
our Australia sites through solar
power, which will help us reduce our
global carbon emissions by c.30%.
Our UK-based subsidiaries are
making a significant transition
towards 100% green energy by the
end of 2023 and have shown a
decrease of 10% in energy
consumption compared to the
previous year. We switched to green
gas at our Feltham site in August
2023 and will be using green gas at
TMP starting from January 2024.
Switching all our UK businesses to
green electricity and gas will help us
73%
of our
electricity is
consumed from
green sources
globally
14
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Sustainability strategy
Environment
Minimise our environmental impact by reducing our carbon emissions, to make a meaningful
contribution to a more sustainable world.
TARGETS
• Carbon reduction:
reduce scope 1 and 2 carbon
emissions by 50% by 2027 vs 2022
• Waste diversion from landfill:
>95% by 2024
• Packaging:
>95% packaging to be recyclable
by 2030
KEY PRIORITIES
Scope 1 and 2 emissions:
• Switch remaining businesses to
green electricity
• Switch UK businesses to green gas
• Install solar panels where viable
Waste and packaging:
• ISO 14001:2015 certification for UK
businesses
• Increase diversion of waste from
landfill
Supply chain:
• Engage and collaborate with key
suppliers
Product:
• Increase our range of sustainable
products
2023 PERFORMANCE & HIGHLIGHTS
• 10% reduction in carbon emissions
• 10% decrease in carbon emissions
intensity ratio
• 4% reduction in energy
consumption
• 73% of electricity consumed from
green sources
• Comprehensive roadmaps
developed at all businesses
• >95% UK waste diverted from
landfill
• 9% reduction in non-hazardous
waste in the UK
• Improved recycling processes to
reuse and repurpose waste
materials
• A&A achieved ISO 14001:2015
certification
• Manchester Bio bollard launched
by TMP
• TMP awarded Supply Chain
Partner award by Bouygues
Energies & Services
Our people
Create and maintain an environment where people are engaged and feel empowered, motivated,
and fulfilled.
2023 PERFORMANCE & HIGHLIGHTS
• 79% employee engagement
achieved from Group-wide staff
survey
KEY PRIORITIES
• Communicate to & engage with
our people on mission, vision,
values
• 65% reduction in health & safety
incident rate
• 13% reduction in employee
turnover
• 6% increase in female employees
• Raised £10k for the UNICEF Turkey
and Syria earthquake appeal
• Implement global HR system
• Improve communication across
the Group
TARGETS
• Group employee engagement
rating: 85%
• Health & safety incident rate:
eliminate serious incidents
• Voluntary employee turnover:
below 15%
15
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Sustainability report
Waste, packaging & water
In 2023 we initiated a strategy to
divert over 95% of our waste from
landfill, and we achieved this target
in the UK. We will expand this
strategy out to the whole Group in
2024, and are also implementing
reduce, reuse and recycling
programs to minimise waste at our
sites. In the UK we achieved a 9%
reduction in non-hazardous waste
and an 82% reduction in hazardous
waste per sales compared to 2022.
We are committed to reducing our
environmental impact by enhancing
our recycling programs. We have
implemented better segregation
practices at our locations in
Australia, to reuse and repurpose
waste materials, such as bubble
wrap and off-cuts. This not only
helps us to save raw materials, but
also contributes to the circular
economy. We continue to reduce
our total waste generation and
increase our recycling rate globally.
A&A achieved ISO 14001:2015
certification for environmental
management in July 2023. This is a
great achievement, and demonstrates
that sustainability is an embedded
part of A&A’s culture and way of
working. We will look to implement
ISO 14001:2015 across our other
Group businesses going forwards.
At Dewhurst Group, we recognise
the importance of water
conservation and strive to minimise
water usage across our operations,
such as using recycled water in the
production process at TMP.
Supply chain
We collaborate and work closely
with our suppliers, however, we
need to continue to be curious and
involve our suppliers and other
stakeholders in the decision-making
process, which will allow us to identify
potential challenges and opportunities
and come up with innovative
solutions to overcome them.
TMP was awarded the prestigious
Supply Chain Partner award by
Bouygues Energies & Services in
December 2022, under the category
‘Protect our lives & the environment’.
It was a well-deserved recognition of
TMP’s firm commitment towards
sustainability.
LMA’S SOLAR PANELS
36 kWp capacity solar panels
installed in September.
4%
reduction
in energy
consumption
16
make a more than 70% reduction in
Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions
going forwards. We have also
switched to green electricity in our
non-UK businesses, which has led to
a 42% reduction in our non-green
electricity consumption globally
compared to the baseline year of 2022.
We have adopted a proactive
approach to monitor and manage
our emissions, and we regularly
measure and trac k environmental
metrics across all sites to identify
areas for reduction of carbon
emissions. We have also developed
comprehensive roadmaps at each
business that outline specific actions
we will take to minimise our
emissions, including investing in
new technology, adopting
sustainable practices, and sharing
these across the Group.
Our global sites have implemented
several best practices to promote
sustainability and reduce our
environmental impact, such as
installing solar tinting to conserve
energy in Australia. Our operations
also prioritise the use of green
chemicals, have upgraded to LED
lighting, and switched to electric
forklifts where feasible. We also
optimise equipment usage and use
best practices for energy management.
One of our core sustainable
objectives is to eliminate carbon
emissions, and if this is not practical
then to minimise or substitute
these. However, sometimes
emissions are unavoidable, and we
have partnered with Ecologi (a B
Corp company) at our UK sites to
offset emissions through funding
sustainable projects. We aim to
become carbon neutral by 2030.
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Products
We give more sustainable and
eco-friendly choices to our
customers. In 2023 we have
continued to expand our
bio-polymer range at TMP,
launching the Manchester Bio
bollard. Our NonCrete bollard,
launched in 2022, has 2% of the
embedded CO2 that a traditional
concrete version does (10.6kg of
CO2e vs c.640kg CO2e), with no loss
in product performance, and it is
quicker and easier to install,
cheaper, and weighs less. TMP will
expand their innovative bio-polymer
range further going forwards, and
we will continue to source and use
sustainable criteria in our new
product development processes
across the Group.
Reporting
This year we have expanded our
performance reporting to include all
Group companies.
10%
reduction
in carbon
emissions
Energy consumption MWh
UK & offshore
2022
2023
Global
(excl. UK & offshore)
2022
2023
2023
Group
2022
Heating and transport fuels
Used green electricity
On-site renewable electricity
Purchased non-green electricity
830
554
135
35
873
723
–
137
1,202
1,326
2,032
2,199
612
60
393
257
1,166
65
608
195
428
980
65
745
Total energy consumption
1,554
1,733
2,267
2,256
3,821
3,989
Greenhouse gas emissions tCO2e
UK & offshore
Global
(excl. UK & offshore)
2023
2022
2023
2022
2023
Scope 1: Direct emissions from operations
– Natural gas
– Transport fuels
– Cooling gases
Total Scope 1
106
62
4
172
107
75
–
182
143
137
–
280
141
140
–
281
249
199
4
452
Group
2022
248
215
–
463
Scope 2: Indirect Emission from electricity consumption
– Market based
8
30
151
184
159
214
Scope 3: Emissions from businesss travel in employee-owned vehicles
Total emissions
4
184
3
215
–
431
–
465
4
615
3
680
Intensity ratio: Total carbon emissions per sales (tCO2e/£m)
7.3
8.8
13.2
14.0
10.6
11.8
The UK’s location-based electricity consumption produced 170 tCO2e in 2022 and 128 tCO2e in 2023.
Scope 3 emissions are from fuel used for business purposes within the UK. However, they do not include emissions from other modes of
transportation, such as flights and train journeys.
Dewhurst followed the GHG protocol guidance and used the UK Government’s GHG conversion factors for SECR reporting.
17
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Sustainability report
79%
employee
engagement
VOLUNTEER SESSION
The Dewhurst Group team spent
World Environment Day helping
out with habitat management to
support biodiversity in our local area.
Our people
Strategy
At Dewhurst Group we want to
create and maintain an
environment where people are
engaged and feel empowered,
motivated, and fulfilled. To support
this, we have refreshed our Group
mission, vision, and values in 2023
and a key focus for 2024 is on
communicating this to and
engaging with all our people, to
ensure that they understand and
buy into the mission, vision, and
values.
Engagement
In 2023 we conducted our first
global employee survey to measure
all our people’s satisfaction and
engagement, and to give employees
the chance to feedback with their
thoughts, to help shape our people
strategy going forward. Our overall
Group engagement rating is 79%.
Half of employees believe leaders
will take action based on the results
of the staff survey, therefore a key
area of focus in the coming year is in
ensuring we do all we can to
improve employee satisfaction
across the group. We will start with
the main areas of improvement
highlighted in the survey, which are
communication, development
opportunities, and reward and
recognition.
Our senior leaders have already
started to put plans in place to make
improvements in these areas, such
as regular team and company
updates to increase transparency
and trust. We are aiming for a 20%
rise in satisfaction results in these
areas in 2024.
18
Positive results from the survey were
also highlighted, with pride in the
business, the importance of
sustainability, and employee
purpose all achieving 99% employee
agreement. These positive results
align with the company values, and
we aim to sustain positivity in these
areas.
Another key priority coming out of
the employee survey was to
implement a global HR system in
2024. This will provide us with a
more cohesive and aligned
approach and will allow easier
sharing of HR information and best
practice, supporting our people
engagement strategy.
Voluntary employee turnover for
2023 is 13%, down from 15% in 2022
and below our target of 15%. The
range across the Group is wide, and
we will be concentrating on
companies with a high turnover
rate, and using survey results, exit
interviews and market data to
implement improvement plans. We
will also analyse Group companies
with low turnover rates to discover
what drives employees to stay with
the company, in order to build our
employee satisfaction improvement
plan and bring turnover rates into
alignment across the Group.
Our team across the globe has
come together to make a significant
impact in the aftermath of the
recent earthquakes in Turkey and
Syria. Through voluntary efforts, we
have taken a total of 2,738,544 steps
in our Marathon Weekender
challenge, covering an impressive
distance of 1,277 miles. Moreover, we
raised £10,000 for the UNICEF
Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal
in just a single weekend. We are
proud to have been able to make
such a positive difference in the lives
of those affected by these disasters.
Health and safety
In 2023 we have achieved a 65%
reduction in the health and safety
incident rate, and our target is to
eliminate serious incidents.
The incident rate in the UK was
improved through training and
awareness. Key members of staff
were enrolled on a 3-day IOSH
training course. The outcome of this
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 training resulted in several health
and safety updates including a
sitewide noise assessment at our
Feltham site and risk assessments
undertaken at all UK sites. A Health
and Safety committee has been
created to discuss near misses,
incidents and suggested
improvements. The health and
safety policy has been updated to
reflect improvements.
We hope to continue improving the
incident rate across the Group,
taking such measures as COSHH
governance training and rolling
out internal incident reporting
systems.
Diversity, equality and
inclusion
We remain committed to upholding
diversity, including gender, cultural
background, and level of
competence. We believe that a
diverse workforce brings a wealth of
perspectives and experiences that
can enrich our work environment
and enhance our ability to achieve
our goals. Therefore, we actively
seek to recruit, retain, and promote
individuals from a wide range of
backgrounds and experiences to
help us build a more inclusive and
productive workplace.
One woman serves on our board of
six, and women run three of our
twelve subsidiary businesses. 36% of
our employees globally are female,
and our aim is to continue to
promote women to senior positions
across the Group.
Wellbeing
We have been actively engaging
with our people to enhance their
wellbeing, by promoting awareness
of important issues and providing
support and access to resources.
Our Group newsletter the Pulse
contains a regular Headspace
feature that has included
information on topics such as
menopause and anxiety. In doing so,
we hope to promote understanding
of areas that might affect our
people, and help to support them.
We have looked at different working
patterns where appropriate, with
the 4-day week that was
implemented at ALC this year
resulting in employees feeling more
engaged. TMP will also trial a 4-day
week where output, consumption
and employee feedback will be
monitored for three months to
measure its effectiveness.
Mental health
We have continued to roll out
mental health training and in 2023
10 people around the Group have
undergone mental health first aider
training to raise awareness and
develop an understanding of
mental health. We plan to expand
this training out to more employees
in 2024.
Employees have access to a 24-hour
advice and information line where
they can receive counselling, legal
information and information on
health issues. There is also an app
available that can help employees
track their mood, access breathing
exercises and gain access to CBT.
Information about this support is
displayed on company noticeboards.
Community
On World Environment Day,
multiple Dewhurst Group locations
participated in a range of
environmental initiatives. These
activities included tasks such as
litter picking, planting, donating
food, supporting local communities,
promoting resource conservation
and recycling. Our target is to carry
out environmental and social
initiatives at all sites every quarter.
We continue to regularly engage
with our local communities and
schools, for example we hosted a
Spark Charity insight day at our
Feltham site in August, helping to
support disadvantaged teenagers
with their career aspirations.
SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH
Dewhurst Ltd was the proud
sponsor of The Lift Industry
Mental Health Charter’s football
tournament in May, to support
awareness in our industry.
Training and development
In 2024 we will streamline and
enhance our induction process, and
all new joiners will receive training
on our mission, vision and values,
and sustainability. These training
sessions will also be mandatory for
all existing employees to complete.
We will be updating our
performance review strategy across
the group in 2024. Training will have
a large focus within the strategy and
requests will be encouraged, as we
would like to see investment in the
growth and development of our
people in 2024. Managers will be
encouraged to have open
conversations with their teams on
skills and knowledge gaps on a
regular basis. We aim to have a
culture of internal development to
retain company knowledge and
reduce external recruitment.
65%
reduction in
H&S incident
rate
19
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Strategic report
Principal risks and uncertainties
RISK
Operational
IMPACT
MITIGATION
Change in Leadership. The transition of
leadership from David Dewhurst as Group
Managing Director to John Bailey as CEO
means there is a risk during handover.
Potential reduction in
control and increased
risk on individual
subsidiary's performance.
Not seizing growth opportunities.
Inability to grow sales
and profits.
People. Staff engagement, well-being,
recruitment and retention.
Inability to work effectively
which impacts sales and
profits; staff absence; high
staff turnover and difficulty
recruiting new staff.
Business Control. The geographically
diverse nature of our business means
that many subsidiary companies are
remote from our senior management.
Reduction in control
and increased risk on
individual subsidiary's
performance.
Reduced sales and
reduced profits.
The transition is well planned and supported. John has visited
all subsidiary companies, updated their strategy maps and
reviewed their performance and opportunities for Growth.
Throughout the year there has been regular communication
between John and the MDs plus bi-monthly Management
meetings and John is supported by the whole Dewhurst
Group Board.
The Dewhurst Group board maintains an opportunities
register and regularly and proactively reviews new growth
and acquisition opportunities. Having reviewed and aligned
the mission, vision and values, the securing of the exclusive
rights to the E-Motive brand and range of displays from Avire
has strengthened the Dewhurst offering to its customers and
presents a great growth opportunity.
Performed the first independent and anonymous groupwide
staff survey and have identified key areas for improvement in
order to shape our People Strategy. Reviewing a new Group
HR System to help harmonise HR systems and controls. More
regular staff briefings ensuring our key objectives as well as
our mission, vision and values are clearly communicated and
understood.
We aim to strike a balance between autonomy and
responsibility of the local management. Senior management
generally visit all subsidiaries regularly to maintain senior
contact directly with the business. We operate the same
IT system across the business so that information flow to
management is consistent and we introduced a secure data
warehouse for Group KPI monitoring.
We aim to provide key customers with excellent products
and service at a competitive price. We closely monitor our
performance with these customers to ensure we are meeting
the objectives.
Loss of a key customer. Because the
Group tends to operate in niche markets
there are limited numbers of major
customers in some of these markets.
Problems at a key supplier.
Technological change reducing demand
for the Group's mechanical products. Our
products are primarily mechanical human
machine interfaces. These are subject to
significant technological change at present
as new electronic ways of interacting with
machines are constantly being developed.
Financial
Inflationary pressures.
The Group operates a defined benefit
pension scheme in the UK. This is subject
to risks in relation to liabilities caused by
changes in life expectancy and inflation.
It is also subject to risks regarding the
value of and return on investments.
Being an international Group,
foreign currency is our most significant
treasury risk.
20
Inability to maintain
required service levels.
Where necessary we dual source, if possible in different
regions, and/or hold strategic stocks of particularly time critical
key components.
Reduced sales and
reduced profits.
We monitor our markets for innovations and endeavour to
ensure we retain a competitive offering for our customers,
supported by an active product development programme.
The securing of the E-Motive displays and key electrical
engineers bridges that gap and enhances our electronic
capabilities.
Increased materials and
labour costs, reducing
margins and profits.
Potential impact on the
balance sheet and on
cash flow.
Limit the duration of our quotes to customers or build into
quotes, where we can, an inflationary increase mechanism.
Continually monitor component cost increases and where
sensible take on additional inventory of key components to
delay any increase. Look for efficiency savings before looking to
pass these increases onto customers.
The UK defined benefit schemes were closed to new
future accrual on 30 September 2010. Our investment strategy
is designed to diversify risk and reduce volatility. A proportion
of the liabilities are covered by Liability Driven Investments
which more closely match the movements in the values of
liabilities.
Changes in foreign
currencies can have a
significant impact on
profit performance.
Our wide international spread reduces risk to individual
markets but inevitably increases exchange rate risks. We aim to
minimise holdings of non-functional currencies at companies
around the Group, unless there are specific reasons. The Group
does not hedge operating profits.
2023 Review text 8.5/11 Montserrat regDewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Section 172(1) Stakeholder compliance statement
Section 172 of the Companies Act
2006 requires Directors to take into
consideration the interests of stakeholders
in their decision making. They must make
decisions in good faith that they believe
will most likely promote the success of the
Company for the benefit of its members
as a whole. In making these decisions the
Directors must consider, amongst other
things:
• Likely long-term impact of their decisions
• Interests of employees and the need to act fairly between members of the Company
• The reputation of the Company and relationships with customers and suppliers
• The effect on the community and environment in which the Company operates
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
HOW WE ENGAGE
Shareholders
Employees
Customers
Suppliers
As an AIM listed business, we have a dedicated investor website with all key information
and RNS updates. We also communicate regularly with investors particularly after trading
updates as well as at the AGM.
Group senior management have been able to visit all subsidiaries during the year except
Hong Kong, which took place in October. In addition, being mindful of our carbon
footprint, this has also been supported by more regular video conferences. Within
the individual companies there are regular briefing sessions with employees on the
performance of the company and key decisions and issues.
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We use email and social
platforms to update them about new products and regularly review any feedback we
receive to understand how we can improve their experience. Face to face meetings with
our customers are now back to normal, unless customers request a remote meeting.
We have personal relationships across our supply chain and update each other through
regular meetings and phone calls.
Significant events/decisions 2023
EVENT/DECISION
and stakeholders considered
Director role changes
Shareholders, potential investors,
employees and governments.
Growth opportunities
Shareholders, potential investors
and employees.
CONSIDERATIONS, ACTIONS & IMPACT
• With Richard Dewhurst and David Dewhurst stepping back from day-to-day
responsibilities, John Bailey’s development and appointment to CEO of Dewhurst
Group on 1st October 2022 was fundamental to ensure the future success of
Dewhurst and build further resilience into our businesses.
• John Bailey is a strong and strategic leader who brings a fresh and positive
perspective to bear on issues of strategy, performance and staff development. His
people and customer centric focus combined with his commercial experience make
him ideally suited to lead the growth of the business.
• John visited all subsidiary companies except Hong Kong (constrained by travel
restrictions) early into his tenure, updated their strategy maps and reviewed their
performance and opportunities for growth.
• John has formal bi-monthly management meetings as well as regular informal
communications with each MD.
• The Board updated its acquisition criteria and maintains an opportunities
register.
• The Board reviewed and updated its mission, vision and values which was
communicated to the group senior leadership team at this year’s Forum and is
being communicated out to all staff.
21
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Strategic report
Section 172(1) Stakeholder compliance statement
EVENT/DECISION
and stakeholders considered
Sustainability and the
environment
Shareholders, employees, customers,
suppliers and society.
People
Employees, customers and suppliers.
CONSIDERATIONS, ACTIONS & IMPACT
• The Board expanded its reporting of energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions to include all Group companies.
• From Jan 23 all UK electricity has been sourced from 100% carbon neutral
sources and by Sep 23, 8 out of 11 global trading subsidiaries are now using 100%
carbon neutral electricity.
• From Aug 23 our Feltham site switched its gas from natural gas to green
‘biomethane’ gas which is virtually carbon neutral and by the end of Dec 23
TMP will also have switched. This switch will help further reduce our carbon
emissions and global warming.
• We have installed 2 further solar panel system totalling 116 kWp capacity at ALC
and LMA in Sydney.
• We have increased our monitoring of energy and material usage across the
group to reduce, reuse or recycle energy or materials throughout the
manufacturing businesses delivering positive change; a more detailed report
can be found in the Sustainability report.
• The Group performed its first ever independent and anonymous companywide
survey, which was issued to all staff.
• Key areas for improvement have been identified and will shape our People
Strategy moving forward, including a review of a global HR system, as well as
more regular and formal staff communications.
Margin pressures & inflation
Shareholders, potential investors,
employees, customers and suppliers.
• With higher levels of inflation and increased interest rates we are continually
assessing the effect labour costs, component cost increases and inflation have
on our margins.
• The Group continues to absorb cost increases where possible and seeks
efficiency savings before looking to pass increases on to our customers.
• Where possible the duration of our quotes to customers have been time limited
or an inflationary increase mechanism is built into the quote.
The information provided in the Chairman’s Report, Review of Operations, Strategic Report – Principal Risks and Uncertainties, and
the Financial Review all form part of the requirement by CA2006 to be included in a strategic report.
22
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Governance
Corporate governance
The Board of Directors of Dewhurst
believe that good corporate
governance is a central element of
the successful growth and
development of the Group. The
Board and its Committees play a
key role in the Group’s governance
by providing an independent
perspective to the senior
management team, and by seeking
to ensure that an effective system
of internal controls and risk
management procedures is in place.
Below describes our corporate
governance structures and
processes which are reviewed
regularly and at least annually.
AIM Rule 26 from 28 September
2018 requires companies to report
against an adopted corporate
governance code. Dewhurst’s Board
considers that the QCA Corporate
Governance Code (“QCA Code”) is
the most suitable framework for
smaller public companies and,
consequently, formally adopted the
QCA Code. The QCA Code continues
to be applied during its financial
year ended 30 September 2023.
The Board ensures that the
Company adopts proper standards
of corporate governance and, where
appropriate, the principles of best
practice as set out in the QCA
Code. Set out on our website
(www.dewhurst-group.com) and
below is a summary of how the
Company is applying the key
requirements of the Code.
The Board comprises persons from
technical and professional qualified
backgrounds ensuring there are the
appropriate skills and capabilities to
perform their duties. These are
maintained through continuing
professional development, in-house
training and regular courses to
ensure they are up-to-date. In
addition the Directors commit all
the time necessary to fulfil their
roles and there are processes in
place enabling Directors to take
independent advice at the
Company's expense in the
furtherance of their duties and to
have access to the advice and
services of the Company Secretary.
The Board considers its
Non-executive Directors to be
independent in character
and judgement; however only
Ms S McErlain and Mr C Holroyd are
technically independent as defined
by the Code.
The full Board met seven times this
year and deals with all important
aspects of the Group's affairs. During
the year all directors were able to
attend all executive meetings.
market conditions, Group values
and business objectives. We seek to
set remuneration that is competitive
and motivational whilst consistent
with our values. Bonuses for
Directors are based on profit and
growth in profit and some Directors
also have bonuses based on
achieving individual personal
objectives.
Formal executive Director
performance evaluations are
conducted annually through
appraisals. Each Non-executive
Director's performance is evaluated
as an outcome of the formal
performance evaluations of the
Committee(s) of which they are a
member.
Annual performance evaluations of
both executive Directors and
Non-executive Directors (via
Committee evaluation) identify and
record achievements and areas for
improvement in relation to annual
objectives and performance of their
role, in order to consider
effectiveness. Objectives for the
forthcoming year are defined along
with identification of how
achievements will be met, target
dates and details of resource
constraints or issues to ensure that
actions are planned and taken as a
result of the evaluation process.
These objectives and the
performance of the Director are
monitored monthly through formal
meetings with the Chairman or
Chief Executive Officer.
The Committees conduct a self-
assessment of their performance
during the year, measuring their
performance against their Terms of
Reference. The Audit committee
risks and concerns are reported in
the body of the audit report,
particularly the audit approach and
key audit matters as detailed on
pages 57 to 61.
In light of the size of the Board, the
Board do not consider it necessary
to establish a Nomination
committee. All members of the
Board participate in the recruitment
of members to the Board. The
Remuneration committee does not
produce a formal report. The
Remuneration committee considers
Directors’ remuneration based on
23
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Governance
Board of Directors
RICHARD DEWHURST
BA (Eng Sc), ACMA
Non-executive Chairman
Age 67. Joined in 1985.
Previously with Ford Motor
Co, Ernst & Whinney, Senior
Management Consultant.
Committees:
Remuneration (Chair)*
JOHN BAILEY
Chief Executive Officer
Age 53. Joined in 2008.
Previously with Brett
Landscaping & Building
Products, Commercial
Director.
JARED SINCLAIR
BSc, ACA
Chief Financial Officer
and Company Secretary
Age 53. Joined in 1997.
Previously with
Moores Rowland,
Chartered Accountants,
Audit Senior.
* Audit Committee meets twice per year. Remuneration Committee meets once per year.
24
DAVID DEWHURST
BSc (Elec Eng)
Director
Age 62. Joined in 1987.
Previously with
Holmes & Marchant plc.
SUSAN McERLAIN
BSc
Non-executive Director
Age 60. Joined in 2021.
Previously with Ultra
Electronics Holdings plc,
Director of Corporate
Affairs.
Committees:
Audit, Remuneration*
CHARLES HOLROYD
BA (Elec Eng ), MBA
Non-executive Director
Age 67. Joined in 2021.
Previously with Oxford
Instruments plc,
Director.
Committees:
Audit, Remuneration*
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Governance
Directors’ report
Results and dividends
The profit for the year, after
taxation, amounted to £5.1 million
(2022: £5.1 million).
A final dividend on the Ordinary and
‘A’ non-voting ordinary shares of
11.00p per share (2022: 10.25p) for the
financial year ended 30 September
2023 will be proposed at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) to be held
on 20 February 2024. If approved,
this dividend will be paid on
26 February 2024 to members on
the register at 19 January 2024.
The ex-dividend date will be
18 January 2024.
An interim dividend of 4.75p per
share (2022: 4.50p) was paid on
15 August 2023.
A final dividend on the Ordinary and
‘A’ non-voting ordinary shares of
10.25p per share (2021: 9.75p) which
amounted to £828k (2021: £788k) for
the financial year ended 30
September 2022 was approved at
the AGM held on 14 February 2023
and was paid on 22 February 2023
to members on the register at
20 January 2023.
Share repurchases
On 28 July 2023 the Company
purchased 30,000 of its own ‘A’
non-voting ordinary 10p shares for
£187,500 which were earnings
enhancing. At the time of
purchase these shares amounted
to 0.4% of the called up share
capital of the Company and have
been cancelled.
On 30 July 2023 the Company
purchased 30,000 of its own ‘A’
non-voting ordinary 10p shares
for £187,500 which were again
earnings enhancing. At the time
of purchase these shares amounted
to 0.4% of the called up share
capital of the Company and have
been cancelled.
Details of shares purchased have
been notified to the London Stock
Exchange and to the Registrar of
Companies.
Directors
The members of the Board during
the year were:
Mr R M Dewhurst (Non-executive
Chairman)
Mr D Dewhurst
Mr J Bailey (Chief Executive Officer)
Mr J C Sinclair (Chief Financial Officer)
Ms S McErlain (Non-executive)
Mr C Holroyd (Non-executive)
The Directors retiring by rotation at
this year’s Annual General
Meeting are Ms S McErlain and
Mr C Holroyd who, being eligible,
offer themselves for re-election. The
unexpired period of Ms S McErlain
and Mr C Holroyd’s service
agreement is less than one year.
During the year and at the date of
approval of the accounts, the Group
maintained liability insurance for all
Directors.
Directors’ share interests
The table below sets out the
names of the persons who were
Directors of the Company during
the financial year ended
30 September 2023 together with
details of their own and their
families’ beneficial interests in the
shares of the Company at that date
and corresponding details at
30 September 2022.
30 September 2023
‘A’ ordinary
shares
Ordinary
shares
30 September 2022
Ordinary
shares
‘A’ ordinary
shares
Mr R M Dewhurst
492,333
123,666
492,333
123,666
Mr D Dewhurst
419,595
34,932
419,595
69,932
Mr J C Sinclair
Mr J Bailey
Ms S McErlain
Mr C Holroyd
1,000
1,000
10
100
–
–
2,586
6,649
1,000
1,000
–
–
–
2,586
100
6,649
At 30 September 2023 and
30 September 2022 there were no
share options allocated to the
Directors. During the financial year
no Director was materially
interested in any contract which was
significant to the Group’s business.
25
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Governance
Directors’ report
Directors' remunerations
The remuneration of the Directors is shown below:
Continuing operations
Executive Directors:
Mr D Dewhurst
Mr J Bailey
Mr J C Sinclair
Non-executive Directors:
Mr R M Dewhurst
Ms S McErlain
Mr C Holroyd
Mr P Tett (resigned 31 Dec 2021)
Salary
and fees
£(000)
Bonus
£(000)
Benefits
in kind
£(000)
Pension
2023
Total
2022
Total
£(000)
£(000)
£(000)
80
186
127
61
30
30
–
44
109
35
44
–
–
–
4
3
5
–
–
–
–
–
2
14
–
–
–
–
128
300
181
105
30
30
–
225
220
179
99
30
30
5
514
232
12
16
774
788
The calculation of Group Directors’ bonuses excludes any benefit from government grants received.
Substantial shareholdings
At 21 November 2023, the Company had been advised of the following beneficial interests in excess of 3% of the
Ordinary voting share capital (other than the holdings shown under Directors’ share interests).
Exors of Mrs V E Dewhurst
651,000 Mr I Scott
Fidelity NorthStar Fund
191,080
ii Services Nominees Ltd (TDWHSIPP acct)
Mrs B Bruce
Mr J H Ridley
190,208
ii Services Nominees Ltd (SMKTNOMS acct)
138,500
132,000
112,687
107,581
At the same date the register shows interests in excess of 3% of the ‘A’ non-voting ordinary share capital (other than
Directors’ holdings) of:
JIM Nominees Ltd
665,100
Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees Ltd (15942 acct)
271,180
Exors of Mrs V E Dewhurst
518,000
HSBC Global Custody Nominees (UK) Ltd
193,500
ii Services Nominees Ltd (TDWHSIPP acct)
321,842
Hargreaves Lansdown Nominees Ltd (HLNOM acct) 175,665
Montoya Investments Ltd (IOUAA acct)
287,000 Mr J H Ridley
153,100
26
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Employee involvement
Meetings, chaired by Managing
Directors, are held with employee
representatives. The financial
position and prospects of the
Company are discussed together
with details of investment and
changes in facilities which are
planned by management.
Opportunity is given at the
meetings to question senior
executives about matters which
concern the employees.
Environment, Social and
Governance (ESG)
The Company recognises that all of
its activities have an environmental,
social and governance impact
and as such a new more detailed
section on sustainability and
ESG has been included this year
on page 14.
Research and development
The Group continues to invest in
research and development
programmes for new products as
well as new processes and
technologies to improve overall
operational effectiveness.
Financial risks
The Group seeks to reduce or
eliminate financial risk to ensure
sufficient liquidity is available to
meet foreseeable needs and to
invest cash assets safely and
profitably. These risks are further
reported in the principal risks and
uncertainties within the Strategic
report, the Financial review and in
note 24.
Going concern and future
developments
Positive steps to develop sales,
control costs and maintain a strong
cash balance have been taken by
management to ensure the
Company has adequate resources to
continue in operational existence
and for the foreseeable future. The
strong performance, statement of
position as well as robust cash
reserves lead the Directors to
continue to adopt a going
concern basis in preparing the
financial statements. Future
developments are covered in the
Strategic report.
Auditor
The current Directors have taken all
the steps that they ought to have
taken to make themselves aware of
any information needed by the
Group’s Auditor for the purposes of
the audit and to establish that the
Auditor is aware of that information.
The Directors are not aware of any
relevant audit information of which
the Auditor is unaware.
In November 2023 Jeffreys Henry
LLP resigned as Auditor as it ceased
to be eligible to act in that capacity.
The Directors appointed Gravita
Audit Limited, a related audit firm to
fill the vacancy. A resolution will be
proposed at the Annual General
Meeting to reappoint Gravita Audit
Limited as the Group’s Auditor and
to authorise the Directors to
determine its remuneration.
Statement of Directors’
responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for
preparing the Annual Report and
the financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and
regulations.
Company law requires the Directors
to prepare financial statements for
each financial year. Under that law
the Directors have elected to
prepare the financial statements in
accordance with UK-adopted
International Financial Reporting
Standards (“IFRS”). Under company
law the Directors must not approve
the financial statements unless they
are satisfied that they give a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of
the Company and the Group and of
the profit or loss of the Group for
that period. In preparing these
financial statements, the Directors
are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies
and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and
accounting estimates that are
reasonable and prudent;
• state that the financial statements
comply with IFRS;
• prepare the financial statements
on the going concern basis unless
it is inappropriate to presume that
the Group will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for
keeping adequate accounting
records that are sufficient to show
and explain the Company's and the
Group's transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any
time the financial position of the
Company and the Group and enable
them to ensure that the financial
statements comply with the
Companies Act 2006. They are also
responsible for safeguarding the
assets of the Company and the
Group and hence for taking
reasonable steps for the prevention
and detection of fraud and other
irregularities.
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.
By order of the Board
Jared Sinclair
Secretary
21 December 2023
27
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Group financial statements
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 30 September 2023
Continuing operations
Revenue
Operating costs
Adjusted operating profit*
Cyber attack remediation costs+
Operating profit
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit before taxation
Taxation
Profit for the period
Notes
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
2
3
5
6
7
8
57,962
57,565
(50,212)
(50,269)
7,750
–
7,750
494
(156)
8,088
(2,966)
8,818
(1,522)
7,296
64
(191)
7,169
(2,051)
5,122
5,118
Other comprehensive income:
Actuarial gains/(losses) on the defined benefit pension scheme
21
(1,896)
Deferred tax effect
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Total that will not be subsequently reclassified to income statement
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations
Total that may be subsequently reclassified to income statement
Other comprehensive income/(expense) for the year, net of tax
474
348
(1,074)
(3,544)
(3,544)
(4,618)
1,887
(472)
200
1,615
3,563
3,563
5,178
Total comprehensive income for the year
504
10,296
Profit for the year attributable to:
Equity Shareholders of the Company
Non-controlling interests
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to:
Equity Shareholders of the Company
Non-controlling interests
Basic and diluted earnings per share
Basic and diluted earnings per share – continuing operations
* Operating profit before amortisation of acquired intangibles, profit on sale of property and cyber attack remediation costs
+ Cyber attack remediation is explained further in the FY22 Strategic report
5,037
85
5,122
623
(119)
4,849
269
5,118
9,867
429
504
10,296
9
9
62.45p
62.45p
60.00p
60.00p
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial
28
2023 2022For the year ended 30 September 2023 Notes £(000) £(000)Xxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0 0* Footnote The notes on pages 00 – 00 form part of these financial statementsDewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Consolidated statement of financial position
At 30 September 2023
Non-current assets
Goodwill
Other intangibles
Property, plant and equipment
Right-of-use assets
Deferred tax asset
Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Current tax asset
Cash and cash equivalents
Total assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Current tax liabilities
Short-term provisions
Lease liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligation
Lease liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Equity
Share capital
Share premium account
Capital redemption reserve
Translation reserve
Retained earnings
Total attributable to equity Shareholders of the Company
Non-controlling interests
Total equity
Notes
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
10
11
12
22
19
14
15
16
17
18
22
21
22
20
9,516
389
17,443
2,426
54
10,105
19
19,147
2,473
118
29,828
31,862
8,337
10,182
–
24,374
7,931
12,318
281
21,764
42,893
42,294
72,721
74,156
6,899
7,783
578 –
158
719
344
505
8,354
8,632
2,112
1,938
1,798
2,193
12,404
12,623
60,317
61,533
802
157
335
1,725
55,916
808
157
329
5,065
53,525
58,935
59,884
1,382
1,649
60,317
61,533
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 21 December 2023 and
were signed on its behalf by:
Richard Dewhurst Chairman
Jared Sinclair Chief Financial Officer
Company Registration Number: 00160314
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial statements
29
2023 2022For the year ended 30 September 2023 Notes £(000) £(000)Xxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0 0* Footnote The notes on pages 00 – 00 form part of these financial statementsDewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 30 September 2023
Share
capital
£(000)
Share
Capital Translation
reserve
premium redemption
reserve
£(000)
account
£(000)
£(000)
Retained
Non
earnings controlling
interests
£(000)
£(000)
Total
equity
£(000)
At 30 September 2021
808
157
329
1,662
48,213
1,562
52,731
Exchange differences on
translation of foreign operations
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined
benefit pension scheme
Deferred tax effect
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Dividends paid
Profit for the year
At 30 September 2022
Share repurchase
Exchange differences on
translation of foreign operations
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined
benefit pension scheme
Deferred tax effect
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Dividends paid
Profit for the year
–
–
–
–
–
–
808
(6)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
157
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3,403
–
160
3,563
–
–
–
–
–
1,887
(472)
200
(1,152)
–
–
–
1,887
(472)
200
(342)
(1,494)
4,849
269
5,118
329
6
5,065
53,525
1,649
61,533
–
(375)
–
(375)
–
–
–
–
–
–
(3,340)
–
(204)
(3,544)
–
–
–
–
–
(1,896)
474
348
(1,197)
5,037
–
–
–
(1,896)
474
348
(148)
(1,345)
85
5,122
At 30 September 2023
802
157
335
1,725
55,916
1,382
60,317
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial
30
2023 2022For the year ended 30 September 2023 Notes £(000) £(000)Xxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0 0* Footnote The notes on pages 00 – 00 form part of these financial statementsDewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Consolidated cash flow statement
For the year ended 30 September 2023
Continuing operations
Notes
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
Cash flows from operating activities
Operating profit
Depreciation, amortisation and impairments
Right-of-use asset depreciation
Contributions to pension scheme,
net of administration fee & GMP equalisation costs
Exchange adjustments
(Profit)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment
(Increase)/decrease in inventories
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables
Increase/(decrease) in provisions
Cash generated from operations
Interest paid
Tax paid
Interest and tax paid
22
7,750
1,090
605
(1,634)
(878)
(4)
6,929
(406)
2,136
(884)
(186)
7,589
(1)
(1,218)
(1,219)
7,296
1,050
509
(1,137)
738
(13)
8,443
(1,334)
(2,310)
212
1
5,012
(1)
(1,712)
(1,713)
Net cash from operating activities
6,370
3,299
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Development costs capitalised
Interest received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
Repayment of lease liabilities including interest
Purchase of own shares
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Exchange adjustments on cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial statements
67
(830)
(384)
494
(653)
9
22
(1,345)
(688)
(375) –
23
(789)
(5)
64
(707)
(1,494)
(584)
(2,408)
(2,078)
3,309
514
16
21,764
20,463
(699)
787
16
24,374
21,764
31
2023 2022For the year ended 30 September 2023 Notes £(000) £(000)Xxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0Xxxxx 0 0 0* Footnote The notes on pages 00 – 00 form part of these financial statementsDewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 1 Accounting policies
Basis of preparation Dewhurst Group Plc prepares its
consolidated and Company financial statements on a
going concern basis and in accordance with UK-
adopted International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRSs). The Group and Company financial statements
have been prepared in accordance with those parts of
the Companies Act 2006 that are applicable to
companies adopting IFRS. The Company is registered
and incorporated in the United Kingdom and quoted
on AIM.
The principal accounting policies applied in the
preparation of these financial statements are set out
below. These policies have been consistently applied to
the years presented, unless otherwise stated. The results
have been prepared on the basis of all IFRS issued by
the International Accounting Standards Board currently
effective.
There are no standards that are not yet effective and
that would be expected to have a material impact on
the entity in the current or future reporting periods and
on foreseeable future transactions.
The financial statements have been prepared under the
historical cost convention and are presented in GB
Pounds to the nearest thousand (£’000).
Consolidation The consolidated financial statements
incorporate the results of Dewhurst Group Plc and all of
its subsidiary undertakings made up to 30 September
2023, adjusted to eliminate intra-group balances,
transactions, income and expenses. The Group has used
the acquisition method of accounting to consolidate the
results of subsidiary undertakings, which are included
from the date of acquisition.
Revenue Revenue is measured at the fair value of sales
of goods and services less returns and sales taxes. The
Group has analysed its business activities and applied
the five-step model prescribed by IFRS 15 to each
material line of business, as outlined below:
Sale of products The contract to provide a product is
established when the customer places a purchase order.
The performance obligation is to provide the product
requested by an agreed date, and the transaction price
is the value of the product as stated in our order
acknowledgement. The performance obligation is
typically met when the product is dispatched and so
revenue is primarily recognised for each product when
dispatching takes place. In some limited situations
when the product is complete but the customer is
unable to take delivery the performance obligation is
met when the customer formally accepts transfer of risk
and control even though the product has not been
dispatched.
Sale of services The contract to provide a service is
established when the customer places a purchase order.
The performance obligation is to provide the service
requested either by an agreed date if it relates to the
servicing of a specific product or over an agreed
period if it relates to a constant access or monitoring
service. The transaction price is the value of the service
as stated in our order acknowledgement. The
performance obligation for a specific product service is
typically met when the service is performed and so
revenue is recognised for each service when the
servicing takes place. The performance obligation for a
constant access or monitoring service is typically met
over a time-based measure and so revenue is
recognised for each service on a straight-line basis over
the service period.
The Group has no material revenue of a servicing
nature. The Group’s revenue is from contracts with
customers and by sale of products which is further
analysed within note 2 - segment reporting.
Customer loyalty rebates The cost of customer loyalty
rebates is recognised within sales, with deferred revenue
equal to the estimated fair value of the loyalty rebate
recognised when the original transaction occurs. On
redemption, the value which has been redeemed is
released from deferred revenue.
Government grants The Group has received
government assistance income in the period as a
result of apprenticeships. Government grants are
recognised where there is reasonable assurance that the
grant will be received and that the group will comply
with the conditions attached to them. Government
grants that compensate the Group for expenses
incurred are recognised in the income statement,
as a deduction against the related expense, over the
periods necessary to match them with the related costs.
Goodwill Goodwill arising on the acquisition of a
subsidiary undertaking is the difference between the
fair value of the consideration paid and the fair value of
the assets and liabilities acquired and is recognised as
an asset and reviewed for impairment at least annually.
Any impairment is recognised immediately in the
income statement and is not subsequently reversed. On
disposal of a subsidiary, the attributable amount of
goodwill is included in the determination of the profit or
loss on disposal. Goodwill arising on acquisitions before
the date of transition to IFRS has been retained at the
previous UK GAAP amount subject to being tested for
impairment at that date.
OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Product research and development costs Research
expenditure is written off in the financial year in which it
is incurred. Development expenditure is written off in
the financial year in which it is incurred unless it satisfies
the criteria of IAS 38 for recognition as an intangible
asset. Such expenditure is capitalised in the
consolidated statement of financial position at cost and
is amortised through the consolidated income
statement on a straight-line basis over its estimated
economic life of three years.
32
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Acquired intangible assets An intangible resource
acquired with a subsidiary undertaking is recognised as
an intangible asset if it is separable from the acquired
business or arises from contractual or legal rights, is
expected to generate future economic benefits and its
fair value can be measured reliably. Acquired intangible
assets, comprising of trademarks and customer
relationships, are amortised through the consolidated
income statement on a straight-line basis over their
estimated economic lives of between three and ten
years.
amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial
statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the
computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using
the end of the reporting period liability method.
Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all
material taxable temporary differences and deferred tax
assets are only recognised to the extent that taxable
profits will be available against which deductible
temporary differences can be utilised. A deferred tax
asset has been recognised in relation to the pension
scheme deficit.
Property, plant and equipment Property, plant and
equipment is stated at cost or deemed cost less
accumulated depreciation and any recognised
impairment loss. Depreciation is charged so as to write
off the cost over the assets expected useful life. The
depreciation rates used are:
Property (basic structure)
1½% – on a declining balance basis
Property (fittings)
5% to 20% – on a straight-line basis
Plant and equipment
10% to 33⅓% – on a straight-line basis
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES
In the accounts of the Company, investments in
subsidiaries are held as non-current assets and stated at
cost less provision for impairment.
Inventories Inventories are stated at the lower of
weighted average cost and net realisable value. Cost
represents direct materials, labour and appropriate
production overheads on a product-by-product basis.
The Group provides 30% where there is more than one
year’s usage held and for all inventories where there is
no usage in the year. Usage is either units sold or units
used as components in manufacturing.
Taxation The tax expense represents the sum of the
tax currently payable and deferred tax. The tax currently
payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable
profit differs from the 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 end of the reporting
period. Current tax is charged or credited to the income
statement, except when it relates to items charged to
other comprehensive income (OCI), in which case the
current tax is also dealt within the OCI. As such the
current tax savings arising from the OCI element of the
closed defined benefit pension scheme deficit
contributions are also recognised in the OCI as required
by IAS 12.
Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or
recoverable on differences between the carrying
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 upon tax rates and
laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted
by the end of the reporting period. Deferred tax is
charged or credited in the income statement, except
when it relates to items charged or credited through
other comprehensive income, in which case the
deferred tax is also dealt with through other
comprehensive income.
Foreign currencies Foreign currency transactions of
individual companies are translated at the rates ruling
when they occurred. Foreign currency monetary assets
and liabilities are retranslated at the rates ruling at the
end of the reporting period. Any differences are taken to
the income statement.
The results of overseas operations are translated at the
average rates of exchange during the year and their
statement of financial positions translated into GB
Pounds at the rates of exchange ruling at the end of the
reporting period. Exchange differences which arise from
translation of the opening net assets and results of
foreign subsidiary undertakings and from translating
the income statement at an average rate are taken to
other comprehensive income. All other differences are
taken to the income statement.
The treatment of tax charges or credits resulting from
the exchange differences reported above match the
accounting treatment and are either taken to other
comprehensive income or to the income statement as
appropriate.
Leases The Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a
lease liability at the lease commencement date. The
right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost,
comprising the initial amount of the lease liability plus
any initial direct costs incurred and an estimate of costs
to restore the underlying asset, less any lease incentives
received. The right-of-use asset is subsequently
depreciated using the straight-line method from the
commencement date to the earlier of the end of the
useful life of the asset or the end of the lease term.
The lease liability is initially measured at the present
value of the lease payments that are not paid at the
commencement date, discounted using the
incremental borrowing rate. The lease liability is
33
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest
method by increasing the carrying amount to reflect
interest on the lease liability and by reducing the
carrying amount to reflect the lease payments made.
The lease liability is remeasured when there is a change
in future lease payments arising from a change in an
index or a rate or a change in the Group’s assessment of
whether it will exercise an extension or termination
option. When the lease liability is remeasured,
a corresponding adjustment is made to the
right-of-use asset.
Payments associated with long-term leases with less
than 12 months from the date of application, short-term
leases or low-value assets are recognised on a straight-
line basis as an expense in the consolidated income
statement. Short-term leases are leases with a lease
term of 12 months or less. Low-value assets mostly
comprise of IT equipment and small items of office
furniture.
Employee benefits The Group operates both a defined
contribution and a defined benefit type pension
scheme. Contributions in respect of the defined
contribution schemes are charged to the income
statement in the year they fall due. The defined benefit
scheme has been set up under a trust deed with its
financial assets held separately from those of the Group
and is controlled by the Trustees. The pension cost is
assessed in accordance with the advice of an
independent qualified actuary to recognise the
expected cost of providing pensions on a systematic and
rational basis over the expected remaining service lives
of employees.
The liability recognised in the statement of financial
position in respect of the defined benefit pension
scheme is the present value of the defined benefit
obligation at the end of the reporting period less the fair
value of scheme assets, together with adjustments for
unrecognised actuarial gains and losses and past
service costs. The defined benefit obligation is
determined by discounting the estimated future cash
outflows using interest rates of high-quality corporate
bonds approximating to the terms of the related
pension liability.
Actuarial gains and losses are recognised in full in the
statement of comprehensive income. Interest on the
pension scheme’s liabilities and the expected return on
the scheme’s assets are recognised within finance costs
in the income statement.
Dividends Dividend distribution to the Company’s
Shareholders is recognised in the Group’s financial
statements in the year in which dividends are approved
by Shareholders or paid, whichever is earlier.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
Trade receivables and payables Trade receivables do
not carry any interest and trade payables are not interest
bearing. Receipts and payments occur over a short
period and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes
in value. The Group provides for all trade receivables that
are more than ninety days overdue therefore the
Directors consider the carrying amounts are stated at
their fair value after deduction of appropriate allowances
for expected credit losses.
Financial liabilities Financial liabilities incurred by the
Group are classified according to the substance of the
contractual arrangements entered into and measured at
their amortised cost.
Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash
equivalents comprise cash on hand and short-term
deposits that are readily convertible to a known amount
of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of
changes in value. The short-term deposits have
maturities of three months or less.
Derivative financial instruments Derivative financial
instruments are measured at fair value. Changes in the
fair value of derivative financial instruments are
recognised as income or expense in the statement of
comprehensive income as they arise.
Provisions Provisions are recognised for liabilities of
uncertain timing or amount when there is a present
legal or constructive obligation that has arisen as a
result of past events, for which it is probable that an
outflow of economic benefit will be required to settle
the obligation and where the amount of the obligation
can be reliably estimated (see notes 15 and 18).
Key judgements and estimates The Group makes
judgements and assumptions concerning the future
that impact the application of policies and reported
amounts. The resulting accounting estimates calculated
using these judgements and assumptions will, by
definition, seldom equal the related actual results but
are based on historical experience and expectation of
future events. The key judgements and sources of
estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on
the amounts recognised in the financial statements are
discussed below.
Key accounting judgements
Goodwill impairment The Directors review each cash
generating unit (CGU) and calculate whether its
goodwill has suffered any impairment loss, based upon
the fair value calculation. The Directors judged the 2023
fair value calculation to be the 2023 EBITDA multiplied
by an externally derived private company price index
(PCPI). This calculation is disclosed further in note 10.
Retirement benefit obligation Determining the value
of the future defined benefit obligation requires
judgement in respect of the assumptions used to
calculate present values. These include inflation, salary
increases, liability discount rate and future mortality.
Management makes these judgements in consultation
with an independent actuary. Details of the judgements
made in calculating these transactions are disclosed in
34
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 note 21, along with sensitivities. The retirement benefit
obligation is most sensitive to changes in the liability
discount rate.
Key accounting estimates
Provisions Provisions have been made for obsolete
inventory, expected credit losses and product warranties.
These provisions are estimates and the actual costs and
timing of the future cash flows are dependent on future
events. Any difference between expectations and the
actual future liability will be accounted for in the period
when such determination is made. Details of provisions
are set out in notes 12, 14, 15 and 18.
Lease term and incremental borrowing rate
The Group determines the lease term as the non-
cancellable term of the lease, together with any periods
covered by an option to extend the lease if it is
reasonably certain to be exercised. The Group is also
required to determine its incremental borrowing rate
(IBR) to measure lease liabilities. Judgement is applied
based on a series of inputs including local bank
borrowing rates, country-specific base rates and credit
risk assessments of the entities involved.
Income taxes The Group recognises expected liabilities
for tax based upon an estimation of the likely taxes due,
which requires significant judgement as to the ultimate
tax determination of certain items. The Directors
determined an element of the closed defined benefit
pension scheme payment could give rise to a potential
current tax saving which under IAS 12 is reportable in
the other comprehensive income (OCI) section of the
income statement. The Directors judged the best way to
calculate this is to perform two tax computations, with
and without the OCI element, thus determining the tax
difference to be the OCI tax saving. Details of the tax
charge and deferred tax are set out in notes 7 and 19
respectively.
35
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 2 Segment reporting
The Group Board assess the performance of all segments on the basis of location and reports its primary segmental
information by geographical destination.
The geographical analysis by significant regions is as follows:
United Kingdom
Europe
The Americas
Asia & Australia
Other
Inter-company sales
Finance income/(costs)
2023
£(000)
20,773
2,445
16,972
21,967
107
Revenue
2022
£(000)
19,590
5,087
15,854
22,060
41
62,264
(4,302)
62,632
(5,067)
Operating profit
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
2,586
(155)
2,623
2,681
15
7,750
1,266
356
2,024
3,645
5
7,296
338
(127)
Consolidated revenue/profit before tax for the year
57,962
57,565
8,088
7,169
United Kingdom
Europe
The Americas
Asia & Australia
Other
2023
£(000)
26,824
4,340
18,344
22,878
335
Assets
2022
£(000)
24,261
5,015
19,863
24,935
82
2023
£(000)
5,653
602
2,411
3,691
47
Liabilities
2022
£(000)
4,830
1,081
2,300
4,400
12
Consolidated assets/liabilities for the year
72,721
74,156
12,404
12,623
Capital additions
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
Depreciation and
amortisation
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
607
44
422
812
3
1,888
349
74
275
168
1
867
583
59
394
655
4
559
76
283
640
1
1,695
1,559
United Kingdom
Europe
The Americas
Asia & Australia
Other
Total Group
36
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
The secondary segmental reporting is by the following business sectors:
Sector
Lift
Transport
Keypad
Inter-company sales
Lift
Transport
Keypad
Total Group
2023
£(000)
54,069
4,539
3,656
62,264
(4,302)
Revenue
2022
£(000)
52,647
4,144
5,841
62,632
(5,067)
57,962
57,565
2023
£(000)
Assets
2022
£(000)
66,477
65,802
3,255
2,989
4,109
4,245
2023
£(000)
1,650
196
42
72,721
74,156
1,888
Capital
additions
2022
£(000)
689
126
52
867
The Group has one major customer who accounts for £2.4 million (2022: £4.5 million) of the keypad revenue which is
split across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The qualitative aspects such as the nature, timing and uncertainty of
revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities are disclosed within the Strategic report and accounting policies.
Note 3 Operating costs
Movement in inventory obsolescence provision
Cost of inventories recognised as an expense
Staff costs (see note 4)
Depreciation
Amortisation
Right-of-use asset depreciation
Foreign exchange differences
Cyber attack remediation costs
Other operating charges
Operating costs
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
31
25,875
17,823
1,079
11
605
65
–
4,723
260
26,427
16,323
1,037
13
509
(83)
1,522
4,261
50,212
50,269
Other operating charges include a gain on sale of property, plant and equipment £4k (2022: gain of £13k) and
auditor’s remuneration are detailed below. Expenditure on research and development was £360k (2022: £364k).
Auditor’s remuneration:
Amounts paid to Jeffreys Henry LLP / Gravita Audit Ltd
2023
£(000)
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
Statutory audit services
90
84
36
34
37
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 4 Staff costs and information regarding employees
Costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs – Other (see note 21)
2023
£(000)
15,858
1,082
883
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
14,573
927
823
1,611
183
88
826
98
53
977
The average number of employees during the year was:
17,823
16,323
1,882
Office and management
Manufacturing
2023
No.
134
204
338
The Group
2022
No.
The Company
2022
No.
2023
No.
136
205
341
21
–
21
10
–
10
The Executive Directors comprise the key management personnel of the Group and Company in both the current
and previous years.
The total amount of the Directors’ remuneration was as follows:
Emoluments - Executive Directors
Emoluments - Non-executive Directors
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
593
165
758
607
164
771
Two Directors also received pension payments into their defined contribution schemes totalling £16k (2022: £17k).
The emoluments of the Directors are reported on page 26 of the Directors' report and the remuneration of the
highest paid Director during the year was £300k (2022: £225k). The highest paid Director, under the defined benefit
scheme has accrued pension of £nil (2022: £166k) and a transfer value of £nil (2022: £1,986k).
Note 5 Finance income
Bank deposit interest
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
494
64
38
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Note 6 Finance costs
Interest payable on bank overdraft and loans
Interest payable on lease liabilities
Net costs on defined benefit pension scheme (note 21)
Note 7 Taxation
Current tax
UK corporation tax at 22.0% (2022: 19.0%)
Adjustment on prior years tax
Overseas taxation
Deferred tax
Origination and reversal of temporary differences
Tax expense in the income statement
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
(1)
(103)
(52)
(156)
2023
£(000)
740
345
1,341
2,426
540
2,966
(1)
(105)
(85)
(191)
2022
£(000)
245
(59)
1,364
1,550
501
2,051
The tax assessed for the year is different from the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK. The differences are
explained below:
Profit before tax
Standard rate of corporation tax in the UK
Effects of:
Adjustments in respect of prior years
Different rate of tax on overseas earnings
Overseas withholding tax
Additional reduction for R&D expenditure
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
Other permanent differences
Tax charged to other comprehensive income
Movement in deferred tax rates
Deferred tax not recognised
Effective tax rate for the year
2023
£(000)
8,088
22.0%
4.3%
3.6%
1.1% –
–
0.7%
0.1%
5.0%
(0.1%)
–
2022
£(000)
7,169
19.0%
(0.5%)
6.1%
(0.9%)
0.7%
(0.1%)
2.8%
(1.1%)
2.6%
36.7%
28.6%
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
39
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 8 Profit for the financial year
The parent company made a profit after tax for the financial year of £7,421k (2022: £2,407k), which has been dealt with
in the financial statements of the holding company. The Company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed
under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own income statement in these financial
statements.
Note 9 Earnings per share and dividend per share
Weighted average number of shares
For basic and diluted earnings per share
2023
No.
2022
No.
8,065,945
8,081,398
The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the profit for the financial year of £5,036,780 and
on 8,065,945 Ordinary 10p and ‘A’ non-voting ordinary 10p shares, being the weighted average number of shares in
issue throughout the financial year. There are no share options issued.
Paid dividends per 10p Ordinary share
2022 final paid of 10.25p (2021: 9.75p)
2023 interim paid of 4.75p (2022: 4.50p)
Dividends paid – The Company
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests – Dual Engraving Pty Ltd
& P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd
Dividends paid – The Group
2023
£(000)
(828)
(369)
2022
£(000)
(788)
(364)
(1,197)
(1,152)
(148)
(342)
(1,345)
(1,494)
The final proposed dividend is based on 3,309,200 Ordinary 10p shares and 4,712,198 ‘A’ non-voting ordinary 10p
shares, being the latest number of shares in issue. The Directors are proposing a final dividend of 11.00p (2022: 10.25p)
per share, totalling £882k (2022: £828k). This dividend has not been accrued at the end of the reporting period.
40
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Note 10 Goodwill
Cost or valuation:
At 1 October
Exchange adjustment
At 30 September
Impairment:
At 1 October
Exchange adjustment
At 30 September
Net book value:
At 30 September 2023
At 30 September 2022
2023
£(000)
The Group
2022
£(000)
17,244
(961)
16,290
954
16,283
17,244
7,139
(372)
6,767
6,664
475
7,139
9,516
10,105
10,105
9,626
Goodwill is allocated at acquisition to the business units that are expected to benefit from that acquisition.
The remaining goodwill relates to five CGUs, four in Australia, Australian Lift Components Pty Ltd acquired in
February 2000 - £1,079k (2022: £1,234k), Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd acquired in July 2005 - £769k (2022: £879k),
Dual Engraving Pty Ltd acquired in February 2013 - £1,199k (2022: £1,372k), P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd acquired in January
2017 - £1,049k (2022: £1,200k) and one in the UK, A&A Electrical Distributors Ltd acquired in June 2018 - £5,420k
(2022: £5,420k).
Goodwill values have been tested for impairment by comparing them against the fair value of the relevant CGUs. The
fair value calculations for 2023 are based on 2023 EBITDA profits multiplied by an externally derived private company
price index (PCPI). The goodwill impairment charge that arose during the current year is nil (2022: nil) and the
calculations indicate sufficient headroom such that a 15% change to key assumptions would not result in an
impairment of the related goodwill.
41
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 11 Other intangibles
2023
Acquired
intangibles
£(000)
2023
Other
2023
Total
£(000)
£(000)
2022
Acquired
intangibles
£(000)
2022
Other
The Group
2022
Total
£(000)
£(000)
Cost or valuation:
At 1 October
Exchange adjustment
Additions
Disposals
5,957
(120)
–
–
651
(11)
384
(1)
6,608
5,859
637
(131)
384
(1)
98
–
–
9
5
–
6,496
107
5
–
At 30 September
5,837
1,023
6,860
5,957
651
6,608
Amortisation:
At 1 October
Exchange adjustment
Charge for the year
5,957
(120)
–
632
6,589
5,859
(9)
11
(129)
11
98
–
At 30 September
5,837
634
6,471
5,957
Net book value:
At 30 September 2023
At 30 September 2022
–
–
389
19
389
19
–
–
613
6
13
632
19
24
6,472
104
13
6,589
19
24
All amortisation has been charged to the statement of comprehensive income through operating costs and no
intangible items are held as security.
Capital commitments contracted by the Group at 30 September 2023 for intangibles amounted to £375k (2022: £nil)
and by the Company is £375k (2022: £nil).
42
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Note 12 Property, plant and equipment
Cost or valuation:
At 30 September 2021
Exchange adjustment
Additions
Disposals
At 30 September 2022
Exchange adjustment
Additions
Disposals
Property
£(000)
Plant and
equipment
£(000)
The Group
Total
Property
£(000)
£(000)
Plant and
equipment
£(000)
The
Total
£(000)
16,700
1,457
37
–
18,194
(1,292)
174
–
10,478
731
752
(131)
27,178
2,188
789
(131)
6,171
–
117
–
185
6,356
–
–
–
–
117
–
11,830
30,024
6,288
185
6,473
(686)
656
(347)
(1,978)
830
(347)
–
42
–
–
3
–
–
45
–
At 30 September 2023
17,076
11,453
28,529
6,330
188
6,518
Depreciation:
At 30 September 2021
Exchange adjustment
Depreciation charge for the year
Disposals
At 30 September 2022
Exchange adjustment
Depreciation charge for the year
Disposals
1,973
100
230
–
7,378
509
807
(120)
9,351
609
1,037
(120)
1,194
–
73
–
2,303
8,574
10,877
1,267
(119)
228
–
(467)
851
(284)
(586)
1,079
(284)
–
75
–
At 30 September 2023
2,412
8,674
11,086
1,342
Net book value:
At 30 September 2023
14,664
2,779
17,443
4,988
At 30 September 2022
15,891
3,256
19,147
5,021
At 1 October 2021
14,727
3,100
17,827
4,977
116
–
21
–
137
–
18
–
155
33
48
69
1,310
–
94
–
1,404
–
93
–
1,497
5,021
5,069
5,046
Capital commitments contracted by the Group at 30 September 2023 for property, plant and equipment amounted
to £59k (2022: £173k) and by the Company is £nil (2022: £39k).
43
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 13 Investments – shares in subsidiary undertakings
The Company
Investments (Ordinary shares) are:
Cost
Provision for impairment
Investments in subsidiary undertakings are:
Cost (after provision for impairment):
Dewhurst Ltd
A&A Electrical Distributors Ltd
Traffic Management Products Ltd
Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft
Dupar Controls Inc.
The Fixture Company
Elevator Research & Manufacturing Corp.
Australian Lift Components Pty Ltd
P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd
Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd
Dual Engraving Pty Ltd
Dewhurst Australian Property Pty Ltd
Dewhurst (Hong Kong) Ltd
Dewhurst Singapore Pte Ltd (created 21 Jun 2023)
2023
£(000)
22,354
(7,002)
2022
£(000)
22,354
(7,002)
15,352
15,352
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
–
–
10,886
10,886
–
72
35
–
–
1,798
933
85
1,445
97
1
–
–
72
35
–
–
1,798
933
85
1,445
97
1
–
15,352
15,352
The Company has twelve wholly-owned trading subsidiaries, Dewhurst Ltd, A&A Electrical Distributors Ltd and Traffic
Management Products Ltd (TMP), registered and principally operating in England, Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft,
registered and principally operating in Hungary, Dupar Controls Inc., registered and principally operating in Canada,
The Fixture Company and Elevator Research & Manufacturing Corp. (ERM) registered and principally operating in the
United States of America, Australian Lift Components Pty Ltd, Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd and Dewhurst Australian
Property Pty Ltd, all registered and principally operating in Australia, Dewhurst (Hong Kong) Ltd registered and
principally operating in Hong Kong and Dewhurst Singapore Pte Ltd registered and principally operating in
Singapore. Dual Engraving Pty Ltd and P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd which principally operate in Australia are not wholly
owned but instead are owned 70% and 75% respectively. All companies have similar principal activities to Dewhurst
Group Plc, except TMP which operates solely in the transport sector and Dewhurst Australian Property Pty Ltd, which
operates solely to hold Australian Lift Components Pty Ltd’s and Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd properties.
In addition to the trading companies above the following dormant companies are also subsidiaries of the Group -
Dewhurst & Partner Ltd, Dewhurst Hounslow Property Ltd, LiftStore Ltd, TMP Solutions Ltd & Dewhurst UK Ltd.
44 Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Note 14 Inventories
Raw materials and components
Work-in-progress
Finished goods and goods for re-sale
2023
£(000)
2,119
1,018
5,200
8,337
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
2,191
793
4,947
7,931
– –
– –
– –
– –
Inventory above is shown net after an obsolete impairment provision of £1,628k (2022: £1,597k). There is no material
difference between the replacement cost of inventories and the amounts stated above.
Note 15 Trade and other receivables
Trade receivables
Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings (note 23)
Other receivables
Prepayments and accrued income
2023
£(000)
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
9,530
11,839
–
72
580
–
–
479
10,182
12,318
1
592
21
37
651
25
8
78
21
132
Trade receivables which relate solely to contracts with customers are shown net of provision for impairment. The
movements in the provision for impairment of trade receivables were as follows:
At 1 October
Charge for the year
Foreign exchange
Costs recovered/(incurred)
At 30 September
2023
£(000)
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
267
(62)
(16)
9
198
349
(83)
22
(21)
267
– –
– –
– –
– –
– –
At the end of the reporting period the ageing analysis of trade receivables, with normal terms being 30 days net
monthly, not provided for was as follows:
As at 30 September 2023
As at 30 September 2022
These receivables are of good credit quality.
Total
£(000)
Within
terms
£(000)
9,530
7,814
11,839
8,907
Up to 1
month
overdue
£(000)
1,485
1,850
Up to 2
months
overdue
£(000)
267
613
Over 2
months
overdue
£(000)
(36)
469
45
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 16 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash
Short-term deposits
Note 17 Trade and other payables
Trade payables
Other taxes and social security costs
Other payables
Accruals and deferred income
2023
£(000)
10,374
14,000
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
11,264
10,500
1,497
14,000
652
10,500
24,374
21,764
15,497
11,152
2023
£(000)
1,897
752
193
4,057
6,899
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
2,207
784
233
4,559
7,783
35
39
18
548
640
95
33
27
379
534
The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value.
Note 18 Short-term provisions
2023
£(000)
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
Warranty provisions
158
344
–
–
Warranties, which relate to product or service defects identified within 12 months of invoice, are provided in the
normal course of business based on current issues and are costed on an assessment of future claims with reference
to past claims. The provision is in relation to replacement and change-out costs and although it is not possible to
estimate the timing of crystallisation of the potential liability it is expected that it will be utilised during the coming
year. Amounts charged to the Group income statement during the year were £(142k) (2022: £27k). Amounts utilised
by the Group in the year were £26k (2022: £25k). There were no amounts charged or utilised this year or last year by
the Company.
46
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Note 19 Deferred taxation
Deferred tax asset:
At 1 October
Transfer directly (to)/from other comprehensive income
Foreign exchange on deferred tax
Transfer (to)/from income statement
At 30 September
Deferred tax at 30 September relates to the following:
Defined benefit pension scheme
Provisions
Deferred tax asset
Note 20 Share capital
Authorised:
Shares of 10p each – 4,500,000 Ordinary
– 9,000,000 ‘A’ non-voting ordinary
Allotted and fully paid:
Shares of 10p each – 3,309,200 (2022: 3,309,200) Ordinary
– 4,712,198 (2022: 4,772,198) ‘A’ non-voting ordinary
2023
£(000)
118
474
2
(540)
54
2023
£(000)
528
(474)
54
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
1,111
(472)
(20)
(501)
118
252
474
– –
(443)
283
1,184
(472)
(460)
252
The Group
2022
£(000)
The Company
2022
£(000)
2023
£(000)
450
(332)
118
528
(245)
283
2023
£(000)
450
900
450
(198)
252
2022
£(000)
450
900
1,350
1,350
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
331
471
802
331
477
808
The Ordinary shares and the ‘A’ non-voting ordinary shares rank in all respects pari passu except that the ‘A’ non-
voting ordinary shares do not carry the right to receive notices, attend or vote at meetings of the Company.
The share premium reserve arose when shares were issued and sold at above the par value, the capital redemption
reserve was created on the repurchase and cancellation of the Company’s own shares and the translation reserve
represents the cumulative foreign exchange differences on the translation of the net assets of the Group’s foreign
operations from their functional currency to the presentation currency of the parent.
47
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 21 Retirement benefit obligation
The Group operates pension schemes in the UK, Canada, USA, Australia and Hong Kong, and also complies with
Hungarian state legislation in relation to retirement provision. During the year the UK operated both defined
contribution schemes, the assets of which are held in independently administered funds, and a defined benefit
scheme, the assets of which are held in Trustee administered funds. The total pension cost for the Group was £883k
(2022: £823k). All, apart from £20k (2022: £25k) of defined benefit pension protection fund levy fees relates to defined
contribution schemes. The active UK, Hungarian, Canadian, USA, Australian and Hong Kong schemes are of the
defined contribution type and the cost to the Group amounted to £863k (2022: £799k). There was an accrued charge
of £13k at the end of the reporting period in respect of the defined benefit scheme (2022: £18k). On 30 September
2010 the Company closed the defined benefit scheme to future accrual and offered all existing members future
pension benefits in a new Group defined contribution scheme. There were contributions during the year of £1,638k
into the defined benefit scheme (2022: £1,170k) and the contributions for next year will be £1,404k. The funding policy
is to review triennially the funding position with the actuary and from that review the trustees, Company and actuary
agree the funding arrangements for the next three years.
The pension cost relating to the UK defined benefit scheme is assessed in accordance with the advice of qualified
actuaries using the new scheme specific funding regime. The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was on 1 June
2021. It has been assumed that future investment yields would be at 3.3% per annum (pre-retirement) and 1.8%
(post-retirement).
At the date of the latest actuarial valuation of the UK scheme, the market value of the assets of the scheme were
£47.8 million (2018: £37.4 million) and the funding level on the on-going valuation basis was 90% (2018: 78%). The 2021
actuarial valuation takes account of secured pensioners when assessing the assets and liabilities of the fund. All the
recommendations made by the scheme's actuary to eliminate the scheme deficit have been fully implemented.
IAS 19 Employee benefits
Under IAS 19 a snapshot is taken of the retirement benefit fund assets and liabilities to coincide with the Company’s
financial year-end. Thus movements in equity and bond markets and in discount rates may create some volatility in
the calculation of the scheme assets and liabilities. The weighted average duration of the liabilities is 13 years and
payments from the scheme assets are made on a monthly basis.
Assumptions
The following actuarial assumptions, updated to 30 September 2023 by the scheme actuary and taking account of
Covid-19, have been used in preparing the disclosures required under IAS 19:
Retail price index expected to rise by
Pensionable salaries will increase by
Deferred pensions and pensions in payment will increase by
Liabilities discounted at a rate of
Expected return on pension scheme assets
Expected lifetime for a member retiring at the accounting date – for males
Future expected lifetime for a member retiring in 20 years’ time – for males
– for females
– for females
2023
2022
3.35%
n/a
3.35%
5.50%
5.50%
21.9 yrs
24.4 yrs
23.1 yrs
25.8 yrs
3.65%
n/a
3.65%
5.25%
5.25%
22.4 yrs
24.9 yrs
23.7 yrs
26.3 yrs
The sensitivities regarding the principal assumptions used are set out below:
Assumption
Change in assumption
Impact on plan liabilities
Liability Discount Rate
Rate of inflation (RPI)
Rate of mortality
Increase/decrease by 0.5%
Increase/decrease by 0.5%
Increase/decrease by 1 year
Decrease/increase by 5.9%
Increase/decrease by 2.7%
Increase/decrease by 2.8%
48
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
IAS 19 requires the value of annuities purchased in respect of pensioners and widow(er)s to be taken into current year
calculations.
Equities
Bonds
Other
Total fair value of scheme assets
Present value of scheme liabilities
Scheme deficit
Related deferred tax asset
Net pension liability
Amounts charged to other finance costs:
Interest on pension scheme assets
Interest on pension scheme liabilities
Net benefit/(cost)
Amounts recognised in the statement of comprehensive income (SOCI):
Experience gains and losses arising on the scheme assets
Experience gains and losses arising on the scheme liabilities
Changes in assumptions underlying the present value of the scheme liabilities
Actuarial gains/(losses) recognised in SOCI
History of experience gains and losses:
Experience gains and losses arising on the scheme assets
Percentage of scheme assets
Experience gains and losses on scheme liabilities
Percentage of the present value of scheme liabilities
Total amount recognised in SOCI
Percentage of the present value of scheme liabilities
Fair value at
30 Sept 2023
£(000)
Fair value at
30 Sept 2022
£(000)
Fair value at
30 Sept 2021
£(000)
21,615
7,117
2,664
31,396
(33,508)
(2,112)
528
21,819
9,732
1,839
33,390
(35,188)
(1,798)
450
38,246
9,247
1,335
48,828
(53,565)
(4,737)
1,184
(1,584)
(1,348)
(3,553)
2023
£(000)
1,758
(1,810)
2022
£(000)
1,002
(1,087)
(52)
(85)
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
(3,958)
(16,506)
(261)
2,323
(336)
18,729
(1,896)
1,887
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
(3,958)
(12.6%)
(16,506)
(49.4%)
(261)
0.8%
(1,896)
5.7%
(336)
1.0%
1,887
(5.4%)
2021
£(000)
730
(900)
(170)
2021
£(000)
2,588
54
2,702
5,344
2021
£(000)
2,588
5.3%
54
(0.1%)
5,344
(10.0%)
49
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 21 Retirement benefit obligation continued
The movement in the scheme assets, liabilities and the net deficit are as follows:
Deficit in scheme at 1 October
Movement in the year:
Benefits paid
Contributions
Administration charge
Current Service Costs (GMP equalisation)
Other finance costs
Actuarial gains/(losses)
2023
Assets
£(000)
2023
Liabilities
£(000)
2023
Total
£(000)
2022
Total
£(000)
2021
Total
£(000)
33,390
(35,188)
(1,798)
(4,737)
(11,268)
(1,428)
1,638
(4)
–
1,758
(3,958)
1,428
–
–
–
(1,810)
2,062
–
1,638
(4)
–
(52)
–
1,170
(33)
–
(85)
–
1,404
(28)
(19)
(170)
(1,896)
1,887
5,344
Deficit in scheme at 30 September
31,396
(33,508)
(2,112)
(1,798)
(4,737)
Included in retained earnings is £12,933k (2022: £11,037k) being the cumulative actuarial losses on the defined benefit
pension scheme.
Note 22 Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities
Property
£(000)
Plant and
equipment
£(000)
2023
Total
£(000)
Property
£(000)
Plant and
equipment
£(000)
3,718
(190)
633
–
4,161
1,310
(76)
572
–
1,806
2,355
2,408
118
–
41
(31)
3,836
(190)
674
(31)
3,566
154
5
(7)
128
4,289
3,718
53
–
33
(29)
57
71
65
1,363
(76)
605
(29)
796
47
474
(7)
1,863
1,310
2,426
2,408
2,473
2,770
65
–
68
(15)
118
33
–
35
(15)
53
65
32
2022
Total
£(000)
3,631
154
73
(22)
3,836
829
47
509
(22)
1,363
2,473
2,802
Right-of-use assets
Cost or valuation:
At 30 September 2022
Exchange adjustment
Additions
Disposals
At 30 September 2023
Depreciation:
At 30 September 2022
Exchange adjustment
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 30 September 2023
Net book value:
At 30 September 2023
At 30 September 2022
50
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Lease liabilities
Cost or valuation:
At 30 September 2022
Exchange adjustment
Additions
Interest
Repayments
Disposals
At 30 September 2023
Of which:
Current lease liabilities
Non-current lease liabilities
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
2,698
2,987
(127)
674
103
(688)
(3) –
116
74
105
(584)
2,657
2,698
719
1,938
505
2,193
2,657
2,698
Of the non-current lease liabilities £1,938k falls due in the next 2 to 5 years (2022: £1,983k) and £nil after 5 years
(2022: £210k). Other operating charges include short-term leases paid and expensed on a straight-line basis of £109k
(2022: £205k).
Note 23 Related parties
The controlling party of the Group is Dewhurst Group Plc. Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries,
which are related parties to the Company, have been eliminated on consolidation. However during the year, in the
Company’s financial statements, there have been the following transactions: group management charges, interest
on loans at floating rates on a commercial basis and dividend income received. All transactions are settled by cash.
Any loans given are secured on the assets of the relevant company and repayable on demand.
Company related party transactions
Management charges to subsidiaries
Rent charges to subsidiaries
Interest income received
Expected credit gains/(losses) charged to income statement
Dividend income received
Dividends paid to Directors
Loans and trade receivables due
2023
£(000)
1,876
150
11
400
7,910
166
592
2022
£(000)
1,354
150
8
100
4,258
159
408
51
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Group financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Note 24 Financial instruments
The Group’s policies towards using financial instruments to manage interest rate, liquidity and currency exposure
risks are explained in the Financial review on page 13. The Group defines capital as total equity plus net debt. The
objective is to maintain a strong and efficient capital base to support the Group’s strategic objectives, provide optimal
returns for Shareholders and safeguard the Group’s assets and status as a going concern. The Group is not subject to
externally imposed capital requirements.
Credit risk
The Group is mainly exposed to credit risk from credit sales. It is Group policy, implemented locally, to assess the
credit risk of new customers before entering contracts. Such credit ratings, taking into account local business
practices, are then factored into any contracts. Credit risk also extends to the banks utilised by the Group. The
majority of cash deposits were held by the RBS NatWest bank £4.3 million (2022: £3.9 million) and the Santander
bank £14.1 million (2022: £10.8 million) at the year end and these banks’ credit ratings (long term) with Standard &
Poor were A & A respectively.
Interest risk
The Group is exposed to interest risk but purely on bank deposits. It is Group policy to maximise the return on interest
earned whilst taking adequate steps to monitor the viability of the bank and safeguarding the assets of the Group.
Foreign exchange risk
The Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk both on a transactional and translational basis. The Group looks to
mitigate transactional foreign exchange risk by trying to balance its trade in foreign currencies and only hold
sufficient currencies to meet its future needs.
The sensitivities regarding the foreign exchange rate translation however are set out below:
Metric
Change in GB Pounds
Translational Impact
Group Revenue
Group Profit
Group Net Assets
Weaken/strengthen by 10%
Increase/decrease by 5.8%
Weaken/strengthen by 10%
Increase/decrease by 5.7%
Weaken/strengthen by 10%
Increase/decrease by 4.7%
The Group did not use forward contract derivatives to manage credit risk during the year.
Liquidity risk
At the end of the reporting period the ageing analysis of financial liabilities, with normal terms for trade payables
being 30 days net monthly, was as follows:
As at 30 September 2023
As at 30 September 2022
Total
£(000)
Within one
year
£(000)
Within one
to two years
£(000)
Over two
years
£(000)
6,147
5,764
6,853
6,465
–
–
383
388
52
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Currency and interest rate exposure of financial assets and liabilities
The cash and cash equivalent amount of £24,374k (2022: £21,764k) is made up of cash of £10,374k (2022: £11,264k)
and short-term deposits of £14,000k (2022: £10,500k). The cash was invested at overnight rates based on the relevant
national LIBOR. Of the cash, £16,828k (2022: £14,475k) is denominated in GB Pounds with the balance of £7,546k
(2022: £7,289k) held in foreign currencies. Other financial assets and liabilities do not attract interest.
Currency and interest profile
Floating
rate
assets
£(000)
Fixed
rate
assets
£(000)
Interest
free
assets
£(000)
The Group
Interest
free
liabilities
£(000)
Floating
rate)
assets
£(000)
Fixed
rate
assets
£(000)
The Company
Interest
free
liabilities
£(000)
Interest
free
assets
£(000)
GB Pounds
AUS Dollars
US Dollars
CAN Dollars
Other
3,975
4,445
1,360
1,193
291
10,500
4,400
1,033
–
–
–
–
2,987
1,582
2,624
246
397
322
132
323
526
126
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
10,500
25
95
At 30 September 2022
11,264
10,500
11,839
2,207
652
10,500
25
GB Pounds
AUS Dollars
US Dollars
CAN Dollars
Other
2,828
4,525
907
1,533
581
14,000
–
–
–
–
4,053
2,401
780
2,153
143
958
371
114
75
379
101
14,000
1,298
–
–
98
–
–
–
–
At 30 September 2023
10,374
14,000
9,530
1,897
1,497
14,000
1
–
–
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
95
35
–
–
–
–
35
The only operations that hold material monetary assets and liabilities in currencies other than their functional
currency are Dewhurst Group plc, A&A Electrical Distributors Ltd and Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft Ltd. Dewhurst Group
plc holds cash in AUS Dollars with a balance of £1,298k (2022: £126k), A&A Electrical holds trade payables
denominated in Euros with a balance of £323k (2022: £157k) and Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft holds trade receivables
denominated in US Dollars with a balance of £101k (2022: £626k).
Fair value of financial instruments
Fair value is defined as the amount at which a financial instrument could be exchanged in an arm’s length
transaction between informed and willing parties, excluding accrued interest, and is calculated by reference to
market rates discounted to current value. Accordingly, the Directors believe that there is no material difference
between the carrying amount and the fair value of its financial instruments.
Borrowings - bank lines of credit
The Group through Dupar Controls Inc continues with one line of credit following its built of its new premises in
Canada. There is a £1.7 million (C$2.5 million) operating line of credit bearing interest at Canadian prime plus 0.5% and
at the year end the amount borrowed was nil (2022: nil). This credit facility is secured by a general security
agreement. Dupar Controls also signed a £0.1 million (C$0.2 million) letter of credit with the City of Cambridge,
Ontario, on which the City can draw from in the case of any unpaid development costs. This loan bears interest at
Canadian prime plus 2.0%, is secured by Dupar’s commercial property and at the year end the balance on this loan
was nil (2022: nil).
53
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Company financial statements
Company statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 30 September 2023
Share
capital
£(000)
Share
premium
account
£(000)
Capital
redemption
reserve
£(000)
Retained
earnings
Total
equity
£(000)
£(000)
At 30 September 2021
808
157
329
25,661
26,955
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit
pension scheme
Deferred tax effect
Dividends paid
Profit for the year
At 30 September 2022
Share repurchase
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit
pension scheme
Deferred tax effect
Dividends paid
Profit for the year
–
–
–
–
808
(6)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1,887
(472)
(1,152)
2,407
1,887
(472)
(1,152)
2,407
157
329
28,331
29,625
–
–
–
–
–
6
–
–
–
–
(375)
(375)
(1,896)
474
(1,197)
7,421
(1,896)
474
(1,197)
7,421
At 30 September 2023
802
157
335
32,758
34,052
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial statements
54
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Company financial statements
Company statement of financial position
At 30 September 2023
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
Deferred tax asset
Investments in subsidiaries
Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Total assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligation
Total liabilities
Net assets
Equity
Share capital
Share premium account
Capital redemption reserve
Retained earnings
Total equity
Notes
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
12
19
13
15
16
17
21
20
5,021
283
15,352
5,069
252
15,352
20,656
20,673
651
15,497
132
11,152
16,148
11,284
36,804
31,957
640
640
2,112
2,752
534
534
1,798
2,332
34,052
29,625
802
157
335
808
157
329
32,758
28,331
34,052
29,625
Retained earnings includes £7,421k (2022: £2,407k) of profit after tax for the financial year, which has been dealt with
in the financial statements of the holding company.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 21 December 2023 and
were signed on its behalf by:
Richard Dewhurst Chairman
Jared Sinclair Chief Financial Officer
Company Registration Number: 00160314
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial statements
55
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Company financial statements
Company cash flow statement
For the year ended 30 September 2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Operating profit/(loss)
Depreciation and amortisation
Contributions to pension scheme, net of administration fee & GMP equalisation
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables
Cash generated from/(used in) operations
Income tax paid
Net cash from/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Interest received
Dividends received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
Purchase of own shares
Net cash used in financing activities
Notes
2023
£(000)
2022
£(000)
(291)
93
(1,634)
(1,368)
94
(1,137)
(1,832)
(2,411)
(519)
106
(75)
6
(2,245)
(2,480)
(91)
–
(2,336)
(2,480)
(46)
389
7,910
8,253
(117)
62
4,258
4,203
9
(1,197)
(375)
(1,152)
–
(1,572)
(1,152)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
4,345
571
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
16
16
11,152
10,581
15,497
11,152
The notes on pages 32 – 53 form part of these financial statements
56
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Other information
Report of the independent auditor
Independent Auditor’s report to the
members of Dewhurst Group plc for
the year ended 30 September 2023.
Opinion
We have audited the financial
statements of Dewhurst Group Plc
(the ‘parent Company’) and its
subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) for the
period ended 30 September 2023
which comprise the consolidated
statement of income and other
comprehensive income, the
consolidated and parent Company
statements of financial position, the
consolidated and parent Company
statements of cash flows, the
consolidated and parent Company
statements of changes in equity and
notes to the financial statements,
including a summary of significant
accounting policies. The financial
reporting framework that has been
applied in the preparation of the
Group and parent Company
financial statements is applicable
law and International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as
adopted by the United Kingdom, as
applied in accordance with the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006.
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
30 September 2023 and of the
Group’s profit for the year then
ended;
• the Group financial statements
have been properly prepared in
accordance with IFRSs as adopted
by the United Kingdom;
• the parent Company financial
statements have been properly
prepared in accordance with
IFRS’s as adopted by the United
Kingdom as applied in
accordance with the provisions of
the Companies Act 2006; 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 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
In auditing the financial statements,
we have concluded that the
directors' use of the going concern
basis of accounting in the
preparation of the financial
statements is appropriate. Our
evaluation of the directors’
assessment of the entity’s ability to
continue to adopt the going concern
basis of accounting included:
• Reviewing bank statements to
monitor the cash position of the
group post year end
• Obtaining an understanding of
significant expected cash outflows
in the forthcoming 12-month
period from the date of signing
these financial statements
including any cash requirements
the group may have to provide to
its investee companies
• Assessing significant post year
events that have a material effect
on the financial statements
Based on the work we have
performed, we have not identified
any material uncertainties relating
to events or conditions that,
individually or collectively, may cast
significant doubt on the group's
ability to continue as a going
concern for a period of at least
twelve months from when the
financial statements are authorised
for issue. However, because not all
future events or conditions can be
predicted this statement is not a
guarantee as to the company’s
ability to continue as a going
concern.
Our responsibilities and the
responsibilities of the directors with
respect to going concern are described
in the relevant sections of this report.
Our audit approach
Overview
Key audit matters
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) we identified,
including those which had the
greatest effect on: the overall audit
strategy, the allocation of resources
in the audit; and directing the
efforts of the engagement team.
These matters were addressed in
the context of our audit of the
financial statements as a whole, and
in forming our opinion thereon, and
we do not provide a separate opinion
on these matters. This is not a complete
list of all risks identified by our audit.
• Revenue recognition
• Inventory provisioning
• Carrying value of investments/
intangibles and recoverability of
intercompany loans
• Carrying value of the retirement
benefit obligation
These are explained in more detail
below.
Audit scope
• We conducted audits of the
complete financial information of
Dewhurst Group Plc, Dewhurst
Limited, Traffic Management
Products Limited and A&A
Electrical Distributors Limited.
• We performed specified
procedures over certain account
balances and transaction classes
at other Group companies.
• Taken together, the Group
companies over which we
performed our audit procedures
accounted for 100% of the absolute
profit before tax (i.e. the sum of the
numerical values without regard to
whether they were profits or losses
for the relevant reporting units)
and 100% of revenue.
57
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Other information
Report of the independent auditor
Key audit matters
Key audit matter
Revenue recognition
The Group has 3 main revenue sources: lift components,
transport and keypad sales. The Group had a total turnover
of £57,962,000 for the year to 30 September 2023 (2022:
£57,565,000) .
We checked compliance with IFRS 15, Revenue from
Contracts with Customers.
Inventory provisioning
The Group held £8,337,000 (2022: £7,931,000) of inventory as
at 30 September 2023.
There are key assumptions that drive the inventory provision
including the ability to sell older inventory and the realisable
value that will be achieved on sale. A provision for items
looking to be sold off at below cost and a provision for aged
items which there is a concern may ultimately be sold at
below cost.
The Group provides against 30% of the stock value where an
item has no significant movement in the year; and, provides
100% against stock which has not moved during the period.
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Each component of the Group has a specific specialisation and focuses
its sales on its target market. A significant proportion of the Group’s
sales comes from the lift market. The majority of the revenue is for goods
transferred at a point in time. The Group has no material sources of revenue
relating to the sale of services.
We performed substantive tests to validate the revenue transactions. In
addition, we performed cut-off tests to check that items were recorded in
the appropriate period. We tested the inventory movement, ownership at
the period end, deferred revenue and work in progress.
We also checked and considered whether the Group had any material
contract assets and liabilities.
We reviewed post year end credit notes to check if there was any material
post year end adjustment that related to the period. In addition, we checked
the provision for expected credit losses and warranty provisions.
We checked the methodology used to calculate the inventory provision and
determined it was consistent with that applied in the prior year. We tested
the reasonableness of the Group inventory provision.
We attended the year end stocktakes, either in person or virtually, and tested
sheet to floor and vice versa to agree stock counts.
We compared a sample of inventory items at the reporting date to the
purchase cost and compared this with sales made around the reporting
period or after the year end. For samples which were components, we traced
the item to the bill of materials for the finished good and compared the total
sales price to the total purchase cost.
We reconciled the inventory values used in the provision to the general
ledger. We reviewed the calculations and determined that the policy was
correctly applied.
Investments/Intangibles carrying value
The Company has investments of £15,352,000 (2022:
£15,352,000). And the Group had Goodwill and Intangible
assets of £9,905,000 (2022: £10,124,000).
We reviewed the carrying value of the investments and intangible assets and
the loans to fellow subsidiaries. The review considered the current position of
the subsidiaries, the future outlook and forecasts prepared by management.
The Company has amounts due from Group companies of
£599,000 (2022: £8,000).
We reviewed the subsidiary accounts and forecasts and have assessed the
financial position of each subsidiary.
Management have performed impairment reviews and have
exercised judgement as to the recovery of these investments
and amounts due.
We have also discussed the budgets and forecasts as part of the going
concern review and to consider whether we believed any investment was
impaired. We considered the loans held by Group entities and their ability
to service those loans. We assessed the impairment reviews performed by
management.
The Group is expected to remain cash generative and profitable based on
current trading trends. We have assessed and understood the methodology
and assumptions used by the Directors in their analysis and determined it to
be reasonable.
We performed sensitivity analysis on the forecasts to check that the values
arrived at could be supported by a range of performance outcomes that
could be expected from the Company.
Carrying value of the retirement benefit obligation and disclosures of retirement benefit obligations
There is a risk that the retirement benefit obligation
amounting to £2,112,000 (2022: £1,798,000) and before
deferred tax adjustment, has been incorrectly stated.
Audit procedures were designed to ensure that reliance could be placed on
the expert actuary. Additional procedures were designed to ensure that the
calculations used were reasonable and that they were properly extracted
from the report prepared by the actuary and presented in the consolidated
financial statements.
We confirm that we reviewed the accounting disclosures pertaining to
retirement benefit obligations.
Management are required to ensure that all retirement
benefit obligations are appropriately disclosed.
58
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Our application of materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for
materiality. These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the
nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures
and in evaluating the effect of misstatements, both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a
whole.
Based on our professional judgment, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Group financial statements
Company financial statements
Overall materiality
£580,000 (30 September 2022: £576,000).
£341,000 (30 September 2022: £300,000).
How we determined it
A benchmark of 1% of Turnover was used to determine
the materiality for the Group (2022: 1% of Turnover).
A benchmark of 1% of net assets.
Rationale for benchmark applied
We believe that turnover is a primary measure used by
shareholders in assessing the performance of the Group
and is an appropriate and accepted auditing benchmark.
We consider an asset based measure best reflects the nature of the
Company which acts as a parent holding company for the Group’s
investments.
Performance materiality
75% of overall materiality.
75% of overall materiality.
For each component in the scope of
our Group audit, we allocated a
materiality that is less than our
overall Group materiality. The range
of materiality allocated across
components was between £4,000
and £341,000.
We agreed with the Audit and Risk
Committee that we would report to
them misstatements identified
during our audit above £29,000
being 5% of Group financial
materiality as a whole, as well as
misstatements below those
amounts that, in our view, warranted
reporting for qualitative reasons.
An overview of the scope of
our audit
As part of designing our audit, we
determined materiality and
assessed the risks of material
misstatement in the financial
statements. In particular, we looked
at where the Directors made
subjective judgments, for example
in respect of significant accounting
estimates that involved making
assumptions and considering future
events that are inherently uncertain.
As in all of our audits we also
addressed the risk of management
override of internal controls,
including evaluating whether there
was evidence of bias by the
Directors that represented a risk of
material misstatement due to fraud.
How we tailored the audit
scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to
ensure that we performed enough
work to be able to give an opinion
on the financial statements as a
whole, taking into account the
structure of the Group and the
Company, the accounting processes
and controls, and the industry in
which they operate.
The Group financial statements are
a consolidation of 15 reporting units,
comprising the Group’s operating
businesses of which 12 components
are trading subsidiaries. Each
subsidiary has its own accounting
records and controls and each
reports to the head office finance
team in the UK.
Of the 12 trading subsidiaries, we
identified six which were considered
to be significant components for the
purposes of the Group financial
statements, and which, in our view,
required a full audit of their
complete financial information in
order to ensure that sufficient audit
evidence was obtained. The Group
audit team performed the statutory
audit of the three trading UK
subsidiaries, with full-scope Group
instructions issued to the other
three subsidiaries.
In addition to the significant
components, certain agreed upon
procedures were performed on
eight subsidiaries where non-
statutory audits in local jurisdictions
were also not required. These works
were planned and conducted such
that the audit work was complete
prior to completion of the Group
financial statements. For non-
significant components not audited
by Gravita Audit Limited,
component auditors were operating
under our instruction on a limited
scope basis.
For all subsidiaries which are subject
to full-scope audits and had
component Auditors, the Group
audit team was in contact, at each
stage of the audit, in line with
detailed instructions issued and
through planning calls and regular
written communication with the
component Auditors. Specifically, for
all component teams, the Group
team discussed in detail the
planned audit approach at the
component level and following the
Group audit team review, discussed
the detailed reported findings of the
audit with each component team.
59
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Other information
Report of the independent auditor
The remaining trading subsidiaries
were not subject to full-scope
audits. Specific audit procedures on
certain balances and transactions
were performed, based upon
component materiality. This focused
on revenue recognition, inventory
valuation, debtor recoverability and
existence and completeness of
related parties.
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.
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.
Opinions on other matters
prescribed by the Companies
Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work
undertaken in the course of the
audit:
• the information given in the
strategic report and the Directors’
Report for the financial year for
which the financial statements
60
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.
Matters on which we are
required to report by
exception
In the light of the knowledge and
understanding of the Group and
parent Company and its
environment obtained in the course
of the audit, we have not identified
material misstatements in the
strategic report or the Directors’
Report.
We have nothing to report in
respect of the following matters in
relation to which the Companies Act
2006 requires us to report to you if,
in our opinion:
• adequate accounting records
have not been kept by the parent
Company, or returns adequate for
our audit have not been received
from branches not visited by us; or
• the parent Company financial
statements and the part of the
Directors’ remuneration report to
be audited are not in agreement
with the accounting records and
returns; or
• certain disclosures of Directors’
remuneration specified by law are
not made; or
• we have not received all the
information and explanations we
require for our audit.
Responsibilities of Directors
As explained more fully in the
Directors’ responsibilities statement
set out on page 27, 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 parent Company’s
ability to continue as a going
concern, disclosing, as applicable,
matters related to going concern
and using the going concern basis
of accounting unless the Directors
either intend to liquidate the Group
or the parent Company or to cease
operations, or have no realistic
alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for
the audit of the financial
statements
Our objectives are to obtain
reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements as
a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud
or error, and to issue an Auditor’s
report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level
of assurance, but is not a guarantee
that an audit conducted in
accordance with ISAs (UK) will
always detect a material
misstatement when it exists.
Misstatements can arise from fraud
or error and are considered material
if, individually or in the aggregate,
they could reasonably be expected
to influence the economic decisions
of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are
instances of non-compliance with
laws and regulations. We design
procedures in line with our
responsibilities, outlined above, to
detect material misstatements in
respect of irregularities, including
fraud. The extent to which our
procedures are capable of detecting
irregularities, including fraud is
detailed below. However, the
primary responsibility for the
prevention and detection of fraud
rests with both those charged with
governance of the entity and
management.
The extent to which the audit
was considered capable of
detecting irregularities
including fraud
Our approach to identifying and
assessing the risks of material
misstatement in respect of
irregularities, including fraud and
non-compliance with laws and
regulations, was as follows:
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 • The senior statutory auditor
ensured the engagement team
collectively had the appropriate
competence, capabilities and
skills to identify or recognise
non-compliance with applicable
laws and regulations.
• We identified the laws and
regulations applicable to the
group through discussions
with directors and other
management:
– The Companies Act 2006 and
IFRS in respect of the preparation
and presentation of the financial
statements and;
– AIM regulations and Market
Abuse Regulations
• We focused on specific laws and
regulations which we considered
may have a direct material effect
on the financial statements or the
operations of the company,
including taxation legislation,
data protection, anti-bribery,
employment, environmental,
health and safety legislation and
anti-money laundering
regulations.
• We assessed the extent of
compliance with the laws and
regulations identified above
through making enquiries of
management and inspecting
legal correspondence.
• Identified laws and regulations
were communicated within the
audit team regularly and the team
remained alert to instances of
non-compliance throughout the
audit; and
We assessed the susceptibility of the
company’s financial statements to
material misstatement, including
obtaining an understanding of how
fraud might occur, by:
• making enquiries of management
as to where they considered there
was susceptibility to fraud, their
knowledge of actual, suspected
and alleged fraud; and
• considering the internal controls
in place to mitigate risks of fraud
and non-compliance with laws
and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through
management bias and override of
controls, we:
• Performed analytical procedures
to identify any unusual or
unexpected relationships;
• Tested journal entries to identify
unusual transactions;
• Assessed whether judgements
and assumptions made in
determining the accounting
estimates set out in note 1 of the
financial statements were
indicative of potential bias;
• Investigated the rationale behind
significant or unusual
transactions; and
In response to the risk of
irregularities and non-compliance
with laws and regulations, we
designed procedures which
included, but were not limited to:
• agreeing financial statement
disclosures to underlying
supporting documentation;
• reading the minutes of meetings
of those charged with
governance;
• enquiring of management as to
actual and potential litigation and
claims; and
• reviewing correspondence with
HMRC and the company’s legal
advisors.
There are inherent limitations in our
audit procedures described above.
The more removed that laws and
regulations are from financial
transactions, the less likely it is that
we would become aware of
noncompliance. Auditing standards
also limit the audit procedures
required to identify non-compliance
with laws and regulations to enquiry
of the directors and other
management and the inspection of
regulatory and legal
correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise
due to fraud can be harder to detect
than those that arise from error as
they may involve deliberate
concealment or collusion. Our audit
procedures are designed to detect
material misstatements. We are not
responsible for preventing non-
compliance or fraud and cannot be
expected to detect non-compliance
with all laws and regulations.
A further description of our
responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statement is located on the
Financial Reporting Council’s
website at: www.frc.ork.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities
This description forms part of our
auditor’s report.
Other matters which we are
required to address
The audit has been designed to
detect all material irregularities,
including fraud. We believe our tests
are sufficient in this regard. The
engagement team has remained
alert to any indication of fraud or
non-compliance with laws and
regulations throughout the audit.
Our audit opinion is consistent with
the additional Report to the Audit
committee.
Use of this 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.
Sachin Ramaiya
(Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of
Gravita Audit Limited
Chartered Accountants
& Statutory Auditor
Finsgate
5-7 Cranwood Street
London
EC1V 9EE
21 December 2023
61
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Other information
Notice of meeting
Notice is hereby given that the one
hundredth and fourth Annual
General Meeting of Dewhurst Group
plc will be held at its registered
office, Unit 9, Hampton Business
Park, Hampton Road West, Feltham,
TW13 6DB on 20 February 2024 at
9.00 am. The meeting will be held in
order to consider and, if thought fit,
pass resolutions 1 to 6 as ordinary
resolutions.
Ordinary resolutions
1 To receive and adopt the
statement of accounts for the year
ended 30 September 2023 and the
Reports of the Directors and Auditor
thereon.
2 To declare and approve a final
dividend on the Ordinary and
‘A’ non-voting ordinary shares to
Shareholders on the register of
members on 19 January 2024.
3 To re-elect as a Director
Ms S McErlain, who retires by
rotation under the Articles of
Association.
4 To re-elect as a Director
Mr C Holroyd, who retires by rotation
under the Articles of Association.
5 To re-appoint Gravita Audit Ltd as
Auditor at a fee to be agreed by the
Directors.
6 As special business to consider
and, if thought fit, pass the following
ordinary resolution: that the
Company be and is hereby generally
and unconditionally authorised to
make market purchases (within the
meaning of section 693(4) of the
Companies Act 2006) of up to an
aggregate of 496,380 Ordinary
shares and 706,830 ‘A’ non-voting
ordinary shares of 10p each
(representing 15% of the issued
share capital) in the Company at a
price per share (exclusive of
expenses) of not less than 10p and
not more than 105% of the average
of the middle market quotations for
such Ordinary and ‘A’ non-voting
ordinary shares, as derived from the
Stock Exchange Daily Official List, for
the ten dealing days immediately
preceding the day of the purchase;
such authority to expire at the
conclusion of the Annual General
Meeting to be held in 2025 save that
the Company may purchase shares
62
at any later date where such
purchase is pursuant to any contract
made by the Company before the
expiry of this authority.
7 To transact any other ordinary
business of the Company.
By order of the Board
Jared Sinclair
Secretary
31 December 2023
Notes
1 All Shareholders who wish to attend and
vote at the meeting must be entered on the
Company’s register of members no later than
9.00 am on 18 February 2024 (being 48 hours
prior to the time fixed for the meeting) or, in
the case of an adjournment, as at 48 hours
prior to the time of the adjourned meeting.
Changes to entries on the register after that
time will be disregarded in determining the
rights of any person to attend or vote at the
meeting. 'A' non-voting ordinary shares do not
carry the right to attend or vote at meetings
of the Company.
2 Shareholders entitled to attend and vote at
the meeting may appoint a proxy or proxies
to attend, vote and speak on their behalf. A
proxy need not be a member of the Company.
Investors who hold their shares through a
nominee may wish to attend the meeting as
a proxy, or to arrange for someone else to do
so for them, in which case they should discuss
this with their nominee or stockbroker.
Shareholders are invited to complete and
return the enclosed Proxy Form. Completion
of the Proxy Form will not prevent a
Shareholder from attending and voting at the
meeting if subsequently he/she finds that he/
she is able to do so. To be valid, completed
Proxy Forms must be received by the
Company Secretary at the registered office of
the Company, Dewhurst Group plc, Unit 9
Hampton Business Park, Hampton Road
West, Feltham, TW13 6DB or the scanned
Proxy Form emailed to cosec@dewhurst-
group.com by no later than 48 hours before
the time appointed for the holding of the
meeting, or, in the case of an adjournment, as
at 48 hours prior to the time of the adjourned
meeting.
3 Representatives of Shareholders which are
corporations attending the meeting should
produce evidence of their appointment by an
instrument executed in accordance with
Section 44 of the Companies Act 2006 or
signed on behalf of the corporation by a duly
authorised officer or agent and in accordance
with article 71 of the Company’s Articles of
Association.
4 The Company, pursuant to Regulation 41 of
the Uncertificated Securities Regulations
2001, specifies that only those holders of
Ordinary Shares registered in the register of
members of the Company at 9.00 am on 18
February 2024 (being 48 hours prior to the
time fixed for the meeting) shall be entitled to
attend and vote at the Annual General
Meeting in respect of such number of shares
registered in their name at that time.
Changes to entries in the register of members
after that time shall be disregarded in
determining the rights of any person to
attend or vote at the meeting.
5 A copy of the Company’s current Articles of
Association are on its website but will also be
available for inspection during usual business
hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays
and Public Holidays excluded) at the
registered office of the Company until the
date of the Annual General Meeting and at
the place of the meeting for 15 minutes prior
to and until the termination of the meeting.
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Other information
Group companies
Head office
Overseas subsidiaries
Dewhurst Group plc
Unit 9, Hampton Business Park
Hampton Road West
Feltham TW13 6DB
Dewhurst (Hungary) Kft
H-2038, Soskut
Hrsz. 3518/8
Hungary
Tel: 020 8744 8200
Tel: 00 362 356 0550
cosec@dewhurst-group.com
www.dewhurst-group.com
UK subsidiaries
Dewhurst Ltd
Unit 9, Hampton Business Park
Hampton Road West
Feltham TW13 6DB
Tel: 020 8744 8200
info@dewhurst.co.uk
www.dewhurst.co.uk
A&A Electrical
Distributors Ltd
234-262 Maybank Road
South Woodford
London E18 1ET
Tel: 020 8559 7000
sales@aa-electrical.com
www.aa-electrical.com
Traffic Management
Products Ltd
Unit 6, Trident Drive
Wednesbury WS10 7XB
Tel: 020 8744 8201
info@tmp.solutions
www.tmp.solutions
Dupar Controls Inc.
150 Goddard Crescent
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada N3E 0A9
Tel: 001 519 624 2510
sales@dupar.com
www.dupar.com
Elevator Research &
Manufacturing Corp.
1417 Elwood Street
Los Angeles
CA 90021 USA
Tel: 001 213 746 1914
sales@elevatorresearch.com
www.elevatorresearch.com
Australian Lift Components
Pty Ltd
5 Saggartfield Road
Minto
NSW 2566
Australia
Tel: 00 612 9603 0200
info@ausliftcomp.com.au
www.ausliftcomp.com.au
P&R Liftcars Pty Ltd
7 Kiama Street
Miranda
NSW 2228
Australia
Tel: 00 612 9522 4777
info@prlift.com.au
www.prlift.com.au
Lift Material Australia Pty Ltd
Unit 2, 73 Beauchamp Road
Matraville
NSW 2036
Australia
Tel: 00 612 93 10 4288
info@liftmaterial.com
www.liftmaterial.com
Dual Engraving Pty Ltd
104 Howe Street
Osborne Park, WA 6017
Australia
Tel: 00 618 9443 3677
info@dualengraving.com.au
www.dualengraving.com.au
Dewhurst (Hong Kong) Ltd
Unit 19, 7/F, Block A
Hoi Luen Industrial Centre
55 Hoi Yuen Road
Hong Kong
Tel: 00 852 3523 1563
flai@dewhurst-group.com
www.dewhurst-group.com
Dewhurst Singapore Pte Ltd
1 Jalan Kilang Timor
Pacific Tech Centre #04-04
Singapore 159303
Tel: 00 65 6018 7897
displays@dewhurst-global.com
www.dewhurst.co.uk
Other overseas
representation
The Group maintains overseas
representation in major countries
throughout the world.
63
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023
Other information
Advisers and company information
Secretary and
registered office
Jared Sinclair
Dewhurst Group plc
Unit 9, Hampton Business Park
Hampton Road West
Feltham TW13 6DB
Registered No. 160314
Auditors
Gravita Audit Ltd
Chartered Accountants and
Statutory Auditor
Finsgate
5-7 Cranwood Street
London EC1V 9EE
Bankers
National Westminster
Bank plc
275-277 High Street
Hounslow
Middlesex TW3 1EG
Registrars
Link Group
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds LS1 4DL
Nominated adviser
and broker
Singer Capital Markets
1 Bartholomew Lane
London EC2N 2AX
Solicitors
Taylor Wessing LLP
5 New Street Square
London EC4A 3TW
64
Dewhurst Group plc Annual report and accounts 2023 Design: Gill Davies Associates
www.dewhurst-group.com