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Thermo Fisher Scientific

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FY2017 Annual Report · Thermo Fisher Scientific
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Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017

Stock code: TMO

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Time Out Group plc 
Annual Report 2017

Time Out Group (“Time Out”, the “Company” or the “Group”) 
 is the leading global media and entertainment business that 
inspires and enables people to make the most of the city.

It all began in London in 1968 when Time Out helped people explore the exciting new urban cultures that 
started up all over the capital. Since then, it has consistently maintained its status as the go-to source of 
inspiration for both locals and visitors alike. Today, Time Out is bringing its hunger for discovery and 
honest voice to 108 cities in 39 countries and has a global average monthly audience reach of 217 million.

Everything Time Out does helps people discover, book and share what the world’s cities have to offer. 
Millions of travel and leisure purchasing decisions are being influenced by Time Out’s unique and 
trusted high-quality content - curated by professional journalists - about food, drink, entertainment, 
film, music, attractions, art, culture, shopping, night-life, hotels and travel.

With its two divisions Time Out Digital and Time Out Market, the Group aims to connect consumers 
and businesses in the leisure, travel and local entertainment sector through B2C and B2B offerings.

Time Out Digital is a multi-platform media, entertainment and e-commerce business with a global 
content distribution network comprising websites, mobile, apps, social channels, magazines, guides, 
Live Events and international licensing agreements. The Company seeks to grow earnings from B2C and 
B2B relationships through on-site transactions and advertising from global brands and local businesses.

Time Out Market is a food and cultural market bringing the best of the city together under one roof: 
its best restaurants, bars and cultural experiences, based on Time Out’s editorial curation. Time Out 
Market is currently present in Lisbon and the Group is rolling this successful format out to new cities.

About us

*Proforma results adjusted to include a full year of trading of Time Out Market in 2016

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Global average monthly audience reach of  217 millionPresence in 108 cities in 39 countries around the worldTime Out Group revenue grew 19% YoY to £44.4 million*Digital revenue up 15% YoY (incl. e-commerce up 57%)Time Out Market revenue growth of 62% YoY*44

Financial Statements
Consolidated Income Statement 
Consolidated Statement  
of other Comprehensive Income 
Consolidated and Company Statement  
of Financial Position 
Consolidated and Company  
Statement of Changes in Equity 
48
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows  50
51
Notes to the Financial Statement 

45

46

Contents

Strategic Report
Group at a Glance 
Highlights - Progress in 2017 
Chairman’s Statement 
Q&A with the Group CEO 
Business Model 
Strategy 
Key Performance Indicators 
Business Review 
Principal Risks and 
Uncertainties 

4
6
7
8
10
12
14
15

20

Governance
Board of Directors 
Corporate Governance Report 
Directors’ Report 
Directors’ Responsibility Statement 
Audit Committee Report 
Directors’ Remuneration Report 
Independent Auditors’ Report 

24
26
29
30
33
34
37

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3.6 million visitors to Time Out Market Lisbon in 201716.7 million average monthly unique visitors in O&O cities403,000 e-commerce transactions in 2017 (up 33% YoY)837,000 items sold via e-commerce (up 35% YoY)1,230 Premium Profiles active listers (up 60% YoY)Strategic 
Report

STRATEGY IN ACTION
Monetising the audience
Time Out’s unique curated content about 
the best things to do in cities has a huge 
influence on travel and leisure purchase 
decisions of hundreds of millions of 
people around the world. In fact, 95% do 
something as a result of engaging with 
Time Out – selling to this experience-
hungry, young audience is a growth 
opportunity for the Group’s e-commerce 
business.

In 2017, e-commerce growth of 57% year-on-year was driven 
by a particularly good performance from affiliate sales, with a 
focus on travel, and by tickets sold for Live Events arranged 
by the Group. Key events throughout the year were Battle of 
the Burger (Chicago, New York and Los Angeles), Passport to 
Portugal in New York (sponsored by TAP Air Portugal), Silent 
Discos in the Paris Zoo and The Shard in London, Outdoor 
Movie Pop Ups in Lisbon and Movies on the River in London, 
the first floating cinema on the River Thames. At the heart 
of these events was bringing to life unforgettable curated 
moments representing the best of the city for Time Out’s 
millennial audience. To further grow transactions of tickets 
and bookings, Time Out enhanced its e-commerce platform 
and expanded its e-commerce products, making more of its 
content bookable. The broad range of categories spans hotels 
and restaurant bookings, theatre and attraction tickets, offers 
and exclusive products only Time Out can deliver, based on 
editorial curation. In November 2017, a gift box including 
cards to enjoy 50% off food in twelve restaurants from Time 
Out’s annual list of the best 100 London restaurants, sold out 
quickly.

à	Read more about ‘Monetising the audience’ on page 16

Pictured: Movies on the River, London

GROUP

AT A GLANCE

Time Out Group is present 
in 108 cities in 39 countries 
around the world and has 
a global average monthly 
audience reach of 217 million.

In 2017, the Group owned and operated businesses in 20 countries 
and 76 cities such as London, New York, Chicago, Miami, Los 
Angeles, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Lisbon, Barcelona and Paris. In a 
further 20 countries and 32 cities such as Tokyo, Tel Aviv and Dubai 
the Group used international licensing arrangements with partners. 
When using the licensing model, Time Out Group retains ownership 
of rights, title and interest in the brand and content.

The Time Out story so far

1968

1971

1995

2001

2010

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

Time Out 
magazine
changes format 
The magazine 
goes weekly and is 
re-sized to today’s 
recognisable 
format.

Time Out magazine 
launches
Tony Elliott launches 
the first issue of Time 
Out which was 
published in 1968, cover 
price of one shilling. 
Printed as a 
double-sided A2 sheet, it 
was folded down into an 
A5 magazine.

Time Out 
New York
Time Out 
goes stateside.

Time Out
Istanbul 
The first international 
franchisee launches.

Time Out
launches 
e-commerce 
platform

Time Out London 
magazine goes 
free
The magazine goes 
free after 44 years with 
a cover price. Weekly 
circulation increases to 
305,000.

Launch of 
new mobile 
responsive 
website

Launch of business 
listings in London 
and Paris
Time Out Market
Launched in Lisbon, 
bringing 
the best of the city 
together 
under one roof.

Launch of new 
Time Out app

Time Out New York
magazine goes free 
Weekly circulation 
reaches 300,000.

Launch of 
business listings 
in New York 
Acquisition of 
Portuguese 
Franchise

IPO

Time Out Group launches on 

AIM on June 14 and acquires 

Time Out Market Limited as part 

of the admission process.

Refreshed 

brand identity

Time Out acquires YPlan

New Time Out Market

announced in cities such as 

London, Porto and Miami.

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Global expansion

Acquisition of Spain 

and Australia 

franchise partners, 

and addition – at no 

cost – of Hong Kong, 

Singapore and Seoul.

New Time Out 

Market

announced in cities 

such as Chicago and 

Boston.

Voice app on the 

Google Assistant

Time Out launches 

conversational app so 

people can get instant 

recommendations.

Time Out HQ 

office move to 

King’s Cross, 

London

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO 
 
 
 
OUR
KEY
STRENGTHS

Established international brand  
with an extensive audience reach: 

1

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4

5

6
7

Time Out is one of the leading brands to inspire and 
enable people through curated content about how 
to enjoy food, drink, culture, art, travel and entertainment in 
cities around the world. The Directors believe that the Group’s 
established brand – which launched in 1968 – and high brand 
awareness are key drivers of Time Out’s significant average global 
monthly audience reach of 217 million, and that this will help 
drive consumer traffic to the Group’s trusted digital platform and 
give users the confidence to execute e-commerce transactions.

Strong relationships with brand and local 
advertising partners and sophisticated model 
for generating advertising revenue:

The Group has established long-term, direct 
relationships with global brands and local businesses and uses 
a number of solution-based advertising platforms, programmatic 
platforms and other creative channels, including native 
advertising, experiential advertising and multi-channel campaigns 
to generate advertising revenue.

Diverse content distribution network including 
technology with multi-channel scalability potential: 

The Directors believe that the scalable and flexible 
architecture of the Group’s digital platform will allow it 
to develop ongoing improvements in functionality and expand to 
address new business opportunities.

Attractive unit economics driven by significant 
consumer demand for the Group’s independent, 
inspirational and curated content: 

The Directors believe that the Group’s average global 

monthly audience reach of approximately 217 million lowers 
the marketing cost of acquiring users and makes it easier to 
transition users from content consumption to e-commerce. In the 
context of its increasing audience reach, the Directors believe 
that the Group is well-placed to continue to benefit from attractive 
unit economics, the reach it can obtain on social media platforms 
and the growth of its digital presence.

Worldwide roll-out of Time Out Market:

The first Time Out Market in Lisbon received 
approximately 1.9 million visitors in 2015, 3.1 million 
in 2016 and 3.6 million in 2017. It achieved positive 

EBITDA within 18 months of opening. The Directors believe 
that the Lisbon market format presents a scalable opportunity 
that can be replicated in other cities, expanding the Group’s 
international presence and raising the profile of the Time Out 
brand.

Experienced management team: 

The Group has an experienced management team with 
a strong background in digital media, e-commerce and 
technology businesses as well as retail and hospitality.

Detailed and growing user data: 

The Group’s digital platforms, Flypay technology and 
free Wi-Fi in the Time Out Market in Lisbon will provide 
the Group with a source of valuable, high-quality user 

data and information which the Group can leverage in order to 
increase its revenue from e-commerce.

1968

1971

1995

2001

2010

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

Time Out 

magazine

changes format 

The magazine 

goes weekly and is 

re-sized to today’s 

recognisable 

format.

Time Out magazine 

launches

Tony Elliott launches 

the first issue of Time 

Out which was 

published in 1968, cover 

price of one shilling. 

Printed as a 

double-sided A2 sheet, it 

was folded down into an 

A5 magazine.

Time Out 

New York

Time Out 

goes stateside.

Time Out

Istanbul 

The first international 

franchisee launches.

Time Out

launches 

platform

e-commerce 

free

Time Out London 

magazine goes 

The magazine goes 

free after 44 years with 

a cover price. Weekly 

circulation increases to 

305,000.

Launch of 

new mobile 

responsive 

website

Launch of business 
listings in London 

and Paris

Time Out Market

Launched in Lisbon, 

bringing 

the best of the city 

together 

under one roof.

Launch of new 
Time Out app

Time Out New York
magazine goes free 
Weekly circulation 
reaches 300,000.

Launch of 
business listings 
in New York 
Acquisition of 
Portuguese 
Franchise

IPO
Time Out Group launches on 
AIM on June 14 and acquires 
Time Out Market Limited as part 
of the admission process.

Refreshed 
brand identity
Time Out acquires YPlan
New Time Out Market
announced in cities such as 
London, Porto and Miami.

Global expansion
Acquisition of Spain 
and Australia 
franchise partners, 
and addition – at no 
cost – of Hong Kong, 
Singapore and Seoul.

New Time Out 
Market
announced in cities 
such as Chicago and 
Boston.

Voice app on the 
Google Assistant
Time Out launches 
conversational app so 
people can get instant 
recommendations.

Time Out HQ 
office move to 
King’s Cross, 
London

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

PROGRESS IN 2017

Financial Highlights

 • Group Revenue – increased by 19% year-on-year to £44.4m (2016: £37.1m*), driven by a combination of 

underlying** growth (12%) and the contribution from franchisee acquisitions in Australia and Spain

 • Growth increasing -  H2 revenue increased 25% (14% underlying and at constant currency) on the 

comparable period of 2016. Underlying revenue for H1 at constant currency was 5%

 •

Time Out Digital - revenue of £38.4m (+15%) was driven by e-commerce, up 57% and Premium Profiles, up 
43% and acquisitions; in a declining advertising market, digital advertising was flat on an underlying basis 
(+19% post acquisitions) whilst print revenue reduced by 4% (+2% post acquisitions)

 •

Time Out Market - revenue grew 62%* to £6.0m driven by record 3.6 million visitors (2016: 3.1 million)

 • Adjusted EBITDA – loss of £14.2m*** (2016: £10.6m) in line with expectations and primarily due to the 
higher costs associated with increased customer acquisition and development of the Time Out Digital 
business

 • Operating loss – loss of £24.6m (2016: £17.9m)

 • Cash – closing position of £28.8m (2016: £50.1m)

 • New Debt Facilities – €9 million loan secured in the period and £20m credit facility entered into in March 

2018 to fund Time Out Market expansion

Operational Highlights

 • Audience – in 2017, Time Out achieved an average global monthly audience reach of 217 million across all 

platforms, growing 39% YoY

 • E-commerce – further substantial e-commerce growth was driven by affiliates sales (+66%) and proprietary 

Live Events (+83%) resulting in 837k items sold in the period

 • Global Expansion – successful integration of established Time Out franchises in Australia, Spain, Hong 

Kong and Singapore into the network of owned and operated businesses

 •

Time Out Market – conditional lease agreement signed for a new market in New York, which is set to open 
in 2018; as recently announced, plans are on track for new markets in Miami in Q4 2018 and in Chicago 
and Boston in 2019

* Time Out Market was acquired by the Group on 14 June 2016. All Group figures quoted in the Business Review include, on a proforma 
basis, 12 months of trading of Time Out Market

** Underlying results are presented excluding the contribution from the acquisitions of the Australia franchisee in June 2017 and 
the Spain franchisee in September 2017, and the addition of Singapore and Hong Kong. The businesses combined contributed a net 
revenue of £2.8m in the period. EBITDA contribution was a loss of £0.5m. The figures for Time Out Market in 2016 include the first 
six months of that year, prior to its acquisition by the Group, given that this is a separate reportable segment. The measure is used to 
show the performance of the business before the effects of other acquisitions 

*** profit or loss before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, share based payments, share of associate’s loss and one-off 
exceptional items. Used by management and analysts to assess the business before one off and non-cash items.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCHAIRMAN’S

STATEMENT

“ Time Out Group made 
good progress in 2017 
across all of its key 
strategic areas. Both 
business divisions, 
Time Out Digital and 
Time Out Market, have 
embarked on a journey 
to successfully transact 
at scale with our large 
global audience, which 
continues to drive 
strong growth.”

Peter Dubens
Non-Executive Chairman 

Results
Following a strong 2016, its first year as a 
listed company, Time Out Group continued 
to make substantial progress as it evolves 
into a transactional business. Group revenue 
increased by 19% year-on-year, driven by a 
combination of underlying growth (12%) and 
the contribution of the acquisitions of Time 
Out Australia and Time Out Spain. We saw 
revenue growth increasing in the second 
half of the year, demonstrating that the 
business strategy is on track. Both business 
divisions delivered good growth; in Time 
Out Digital, e-commerce revenue increased 
by 57% offsetting the anticipated weaker 
print revenue. Time Out Market performed 
particularly well with revenue growth of 62% 
and 3.6 million visitors in 2017 compared to 
3.1 million in the prior year.

Key Achievements
I am very pleased that Time Out Group 
continued to consistently deliver against its 
core areas. A large, growing global audience 
and that audience’s desire to make the 
most of the city has been key to Time Out’s 
progress and evolving this unique brand as a 
digital, transactional business.

In 2017, Time Out’s average global monthly 
audience reach further grew by 39% year-
on-year to 217 million across all platforms; 
geographic growth was driven by the Group’s 
continued global expansion of owned and 
operated businesses with the acquisition 
of franchises in Australia and Spain, and 
the addition, at no cost, of Hong Kong and 
Singapore.

This increased reach combined with Time Out 
Digital’s ongoing investment – in particular in 
its e-commerce platform – grew transactions 
across more and new verticals. Improvements 
included expanding e-commerce to new 

cities, new affiliate agreements especially for 
travel offerings, content and commerce being 
increasingly connected with more booking 
options. We expanded our digital advertising 
presence through the integration of Time Out 
franchises in Australia, Spain and Asia. Around 
the globe, we see major advertising partners 
increasingly looking for the unique, bespoke 
multi-channel solutions we can offer within the 
positive brand-safe environment Time Out’s 
content provides.

Time Out Market Lisbon continues to be an 
incredible success story. In 2017, it delivered 
an excellent performance with continued 
revenue momentum and record visitor 
numbers, proving the strength of the format. 
We look forward to bringing Time Out Market 
to exciting cities, with near term plans on track 
to open sites in New York, Miami, Boston and 
Chicago.

People
I would like to take this opportunity to thank 
on behalf of our Board and our Shareholders 
everyone at Time Out Group, including our 
licensing partners, for the great progress we 
made in 2017. In 2018, we will celebrate this 
iconic brand’s 50th birthday – it was launched 
in London in 1968 to help people explore the 
exciting new urban cultures that started up all 
over the city. Today, this DNA is still completely 
intact thanks to our fantastic team around the 
world that has always been passionate about 
delivering insight and value to our consumers 
and partners. Together with my Board 
colleagues, I am looking forward to driving the 
continued success and growth of Time Out as 
we inspire and enable more and more people 
to make the most of cities around the world.

Peter Dubens
Non-Executive Chairman

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTQ&A

WITH THE CEO

Julio Bruno
Chief Executive Officer

“In 2017, we continued 
to drive growth for 
Time Out as we made 
substantial progress 
across our core areas. 
Increasing revenue 
growth in the second 
half demonstrates 
the successful 
implementation of our 
plan to transform this 
business.

“50 years after launching, 
Time Out is the only true 
global marketplace for 
city life. We are in the 
happiness business and 
that’s why we no longer 
just write about the best 
city experiences but also 
create and deliver them; 
every year, millions of 
customers book theatre 
tickets and hotels with 
us, buy exclusive offers or 
visit Time Out Market to 
enjoy the best of the city.”

What is the most important milestone Time 
Out Group reached this year?
2017 was our first full financial year as a 
listed company and achieving 59% growth 
in transaction levels driven by e-commerce 
and Time Out Market was one of our most 
important targets. By achieving substantial 
progress across our two business divisions 
we have met the high standards we set for 
ourselves, demonstrating the successful 
diversification of Time Out on our way 
to profitability. Time Out Digital has 
continued to deliver good progress and 
revenue growth across e-commerce and 
Premium Profiles; Time Out Market 
continued to go from strength to strength 
and within this context we will further 
expand the format to cities worldwide.

What were the key drivers of 2017  
revenue growth?
Increasingly selling to our global audience 
is the key driver behind our revenue growth 
which we saw increasing in the second 
half of the year, demonstrating that we are 
doing the right things. Looking at Time Out 
Digital, we are pleased that e-commerce 
substantially grew by 57% year-on-year 
as we launched new products, expanded 
into new markets and entered new affiliate 
agreements across more verticals, in 
particular in travel with its higher margins. 
The acquisitions of Time Out Australia 
and Time Out Spain further contributed 
to our revenue growth. Time Out Market, 
our other business division, had 3.6 million 
visitors in our Lisbon location in 2017 and 
62% revenue growth year-on-year (2016: 
115%) – the success of the concept as we 
roll it out globally offers a fantastic growth 
opportunity going forward.

How does Time Out intend to grow sales so 
rapidly in the highly competitive travel and 
leisure e-commerce market?
We know that 95% of our audience do 
something as a result of engaging with Time 
Out and that over 60% are from outside of 
the city – this audience is looking to spend 
and that is a huge potential for e-commerce. 
As we are already inspiring millions of 
travel and leisure decisions every year we 
no longer just write about the best things to 
do in the city; we increasingly make them 
bookable. In 2017, our customers bought 
837,000 items from us, up from 618,000 
in the previous year. We aim to further 
grow bookings by rolling out e-commerce 
functionalities to more cities, by launching 
multi-language options to attract visits and 
bookings from new audiences, by further 
enhancing the product categories, by 
making more content bookable and with 
a website redesign focusing on a closer 
connection of content and e-commerce. To 
complement our broad affiliates offering 
and further monetise traffic, we have also 
launched exclusive products like our very 
successful recent restaurant gift box which 
sold out quickly – this is a unique product 
only Time Out can deliver as it is inspired 
by editorial curation of the best of the city.

Your audience keeps on growing - what are 
the key drivers?
First, our audience values and trusts our 
content which is curated by professional 
journalists – it is this quality that attracts 
both locals and visitors, always looking 
for something new and exciting to do in 
cities around the world. Secondly, in 2017 
we have again grown our average global 
monthly audience reach by 39% and it now 
stands at 217 million. This was driven by an 
increasing social media reach which helps 
us build our brand and drive traffic to our 

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOTime Out is 50 years old in 2018. A lot has 
changed but what still remains?
It all began in London in 1968 when Time 
Out helped people explore the exciting 
things that happened all over the city. 
50 years on, this is still at the heart of 
everything we do, we continue to inspire 
and enable people to make the most of the 
city. But today we are present in 108 cities 
in 39 countries around the world. Through 
all those years, this iconic brand has 
maintained its status as the go-to source 
of inspiration for both locals and visitors 
alike, making Time Out the only true 
global marketplace for city life. Our unique, 
curated content written by professional 
journalists remains as relevant now as when 
it first started – it is this authentic high-
quality content people value in times of 
fake news more than ever before and that is 
why we are able to inspire millions of people 
to have a great time in cities around the 
world.

Julio Bruno
Chief Executive Officer

sites. Our audience has further grown as 
a result of our global expansion, namely 
the launch of new cities in the US and in 
Germany and new print magazines as 
well as the integration of former Time Out 
franchises in Australia, Spain, Hong Kong 
and Singapore into our owned and operated 
network. 

Time Out is very well known for its 
magazines, but is Time Out now a  
digital business?
Whilst digital revenues now account for 
a majority of the Group’s revenue and we 
are excited about the consistent growth 
of e-commerce and Premium Profiles, 
the physical nature of print and Time Out 
Market have a significant role to play in the 
future of Time Out as our global community 
chooses to use multiple channels to interact 
with us. Our content is platform agnostic 
and we deliver it to wherever our audience 
wants it - through our website, mobile, 
social, print, Live Events or Time Out 
Market. It is this unique ‘clicks and mortar’ 
approach that helps us raise the profile of 
our brand and expand our global presence.

Since the opening of Lisbon, six Time Out 
Market locations have been announced - 
when will the next open and can we expect 
more announcements?
Time Out Market Lisbon continues to be an 
incredible success story; it is now Portugal’s 
most visited attraction and recognised to be 
at the forefront of the emerging global food 
hall trend. This is a trend which has been 
growing significantly around the world 
and consumers love this democratisation 
of fine food and the communal feel. We are 
proud to lead the charge in this sector and 
truly differentiate as we not only offer the 
best food of the city but also its culture. 

This makes Time Out Market so much more 
than just a food hall. The fact that Time 
Out Market Lisbon saw 3.6 million visitors 
in 2017 shows how successful and popular 
this format is. As we are expanding Time 
Out Market globally, we are set to open 
Time Out Market New York and Miami 
in 2018, followed by Chicago and Boston 
in 2019. To capitalise on the exceptional 
growth opportunity Time Out Market offers 
we secured a loan of €9 million in 2017, a 
further £20 million in March 2018 and we 
continue to explore funding options.

What are the key challenges of the  
year ahead?
The industry we are operating in is 
challenged by the so-called ‘duopoly’, 
Facebook and Google, which is now also 
joined by Amazon. The duopoly’s share of 
global advertising spend has more than 
doubled over the past four years and now 
stands at over 20%. However, what makes 
Time Out stand out in this competitive and 
fast-changing environment is its hugely 
trusted brand, real authenticity, quality 
content, a loyal and engaged audience, 
unique products and experiences we offer 
and differentiated, bespoke multi-channel 
solutions within a brand-safe environment 
for advertisers. This combination of assets 
is difficult to replicate for these tech giants 
but something advertising clients and 
consumers increasingly seek. We need to 
strengthen these assets further to continue 
to evolve as a digital, transactional business 
and to get to profitability. As for our second 
business division, Time Out Market, a key 
challenge will be the openings coming up 
of new sites in 2018 in New York and Miami, 
and in 2019 in Chicago and Boston. I am 
pleased to have a fantastic team in place 
who are highly experienced with managing 
a number of high-profile openings within a 
short period of time.

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTBUSINESS

MODEL

The only true global marketplace for city life

Time Out Group’s core proposition is built around its trusted, iconic brand and unique, high-quality content about the best things to do in 
cities around the world. Professional journalists constantly curate and write about the food, drinks, theatre, art, film, music, travel and 
entertainment those cities have to offer, making Time Out the go-to source of inspiration for both locals and visitors alike. 

To grow earnings and create sustainable value for its stakeholders, the Group is increasingly transacting with and advertising to this global,  
experience-hungry audience that is already looking to spend. Core growth areas are the global roll out of Time Out Market, e-commerce and 
advertisement. The Group’s business model positions Time Out as the only true global marketplace for city life.

UNIQUE CONTENT

DISTRIBUTED VIA A  
MULTI-CHANNEL PLATFORM

Established, international brand and independent, 
high-quality content about the best things to do in the 
city written by

 • Professional journalists:  

specialist curation such as ‘best of the city’, ‘latest 
exhibitions’ or ‘100 best dishes’

 • Tastemakers:  

prolific reviewers and bloggers contributing content 
about the city

 • User generated:  

un-paid reviews of things to do in the city from the 
Time Out community

Digital

Mobile / Apps

Social Media

Magazines

Live Events

Time Out Markets

à

 •

 •
 •

in 108 cities
in 39 countries 
in 13 languages

à

To attract & reach an  
experience-hungry  
audience

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOMONTHLY GLOBAL 
AUDIENCE REACH 

217 million

Social media reach:  
187 million

Website: 
22.6 million  
unique visitors 

Magazines:  
7.4 million readers

Time Out Market:  
300k visitors

(monthly averages)

à

The Group monetises 
this audience and 
businesses in  
two ways

SPEAK TO THE AUDIENCE

Advertising: Print, digital & experiential 
For global, national and  
local brands and businesses

Premium Profiles 
Highly focused local business listings

SELL TO THE AUDIENCE

Commerce via Time Out Market
Bringing the best of the city together 
under one roof: the best restaurants, 
bars and culture - based on Time Out’s 
editorial curation

E-commerce via digital channels
Making content about the best  
things to do in the city bookable with 
affiliates, exclusive offers and Live 
Events

Food & drink

Entertainment

Theatre

Hotels

Restaurants  
& bars

Attractions  
& things to do

Offers

Live Events

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTSTRATEGY

Strategy Introduction
Time Out Group has three main strategic pillars to help deliver against the growth strategy.

Strategic pillar

Commentary

Progress in the year

The Group intends to 
increase the number of 
transacting users on its 
e-commerce platform

Monetising the audience

Offer more booking 
opportunities, events, tickets 
and products to the Group’s 
audience

à  See our Case Study  
on page 2

 •

Further increased global monthly audience reach across all platforms

 • Expanded global presence with the launch of new channels: new websites in 
Porto and four German cities, new free magazines in Austin, San Francisco, 
Philadelphia and magazine relaunch in Hong Kong, launch of Time Out content 
on voice activated platforms of Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant

 • New cities included in the Group’s network of owned and operated businesses 
have started to contribute revenue as e-commerce functionalities are being 
implemented

 • Strong affiliate sales especially in the travel category, providing higher average 

booking values and margins

 •

To offer more bookable inventory and expand into new verticals the e-commerce 
offering has been enhanced through product launches, an improved offers 
proposition and new partnerships with Booking.com, HotelsCombined, Airbnb, 
Viator, La Fourchette, Clicktripz and Encore 

 • Optimised bookability: 25% of page views going to pages with bookable content 

and a book button (in December 2017)

 •

Integration of the checkout functionality from YPlan, acquired in 2016, has 
progressed 

 • More effective execution of the CRM strategy

 • Continued enhancement of the experiential offering: 791 Live Events arranged 

for 155,000 attendees in cities such as London, Paris, Lisbon, New York and at 
Time Out Market

 • Organisational review to align resources and skillsets with the objectives of the 

evolving business and a global strategy

Monetising businesses

Brand advertising, 
sponsorship and media 
opportunities

à  See our Case Study  
on page 22

The Group intends to:

 • Highly visible and engaging branded moments spanning multiple touchpoints 

 • Broaden its digital 

 •

 •

and other advertising 
propositions

Improve the quality of 
the data and contents 
it provides to its local 
business partners

Increase revenue through 
international licensing 
arrangements

were created for major advertising partners including Budweiser, British Airways, 
Google, Marriott, Lexus, Three, TAP Air Portugal

 •

Improved viewability and user experience of the web and mobile sites enhancing 
digital revenue

 • New Time Out website increased the available advertising estate

 • Campaigns delivered for key advertising clients across new verticals and a 

roster of returning clients secured

 •

Further refinement of the existing Premium Profiles offering and value 
proposition, providing bespoke solutions that better suit customer type and size

 • Advertising managed on a global basis, with the team increasingly sharing ideas 

and driving efficiencies

 •

 •

The benefits of organisational changes and a number of key advertising deals 
resulted in good growth of digital advertising revenue in the second half of 2017 
in the UK

International licensing revenue declined in the year as the Group integrated five 
partners into its network of owned and operated businesses

12

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOStrategic pillar

Commentary

Progress in the year

Market format has the 
potential to attract millions 
of customers and enhance 
customers’ physical and 
digital connection to the 
Time Out brand

 • Record 3.6 million visitors to Time Out Market Lisbon

 • Conditional lease agreements signed in 2017 in Chicago and Boston and in 

February 2018 in New York

 •

 •

Time Out Market Miami set to open in 2018 with the first line-up of high-profile 
chefs announced and very positively received

The Group – with the support of the landlord – appealed the declined planning 
permission in respect of the site in Spitalfields in London

 • €9 million loan secured in the period and £20 million credit facility enterend 

into in March 2018 to fund the global Time Out Market expansion

Roll out Time Out Market

Roll out the Time Out Market 
format to new cities

à  See our Case Study  
on page 42

13

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTKEY

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

KPI Introduction
The following business performance and operating KPIs are used by the Group to assess its performance.

Financial KPIs

KPI

Group Revenue**

Time Out Digital Revenue

Time Out Market Revenue**

Adjusted EBITDA loss**

Proforma revenue, including a full 
year of the operations of Time Out 
Market (£’000)

Revenue of the Group’s digital, print 
and international segments (£’000)

Proforma, full year revenue of the 
Group’s Markets segment (£’000)

Proforma earnings before interest, 
taxation, depreciation, and 
amortisation and excluding share 
based compensation charges and 
exceptional items (see note 6 to 
accounts) including a full year of the 
results of Time Out Market (£’000)

2017

2016

£44,364

£37,130

2015

£30,222

2017

2016

2015

£38,393

£33,434

£28,502

2017

2016

2015

£3,696

£1,720

 £5,971

£14,217

£10,588

£13,091

2017

2016

2015

Operating KPIs
KPI

O&O* audience  
(monthly average)

Monthly unique visitors 
(monthly average)

E-commerce: transacting 
members (rolling 12 months)

O&O audience is the sum of the 
website visitors, social media 
users, magazine readership, app 
users and visitors to Time Out 
Market in the month. The measure 
is the average of monthly figure for 
the past 12 months

The number of unique visitors to the 
Group’s O&O websites and apps

The number of unique customers 
transacting through Time Out, 
including booking tickets with 
affiliate partners, purchasing 
tickets for Live Events and 
purchasing offers

E-commerce: transactions

The number of individual 
transactions including booking 
tickets with affiliate partners, 
purchasing tickets for Live Events 
and purchasing offers

156.3m

94.2m

56.9m

2017

2016

2015

16.7m

16.0m

15.6m

263k

2017

2016

2015

169k

163k

2017

2016

2015

403k

303k

250k

2017

2016

2015

KPI

Premium Profiles  
active listers

The number of businesses with a 
Premium Profile listing with Time 
Out at the period end

Time Out Market**  
total tenant turnover

The revenue taken by the 
restaurants and bars in the Time 
Out Market. Time Out is paid a 
percentage of this revenue as fee 
by the restaurants tenants together 
with a fixed charge. This fee and 
the fixed charge are reported as 
revenue by Time Out (million)

1,230

2017

2016

2015 493

770

2017

2016

€33.1

€23.5

2015

€16.5

*O&O is the Time Out ‘owned and operated’ business operations in 76 
cities across 20 countries; this does not include international licensing 
arrangements in a further 32 cities across 20 countries. Average for 
12 months.

**Proforma results including full 12 months trading for Time Out Market

14

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOBUSINESS

REVIEW

Overview
Time Out Group comprises two divisions; Time Out Digital and Time 
Out Market. Time Out Digital is a multi-platform media, entertainment 
and e-commerce business with a global content distribution network 
comprising websites, mobile apps, mobile web, social channels, 
magazines, Live Events and international licensing agreements. 
Time Out Market leverages the Time Out brand to bring a city’s best 
restaurants, bars and cultural experiences together under one roof. 
Time Out Market currently operates in Lisbon and has a pipeline of new 
venues globally. 

Operational review
The following operating KPIs are used by the Group to assess its 
performance against these objectives.

Operating KPIs

Audience and Traffic:
Global audience reach – monthly 
average
O&O† Audience – monthly average
O&O† unique visitors – monthly 
average
E-commerce:
Items sold
Time Out Members
Transacting Members
Transactions
Premium Profiles:
Active listers
Time Out Market*:
Total tenant turnover

Year ended 
31 December 
2017

Year ended 
31 December
2016

%

216.8m
156.3m

155.9m 39%
94.2m 66%

16.7m

16.0m

4%

837k
2,840k
263k
403k

618k 35%
1,997k 42%
169k 56%
303k 33%

1,230

770 60%

€33.1m

€23.5m 41%

*  Proforma results including full twelve months trading for Time Out Market in 

2016. Total tenant turnover is revenue earned by restaurants in the Time Out 
Market. Time Out’s revenue includes a percentage fee earned on this turnover.

†  O&O is the Time Out ‘owned and operated’ business operations; global 

audience reach includes market visitors, website traffic, social media reach 
and magazine readership for both ‘owned and operated’ as well as international 
licensing networks. ‘Monthly average’ calculated as a rolling twelve month 
average.

Audience development
During the year, the Group’s average global monthly audience reach 
grew by 39% to 217 million with O&O (owned and operated business 
operations) growing by 66%. Excluding acquisition countries, like-for-
like growth in O&O was 65%. This growth was driven by an increasing 
Facebook reach, which in the UK rose 109% from an average reach of 
38.0m per month in 2016 to 79.4m. Followers on Facebook grew by 30% 
YoY, with average website visits for the period increasing by one to two 
percent. The proportion of visits through mobile and tablet devices now 
exceeds 65%.

In 2017, Time Out further expanded its global presence through the 
launch of new cities within the US, new websites and magazines and 
the opportunities afforded from the acquisition of franchises. City 
websites were launched in Porto, Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and 
Hamburg, and magazines were launched in the cities of Austin, San 
Francisco and Philadelphia to complement the Group’s digital, mobile 
and social presence as it grows its national footprint and audience in 
North America. Hong Kong relaunched its magazine while two kids’ 
magazines were also launched in London enabling Time Out to expand 
its engagement with customers. Launching free magazines across key 
cities is part of Time Out’s continuing approach to print distribution and 
creates a halo effect on digital metrics, audience engagement and brand 
awareness.

Expanding the range of channels provides increasing value to 
advertisers. It allows them to reach Time Out’s audience through new 
creative opportunities across the brand’s global print, digital, mobile, 
social and event platforms. In the year, Time Out has successfully 
launched its content on the voice activated platforms of Alexa and the 
Google Assistant, offering advertisers another channel to connect with 
Time Out’s audience.

Business performance
The performance of the Group including proforma trading of Time Out 
Market in 2016 for the full year is as follows:

Year ended 
31 December
2017
£’000
12,112
2,071
7,316
21,499
15,493
1,401
38,393
5,971
44,364
24,655
(38,892)
(14,217)

Year ended 
31 December
2016*
£’000 % change  

10,210
1,444
4,662
16,316
15,238
1,880
33,434
3,696
37,130
22,326
(32,914)
(10,588)

19%
43%
57%
32%
2%
(25%)
15%
62%
19%
10%
(18%)
(34%)

% change 
under- 
lying**
–
43%
54%
19%
(4%)
(14%)
7%
62%
12%
1%
(10%)
(29%)

Digital advertising
Premium Profiles
E-commerce
Digital revenue
Print
International
Time Out Digital
Time Out Market*
Group Revenue
Gross profit
Operating Expenditure
Adjusted EBITDA

*    Time Out Market was acquired by the Group on 14 June 2016. All Group 
figures quoted in this Business Review include, on a proforma basis, 12 
months of trading of Time Out Market 

**  Underlying results are presented excluding the contribution from the 

acquisitions of the Australia franchisee in June 2017 and the Spain franchisee 
in September 2017, and the addition of Singapore and Hong Kong. The 
businesses combined contributed a net revenue of £2.8m in the period. 
EBITDA contribution was a loss of £0.5m. The figures for Time Out Market 
in 2016 include the first six months of that year, prior to its acquisition by 
the Group, given that this is a separate reportable segment. The measure 
is used to show the performance of the business before the effects of other 
acquisitions.

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTBUSINESS
REVIEW CONTINUED

Time Out Digital
Digital and print advertising 
Digital advertising revenue grew 19% YoY, excluding the contribution 
from businesses acquired during the year revenue was flat. In the 
UK, the benefits of the organisational changes made during that 
period and a number of key advertising deals with partners such as 
Google and Marriott resulted in good growth in the second half. Digital 
advertising revenue in the US declined by 1%. In both the UK and US, 
advertising continues to move from premium digital to programmatic 
with programmatic revenue across the Group growing by 35%. Through 
investment in technology, good progress has been made in improving 
viewability and the user experience of the web and mobile sites so as 
to enhance digital revenue. Good growth has been seen in France and 
Portugal. The Time Out franchisee in Australia was acquired in June 
2017 with offices in Melbourne and Sydney. It has a strong presence in 
digital advertising with total revenue growing 19% YoY. The franchisee 
in Spain was acquired in September 2017; it operates English, Spanish 
and Catalan language websites and magazines in Barcelona. Revenue 
in sterling has grown 28% (in euro 20%) compared to 2016. An office 
has been opened in Madrid with a website launched in Madrid in Q1 
2018 and plans for a new magazine in April 2018.

Overall, print advertising increased 2% YoY. Excluding acquisitions, 
there was a decline of 4% YoY, however trends improved in the second 
half with a slow-down in the rate of decline. In the UK, revenue grew 
approximately 2% in a declining market aided by increased premium 
advertising and sponsored supplements and the organisational 
changes made in the first half. Overall revenue per page increased 
11%. The US had a challenging year in a declining market with print 
revenue falling 13% due to a significant decline in page yields. 
Portugal’s revenue increased by 9% through increased advertising and 
subscriptions revenue. 

Time Out’s positive, trusted content - curated by professional 
journalists - is of great value to advertising partners seeking brand 
safe environments and unique campaign approaches. The Group has 
seen good growth in revenue from this multi-media advertising solution 
strategy, with the team increasingly working globally to share ideas and 
drive efficiencies. Highly visible and engaging branded moments were 
created in 2017, spanning multiple touchpoints across digital, mobile, 
social, print and Live Events. The list of high-profile clients included 
Lexus, AMEX, TAP Air Portugal, Seamless, Budweiser and Google. 
Examples of campaigns were the UK’s first freesheet video-in-print 
magazine cover ad for Three, a holiday giveaway experiential with British 
Airways and a unique, multi territory partnership with Marriott that 
saw the partner sponsor the launch of four new German city websites 
for Time Out as well as Time Out London’s first standalone travel 
magazine. In addition to campaigns delivered for clients in new verticals 
such as tech and auto, Time Out has also secured a roster of returning 
clients.

Local businesses: Premium Profiles
Revenue from Premium Profiles grew by 43% and the number of active 
listers increased by 60% to 1,230 as of December 2017. New York 
grew revenue by 176% YoY and the more established offering in London 
continues to perform well, increasing revenue by 27%. During the 
year, enhancements such as video were introduced to drive sales and 
partners’ visibility.

E-commerce 
E-commerce revenue, including transactions to sell the Group’s own 
events and third-party tickets, grew 57% YoY, with underlying growth 
of 53% and revenue growth increasing in the second half. Growth was 
driven by a 66% increase in revenue from affiliate sales, 21% from 
offers and 83% from Live Events. The overall number of transactions 
grew 33% and revenue per transaction increased to £18.11 (2016: 
£15.39).

With experienced senior management joining the team in the year 
and continued development of the e-commerce offering, affiliate 
revenue grew in both London and New York, with particularly strong 
growth in New York, where 172% growth was achieved. During 2017, 
significant investment was made in cost-per-click acquisition marketing, 
particularly in the first half to develop the Group’s presence in a range 
of categories, especially in the hotels and travel vertical. The strength 
of results delivered from organic traffic compared to those from paid 
search led to the decision to focus efforts on organic and natural traffic 
with a subsequent reduction in acquisition spend in the fourth quarter.

The Group is continuing to grow its e-commerce segment, closely 
managing the return from traffic acquisition spend and the impact of 
website and partner technical developments. Progress achieved within 
the period: 

 • Expansion: 74 cities now have e-commerce functionality on the 

websites, and 15 cities have multi language options to attract visits 
and bookings from new audiences via Time Out’s unique content.

 • Optimisation: Further enhancement of the product categories 
with higher average booking value and higher margins through 
partnerships with Booking.com, HotelsCombined, Airbnb, Viator,  
La Fourchette, Clicktripz and Encore.

 • Bookability: Optimised bookability with 24% of page views going 
to pages with bookable content and a book button in December 
2017, compared to 16% at the start of the year; a new homepage 
design launched at the beginning of 2018 further driving a closer 
connection of content and e-commerce.

 •

Integration of the checkout functionality from YPlan, acquired in 
October 2016, has progressed: allowing an improved customer 
checkout experience and reductions in processing costs. 

Plans to focus product development on improving the visibility and 
distribution of offers have reaped rewards in 2017 with revenue 
increasing by 21%. The performance has been enhanced by the 
progress made in the more effective execution of the CRM strategy 
of the Group with the emails of Yplan customers being successfully 
integrated with those of Time Out and the quality and usability of data 
being further enhanced by a strengthened CRM team.

To further monetise customer traffic, exclusive products have been 
developed and launched. In November, the Group launched a limited 
edition, 1,000 run ‘restaurant gift box’ in London which sold out quickly. 
Called ‘Table for Two’, the curated luxury gift box was filled with cards 
giving diners 50% off food at twelve of Time Out’s 100 best restaurants 
in London throughout 2018. Plans are in place to expand this into other 
cities in 2018 and explore other exclusive products with another box 
having been launched in London in February 2018.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOE-commerce revenue growth was also driven by a particularly good 
performance from Live Events arranged and sold by the Group; an 
area which continues to expand across both US and European cities. 
Time Out continues to enhance its experiential offering throughout its 
global footprint with sponsored events having taken place in London, 
New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris and Lisbon. The Group arranged 
791 Live Events for 155k attendees in 2017, up from 250 and 80k 
attendees in 2016. In pursuing new revenue opportunities, the Group 
accepted lower margins on certain events during the second half of 
2017, impacting the gross margin of the Group by over 150 basis 
points. Having established events in 2017, the Group is working 
closely with suppliers and sponsors to ensure that events in 2018 are 
undertaken at an improved margin.

International 
IIn addition to its owned and operated business operations in 76 cities 
across 20 countries, the Group has a presence in a further 32 cities 
across 20 countries through its international licensing arrangements. 
Rights are granted to third parties to publish print magazines and 
produce digital content under the Time Out brand, generating revenue 
through the payment of fees and royalties by third party licensees.

For the full year, revenue from licensees which are billed principally in 
dollars, decreased by 25%, mainly due to the acquisition of Australia 
and Spain and the addition, at no cost, of Hong Kong and Singapore 
and difficult trading conditions experienced by some of the incumbent 
franchisees.

Strengthening & aligning the Digital team
During the period, the Time Out Digital division reorganised its staff, 
resources and skill sets against the objectives of its evolving business 
and global strategy. Senior internal and external appointments were 
made to the Time Out Digital CEO (Christine Petersen) and other key 
roles including MD E-commerce and Chief Technology Officer. The 
reporting lines are now organised functionally and globally which has 
allowed a higher level of coordination, the sharing of best practice, 
content collaboration, the closer alignment of product development 
across the offices and has reduced the cost base. Excluding Time Out 
Market costs and the operating costs of the acquisitions, operating 
expenditure in H2 was £14.8 million (2016: £15.9 million) compared to 
£16.9 million (2016: £13.1 million) in the first half.

Time Out Market
Time Out Market in Lisbon has had another outstanding year, with a 
record 3.6 million visitors in the full year. Total tenant turnover has 
increased by 41% contributing to a 52% increase in local currency 
revenues YoY. This strong revenue growth has delivered an EBITDA of 
£2.3m from the Lisbon market.

The Group is on track to roll out Time Out Market to other cities 
globally:

 • New York – A lease agreement for a new Time Out Market in New 

York was signed in February 2018, which is conditional on obtaining 
a license approval and building permits. With the location in a venue 
near other already operating restaurants, it is expected that the 
market will open in Q4 2018.

 • Boston and Chicago – Conditional lease agreements have been 

signed for new locations in Chicago and Boston. With the benefits 
of planning for the sites already secured, openings are expected in 
2019.

 • Miami – Time Out Market Miami is expected to open in Q4 2018; the 
first line-up of high-profile chefs has been announced and was very 
positively received in the city.

 • Porto – Local authority support and now waiting for final approval.

 •

 •

London – With the support of the landlord, the Group appealed the 
declined planning permission in respect of the site in Spitalfields; if 
planning for the site is granted and runs to timetable it is expected 
that the site would open in late 2019 or early 2020; meanwhile the 
Group continues to explore other possible sites in London.

The Group continues to consider proposals for new locations 
in other cities around the world, including a strong interest in 
management contracts.

In February 2018, a 5-year sponsorship agreement with a supplier of 
beer and soft drinks was signed in Lisbon.

Centrally the division has incurred costs of £2.0m (2016: £1.6m) as 
part of this rollout including start-up costs of £0.2m in respect of new 
markets.

Board Change
The Group is pleased to report that Adam Silver will be appointed Chief 
Financial Officer and to the Board of Directors from 29 March 2018. 
He joins from Just Eat where he was UK CFO, having joined prior to its 
listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Prior to Just 
Eat, he was Group CFO and co-founder of The Karma Communications 
Group. Previously, Adam was an Investment Director at Ingenious Media 
and Hamilton Bradshaw, where he led growth capital investments 
in the media sector. Adam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at 
KPMG where he also spent a number of years within the Strategic & 
Commercial Intelligence practice in London and New York. Adam has a 
degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Leeds. Richard 
Boult will step down at the same time to pursue new opportunities and 
the Group thanks him for his contribution.

Outlook
Clear progress has been made in 2017 evidenced by the revenue 
growth reported, particularly in e-commerce and Time Out Market, 
as the Group continues to evolve into a transactional business. The 
Group continues to execute on its stated growth strategy, with further 
progress anticipated throughout 2018 in both Time Out Digital and in 
Time Out Market.

The Group continued to make focused, strategic investment into the 
Time Out Digital business throughout 2017 to drive future growth and 
operating efficiencies, and has also developed an exciting pipeline of 
new sites for additional Time Out Markets in 2018 and thereafter.

Management remains confident that the Group will deliver against full 
year expectations. 

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTBUSINESS
REVIEW CONTINUED

Financial performance
Revenue
Reported Group revenue for the year has increased by 24% from 
£35.7m to £44.4m primarily through organic growth and the acquisition 
of Time Out franchise partners in Australia and Spain. Growth excluding 
acquisitions and the effect of currency was £3.6m. Time Out Market 
Limited was acquired by the Group on 14 June 2016 and therefore it 
has only been included in the accounts after that date. Accounting 
on a proforma basis for a full year of Time Out Market in 2016, Group 
revenue grew by 19%.

Gross margin
The overall gross margin (revenue less cost of sales) of the Group 
declined by three percentage points YoY to 56% (2016: 59%). This 
was predominantly driven by the traffic acquisition strategy in the 
e-commerce business for the hotel vertical and the expansion at a low 
margin of Live Events. The declines were offset in part by the higher 
gross margin of the businesses acquired in Spain and Australia.  

The margin in Time Out Market declined by 4.4 percentage points 
principally due to the opening of the Time Out Bar in Lisbon. The bar, 
operated directly by Time Out, started in December 2016, and its first 
year of operation has contributed £0.8m of revenue.

Operating expenditure
Group operating expenditure before exceptional costs, share based 
payments, depreciation and amortisation, was £38.9m (2016: 
£32.9m). Excluding the effect of currency translation, total costs grew 
by £5.1m of which £2.5m relates to businesses acquired. Without 
the acquired businesses and at constant currency, H1 operating 
expenditure grew by 26% year on year and declined by 1% in H2 year 
on year as a result of the reorganisation undertaken in June 2017. Of 
the remainder, Time Out Market increased by £1.0m due to associated 
costs of expanding globally, the growth in the operations in Lisbon and 
the start-up costs for new markets. 

Close attention continues to be paid to costs to ensure that both cost 
of sales and operating expenditure and skills of teams are aligned with 
the potential revenue and activities of the company.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA represents the profit or loss before interest, 
taxation, depreciation, amortisation, share based payments, share of 
associate’s loss and one-off exceptional items. 

Reported Adjusted EBITDA loss for the year was £14.2m (2016: 
£10.2m loss), a decline of £4.0m, due to cost of sales, the traffic 
acquisition strategy, the expansion of Time Out Digital activities and a 
full year of costs associated with being a listed company. 

Exceptional costs
One-off exceptional costs include £1.8m (2016: £1.3m) of costs 
relating to redundancy and other payments to reorganise the Group, 
£0.2m of office relocation costs in London, £0.6m of non-cash charges 
for the revaluation of options to acquire the minority interest in Time 

Out Market Lisbon and £0.5m of costs related to the acquisition of new 
countries.  

Share based payments
The value of these options at issuance has been amortised over the 
time to vesting of the option. As at 31 December 2017, 10.9m options 
were outstanding. 

Operating loss
The operating loss for the year was £24.6m (2016: £17.9m) including 
depreciation of £1.1m (2016: £0.7m) and amortisation of intangible 
assets of £4.4m (2016: £3.1m).

The amortisation of intangible assets included £2.3m (2016: 
£1.0m) relating to acquired intangible assets. Other intangible asset 
amortisation, primarily amortisation of software both acquired and 
internally developed, was £2.1m (2016: £2.2m).

Net finance costs
Net finance costs in 2017 of £0.8m (2016: £1.1m) mainly comprise 
interest on third party loans and the foreign exchange loss on financial 
assets. The decrease in finance costs on loans is a result of the 
repayment of senior and mezzanine debt in 2016. 

Foreign exchange
The revenues and costs of Group entities reporting in dollars have been 
consolidated in these financial statements at an average exchange rate 
of $1.29 (2016: $1.36). The operations reporting in euros have been 
consolidated at a rate of €1.14 (2016: €1.22). 

Currency effects for the year as a whole were not significant but 
there was a substantial change between each half. The impact on the 
revenues of the Group and its underlying revenue performance is as 
follows.

2016

£ 
million
H1 
Revenue 16.6
H2 
Revenue 20.5
Full Year 37.1

Underlying 
at 
constant 
currency

f/x

%

% Acquisitions 2017

1.0

6%

0.8

5%

0.3

18.7

(0.1)
0.9

(1%)
2%

2.8
3.6

14%
9%

2.5
2.8

25.7
44.4

Associates
Time Out currently holds a 37.8% shareholding in Flypay. Flypay is 
a mobile technology platform providing solutions for ordering and 
payment within the hospitality sector. The investment is accounted 
for as an associate and the Group’s share of Flypay’s loss for 2017 
of £1.0m is included as ‘Share of associate’s loss’ on the income 
statement. The investment in Flypay is recorded at £6.2m at 31 
December 2017.

18

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCash flow

Cash flows from operating activities
Adjusted EBITDA
Movement in working capital
Other movements
Cash use in operations
Exceptional cash flows
Capital expenditure
Operating cashflow
Net interest paid
Tax credits received
Free cashflow
Pre-acquisition funding to Time Out 
Market
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash 
acquired
Proceeds of pre-IPO preference share 
issue
Proceeds from IPO
IPO costs
Costs relating to share issue
Advance of new borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Repayment of finance leases
Acquisition of minority interest
Cash to restricted cash
Movement in cash

Year ended 
31 December
2017
£’000

Year ended  
31 December
2016
£’000

(14,217)
(3,528)
(197)
(17,942)
(2,877)
(4,386)
(25,205)
(389)
3
(25,591)

(10,231)
(2,134)
(358)
(12,723)
(3,242)
(3,497)
(19,454)
(312)
8
(19,766)

-

(150)

(470)

1,222

-
-
-
(5)
7,809
(1,169)
(59)
(196)
(1,093)
(20,774)

4,000
90,000
(5,281)
-
2,766
(25,999)
(26)
(1,408)
-
45,358

Operating cash flow
The cash used in operations before exceptional costs was £17.9m 
(2016: £12.7m) including a net working capital outflow of £3.5m (2016: 
£2.1m). Working capital balances have been impacted by the payment 
of a lease deposit on the new head office building, the deposit on 
the previous office being repaid in January 2018. This and other one 
off flows in 2017 were £2m including the seasonal growth in working 
capital of the business acquired in Australia. A strong last quarter 
for sales in the year led to a higher level of receivables than in prior 
periods and is the prime cause of the increase in the underlying cash 
out flow.

Capital expenditure of £4.4m (2016: £3.5m) includes £2.4m (2016: 
£1.8m) of capitalised software development costs relating to the teams 
working on the website and digital platforms, the cost of leasehold 
improvements and other equipment. Of the leasehold improvements, 
£1.5m was in respect of the development of new Time Out Market 
locations across the US, in London and Porto. 

Acquisitions
The Group undertook two business combinations in the period. It 
acquired the ordinary share capital of Print & Digital Publishing Pty 
Limited (“TO Australia”) for shares. The acquisition was completed on 2 
June 2017.  

On 14 August 2017, the Group acquired the entire issued share capital 
of 80 Mes Publicacions, S.L., a Spanish company which previously 
was a franchisee of the Group, in exchange for purchase consideration 
of cash of £905k and deferred consideration of £909k in the form of 
shares or cash at the discretion of Group management, with payment 
on the first anniversary of the acquisition date. 

On 28 March and 16 June 2017 the Group took over the existing 
franchisee operations in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. No 
consideration was paid.

New borrowings
In November 2017 Time Out Market received a loan from Incus Capital 
Advisors, S.L. of €9.0m denominated in Euros and repayable in 
instalments over 5 years. The loan has an interest rate of 11% over 
EURIBOR. It is subject to a financial covenant in respect of the EBITDA 
of Time Out Market Lisbon. 

On 27 March 2018 the Company entered into a £20m term loan facility 
agreement with Oakley Capital Investments Limited (“OCI”). The facility 
is for a period of 19 months and has an interest rate of between 10% to 
15% depending on amounts drawn. The proceeds of the new facilities 
are intended to be used by the Group to fund future Time Out Market 
developments.

OCI is a substantial shareholder in the Company as defined by the 
AIM Rules and as such entering into the facility constitutes a related 
party transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 13. With the exception of Peter 
Dubens, who is a director of OCI, the Directors of the Group consider 
that, having consulted with Liberum, the terms of the transaction are 
fair and reasonable insofar as shareholders are concerned.

Net cash and borrowings
Net cash at the period end was £19.3m (2016: £47.5m) as follows: 

At 
31 December 
2017
£’000
28,746
(9,398)
19,348

At 
31 December 
2016
£’000
50,082
(2,598)
47,484

Cash and cash equivalents
Borrowings
Net cash

Julio Bruno
Group Chief Executive Officer
27 March 2018

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORT 
PRINCIPAL RISKS

AND UNCERTAINTIES

The Board sets out below the principal risks and uncertainties that the Directors consider could impact the business. The Board continually 
reviews the potential risks facing the Group and the controls in place to mitigate any potential adverse impacts. The Board also recognises that 
the nature and scope of risks can change and that there may be other risks to which the Group is exposed. The list is therefore not intended to be 
exhaustive. 

There is currently not a Risk Committee in place, so the Audit Committee reviews the risk register regularly as part of its annual agenda and, 
through discussions with management, identifies new potential risks as well as suggests implementation or improvement of existing controls. 

Risk

Mitigation Action/Control

Competition

The Group operates in a highly competitive industry and the advent of new technologies and industry practices may 
adversely affect the Group’s business, results of operations and financial condition. The Group is subject to a number of 
factors relating to product demand, prices, recognition of the “Time Out” brand and the ability to attract and retain new 
customers.

To minimise these risks, the Group continues to invest significantly in the development of its digital offering to ensure 
that it remains innovative, competitive and attractive in the markets in which it operates. The focus on the quality of 
offerings means that the Group is able to respond to changes in the competitive landscape and respond to the needs of 
its readership audience and commercial partners.

Technological 
Risk
IT Systems

The Group is particularly dependent on its IT infrastructure, and any system performance issues or shortcomings 
(for example, system, software or infrastructure failure, damage or denial of access) could cause serious business 
interruption. The efficient and uninterrupted operation of the systems, technology and networks on which the Group 
relies and its ability to provide consumers with reliable, real-time access to its products and services is fundamental to 
the success of the Group’s business. Back-up facilities are in place to ensure business interruptions are minimised and 
internal and customer data is protected from corruption or unauthorised use. Business recovery plans are also in place to 
minimise the effects of damage or denial of access to infrastructure or systems. The Group uses third party resources to 
assist with these areas where necessary.

Technological 
Risk
Technological 
Advancements

Time Out continues to grow at a fast pace and such growth requires ever more complex and sizeable technological 
systems. At the same time, technology itself continues to develop. Any failure to ensure that IT capacity and capability 
keep pace with the business could impair the Group’s ability to grow. To mitigate this risk, the Group makes ongoing 
investments in IT systems, security and people to ensure that they are sufficient for the needs of the business and do not 
become obsolete or compromised.

Privacy 
and Data 
Protection 
Risk

As the Group’s digital revenue offerings grow, the Group increasingly needs to gather and use customers’ personal data in 
order to transact with both businesses and customers. Unauthorised access to customer data could lead to reputational 
damage, compliance issues and a loss of customer confidence. The Group relies on third party contractors and its 
own employees to collect personal data and to maintain its databases and therefore the Group is exposed to the risk 
that such data could be wrongfully appropriated, lost or disclosed, damaged or processed in breach of data protection 
regulations. To mitigate this risk, the Group intends to implement a policy which adopts ISO 270001 principles including, 
the development and implementation of information security policies and procedures (for example, password policies and 
remote access policies), security monitoring software, access policies, password policies, physical access limitations and 
detection and monitoring of fraud from internal staff. Access to the network is protected by a firewall system supplied by 
Cisco. The Group also operates fraud detection systems which use various industry standard anti-fraud rules to prevent 
fraudulent transactions in real time. The Group encrypts sensitive data such as passwords and other certain information 
to ensure there is an additional layer of security.

The Group will operate under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) when the regulations 
become enforceable in May 2018. Significant progress has been made in respect of GDPR readiness and the Group 
anticipates no material issues with compliance on adoption. Compliance with these new regulations will be included on 
the Group risk register going forward and risk commentary updated at year end 2018. 

20

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMORisk

Mitigation Action/Control

Economic 
Environment

Foreign 
Exchange 
Risk

Key 
Management

Brand 
Protection

The Group’s results of operations are affected by overall economic conditions in its key geographic markets via the 
demand for the content of the Group’s publications and websites in those markets as well as the prices which the Group 
can offer to potential advertisers and customers. If the local economy in a key market experiences a downturn, the 
Group’s publications, revenues and profitability could be adversely affected. Further, the UK’s exit from the European 
Union could lead to global political uncertainty and macro-economic uncertainty in the UK economy, as well as an impact 
on the availability of markets and market access across Europe. The geographic diversity of the business and the 
developing breadth in the business provides some mitigation from a downturn in a specific geographical location or part of 
the economy.

A substantial portion of the Group’s consolidated revenue is denominated in euros and US dollars. Since the Group 
reports its financial results in sterling, fluctuations in rates of exchange between sterling and the other currencies, 
particularly euros and US dollars, may have a material adverse effect on the Group’s results of operations. If sterling 
weakens as the UK exits the European Union, it may limit the Group’s ability to seek new opportunities and/or operate in 
other currencies.

The Group’s success depends on its key personnel, particularly its senior management team, and its ability to retain 
them and hire other qualified employees. The loss of a significant number of key personnel may have a negative effect 
on the Group’s ability to deliver its products in a timely manner and would, amongst other things, require the remaining 
key personnel to divert immediate and substantial attention to seeking a replacement. In order to mitigate this risk, 
the HR department monitors employee satisfaction through employee surveys and forums, and uses the information 
to develop staff retention programmes. The Remuneration Committee also seeks to ensure that rewards correspond 
with performance and retention. Finally, the IPO has enabled the business to launch share-based incentives to assist in 
retaining key personnel.

The Group depends on its brand name and any damage to its brand or reputation could impact the ability to attract and 
retain customers with a resultant impact on traffic and revenues, as well as impair the ability of the Group to attract 
employees. The Group has brand guidelines in place which are regularly communicated to all employees and key third 
parties to ensure consistency of voice and approach throughout all marketing activities. There is also a robust strategy 
in place for actively pursuing and defending the Time Out brand name and all supporting trademarks, domain names and 
other intellectual property in all key markets in all relevant classes. Furthermore, the Group employs internal and external 
legal personnel who are experts in intellectual property to manage the trademark and domain name portfolios and there 
are an ever-increasing number of trademarks and domain names applied for and registered across the world.

Other factors

Other economic factors which may affect spending habits of consumers include, but are not limited to, acts of terrorism 
which could affect the willingness of consumers to continue existing spending habits and use of free time.

Operational 
risk
Time Out Market

The Group intends to replicate the market concept in other cities across the world. The roll-out of new markets and the 
ongoing success of the Time Out Market in Lisbon could be negatively affected by a number of factors including:

• 

• 

Terrorist or other visitor incidents, including fire, crowd control, or any other disaster or failure to comply with health 
and safety (including issues relating to food poisoning or other problems with food and/or beverages consumed at 
the Time Out market), security and environmental requirements. These incidents could affect the reputation and 
revenues of Time Out Market and of the Group, and may result in legal proceedings against the Company, TOM or 
another member of the Group.

The roll-out of new markets may take longer than planned or ultimately not succeed, due to delays in or difficulties 
in agreeing commercial terms with landlords, problems in obtaining necessary planning permissions,  delays in 
construction or significant inflation in costs; and difficulties in attracting premium restaurateurs on adequate 
financial terms.

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTGovernance

STRATEGY IN ACTION
Monetising businesses 
Time Out is connecting global and local 
brands and businesses with its engaged, 
valuable audience through a variety 
of solutions spanning advertising and 
sponsorship as well as Premium Profiles 
which allow venues such as restaurants, 
bars and hotels to improve their exposure 
on the platform.

It is Time Out’s positive, trusted content that is of great 
value for an audience craving authentic inspiration and for 
advertising partners craving brand safe environments. In 
2017, Time Out delivered a number of high-impact campaigns 
across multiple touchpoints such as digital, mobile, social, 
print and Live Events. Clients included TAP Air Portugal, British 
Airways, Budweiser, Marriott, Lexus and many more. Bringing 
digital and print together, Time Out’s Creative Solutions team 
delivered the UK’s first freesheet video-in-print ad as part of 
a six-week multi-platform campaign for Three. The campaign 
spanned all of Time Out’s advertising channels leveraging the 
full strengths of its high-traffic channels with bespoke content 
and advertorials across print, digital and social media. It also 
included experiential elements, taking over ‘Movies on the 
River’ – a boat which sailed down the River Thames screening 
films as part of Time Out’s Live Events programme.

à	Read more about ‘’Monetising businesses’ on page 16

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO23

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www.timeout.comSTRATEGIC REPORTBOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Peter Dubens,
Non-Executive 
Chairman
Mr Dubens joined the 
Group in November 
2010 as a Non-
Executive Director and 
was appointed Non-
Executive Chairman in 
May 2016. Mr Dubens 
is the founder and 
Managing Partner of 
the Oakley Capital Group, a privately owned asset management and 
advisory group comprising Private Equity, Venture Capital and Corporate 
Finance operations managing over €1.5 billion. Mr Dubens founded 
Oakley Capital in 2002 to be a best of breed, entrepreneurially driven 
investment house, creating an ecosystem that supports the companies 
the Oakley Capital Group invests in, whether they are early-stage 
companies or established businesses. The vision of Oakley Capital 
has always been to encourage and back entrepreneurship. To that end, 
Oakley Capital Private Equity invests in and supports the continued 
growth and development of some of Europe’s leading companies, 
including the iconic sailing brand, North Sails and Facile, Italy’s leading 
price comparison website. Mr Dubens has substantial AIM company 
experience, he is a director of Oakley Capital Investments plc and 
previously held the position of Chairman of Pipex Communications plc 
and 365 Media Group plc.

Lord Rose of 
Monewden,
Non-Executive 
Director
Lord Rose joined the 
Group in December 
2015 as Chairman 
of Time Out Market 
Limited and was 
appointed as a Non-
Executive Director in 
June 2016. Lord Rose has led a distinguished 40-year career in retail, 
including as Chief Executive and then Chairman of Marks & Spencer 
plc (2004-2010). Lord Rose has also held Chief Executive positions at 
Arcadia Group plc, Booker plc, and Argos plc. Lord Rose is the current 
Chairman of Fat Face Group, Oasis Healthcare Group, Majid Al Futtaim 
Retail, Dressipi and Ocado and a Non-Executive Director of the Board 
of Woolworths Holdings Ltd (South Africa). Lord Rose was knighted for 
services to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility in 2008 
and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2014. Lord Rose is a member 
of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Julio Bruno,
Group CEO
Mr Bruno joined Time Out 
Group in October 2015 
as Executive Chairman 
and was appointed Group 
CEO in June 2016. In 
June 2016, he took 
the company public 
on London’s AIM. Mr 
Bruno has a successful 
international executive 

career, spanning several countries and companies in sectors such as 
travel, technology, media and e-commerce. He previously was TripAdvisor’s 
Global Vice President of Sales (B2B) based in New York, Travelport’s 
Vice President for Canada, Latin America & the Caribbean and Cendant 
Corporation’s Managing Director (President) of Continental Europe & 
South America. Prior to this, Mr Bruno held senior international positions 
at Regus plc, Energizer and Diageo plc. He is involved with the start-up 
community as an investor and board adviser in several companies globally. 
Mr Bruno holds a master’s degree in International Business from the 
University of London, a BSc in Business and Economics from SUNY (State 
University of New York), and a postgraduate certificate on leadership from 
Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. 

Richard Boult,
Chief Financial 
Officer
Mr Boult joined the Group 
in April 2016 as Chief 
Financial Officer.  
Mr Boult was previously 
Group Finance Director 
at BCA Marketplace plc, 
including at the time of 
its listing on the main 
market of the London 

Stock Exchange. Prior to joining BCA Marketplace, Mr Boult held a number 
of senior finance roles at both group and regional levels in major listed 
companies including Wolseley plc, Darty plc and 21st Century Fox Inc. Mr 
Boult has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge 
and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
in London.

24

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOAlexander 
Collins, 
Non-Executive 
Director
Mr Collins joined the 
Group in November 
2010 as a Non-
Executive Director. Mr 
Collins is a Partner 
at Oakley Capital 
Private Equity and 

has 20 years of private equity investment and operational experience, 
including originating and structuring transactions in a range of sectors 
and geographies, including growth equity, MBOs, restructuring and 
turnaround situations. Mr Collins joined Oakley Capital Private Equity 
in 2007 as one of the founding partners and has been an Investment 
and Board Director of a range of international businesses, including 
Host Europe, Emesa, Intergenia, Verivox, North Sails and Facile. Prior 
to joining Oakley Capital Private Equity, Mr Collins started his career at 
GE Capital in 1995 before being seconded to Advent International for 
two years as an Associate Director. He subsequently joined Henderson 
Private Capital as Principal and was then a Partner at Wharfedale 
Capital, where he was involved in the purchase of secondary direct 
private equity assets. Mr Collins holds an MSc from the London School 
of Economics and a BA in Economic History from Union College,  
New York.

Christine 
Petersen, 
Time Out  
Digital CEO
Ms Petersen joined the 
Group in February 2016 
as a Non-Executive 
Director and stepped 
in as the interim CEO 
of Time Out Digital in 
January 2017, in April 
2017 she took over the role permanently. Most recently, she was the 
Chief Consumer Officer and CMO of Treato, an Israel-based venture-
backed start-up company in the digital healthcare sector. She previously 
spent nine years with TripAdvisor, serving as President of TripAdvisor for 
Business from 2010 to 2013 and as Chief Marketing Officer from 2004 
to 2010. Prior to working for TripAdvisor, Ms Petersen served in a variety 
of management roles in digital travel and financial services companies, 
including Preview Travel, Travelocity (upon Preview Travel’s acquisition 
by Travelocity), Charles Schwab and Co. and Fidelity Investments. 
Previously, she began her career with American Express in 1989. She 
serves as a Board Director to Bankrate, Inc. (a NYSE-listed company), 
sitting on both the Audit and Remuneration Committees, and acts as an 
adviser and/or investor in several start-up businesses. Ms Petersen is 
an MBA graduate of Columbia University and previously graduated from 
Colby College with a BA in Economics.

Tony Elliott, 
Non-Executive 
Director
Mr Elliott founded Time 
Out in 1968 with £70 
during a summer break 
from Keele University. 
The Time Out magazine 
was initially a folded-down 
poster equivalent to eight 
pages of today’s printed 
format that Mr Elliott 

handed out himself. The range of curated content sought to reflect the 
best of what was happening in London together with a focus on the issues 
of the day and laid the foundations for the Time Out brand’s coverage and 
culture today. Over the years, Mr Elliott transformed Time Out into a global 
media brand and, in November 2010, sold a controlling share of Time 
Out to Oakley Capital to provide operational support and investment to 
bring the brand back under common ownership and to develop the digital 
platform. Mr Elliott has been a Non-Executive Director of the Company 
since November 2010, having previously served as Executive Chairman 
of Time Out since its founding in 1968. Mr Elliott is currently a director 
and/or trustee of a number of cultural institutions including Human Rights 
Watch (UK charity), Granta Publications and Create London. At the end 
of 2017, he stepped down as director and/or trustee of The Roundhouse 
(where he also served as Vice Chair), Somerset House Trust and Somerset 
House Enterprises Ltd. In addition, Mr Elliott has previously acted as 
a director and/or trustee of Human Rights Watch’s London Committee 
(founding Chair), HRW International Board, Film London, Soho Theatre 
Company, The Photographer’s Gallery, The British Film Institute (Governor) 
and BFI Production Board (Chairman). In May 2014, Mr Elliott received the 
prestigious Goodman Award, which honours an individual who has made 
an outstanding long-term contribution to the arts in a voluntary capacity.

Matthew Riley,
Non-Executive 
Director
Mr Riley joined the Group 
in January 2017 as a 
Non-Executive Director. Mr 
Riley is the Founder of the 
Daisy Group. He served 
as Chief Executive Officer 
at Daisy until 2015 and is 
now the group’s Chairman. 
Since founding Daisy in 
2001, Mr Riley has driven the rapid growth of the company to create one 
of the UK’s leading business technology and communications service 
providers. He floated the company on the Alternative Investment Market 
in 2009, grew the business to revenues of £350m and, in January 2015, 
took it back into private ownership in a £494m deal. Mr Riley is Chairman 
of numerous start-up businesses, an award-winning entrepreneur and 
fervent advocate of UK enterprise, regional growth and entrepreneurship. 
Mr Riley is a member of and chairs each of the Group’s Audit Committee 
and the Remuneration Committee.

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCECORPORATE

GOVERNANCE REPORT 

Introduction
This section of the report sets out the Group’s approach to governance 
and provides further information on how the Board and its committees 
operate. 

The Directors acknowledge the importance of high standards of 
corporate governance. The Company is not required to comply with 
the UK Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”) however it intends 
to continue to adopt the principal provisions of the UK Corporate 
Governance Code (“the Code”) as appropriate for the size and nature of 
the Company and given the composition of the board. The Company is 
also mindful of the recommendations of the QCA Corporate Governance 
Code for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies (“QCA guidelines”). 

Composition of the Board
The Board is the link between the Shareholders and Executive 
management and is responsible for the successful stewardship of the 
Group. As such the Board plays a key role in the corporate governance 
process.

During the period 23 January to 31 December 2017, the Board 
comprised of eight Directors, three of whom were Executive Directors 
and five of whom were Non-Executive Directors, reflecting a blend 
of different experiences and backgrounds. Biographical details of 
current Board members are shown on page 24. The Board believes 
that the composition of the Board brings a desirable range of skills 
and experience in light of the Company’s challenges and opportunities, 
while at the same time ensuring that no individual (or small group of 
individuals) can dominate the Board’s decision making. Notwithstanding 
Lord Rose’s entitlements under the Time Out Market Equity Incentive 
Plan the Company regarded Lord Rose and Matthew Riley as 
“independent Non-Executive Directors” within the meaning of the 
QCA Code and free from any business or other relationship that could 
materially interfere with the exercise of their judgement.

From 1 January 2017 to 23 January 2017, when Mr Riley joined 
the Board and Ms Petersen became Executive Director, the Board 
comprised seven Directors, two of whom were Executive Directors and 
five of whom were Non-Executive Directors.

As of January 2017, Ms Petersen stepped in as the interim Chief 
Executive Officer of Time Out Digital before being appointed to 
the permanent role as of 12 April 2017. On interim appointment, 
she stepped down as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and 
Remuneration Committee and could no longer be considered an 
independent Non-Executive Director. She continues to serve on the 
Board as an Executive Director. Matthew Riley, who joined the Company 
as a Non-Executive Director in January 2017, replaced Ms Petersen in 
these Chairman roles.

The Board’s composition and skill set is considered appropriate 
for the Group’s current stage of development. The experience 
and knowledge of each of the Directors gives them the ability to 
constructively challenge strategy and to scrutinise performance. As the 
Board is small, there is not a separate Nominations Committee and 
recommendations for appointments to the Board will be considered by 
the Board as a whole after due evaluation. 

Board Role and Meetings
The Board is responsible for the Group’s strategy and for its overall 
management, as well as setting the Group’s values and standards. The 
operation of the Board is documented in a formal schedule of matters 
reserved for its approval which is reviewed annually. These matters 
relate to:

 • All of the Group’s strategic aims and objectives;

 •

 •

The structure and capital of the Group;

Financial reporting, controls and policies including those around 
cyber protection; 

 • Setting budgets and forecasts; 

 •

Internal controls; 

 • Approval of any significant contracts, expenditure, partnerships and/

or ventures; 

 • Effective communication with shareholders; 

 • Any changes to the Board membership or structure, including 

delegation of authority; 

 • Approval for remuneration for Executive Directors; and

 • Approval of appointment of Key Management Personnel  

and Directors

Non-Executive Directors communicate directly with Executive Directors 
and senior management between formal Board meetings. 

The Board met eight times during 2017. Directors are expected to 
attend all meetings of the Board and committees on which they sit, and 
to devote sufficient time to their duties to the Group. In the event that 
Directors are unable to attend a meeting, their comments on papers 
to be considered at the meeting will be discussed in advance with the 
Chairmen so that their contribution can be included in the wider Board 
discussion. 

The following table shows Directors’ attendance at scheduled Board 
and Committee meetings for the year to 31 December 2017:

Peter Dubens
Christine Petersen
Lord Rose
Alexander Collins
Tony Elliott
Matthew Riley
Julio Bruno
Richard Boult

BOARD
7/7
7/7
5/7
7/7
7/7
6/7
7/7
7/7

AUDIT
–
–
3/3
–
–
3/3
–
–

REMUNERATION
–
–
1/1
–
–
1/1
–
–

26

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOBoard Effectiveness 
All Directors take part in a thorough induction process on joining the 
Board, tailored to the existing knowledge and experience of the Director 
concerned. 

The performance of the Board is fundamental to the Company’s 
success. The performance of the Board and its Committees, including 
individual members, is evaluated regularly by the Chairman, with the 
aim of improving their effectiveness.

All Directors are able to take independent professional advice in the 
furtherance of their duties, if necessary, at the Company’s expense. In 
addition, the Directors have direct access to the advice and services of 
the Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer.

Key Management
The Key Management roles that have been identified by the Board are 
as follows:

 • Group Chief Executive Officer

 • Chief Executive Officer, Time Out Digital

 • Chief Executive Officer, Time Out Market

 • Chief Financial Officer

Board Committees
The board has delegated specific responsibilities to the Audit 
Committee and the Remuneration Committee, details of which are set 
out below. Each committee has written terms of reference setting out 
its duties, authorities and reporting responsibilities.

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has primary responsibility for monitoring the 
quality of internal controls to ensure that the financial performance of 
the Group is properly measured and reported. It receives and reviews 
reports from the Group’s management relating to the interim and 
annual accounts and the accounting and internal control systems in 
use throughout the Group. It meets with external Auditors throughout 
the year to discuss their findings in relation to the annual accounts. 
The Audit Committee aims to meet not less than three times in each 
financial year, and it has unrestricted access to the Group’s External 
Auditors.

Membership of the Audit Committee includes only independent Non-
Executive Directors. Following the change in Ms Petersen’s role in 
January 2017, she resigned from this Committee. From the 23 January 
2017, the Audit Committee comprised of Lord Rose and Matthew Riley 
and was chaired by Mr Riley.

More information about this Board committee can be found in the Audit 
Committee report on page 33. 

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee reviews the performance of the Executive 
Directors and makes recommendations to the Board on matters 
relating to their remuneration and terms of service. The Remuneration 
Committee also makes recommendations to the Board on proposals 
for the granting of share options and other equity incentives pursuant 
to any employee share option scheme or equity incentive plans in 
operation from time to time.

The Remuneration Committee meets as and when necessary, but 
aims to meet at least twice each year. As part of the responsibility of 
the committee, the members have regard to the recommendations 
put forward in the QCA Code and, where appropriate, the QCA 
Remuneration Committee Guide and associated guidance. 

Membership of the Remuneration Committee includes only independent 
Non-Executive Directors. Following the change in Ms Petersen’s role in 
January 2017, she resigned from this Committee. From the 23 January 
2017, the Remuneration Committee comprised of Lord Rose and 
Matthew Riley and was chaired by Mr Riley.

More information about this Board Committee can be found in the 
Directors’ Remuneration report on page 34. 

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCECORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE REPORT CONTINUED 

Internal controls
The Board has ultimate responsibility for the Group’s system of internal 
control and for reviewing its effectiveness. However well the system 
is designed to manage risk, it cannot eliminate all risk, and therefore 
it provides reasonable, not absolute, assurance against material 
misstatement or loss. The Board considers that the internal controls 
in place are appropriate for the size, complexity and risk profile of the 
Group. The principal elements of the Group’s internal control system 
include:

 • Close management of the day-to-day activities of the Group by the 

Executive Directors;

 • An organisational structure with defined levels of responsibility, 
which promotes entrepreneurial decision making and rapid 
implementation whilst minimising risks;

 • A comprehensive annual budgeting process, producing a detailed 
integrated profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow, which is 
approved by the Board;

 • Detailed monthly reporting of performance against budget; and

 • Central control over key areas such as capital expenditure 

authorisation and banking facilities.

The Group continues to review its system of internal control to ensure 
compliance with best practice, whilst also having regard to its size and 
the resources available. The Board considers that the introduction of an 
internal audit function is not appropriate at the current time, however 
an internal review is completed by internal senior members of the 
finance function in order to ensure accuracy in the financial reporting.

During 2017, the Group took the opportunity to review their approach to 
business continuity and disaster recovery and towards the end of the 
year, entered in to a three year contract with a specialised third party 
solution provider.  A recovery site has been in place since November 
2017 with further testing and risk assessments scheduled through 
2018 for both head office and overseas locations.

Relations with shareholders
Copies of the annual report are sent to all Shareholders. Copies of 
the annual and interim reports can be downloaded from the investors 
section on www.timeout.com. Other information for Shareholders and 
interested parties is also provided on that website. Written or e-mailed 
enquiries are handled by the Company Secretary. The Secretary can be 
reached at the registered address or at companysecretary@timeout.
com. The Group has an ongoing programme of individual meetings with 
institutional Shareholders and analysts following the preliminary and 
half-year results presentations to the City. These meetings allow the 
Group Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer to update 
shareholders on strategy and the Group’s performance. Additional 
meetings with institutional investors and/or analysts are arranged from 
time to time. All members of the Board receive copies of feedback 
reports from the City presentations and meetings, thus keeping them in 
touch with shareholder opinion.

Shareholders are given the opportunity to ask questions and raise 
issues at the Annual General Meeting (AGM); this can be done formally 
during the meeting or informally with the Directors after it. The AGM will 
be held on 8 June 2018 at 77 Wicklow Street, London, WC1X 9JY. The 
notice of the AGM accompanies this Annual Report and Accounts.

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

Richard Boult
Company Secretary

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMODIRECTORS’

REPORT

The Directors present their report together with the audited financial 
statements for the year ended 31 December 2017. The Corporate 
Governance report on pages 26 to 28 also forms part of the Directors’ 
Report.

Future Developments
A review of the Group’s outlook can be found in the Business Review  
on page 15.

General Information
The Company referenced in the Annual Report and Accounts is Time 
Out Group plc, a UK registered company at 77 Wicklow Street, London 
WC1X 9JY. The Group referenced in the Annual Report and Accounts 
includes the Company as well as the subsidiaries listed in note 16 of 
the financial statements.

Result and Dividends
The Group has reported its audited accounts in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the 
European Union. The Group’s results are set out in the Consolidated 
Income Statement on page 44. The Company has prepared the 
individual Company accounts in accordance with FRS 101.

Principal Activity
Time Out Group is the leading global media and entertainment business 
that inspires and enables people to make the most of the city. Through 
powerful content, top-quality curation, enabling technology and 
exceptional experiences, Time Out helps discover, book and share 
what the world’s cities have to offer. Operating in 108 cities across 39 
countries, this iconic brand has a monthly global audience reach of 217 
million.

Across multiple platforms comprising digital, app, mobile, social and 
print and its physical presence via Live Events and Time Out Market, 
the Group aims to connect consumers and businesses in the leisure, 
travel and local entertainment sector through B2C and B2B offerings.

Review of Business
This Annual Report and Accounts has been prepared to provide 
Shareholders with a fair and balanced review of the Group’s business 
and the outlook for the future development of the Group as well as 
the principal risks and uncertainties which could affect the Group’s 
performance.

The table below identifies where to find specific information related to 
the business review:

Content
Q&A with the CEO
Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”)
Business Review including Outlook
Principal Risks & Uncertainties
Corporate Governance
Accounts and Note Disclosure

Section
Strategic section
Strategic section
Strategic section
Strategic section
Governance section
Financial statements

Page
8
14
15
20
26
44

Branches outside the UK
The Group operates a branch in France and has subsidiaries in the UK, 
Portugal, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States 
of America.

The Group loss for the year after taxation was £26.0m (2016: loss of 
£18.6m). The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend 
(2016: £nil). 

Events Since the End of the Year
Information relating to events since the end of the year is given in note 
31 of the accounts.

Directors 
The Directors of the Company who were in office during the year and 
up to the date of this Report, together with their biographical details is 
shown on page 24. 

Following the change to her role in early 2017, Christine Petersen 
resigned as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and Remuneration 
Committee and Matthew Riley was appointed in her place. More 
information can be found in the Corporate Governance report on  
page 26.

Adam Silver will be appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and to  
the Board of Directors from 29 March 2018. Richard Boult will step 
down at same time.

Further information on Directors’ induction process can be found in the 
Corporate Governance report on page 26. 

Directors’ Interests
The Directors’ Interests in the Company’s shares and options over 
ordinary shares are shown in the Directors’ Remuneration report on 
page 34. 

Lord Rose participates in an equity incentive plan in Time Out Market 
Limited. Under the plan, Lord Rose has subscribed for 3% of the equity 
in Time Out Market Limited, including direct subsidiaries, subject 
to provisions in respect of continued service. In the absence of an 
earlier exit event such as the disposal of Time Out Market Limited, 
the members of this plan may put their vested awards to the Company 
within three months of the publication of Time Out Group plc’s audited 
accounts in 2021 at a value determined by reference to the 2020 
adjusted EBITDA of Time Out Market.

Except for the amounts disclosed in the Remuneration Report, 
no Director has any beneficial interest in the share capital of any 
subsidiary or associate undertaking. 

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REPORT CONTINUED

Directors’ Indemnity  
and Liability Insurance
The Company has purchased and maintained throughout the financial 
year Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance in respect of itself and 
its Directors.

The Directors also have the benefit of the indemnity provision 
contained in the Company’s Articles of Association which represents a 
qualifying third-party indemnity provision as defined by Section 234 of 
the Companies Act 2006. The indemnity was in force throughout the 
financial period and at the date of approval of the financial statements.

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in 
Respect of the Financial Statements
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the 
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulation.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements 
for each financial year. Under that law the directors have prepared the 
Group financial statements in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and 
company financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting 
Standards, comprising FRS 101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and 
applicable law). Under company law the Directors must not approve the 
financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and 
fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and Company and of the 
profit or loss of the Group and Company for that period. In preparing the 
financial statements, the Directors are required to:

 •

 •

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 
consistently;

state whether applicable IFRSs as adopted by the European 
Union have been followed for the Group financial statements and 
United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 101, have 
been followed for the Company financial statements, subject to 
any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial 
statements;

 • make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable 

and prudent; and

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

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records 
that are sufficient to show and explain the Group and Company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the Group and Company and enable them to  
ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 
2006 and, as regards the Group financial statements, Article 4 of the 
IAS Regulation.

The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
Group and Company 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 
company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the 
preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Directors consider that the Annual Report and Accounts, taken 
as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the 
information necessary for shareholders to assess the Group and 
Company’s performance, business model and strategy.

Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in Board 
of Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

 •

 •

 •

the Company financial statements, which have been prepared in 
accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 
101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and applicable law), give a 
true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and 
loss of the company;

the Group financial statements, which have been prepared in 
accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, give a 
true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and 
loss of the Group; and

the Directors’ Report includes a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and the position of the Group 
and Company, together with a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties that it faces. 

In the case of each Director in office at the date the Directors’ Report 
is approved:

 •

 •

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

they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a 
Director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the Group and Company’s auditors 
are aware of that information. 

Website Publication
The Directors are responsible for ensuring the Annual Report and 
Accounts are made available on a website and are published on 
the Company’s website in accordance with legislation in the United 
Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of the Annual 
Report and Accounts, which may vary from legislation in other 
jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the Company’s website 
is the responsibility of the Directors. The Directors’ responsibility also 
extends to the ongoing integrity of the Annual Report and Accounts 
contained therein.

Political Donations
The Company made no political donations during the year (2016: £nil).

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOFinancial Instruments  
and Related Matters
The financial risk management objectives and policies of the Group, 
including credit risk, interest rate risk and currency risk are provided in 
note 24 of the accounts.

Share Capital
The Company’s share capital comprises one class of Ordinary 
Shares with a nominal value of £0.001 each. At 31 December 2017, 
133,362,889 Ordinary Shares were in issue (2016: 131,166,644 
Ordinary Shares).

Substantial Shareholdings
In accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules DTR 5, 
the Company as at 21 March 2018 (being the last practicable date 
before the publication of this report) has been notified of the following 
disclosable interests in its issued ordinary shares:

Shareholder
Oakley Capital Private Equity
Oakley Capital Investment Limited
Woodford Investment 
Management
Invesco Perpetual
Insight Investment Management

Ordinary shares held
45,361,015
31,436,385

% of 
ownership
34.01
23.57

20,040,000
16,083,334
7,521,327

15.03
12.06
5.64

Woodford Investment Management and Invesco Perpetual both have 
ownership interests in Oakley Capital Investment Limited that pre-date 
its ownership interest in the Company. Please refer to the admission 
document for more information.

Share Option Schemes
Details of employee share option schemes are set up in note 29 of the 
accounts.

Going Concern
The Directors confirm they have a reasonable expectation that the 
Company and Group have adequate resources to continue in operation 
for the foreseeable future and at least 12 months from the date of 
signing these financial statements and consider it appropriate to adopt 
the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the Company and 
Group financial statements.

This confirmation is made having considered the financial position of 
the Group on the basis of the latest budgets and forecasts, the cash 
balance of £29.8 million at 31 December 2017 and the availability of 
future financing, including the £20 million credit facility entered into 
in March 2018, committed until October 2019, to help accelerate the 
roll-out of new markets.  As new markets are opened the Directors 
will explore alternative financing options from a number of potential 
sources.  The Directors have considered downside risks to the Group’s 
plans, together with options available to reduce the rate of cash burn 
in the short to medium term, and assessed the potential impact 
these would have on the Group’s liquidity. In evaluating these risks 

the Directors have considered the Group’s history of operating losses 
and the cash outflows that are expected to continue as the Group 
undertakes the expansion of the Time Out Markets business.

Research & Development

The Group undertakes activity which could be classified as research 
and development. This is further explained in note 2 of the accounts. 

Conflicts of Interest
Save as set out below, there are no actual or potential conflicts of 
interest between the duties of the Directors of the Company and the 
private interests or other duties that they may also have.

Peter Dubens is a managing partner of and founder of Oakley Capital 
and has direct involvement in that company, its subsidiaries and 
associated companies.

Alexander Collins is also a partner of Oakley Capital.

Lord Rose has a minority interest in Time Out Market Limited as 
described in the Directors’ Interest section of this report.

Matthew Riley is a Director and significant shareholder in Daisy Group 
Holdings Limited. Time Out England Limited engage with a subsidiary 
company to provide IT services.

Further information is set out in note 30 of the accounts.

Relationships with Major Shareholders  
and Associates
On admission of its shares following the IPO in June 2016, the 
Company entered into a relationship agreement with TO (Bermuda) 
Limited, TONY (Bermuda) Limited, Oakley Capital Investment Limited, 
Oakley Capital Private Equity (“Oakley Entities”), the principal purpose 
of which is to ensure the Company is capable of carrying on, at all 
times, its business independently of them and their associates. 
Under the relationship agreement, providing that the Oakley Entities’ 
combined holdings are greater than 20%, they shall be entitled to 
appoint two Directors.

Employee Involvement
The Group is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and 
opposes all forms of discrimination. Applications from people with 
disabilities will be considered fairly and if existing employees become 
disabled, every effort is made to retain them within the workforce 
wherever reasonable and practicable. The Group also endeavours to 
provide equal opportunities in the training, promotion and general 
career development of disabled employees.

The Group regularly provides employees with information of concern 
to them, which incorporates the Group’s current performance and its 
future aims and strategies. The Group conducts an Annual Employee 
Survey and uses the results of this survey to improve performance in 
areas that are important to staff. A monthly forum is held to ensure 
employees receive business updates and have the opportunity to 
communicate with senior management directly.

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REPORT CONTINUED

Diversity
The Group is committed to reflecting diversity in its workforce and aims 
to improve this balance going forward.

As of 31 December 2017, the Group had the following employees:

All employees
Senior managers 
Board of Directors 

Male
180
14
7

Female
222
9
1

Total
402
23
8

Independent Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has expressed willingness to 
continue in office as auditor and a resolution to reappoint them will be 
proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The AGM will be held on 8 June 2018. The ordinary business comprises 
receipt of the Directors’ report and the audited financial statements for 
the period ending 31 December 2017, the re-election of Directors, the 
reappointment of PwC as independent auditors and authorisation of the 
Directors to determine the Auditors’ remuneration. The Notice of Annual 
General Meeting and ordinary and special resolutions to be put to the 
meeting are included at the end of this Annual Report and Accounts.

Other Policies in Place
The Group has policies in place to mitigate risk surrounding fraud, 
bribery, modern slavery and whistle-blowing amongst other things. It 
operates a Code of Conduct.

The Directors Report was approved by the board on 27 March 2018 and 
signed on its behalf by

Richard Boult
Company Secretary

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOAUDIT

COMMITTEE REPORT

The Audit Committee is responsible for ensuring that the financial 
performance of the Group is properly reported and reviewed. Its role 
includes monitoring the integrity of the financial statements (including 
the Annual Report and Accounts and interim accounts and results 
announcements), reviewing internal control and risk management 
systems, reviewing any changes to accounting policies, reviewing and 
monitoring the extent of the non-audit services undertaken by external 
auditors and advising on the appointment of external auditors.

Composition and Role  
of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee’s members during the year were Christine Petersen, 
who resigned from the Committee on 23 January 2017, Matthew Riley, 
who was appointed Chairman on 23 January 2017, and Lord Rose. 
Richard Boult also attended Committee meetings in his role as Chief 
Financial Officer. The Committee met three times in 2017 and aims 
to meet at least three times annually. Details on attendance for these 
meetings can be found in the Corporate Governance Report on page 26.

Following the change to Ms Petersen’s role in early 2017 and her 
resignation from the committee, Matthew Riley was appointed in her 
place. The Board is satisfied that the Chairmen and other members of 
the committee have senior Director experience in major listed companies 
and is therefore satisfied that members have recent and relevant 
financial experience. More information on Mr Riley and Lord Rose’s 
background can be found in the Directors’ Biographies on page 24.

The main duties of the Audit Committee are set out in its Terms of 
Reference which are available on the Company’s website www.timeout.
com and are also available on request from the Company Secretary. 
The main items of business to be considered by the Audit Committee 
include:

 • Review of the Annual Report and Accounts; 

 • Consideration of the external audit report and management 

representation letter; 

 • Going concern review; 

 • Review of the audit plan and audit engagement letter; 

 • Review of the suitability of the external Auditor; 

 • Review of the risk management and internal control systems; 

 • Review and approval of the interim results and dividend; 

 • Assessment of the need for an internal audit function; and 

 • Review of the regular whistleblowing reports.

Activities for the year
The main activities for the year included:

review of the FY17 audit plan and audit engagement letter; 

review of the interim financial results and Annual Report and 
Accounts; 

consideration of the external audit report and management 
representation letter; 

going concern review; 

review levels of financial processes and procedures; 

 • meeting with the external auditor without management present; and 

 •

review of whistleblowing and anti-bribery arrangements. 

 •

 •

 •

 •

 •

 •

Role of the External Auditor
The Audit Committee monitors the relationship with the external 
Auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP who were appointed in 2013, to 
ensure that auditor independence and objectivity are maintained. As 
part of its review the Committee monitors the provision of non-audit 
services by the external Auditor. The breakdown of fees between audit 
and non-audit services is provided in note 7 of the Group’s accounts. 
The non-audit fees relate to a half-year review, company secretarial 
services and transfer pricing advice.

The Audit Committee also assesses the Auditor’s performance. Having 
reviewed the Auditor’s independence and performance, the Audit 
Committee has recommended that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP be 
reappointed as the Company’s Auditor at the next AGM.

Audit Process
The Auditor prepares an audit plan for its review of the full year 
financial statements. The audit plan sets out the scope of the audit, 
areas to be targeted and the audit timetable. This plan is reviewed and 
agreed in advance by the Audit Committee. Following its review, the 
Auditor presents its finding to the Committee for discussion. Areas 
of significant risk and other matters of audit relevance are regularly 
communicated.

Internal Audit
At present, the Group does not have an internal audit function, and 
the Committee believes that management is able to derive assurance 
as to the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls and risk 
management procedures without one. The Committee will continue to 
review this decision.

Risk Management and Internal Controls
As described on page 28 of the Corporate Governance Report, the 
Group has established a framework of risk management and internal 
control systems, policies and procedures. The Audit Committee is 
responsible for reviewing the risk management and internal control 
framework and ensuring that it operates effectively. During the year, the 
Committee has reviewed the framework and the Committee is satisfied 
that the internal control systems in place are currently operating 
effectively.

Whistleblowing
The Group has in place a whistleblowing policy which sets out the 
formal process by which an employee of the Group may, in confidence, 
raise concerns about possible improprieties in financial reporting or 
other matters. Whistleblowing is a standing item on the Committee’s 
agenda and updates are provided at each meeting.

consideration of key audit matters and how they are addressed; 

During the year there were no incidents for consideration.

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

Matthew Riley
Chairman of the  
Audit Committee

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCEDIRECTORS’

REMUNERATION REPORT

Share Options
The Company operates a Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) which is a 
discretionary share plan.

The LTIP is designed to encourage continual improvement and to 
align the interests and objectives of senior management with those of 
shareholders in the medium term. More details of this scheme are in 
note 29 of the Consolidated Accounts. The Remuneration Committee 
supervises the operation of the LTIP and the grant of Awards to 
Executive Directors and the Board oversees LTIP for employees.

Service Contracts and  
Letters of Appointment
Executive Directors
The service agreement of the Group Chief Executive Officer is 
terminable by the Company giving him 12 months’ notice in writing, or 
by the Group Chief Executive Officer giving the Company nine months’ 
notice in writing. The service agreement of the Chief Financial Officer 
and the Chief Executive Officer Time Out Digital is terminable by either 
party giving the other six months’ notice in writing.

Non-Executive Directors
The Non-Executive Directors’ letters of appointment may be terminated 
by either party giving three months’ written notice. 

The Group is not required to prepare a Directors’ Remuneration report. 
The following disclosures are prepared on a voluntary basis for the 
Group.

Composition and Role
The Remuneration Committee’s members during the year were 
Christine Petersen, who resigned from the Committee 23 January 2017, 
Matthew Riley, who was appointed Chairman on 23 January 2017, and 
Lord Rose. The Committee operated under the Terms of Reference 
and was responsible for reviewing the performance of the Executive 
Directors and for making recommendations to the Board on matters 
relating to their remuneration and terms of service. The Committee 
was also responsible for making recommendations to the Board on 
proposals for the granting of share options.

The Remuneration Committee met once during the year to  
31 December 2017 and intends to meet at least two times a year in the 
future.

More information about the members of this Committee can be found 
on page 24 in the Director’s biographies.

Remuneration Policy
The objective of the Group’s remuneration policy is to attract, 
motivate and retain high quality individuals who will contribute fully 
to the success of the Group. To achieve this objective, the Group 
provides competitive salaries and benefits to all employees. Executive 
Directors’ remuneration is set to create an appropriate balance 
between both fixed and performance-related elements. Remuneration 
is reviewed each year in light of the Group’s business objectives. It 
is the Remuneration Committee’s intention that remuneration should 
reward achievement of objectives and that these are aligned with 
Shareholders’ interests over the medium term. 

No director has any involvement in setting their own remuneration.

Remuneration consists of the following elements:

 • Basic salary;

 • Performance-related annual bonus; 

 • Share options; 

 • Pensions; and 

 • Benefits including insurance and allowances.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMODirectors’ Remuneration 
The following table summarises the actual total gross remuneration, for qualifying services, of the Directors who served during the year to  
31 December 2017 and prior year. Bonus amounts included are calculated on an accruals basis and were actually paid in February 2018.

Year ended 31 December 2017

EXECUTIVE
Julio Bruno1
Richard Boult2
Christine Petersen

NON-EXECUTIVE
Peter Dubens
Lord Rose of Monewden3
Alexander Collins
Tony Elliott
Matthew Riley4

Year ended 31 December 2016

EXECUTIVE
Julio Bruno
Richard Boult
Matthew White
Noel Penzer5

NON-EXECUTIVE
Peter Dubens
Lord Rose of Monewden
Alexander Collins
Christine Petersen
Tony Elliott

Salary
£’000
300
200
276

–
35
–
35
45

Salary
£’000
289 
133 
71 
272 

–
44 
–
38 
25 

Benefits
£’000
9
7
21

Pension
£’000
28
19
3

–
–
–
11
–

–
–
–
–
–

Benefits
£’000
10 
5 
4 
14 

Pension
£’000
29 
13 
5 
24 

–
–
–
–
11 

–
–
–
–
–

Bonus
£’000
297
93
260

–
–
–
–
–

Bonus
£’000
288 
67 
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

Share  
Options
£’000
106
6
95

Termination
£’000
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

Share  
Options
£’000
780 
25 
–
–

Termination
£’000
–
–
293 
245 

–
–
–
6 
–

–
–
–
–
–

Total
£’000
740
325
655

–
35
–
46
45

Total
£’000
1,396 
243 
373 
555 

–
44 
–
44 
36 

1 

Julio Bruno received £11k in cash in lieu of pension contributions.
2  Richard Boult received £7k in cash in lieu of pension contributions.

3 

In addition to the amounts disclosed above, Lord Rose of Monewden receives a consultancy fee of £45k per annum (2016: £45k per annum) for services provided  
to Time Out Market.

4  Matthew Riley receives £10k per annum in respect of his committee chair fee (2016: Christine Petersen received £10k per annum in respect of her committee  

chair fee).

5  Noel Penzer received £108k as part of the services as a Director and £447k for services for his continuing employment

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ 

REMUNERATION REPORT CONTINUED

Directors’ Shareholdings 
The Directors, who served in the year to 31 December 2017 and who 
held an interest in the ordinary shares of the Company, were as follows:

EXECUTIVE
Julio Bruno
Richard Boult
Christine Petersen

NON-EXECUTIVE
Peter Dubens
Lord Rose of Monewden
Alexander Collins
Tony Elliott
Matthew Riley

Shareholding  
at 31 December 
2016 and 2017
70,624
–
–

–
–
–
1,822,347
–

Director’s Interests 
Options granted to Directors in the years ended 31 December 2017 
and 2016, together with details of the share option schemes, are set 
out in note 29. 

No Director (2016: nil) exercised share options in the year to  
31 December 2017.

Share Price
The market price of the Company’s Ordinary shares at 31 December 
2017 was £1.30 (2016: £1.40) and the range during the year was 
£1.30 to £1.45 (2016: £1.25 to £1.50).

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

Matthew Riley
Chairman of the 
Remuneration Committee

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOINDEPENDENT

AUDITORS’ REPORT

Report on the audit of the financial 
statements
Opinion
In our opinion:

 •

 •

 •

 •

Time Out Group plc’s group financial statements and company 
financial statements (the “financial statements”) give a true and fair 
view of the state of the group’s and of the company’s affairs as at 
31 December 2017 and of the group’s loss and cash flows for the 
year then ended;

the group financial statements have been properly prepared in 
accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union;

the company financial statements have been properly prepared in 
accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 
101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and applicable law); and

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

We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual 
Report and Accounts (the “Annual Report”), which comprise: the 
consolidated and company statements of financial position as at 31 
December 2017; the consolidated income statement and consolidated 
statement of other comprehensive income, the consolidated statement 
of cash flows, and the consolidated and company statements of 
changes in equity for the year then ended; and the notes to the 
financial statements, which include a description of the significant 
accounting policies.

Our audit approach
Overview
 • Overall group materiality: £442,000 (2016: £357,000), based on  

1% of total revenues.

 • Overall company materiality: £419,000 (2016: £339,000), based 

on 1% of total assets, restricted to 95% of group materiality.

 •

 •

The focus of the group team’s 
work was on the UK and US 
operations. We received 
reporting from Portugal on 
audits of the complete financial 
information.

In addition, specified audit 
procedures were performed by 
the group team on the other UK 
non-operating subsidiaries.

 • Valuation of goodwill and intangible assets (Group).

 • Recoverability of Time Out Markets set up costs (Group).

 • Ability of the group to continue as a going concern.  

(Group and Company).

 • Capitalisation of internally generated intangible assets (Group).

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

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 
judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates 
that involved making assumptions and considering future events that 
are inherently uncertain. 

Independence
We remained independent of the group in accordance with the ethical 
requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements 
in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to 
listed entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in 
accordance with these requirements.

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. 

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCEINDEPENDENT

AUDITORS’ REPORT

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the 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) identified 
by the auditors, 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, and any comments we make on the results of our procedures thereon, 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. 

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Valuation of goodwill and intangible assets

Refer to notes 12 and 13 

Goodwill is an intangible asset that arises on the acquisition of a business 
and reflects the portion of the consideration paid which cannot be allocated 
to separately identifiable acquired assets. Goodwill is not amortised but 
tested for impairment at least once a year or more frequently where there is 
an indication that it may be impaired.

The group has also recognised both acquired and internally generated 
intangible assets. Whilst these are amortised over their useful economic life, 
there is a risk that their value may need to impaired, and so they are included 
in the impairment testing.

We focused on this area because goodwill and intangible assets are material 
to the consolidated financial statements and the assumptions used in the 
impairment assessment are inherently subjective. In particular, the fair value 
less costs to sell model that forms the basis of management’s assessment 
contains a number of judgements, the most sensitive of which are the 
revenue projections for the group and the revenue multiple used, which is 
based on revenue multiples of other similar groups

Group

Recoverability of Time Out Markets set up costs

Refer to note 14

In the process of expanding the Time Out Markets business into new 
locations the group has incurred material pre-opening costs which have been 
capitalised. There is judgement involved as to whether these assets will be 
recoverable in the future, in particular in relation to the costs incurred of £0.9 
million in London and £0.8 million in Miami, both of which have been subject 
to objections during the planning process.

Group

We assessed whether the selected revenue multiples were reasonable by 
comparing them to other data sources, including revenue multiples from a 
number of similar businesses.  We also considered whether the revenue used 
in these calculations was reasonable in light of historic performance and 
industry projections. We considered whether there had been any changes to 
the business or to the market environment which could increase the level of 
uncertainty in the forecast.

We performed sensitivities to assess the level that revenue multiples 
and forecast revenue would need to decrease, either individually or in 
combination, in order to indicate an impairment. 

Based on the work performed, we concluded that it was reasonable to 
conclude that the revenue forecasts and multiples would not decrease by 
the levels required to cause a material impairment in the model used by 
management.

We considered the accuracy and completeness of the costs by agreeing them 
back to supporting documentation and considered the appropriateness of 
capitalisation of the costs.

We have reviewed the economic forecasts of the markets to ensure that costs 
incurred are forecast to be recovered by the future economic benefits to flow 
to the group. We have compared these forecasts to the existing market in 
Lisbon and also other information indicating commercial interest in these two 
markets

Where there is uncertainty around the outcome of planning and licensing 
applications and appeals we have corresponded with planning advisors and 
external legal counsel to understand the expected outcomes of the cases.

Based on the work performed we have found that the forecasted cash flows 
for both the London and Miami markets indicate that the set-up costs will be 
recovered and that management’s assessment that it is still probable that 
planning will be approved for both sites is supported by our correspondence 
with external legal counsel.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOKey audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Ability of the group to continue as a going concern

Refer to note 2

For the year ended 31 December 2017 the group made a loss of £26.0 
million and had a cash outflow from operating activities of £21.3 million.  
The group is also expected to open a number of new market sites in the near 
future, which will require capital expenditure.

We examined the group’s cash flow forecast for the 12 month period 30 
April 2019 and agreed that this are based on Board approved budgets. We 
also requested the directors to extend their forecast to October 2019. The 
forecast included key assumptions in relation to future revenue growth, as 
well as capital expenditure relating to the roll-out of new markets. We tested 
the key assumptions in the forecast by comparing the sales growth to historic 
performance and agreeing the capital expenditure assumptions on the 
markets to lease agreements and management estimates We also tested the 
mathematical accuracy of the forecast.

The directors performed a going concern assessment, based on their latest 
budgets and forecasts, and taking into account the credit facility of £20 
million which is available until October 2019. The directors’ assessment 
included a number of downside sensitivities and identified mitigating 
actions that could be taken to reduce cash burn if necessary. The directors 
concluded that it was appropriate to prepare the group and company financial 
statements on a going concern basis. 

We considered this to be a key audit matter because of the cash outflow in 
the year, and the potential impact on the Group’s liquidity of downside risks 
applied to management’s forecasts.

Group and Company

Capitalisation of development costs

Refer to note 13

We focused on this area because of the significant level of judgement by 
the directors involved in determining whether internal time and external 
costs incurred in respect of development costs satisfy the requirements 
of the financial reporting framework (International Accounting Standard 38 
Intangible assets) to be capitalised, including that they are separable from 
the other assets of the business and will provide future economic benefits for 
the group.

The internally generated intangible assets are all within the UK. 

Group

We held discussions with management to understand the nature of downside 
risks, and considered whether further risks should be applied to the 
forecasts. We used our understanding of the group and industry to assess 
the possibility of such risks arising and their potential impact. We examined 
documentation supporting the mitigating actions identified by management 
to reduce the rate of cash burn should downside risks arise.  We inspected 
the credit facility agreement entered into in March 2018 with Oakley Capital 
Investments Limited, to check that it was committed until October 2019. 

We examined the disclosure in note 2 and found it to be sufficient to inform 
members about the directors’ conclusions on the appropriateness of using 
the going concern basis of accounting.  

Our conclusion on going concern is set out below. 

We gained an understanding of the controls and review process over the 
capitalisation of development costs.

We discussed the future cash flow projections of each project with relevant 
personnel and obtained explanations for the assumptions made. We have 
reviewed management’s classification of costs between new projects, 
improvements and maintenance expenditure.  

We have assessed whether any existing assets are impaired as a result of 
new developments in the year.

We selected a sample of projects and reviewed management’s assessment 
for these projects that they satisfied the recognition criteria in IAS 38. We 
also tested a sample of internal costs to work systems and supporting payroll 
records and verified the allocation of employee costs to the correct projects 
and external costs to invoices.

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 reports its operating results and financial position in seven territories, being UK, USA, Portugal, Australia, Spain, Hong Kong and 
Singapore. The group Financial Statements are a consolidation of the group’s operating businesses and central functions. The group’s operating 
reporting units vary significantly in size, the most significant being the UK, US and Portugal. The group team performed the audits of the UK and 
USA. We also performed an audit of the complete financial information of Portugal. We issued instructions to our Portuguese team, which included 
guidance on the areas of focus for the audit.  We then had regular communication with them and received reporting on their work. In addition, 
specified audit procedures were performed on the UK non-operating subsidiaries by the group team.

The group team assessed the appropriateness, completeness and accuracy of group journals and other adjustments performed on the 
consolidation and obtained an understanding of the internal control environment related to the financial reporting process.

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCEINDEPENDENT

AUDITORS’ REPORT

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 judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:

Group financial statements

Company  
financial statements

Overall materiality

£442,000 (2016: £357,000).

£419,000 (2016: £339,000).

How we determined it

1% of total revenues.

1% of total assets.

Rationale for benchmark applied Based on the benchmarks used in the annual 

report, revenue is the primary measure used by 
the shareholders in assessing the performance 
of the group, and is a generally accepted auditing 
benchmark.

We believe that total assets are the primary measure 
used by the shareholders in assessing the performance 
of the entity, and is a generally accepted auditing 
benchmark. The materiality has been limited to 95% of 
overall group 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 £152,000 and £419,000. Certain components were audited to a local statutory audit 
materiality that was also less than our overall group materiality.

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £22,100 (Group audit) (2016: 
£17,000) and £22,100 (Company audit) (2016: £17,000) as well as misstatements below those amounts that, in our view, warranted reporting for 
qualitative reasons.

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

 •

 •

the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or 

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

However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the group’s and company’s ability to 
continue as a going concern.

Reporting on other information 
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’ report thereon. 
The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, 
accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report, any form of assurance 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 an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to 
conclude whether there is a material misstatement of 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 based on these responsibilities.

With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK Companies Act 2006 
have been included.  

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, ISAs (UK) require us also to report certain 
opinions and matters as described below.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOStrategic Report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report 
for the year ended 31 December 2017 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal 
requirements. 

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we did not 
identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report. 

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements 
in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. The directors are also responsible for 
such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group’s and the 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 company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ 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 auditors’ 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. 

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

Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 
of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or 
to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

 • we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

 • adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not 

visited by us; or

 •

 •

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

the company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns. 

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility. 

Sam Taylor (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 
London, 27 March 2018

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCEFinancial 
Statements

STRATEGY IN ACTION
Rolling Out Time Out Market
With Time Out Market Lisbon, the Group 
created the country’s most visited 
attraction with 3.6 million visitors in 
2017. They came to enjoy affordable fine 
food from 32 restaurants and kiosks, 
and drinks from eight bars and cafes; 
they attended 245 events at the Chefs 
Academy and 123 events in the Time Out 
Market Studio. It is this unique mix of 
the best of the city, based on Time Out’s 
editorial curation, that continues to attract 
both locals and visitors alike and takes 
Time Out Market from strength to strength.

To capitalise on the growth opportunity Time Out Market 
offers, the Group has developed an exciting pipeline for new 
openings in 2018 and thereafter. This comes at a time when 
such experiences are increasingly popular around the world 
with Time Out Market spearheading this trend. In March 2018, 
the Group announced that later that year it would bring Time 
Out Market to New York. There will be 20 food offerings, three 
bars, a stage for cultural activities and around 520 seats 
across 21,000 sq ft; its waterfront location in Brooklyn will 
offer fantastic views of Manhattan’s skyline. Time Out Market 
Miami is set to open in Q4 2018 and a first, highly-anticipated 
line-up of some of the city’s most celebrated chefs was 
revealed for the curated mix of 17 kitchens. New markets 
are also set to open in Boston and Chicago in 2019. Time 
Out Market Boston will be located at the heart of the popular 
Fenway neighbourhood in a warehouse built in 1929; it is 
expected to have a footprint of 21,500 sq ft and 3,700 sq ft of 
outdoor space. Time Out Market Chicago, set within a stand-
alone brick building, will showcase across nearly 50,000 sq ft 
16 food offerings, three bars, a demonstration kitchen, a retail 
area and a spectacular rooftop with views of the skyline.

à	Read more about ’’Rolling Out Time Out Market’’ on page 17

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO43

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www.timeout.comGOVERNANCECONSOLIDATED

INCOME STATEMENT

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Revenue
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Operating loss
Finance income
Finance costs
Share of associate's loss and gain on investment
Loss before income tax
Income tax credit
Loss for the year

Loss for the year attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests

Loss per share:
Basic and diluted loss per share (pence)

All amounts relate to continuing operations

Year ended 
31 December 
2017
£’000
44,364
(19,709)
24,655
(49,293)
(24,638)
72
(825)
(954)
(26,345)
325
(26,020)

Year ended 
31 December 
2016
£’000
35,736
(14,707)
21,029
(38,882)
(17,853)
389
(1,531)
152
(18,843)
203
(18,640)

Note
4
4

8
8
15

9

(25,048)
(972)
(26,020)

(18,462)
(178)
(18,640)

10

19.0

18.9

The notes on pages 51 to 89 are an integral part of these consolidated accounts.

The Company has elected to take the exemption under section 408 of the Companies Act of 2006 from presenting the parent company profit and 
loss account.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCONSOLIDATED STATEMENT

OF OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income:
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to the profit or loss:
Currency translation differences
Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax
Total comprehensive expense for the year

Total comprehensive expense for the year attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests

Year ended 
31 December 
2017
£’000
(26,020)

Year ended 
31 December 
2016
£’000
(18,640)

(3,151)
(3,151)
(29,171)

7,087
7,087
(11,553)

(28,169)
(1,002)
(29,171)

(11,368)
(185)
(11,553)

45

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSCONSOLIDATED STATEMENT

OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT 31 DECEMBER 2017

Assets
Fixed Assets and Investments
Intangible assets - Goodwill
Intangible assets - Other
Property, plant and equipment
Investment in associate
Trade and other receivables - non current

Current assets
Inventories

Trade and other receivables
Cash and bank balances

Total assets

Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Borrowings

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Deferred tax liability
Borrowings

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity
Called up share capital
Share premium
Translation reserve
Capital redemption reserve
(Accumulated losses) / Retained earnings
Total parent shareholders' equity
Non-controlling interest
Total equity

31 December 
2017
£’000

31 December 
2016
£’000

Note

12
13
14
15
18

17

18
19

20
21
22

20
21
9
22

25

50,057
19,044
8,834
6,199
958
85,092

276

14,602
29,839
44,717
129,809

(17,839)
(67)
(1,220)
(19,126)

(2,291)
–
(2,623)
(8,178)
(13,092)
(32,218)

49,230
20,367
7,982
7,153
550
85,282

241

11,987
50,082
62,310
147,592

(17,643)
(186)
(1,083)
(18,912)

(1,905)
(149)
(2,849)
(1,515)
(6,418)
(25,330)

97,591

122,262

133
106,042
6,045
1,105
(14,496)
98,829
(1,238)
97,591

131
103,071
9,166
1,105
9,025
122,498
(236)
122,262

The financial statements on pages 44 to 89 were authorised for issue by the board of directors on 27 March 2018 and were signed on its behalf.

Julio Bruno 
Chief Executive 

Richard Boult 
Chief Financial Officer

Time Out Group PLC 
Registered No: 07440171

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCOMPANY STATEMENT

OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT 31 DECEMBER 2017

Assets
Non-current assets
Investments

Current assets
Trade and other receivables

Total assets

Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

Non-current liabilities
Borrowings

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity
Called up share capital
Share premium
Capital redemption reserve
Retained earnings
Total equity

31 December 
2017
£’000

31 December 
2016
£’000

Note

16

18

20

22

25

89,449
89,449

100,380
100,380
189,829

85,553
85,553

100,419
100,419
185,972

(1,245)
(1,245)

–
–
(1,245)

(1,026)
(1,026)

–
–
(1,026)

188,584

184,946

133
106,042
1,105
81,304
188,584

131
103,071
1,105
80,639
184,946

The company loss for the year was £862k (2016: loss of £1,568k).

The financial statements on pages 44 to 89 were authorised for issue by the board of directors on 27 March 2018 and were signed on its behalf.

Julio Bruno 
Chief Executive 

Richard Boult 
Chief Financial Officer

Time Out Group PLC 
Registered No: 07440171

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSCONSOLIDATED STATEMENT

OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Called 
up share 
capital
£’000
957

Note

Share 
premium
£’000
77,427

Translation 
reserve
£’000
2,072

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£’000
–

Retained 
earnings/
(Accumulated 
losses)
£’000
(54,311)

Total parent 
Shareholders’ 
equity
£’000
26,145

Non-
controlling 
interest
£’000
–

Total 
equity
£’000
26,145

Balance at 1 January 2016
Changes in equity
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income
Total comprehensive income

29

Share based payments
Pre-IPO issue of preference shares
Ordinary bonus shares issued
Share capital reduction
Preference bonus shares issued
Share capital reorganisation
Issue of shares for acquisitions
Non-controlling interest acquired (“NCI”)
Goodwill attributable to NCI
Acquisition of minority interest
IPO issue of share capital
Costs associated with IPO
Balance at 31 December 2016

Changes in equity
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income
Total comprehensive income

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
40
95
–
72
(1,105)
12
–
–
–
60
–

–
3,960
(95)
(80,887)
(72)
–
18,097
–
–
–
89,940
(5,299)
131 103,071

–
–
–

–
–
–

Share based payments
Issue of shares for acquisitions
Balance at 31 December 2017

29

–
2

–
2,971
133 106,042

–
7,094
7,094

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
9,166

–
(3,121)
(3,121)

–
–
6,045

–
–
–

(18,462)
–
(18,462)

–
–
–
–
–
1,105
–
–
–
–
–
–
1,105

–
–
–

–
–
1,105

1,064
–
–
80,887
–
–
–
–
–
(153)
–
–
9,025

(25,048)
–
(25,048)

1,527
–
(14,496)

(18,462)
7,094
(11,368)

1,064
4,000
–
–
–
–
18,109
–
–
(153)
90,000
(5,299)
122,498

(178)
(7)
(185)

(18,640)
7,087
(11,553)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(232)
28
153
–
–

1,064
4,000
–
–
–
–
18,109
(232)
28
–
90,000
(5,299)
(236) 122,262

(25,048)
(3,121)
(28,169)

(972)
(30)
(1,002)

(26,020)
(3,151)
(29,171)

1,527
2,973
98,829

–
–
(1,238)

1,527
2,973
97,591

48

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCOMPANY STATEMENT

OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Balance at 1 January 2016
Changes in equity
Loss for the year
Total comprehensive income

Share based payments
Pre-IPO issue of preference shares
Ordinary bonus shares issued
Share capital reduction
Preference bonus shares issued
Share capital reorganisation
Issue of shares for acquisitions
IPO issue of share capital
Costs associated with IPO
Balance at 31 December 2016

Changes in equity
Loss for the year
Total comprehensive income

Share based payments
Issue of shares for acquisitions
Balance at 31 December 2017

Note

29

29

Called 
up share 
capital
£’000

957

–
–

–
40
95
–
72
(1,105)
12
60
–
131

–
–

–
2
133

Share 
premium
£’000

77,427

–
–

–
3,960
(95)
(80,887)
(72)
–
18,097
89,940
(5,299)
103,071

–
–

–
2,971
106,042

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£’000

–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
1,105
–
–
–
1,105

–
–

–
–
1,105

Retained 
earnings
£’000

Total 
equity
£’000

256

78,640

(1,568)
(1,568)

(1,568)
(1,568)

1,064
–
–
80,887
–
–
–
–
–
80,639

(862)
(862)

1,527
–
81,304

1,064
4,000
–
–
–
–
18,109
90,000
(5,299)
184,946

(862)
(862)

1,527
2,973
188,584

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSCONSOLIDATED STATEMENT

OF CASH FLOWS

Cash flows from operating activities
Cash used in operations
Interest paid
Tax credits received
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of intangible assets
Interest received
Pre-acquisition funding to Time Out Market
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired
Net cash used in investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds of pre-IPO preference share issue
Proceeds from IPO
IPO transaction costs through share premium
Costs relating to share issue
Advance of new borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Repayment of finance leases
Acquisition of minority interest
Cash to restricted cash
Net cash from financing activities
(Decrease) / Increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Effect of foreign exchange rate change
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Note

26

11

Year ended 
31 December 
2017
£’000

Year ended 
31 December 
2016
£’000

(20,819)
(459)
3
(21,275)

(1,954)
(2,432)
70
–
(470)
(4,786)

–
–
–
(5)
7,809
(1,169)
(59)
(196)
(1,093)
5,287
(20,774)
50,082
(572)
28,746

(15,965)
(316)
8
(16,273)

(1,641)
(1,856)
4
(150)
1,222
(2,421)

4,000
90,000
(5,281)
–
2,766
(25,999)
(26)
(1,408)

64,052
45,358
4,282
442
50,082

50

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMONOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Corporate information
The consolidated financial statements of Time Out Group plc and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) for the year ended 31 December 2017 were 
authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of the Directors on 27 March 2017. Time Out Group plc (the “Company”) is a public limited 
company incorporated in England and Wales whose shares are publicly traded on the Alternative Investment Market. The registered office is 
located at 77 Wicklow Street, London, WC1X 9JY. 

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption from preparing a cash flow statement under paragraph 8(g) of the disclosure exemptions 
from EU-adopted IFRS for qualifying entities included in Financial Reporting Standard 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework (FRS 101). The Time 
Out Group plc consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017 contain a consolidated statement of cash flows. The 
Company is exempt under paragraph 8(k) of the disclosure exemptions from EU-adopted IFRS included in FRS 101 for qualifying entities from 
disclosing related party transactions with entities that form part of the Time Out Group plc group of which Time Out Group plc is the ultimate parent 
undertaking. The Company’s financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling (£), which is also the Company’s functional currency, and all 
values are rounded to the nearest thousand (£’000) except when otherwise indicated. The Company’s financial statements are individual entity 
financial statements.

The principal activities of the Group are described in the Strategic Report that accompanies these financial statements.

2. Accounting policies
Time Out Group is the leading global media and entertainment business that inspires and enables people to make the most of a city. Through 
powerful content, top-quality curation, enabling technology and exceptional experiences, Time Out helps discover, book and share what the world’s 
cities have to offer. 

Across multiple platforms comprising digital, app, mobile, social and print and its physical presence via Live Events and Time Out Market, the 
Group aims to connect consumers and businesses in the leisure, travel and local entertainment sector through B2C and B2B offerings.

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

Alternative performance measures
Underlying results are presented excluding the contribution from the acquisitions of the Australia franchisee in June 2017 and the Spain franchisee 
in September 2017, and the addition of Singapore and Hong Kong. The businesses combined contributed a net revenue of £2.8m in the period. 
EBITDA contribution was a loss of £0.5m. For Business Review purposes, the figures for Time Out Market in 2016 include the first six months of 
that year, prior to its acquisition by the Group, given that this is a separate reportable segment. The measure is used to show the performance of 
the business before the effects of other acquisitions.

Adjusted EBITDA is profit or loss before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, share based payments, share of associate’s loss and one-
off exceptional items. Used by management and analysts to assess the business before one off and non-cash items. A reconciliation of adjusted 
EBITDA to operating loss is presented in note 4.

Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements of Time Out Group plc have been prepared under the historic cost convention except for certain financial 
liabilities measured at fair value and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and 
interpretations issued by the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) as they apply to the financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 
December 2017 and applied in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

The Company financial statements were prepared in accordance with FRS 101 and Companies Act 2006. The financial statements are prepared 
on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention except for certain financial liabilities measured at fair value. The accounting policies 
which follow in note 3 set out those policies which apply in preparing the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016 and have 
been applied consistently to all years presented. The Company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions under FRS 101 in 
respect of:

a.  IFRS 3 Business Combinations;

b.  the requirements of IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures;

c.  IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement;  

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Accounting policies continued
d.  Share-based payments;

e.  Intra-Group-related party transactions;

f.  Related party transactions.

g.  IAS 7 Statement of cash flows

Going concern
The Group made a loss after tax of £26,020k (2016: loss of £18,640k). The Directors confirm they have a reasonable expectation that the 
Company and Group have adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future and at least 12 months from the date of signing 
these financial statements and consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the Company and Group 
financial statements.

This confirmation is made having considered the financial position of the Group on the basis of the latest budgets and forecasts, the cash balance 
of £29.8 million at 31 December 2017 and the availability of future financing, including the £20 million credit facility entered into in March 2018, 
committed until October 2019, to help accelerate the roll-out of new markets.  As new markets are opened the Directors will explore alternative 
financing options from a number of potential sources.  The Directors have considered downside risks to the Group’s plans, together with options 
available to reduce the rate of cash burn in the short to medium term, and assessed the potential impact these would have on the Group’s 
liquidity. In evaluating these risks the Directors have considered the Group’s history of operating losses and the cash outflows that are expected to 
continue as the Group undertakes the expansion of the Time Out Market business.

New and amended standards adopted by the Group
The accounting standards and policies adopted in these financial statements are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the 
year ended 31 December 2016 as presented under IFRS. No new standards, amendments or interpretations, effective for the first time for the 
financial year beginning on or after 1 January 2017 have had a material impact on the Group or Company. 

Basis of consolidation
The Group financial statements consolidate the financial statements of Time Out Group plc and all its subsidiary undertakings drawn up to 31 
December each year.

As permitted by S408 of the Companies Act 2006, the income statement of the parent Company is not presented as part of these financial 
statements. The parent Company’s loss for the financial year was £862k (2016: £1,568k loss). The parent Company is primarily a holding 
company and had minimal cash flows during the year. It did not hold any cash or cash equivalents at the beginning or end of the year.

Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are all entities (including structured entities) over which the Group has control. The Group controls an entity when the Group is 
exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over 
the entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date 
that control ceases.

In the Group financial statements the acquisition method is adopted. Under this method, the results of subsidiary undertakings acquired or 
disposed of in the period are consolidated for the periods from or to the date on which control is passed. The consideration transferred for 
the acquisition of a subsidiary is the fair values of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred to the former owners of the acquiree and the 
equity interests issued by the Group. The consideration transferred includes the fair value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent 
consideration arrangement. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are 
measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. The Group recognises any non-controlling interest in the acquiree on an acquisition-
by-acquisition basis, either at fair value or at the non-controlling interest’s proportionate share of the recognised amounts of the acquiree’s 
identifiable net assets. 

Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred and presented as exceptional items.

If the business combination is achieved in stages, the acquisition date carrying value of the acquirer’s previously held equity interest in the 

acquiree is remeasured to fair value at the acquisition date; any gains or losses arising from such remeasurement are recognised in profit or loss.

52

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO2. Accounting policies continued 

Any contingent consideration to be transferred by the Group is recognised at fair value at the acquisition date. Subsequent changes to the fair 
value of the contingent consideration that is deemed to be an asset or liability is recognised in accordance with IAS 39; either in profit or loss or as 
a change to other comprehensive income. Contingent consideration that is classified as equity is not remeasured, and its subsequent settlement 
is accounted for within equity.

Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between Group companies are eliminated. Unrealised losses are also 
eliminated on consolidation. When necessary, amounts reported by subsidiaries have been adjusted to conform to the Group’s accounting policies.

Non-controlling interests
Transactions with non-controlling interests that do not result in a loss of control are accounted for as equity transactions – that is, as transactions 
with the owners in their capacity as owners. The difference between the fair value of any consideration paid and the relevant share acquired of the 
carrying value of net assets of the subsidiary is recorded in equity. Gains or losses on disposals to non-controlling interests are also recorded in 
equity.

Non-controlling interests in the net assets of consolidated subsidiaries are identified separately from the Group’s equity and consist of the amount 
of those interests at the date of the original business combination plus their share of changes in equity since that date.

Associates
An associate is an undertaking over which the Group exercises significant influence, usually from 20%–50% of the equity voting rights, in respect 
of the financial and operating policy. The Group accounts for its interests in associates using the equity method. Under the equity method, the 
investment in the associate is initially measured at cost. The carrying amount of the investment is adjusted to recognise changes in the Group’s 
share of net assets of associates since the acquisition date. 

If the ownership interest in an associate is reduced but significant influence is retained, only a proportionate share of the amounts previously 
recognised in other comprehensive income is reclassified to profit or loss where appropriate.

The income statement reflects the Group’s share of the results of operations of the entity. The statement of comprehensive income includes 
the Group’s share of any other comprehensive income recognised by the associate. Dividend income is recognised when the right to receive the 
payment is established.

The Group determines at each reporting date whether there is any objective evidence that the investment in the associate is impaired. If this is the 
case, the Group calculates the amount of impairment as the difference between the recoverable amount of the associate and its carrying value 
and recognises the amount adjacent to ‘share of profit/(loss) of associates’ in the income statement.

Dilution gains and losses arising in investments in associates are recognised in the income statement.

Segmental reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker. The chief 
operating decision-maker, who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating segments, has been identified 
as the group of key management personnel, as identified in the strategic report, that makes strategic decisions.

Foreign currencies
The functional and presentational currency of the Group is sterling. Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with a functional currency which is a 
foreign currency are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the end of the financial period and the result of foreign subsidiaries are 
translated at the average exchange rate for the period. All transactions denominated in foreign currency are translated at the rate of exchange 
ruling at the time of the transaction. All foreign exchange differences are taken to the income statement in the period in which they arise. At the 
statement of financial position date, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated using the closing rate. Upon 
the translation of any subsidiary’s results for the year and financial position at any given year end, the foreign exchange differences which may 
arise are recognised directly in other comprehensive income as currency translation differences.

Property, plant and equipment
The cost of property, plant and equipment includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its 
working condition for its intended use. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated 
residual value, of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Accounting policies continued 

Computer equipment – over three years on a straight line basis

Fixtures and fittings – over five years on a straight line basis

Leasehold improvements – over the lease term or useful life, whichever is shorter

The Group operates in jurisdictions which have set useful lives for certain types of assets, and where different, local guidelines override the Group 
policies mentioned above. However, the Group confirms that this treatment does not materially change the accounts.

The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each reporting period.

Goodwill

Goodwill arises on the acquisition of subsidiaries and represents the excess of the consideration transferred over Time Out Group plc’s interest in 
the net fair value of the net identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquiree and the fair value of the non-controlling interest 
in the acquiree.

For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to each of the cash generating unit (“CGU”) that is 
expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. Each CGU to which the goodwill is allocated represents the lowest level within the entity 
at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes.

Goodwill impairment reviews are undertaken annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate a potential impairment. 
The carrying value of the CGU containing the goodwill is compared to the recoverable amount, which is the higher of value in use and the fair value 
less costs of disposal. Any impairment is recognised immediately as an expense and is not subsequently reversed.

When the ownership of an acquired company is less than 100%, the non-controlling interest is measured at either the proportion of the recognised 
net assets attributable to the non-controlling interest or at the fair value of the acquired company at the date of acquisition. The excess of the cost 
of acquisition over the fair value of the Group’s share of identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill.

Intangible assets 

Trademarks and copyrights
Trademark and copyright assets are amortised over a period of 15 years from the month of acquisition. 

Development costs
Development costs comprising costs incurred relating to websites and other digital platform elements are written off over a period of two, three 
or four years, depending on the relevant project. The cost of internally generated and acquired technology is recognised as an intangible asset 
providing it satisfies all of the conditions set out in the research and development policy below. Assets are subsequently measured and amortised 
on a straight-line basis over their useful economic lives, from the month in which the expenditure is incurred.

Service concession arrangements
The concession granted by the Municipality of Lisbon to occupy and operate an area within the Mercado da Ribeira in Lisbon is accounted for as 
a service concession arrangement under IFRIC 12 ‘Service Concession Arrangements’. The present value of all payments to the Municipality are 
capitalised and recognised as a separate intangible asset and a corresponding obligation is recognised. The intangible asset is amortised on a 
straight-line basis over the life of the concession arrangement.

Customer relationships and other intangible assets
These intangible assets are comprised of customer and advertiser relationships and internally generated software related to the US business, 
acquired in 2014, reacquired trade-name rights and customer relationships relating to the Portuguese businesses acquired in 2015 and 2016 
respectively, as well as the new assets which will be created relating to Australia and Spain. 

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO2. Accounting policies continued
The fair value of these assets was determined by agreement between the Directors and an independent valuation consultant, and was conducted 
in order to comply with IAS 3, ‘Business Combinations’. These assets are amortised over five years (internally generated software and customer 
relationships), 15 years (advertiser relationships), or two years (reacquired trade-name rights).

Research and development 

Expenditure on the research phase of an internal project is recognised as an expense in the period in which it is incurred. Development costs 
incurred on specific projects are capitalised when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

 • Completion of the asset is technically feasible so that it will be available for use or sale;

 •

 •

 •

 •

The Group intends to complete the asset and use or sell it;

The Group has the ability to use or sell the asset and it will generate probable future economic benefits;

There are adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the asset; and

The expenditure attributable to the asset during its development can be measured reliably.

Development costs not meeting the criteria for capitalisation are expensed as incurred. The cost of an internally generated asset comprises all 
directly attributable costs necessary to create, produce and prepare the asset to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. 
Directly attributable costs include employee (other than Director) costs incurred along with third party costs.

Impairment of non-financial assets
Non-financial assets that are not ready to use are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually for impairment. Assets that are subject to 
amortisation are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. 
An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount 
is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs of disposal and value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at 
the lowest levels for which there are largely independent cash inflows (CGUs). Prior impairments of non-financial assets (other than goodwill) are 
reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date.

Government grants
Grants from the government are recognised at their fair value where there is a reasonable assurance that the grant will be received and that the 
group will comply with all attached conditions.

Government grants relating to costs are deferred and recognised in the income statement over the period necessary to match them with the 
costs that they are intended to compensate. Government grants relating to property, plant and equipment are included in non-current liabilities as 
deferred government grants, and they are credited to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the expected lives of the related assets.

Financial assets

Classifications
The Group classifies its financial assets in the following categories: at fair value through profit or loss, loans and receivables, and available for 
sale. The classification depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were acquired. Management determines the classification of its 
financial assets at initial recognition.

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are financial assets held for trading. A financial asset is classified in this category if acquired 
principally for the purpose of selling in the short-term. Derivatives are also categorised as held for trading unless they are designated as hedges. 
Assets in this category are classified as current assets if expected to be settled within 12 months, otherwise they are classified as non-current.

Loans and receivables
Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are 
included in current assets, except for maturities greater than 12 months after the end of the reporting period. These are classified as non-current 
assets. The Group’s loans and receivables comprise of ‘trade and other receivables’ and ‘cash and cash equivalents’ in the balance sheet.

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Accounting policies continued 

Available-for-sale financial assets
Available-for-sale financial assets are non-derivatives that are either designated in this category or not classified in any of the other categories. 
They are included in non-current assets unless the investment matures or management intends to dispose of it within 12 months of the end of the 
reporting period.

Recognition and measurement
Regular purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on the trade-date – the date on which the Group commits to purchase or sell the 
asset. Investments are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs for all financial assets not carried at fair value through profit or loss. 
Financial assets carried at fair value through profit or loss are initially recognised at fair value, and transaction costs are expensed in the income 
statement. Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the investments have expired or have been transferred 
and the Group has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership. Available-for-sale financial assets and financial assets at fair value 
through profit or loss are subsequently carried at fair value. Loans and receivables are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method.

Gains or losses arising from changes in the fair value of the ‘financial assets at fair value through profit or loss’ category are presented in the 
income statement in the period in which they arise. Changes in the fair value of monetary and non-monetary securities classified as available-for-
sale are recognised in other comprehensive income.

Financial assets are derecognised when the right to receive cash flows from the assets has expired, or has been transferred, and the Group 
has transferred substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership. When securities classified as available-for-sale are sold, or impaired, the 
accumulated fair value adjustments previously taken to reserves are included in the income statement.

Offsetting financial instruments
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the balance sheet when there is a legally enforceable right to offset 
the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. The legally 
enforceable right must not be contingent on future events and must be enforceable in the normal course of business and in the event of default, 
insolvency or bankruptcy of the Company or the counterparty.

Impairment of financial assets

Assets carried at amortised cost
The Group assesses at the end of each reporting period whether there is objective evidence that a financial asset or group of financial assets 
is impaired. A financial asset or a group of financial assets is impaired and impairment losses are incurred only if there is objective evidence of 
impairment as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the asset (a ‘loss event’) and that loss event (or events) 
has an impact on the estimated future cash flows of the financial asset or group of financial assets that can be reliably estimated.

Evidence of impairment may include indications that the debtors or a group of debtors is experiencing significant financial difficulty, default or 
delinquency in interest or principal payments, the probability that they will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation, and where observable 
data indicate that there is a measurable decrease in the estimated future cash flows, such as changes in arrears or economic conditions that 
correlate with defaults.

For loans and receivables, the amount of the loss is measured as the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value 
of estimated future cash flows (excluding future credit losses that have not been incurred) discounted at the financial asset’s original effective 
interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced and the amount of the loss is recognised in the consolidated income statement. If 
a loan or held-to-maturity investment has a variable interest rate, the discount rate for measuring any impairment loss is the current effective 
interest rate determined under the contract. As a practical expedient, the Group may measure impairment on the basis of an instrument’s fair 
value using an observable market price.

If, in a subsequent period, the amount of the impairment loss decreases and the decrease can be related objectively to an event occurring after 
the impairment was recognised (such as an improvement in the debtor’s credit rating), the reversal of the previously recognised impairment loss is 
recognised in the income statement.

Assets classified as available-for-sale
The Group assesses at the end of each reporting period whether there is objective evidence that a financial asset or group of financial assets is 
impaired.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO2. Accounting policies continued
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity 
instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all of its financial liabilities. 

Where the contractual obligations of financial instruments (including preference shares) are equivalent to a similar debt instrument, those financial 
instruments are classified as financial liabilities. Where the contractual terms of preference shares do not have any terms meeting the definition of 
a financial liability then this is classed as an equity instrument. 

Investments
Investments held as fixed assets are stated at cost less provision for impairment. The Company assesses these investments for impairment 
wherever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an investment may not be recoverable. If any such indication of 
impairment exists, the Company makes an estimate of the recoverable amount. If the recoverable amount is less than the value of the investment, 
the investment is considered to be impaired and is written down to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in the 
profit and loss account.

Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items. Inventories 
are comprised of raw materials and goods held for resale. Cost is determined on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Net realisable value is based on 
estimated selling price less further costs expected to be incurred to completion and disposal.

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business. If collection 
is expected in one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business if longer), they are classified as current assets. If not, they are 
presented as non-current assets.

Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less 
provision for impairment.

Cash and bank balances
Cash and bank balances comprises cash and cash equivalents, being cash at bank and in hand and short-term deposits with a maturity of three 
months or less, and monies held in restricted accounts and deposits which represent cash held by the Group in accounts with conditions that 
restrict the use of these monies by the Group and, as such, does not meet the definition of cash and cash equivalents.

Line of credit
Certain of the Group’s accounts receivable balances are assigned, with recourse, to financial institutions. In return, the Group receives a 
cash advance of 80%–85% of eligible accounts receivable. Both financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised with regards to this 
arrangement. 

Share capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity, only to the extent that they do not meet the definition of a financial liability. Incremental costs directly 
attributable to the issue of new ordinary shares of options are shown in equity as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds.

Trade payables
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts 
payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business if longer). If 
not, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade payables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Accounting policies continued
Borrowings
All interest bearing loans and borrowings are initially recognised at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Borrowings are subsequently 
carried at amortised cost; any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognised in the income 
statement over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest rate method. 

Fees paid on the establishment of loan facilities are recognised as transaction costs of the loan to the extent that it is probable that some or all 
of the facility will be drawn down. In this case, the fee is deferred until the draw-down occurs. To the extent there is no evidence that it is probable 
that some or all of the facility will be drawn down, the fee is capitalised as a pre-payment for liquidity services and amortised over the period to 
which it relates.

Preference shares that are mandatorily redeemable on a specific date are classified as liabilities. The dividends on these preference shares are 
recognised in the income statement as an interest expense.

Borrowing costs
General and specific borrowing costs directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of qualifying assets, which are assets that 
necessarily take a substantial period of time to get ready for their intended use or sale, are added to the cost of those assets until such time as 
the assets are substantially ready for their intended use or sale.

Taxation
The charge for taxation is based on profits for the year and takes into account taxation deferred because of temporary differences between the 
treatment of certain items for taxation and accounting purposes. Tax is recognised in the income statement, except to the extent that it relates to 
items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case, the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or 
directly in equity, respectively.

Current and deferred tax
The tax expense for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the income statement, except to the extent that it relates 
to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity, respectively.

The current tax charge is calculated on the basis of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date in the countries where 
the Company and its subsidiaries operate and generate taxable income. Management periodically evaluates positions taken in tax returns with 
respect to situations in which applicable tax regulation is subject to interpretation. It establishes provisions where appropriate on the basis of 
amounts expected to be paid to the tax authorities.

Deferred tax is recognised on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the 
consolidated financial statements. However, deferred tax liabilities are not recognised if they arise from the initial recognition of goodwill; deferred 
tax is not accounted for if it arises from the initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than a business combination that at 
the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss. Deferred tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have 
been enacted or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised or the 
deferred tax liability is settled.

Deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary 
differences can be utilised.

Deferred tax liabilities are provided on taxable temporary differences arising from investments in subsidiaries, associates and joint arrangements, 
except for any deferred tax liability where the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference is controlled by the Group and it is probable 
that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future. Generally, the Group is unable to control the reversal of the temporary 
difference for associates. Only where there is an agreement in place that gives the Group the ability to control the reversal of the temporary 
difference is the deferred tax liability not recognised.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against current tax liabilities and 
when the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority on either the same taxable entity or 
different taxable entities and there is no intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

Tax grants related to research and development expenditure are recognised under IAS 12 against expenditure and are recognised when reasonably 
certain estimates can be made.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO2. Accounting policies continued
Employee benefit costs
The Group contributes to certain employees’ personal pension plans on a defined contribution basis. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan 
under which the Group and employee pay fixed contributions, on a mandatory, contractual or voluntary basis depending on the location, to a third 
party financial provider. The Group has no further payment obligations once the contributions have been paid. The contributions are recognised as 
an employee benefit expense in the income statement when due.

Share-based payments
The Group operates a number of equity-settled, share-based compensation plans, under which the entity receives services from employees as 
consideration for equity instruments (options) of the Group. The fair value of the employee services received in exchange for the grant of the 
options is recognised as an expense. The total amount to be expensed is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted.

At the end of each reporting period, the Group revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest based on the non-market 
vesting conditions and service conditions. It recognises the impact of the revision to original estimates, if any, in the income statement, with a 
corresponding adjustment to equity.

When the options are exercised, the Company issues new shares. The proceeds received net of any directly attributable transaction costs are 
credited to share capital (nominal value) and share premium.

The grant by the Company of options over its equity instruments to the employees of subsidiary undertakings in the Group is treated as a capital 
contribution. The fair value of employee services received, measured by reference to the grant date fair value, is recognised over the vesting period 
as an increase to investment in subsidiary undertakings, with a corresponding credit to equity in the parent entity accounts.

The social security contributions payable in connection with the grant of the share options is considered an integral part of the grant itself, and the 
charge will be treated as a cash-settled transaction.

Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is probable that an outflow of 
resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount has been reliably estimated.

Provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation using a pre-tax rate that reflects 
current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the obligation. The increase in provision due to the passage of 
time is recognised as an interest expense.

Revenue recognition
Revenue, which is stated net of sales tax, represents the amounts derived from the sale of goods and services which fall within the Group’s 
ordinary activities.

 • Advertising revenue is recognised at the time the advertisement is published.

 • Subscription and Premium Profiles revenue is recognised evenly over the length of each subscription.

 • Circulation revenue is recognised at the time of sale. Provision is made for returns of distributor returns.

 •

 •

Ticket revenues for Time Out events are recognised in the month of the event. Tickets for Time Out offers and commissions for sales of tickets 
to external events and experiences are recognised at the point of sale.

Licence/royalty revenue is recognised over the contract period in accordance with the substance of the underlying agreement. Where these 
revenues are uncertain, they are recognised only on receipt.

 • Market related revenue is predominantly turnover related rent from restaurants in the markets and is recognised as the turnover is earned by 

the sub-letting restaurants. These are treated as operating leases and are recognised in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the 
period of the lease.

Interest income and expenses
Interest income and expenses are recognised using the effective interest method.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Accounting policies continued
Leases

Operating leases
Where substantially all of the risks and rewards incidental to ownership are not transferred to the Group, the total rentals payable under the lease 
are charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The aggregate benefit of any lease incentive is recognised as a reduction of the rental expense over the lease term on a straight-line basis. 
Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the lease term, even if the payments are not made on 
such a basis.

Finance leases
Leases of property, plant and equipment where the Group, as lessee, has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are classified as 
finance leases. Finance leases are capitalised at the lease’s inception at the fair value of the leased property or, if lower, the present value of the 
minimum lease payments. The corresponding rental obligations, net of finance charges, are included in other short-term and long-term payables.

Each lease payment is allocated between the liability and finance cost. The finance cost is charged to the income statement over the lease period 
so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period. The property, plant and equipment 
acquired under finance leases is depreciated over the asset’s useful life or over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease term if there is 
no reasonable certainty that the Group will obtain ownership at the end of the lease term.

Exceptional items
Exceptional items are disclosed separately in the financial statements where, given their nature or size, it is necessary to do so to provide 
further understanding of the financial performance of the Group. Exceptional items mainly relate to costs associated with a material restructuring 
(including termination payments and associated legal fees), costs relating to acquisitions, including legal and consultancy fees, costs arising from 
significant office moves and the revaluation of minority interests.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that 
affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities, at the end of the reporting 
period. However, uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying 
amount of the asset or liability affected in future periods.

The key assumptions and judgements concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date, that have a 
significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year, are described 
below. The Group based its assumptions, estimates and judgements on parameters available when the consolidated statements were prepared. 
Existing circumstances and assumptions about future developments, however, may change due to market changes or circumstances arising 
beyond the control of the Group. Such changes are reflected in the assumptions when they occur.

a) Impairment of goodwill and intangibles
The Group tests annually whether goodwill has suffered any impairment i.e. when the carrying value of a CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, 
which is the higher of its fair value less costs of disposal and its value in use. The fair value less costs to sell calculation is based on available 
data from binding sales transactions in an arm’s length transaction of similar assets or observable market prices less incremental costs for 
disposing of the asset. The value in use calculation is based on a discounted cash flow model, where appropriate. The cash flows are derived 
from the business plan for the next five years and do not include restructuring activities that the Group is not yet committed to or significant future 
investments that will enhance the asset’s performance of the cash generating unit being tested. The recoverable amount is most sensitive to 
the discount rate used for the discounted cash flow model as well as the expected future cash inflows and the growth rate used for extrapolation 
purposes. The estimation uncertainty exists here due to a number of estimation factors applied to any model used.

b) Capitalisation of development costs
Careful judgement by the Directors is applied when deciding whether the recognition requirements for capitalised development costs have been 
met under IAS 38 ‘Intangible Asset’. Before capitalisation commences on a specific project, a business plan is prepared and approved in order to 
ascertain that the project meets all criteria of the standard as well as to determine the asset’s useful life. Judgements and assumptions are made 
using all information known at the end of the reporting period.

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO2. Accounting policies continued

c) Business combinations
When acquiring a business, the Group has to make judgements and best estimates about the fair value allocation of the purchase price and 
the fair value of any contingent deferred consideration. Judgement is applied in determining what part of a business transaction relates to the 
acquisition of that business. Parts of a business transaction that do not relate to the acquisition (for example, employee costs) are accounted for 
in accordance with the relevant accounting standard.

d) Capitalisation of pre-opening expenditure
When investing in the expansion of new Time Out Market sites, the Group makes a judgement as to when the new site has passed feasibility and 
reached development stage. During feasibility, all costs associated with the new site are expensed. When a site reaches development stage, 
which is normally determined following the agreement of Heads of Terms for a new lease, applicable costs incurred are capitalised as an item of 
property, plant and equipment. Impairment reviews are performed on the pre-opening expenditure balances at least every six months.

New standards and interpretations not yet adopted
The following new standards and amendments to standards and interpretations are effective for annual periods beginning after 1 January 2018 
and as such, have not been adopted in these financial statements but have been adopted by the Group from that date. None of these are expected 
to have a significant effect on the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

IFRS 9 ‘Financial instruments’ addresses the classification, measurement and recognition of financial assets and financial liabilities. It replaces 
the guidance in IAS 39 that relates to the classification and measurement of financial instruments.

 •

IFRS 9 retains but simplifies the mixed measurement model and establishes three primary measurement categories for financial assets: 
amortised cost; fair value through other comprehensive income; and fair value through profit or loss. The basis of classification depends on the 
entity’s business model and the contractual cash flow characteristics of the financial asset. Investments in equity instruments are required to 
be measured at fair value through profit or loss with the irrevocable option at inception to present changes in fair value in other comprehensive 
income, not recycling. 

 • An expected credit losses model replaces the incurred loss impairment model used in IAS 39. For financial liabilities, there are no changes 
to classification and measurement, except for the recognition of changes in own credit risk in other comprehensive income, for liabilities 
designated at fair value through profit or loss. 

 •

IFRS 9 introduces changes to the requirements for hedge effectiveness. 

The Directors anticipate that the classification and measurement basis for its financial assets and liabilities will be largely unchanged by adoption 
of IFRS 9. The main impact of adopting IFRS 9 is likely to arise from the implementation of the expected loss model. The expected impact at  
1 January 2018 is to increase retained earnings by £52k. No material impact on results for future periods is expected.

IFRS 15, ‘Revenue from contracts with customers’ replaces IAS 18, ‘Revenue’, and IAS 11, ‘Construction contracts’, and related interpretations 
and deals with revenue recognition and establishes principles for reporting useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, 
amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. Revenue is recognised when a 
customer obtains control of a good or service and thus has the ability to direct the use and obtain the benefits from the good or service.

Following a review of existing contractual arrangements, the directors anticipate there will be no material impact for the group’s revenue streams.

The following standard is not yet effective and has not been adopted by the Group: 

IFRS 16, ‘Leases’ applies for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. It replaces the current leasing standard, IAS 17, and requires all 
leases to be treated in a consistent way to the current rules on finance leases, requiring all leases, with limited exceptions, to be disclosed in the 
statement of financial position. The most significant effect of the new requirements will be an increase in lease assets and financial liabilities. 

IFRS 16 changes the nature of expenses related to those leases, replacing the straight-line operating lease expense with a depreciation charge for 
the lease asset (included within operating costs) and an interest expense on the lease liability included within finance costs).

The group is working towards the implementation of IFRS 16 on 1 January 2019. Adoption of this new standard is likely to have an impact on the 
group and the Directors are yet to assess the impact.

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

3. Exchange rates
The significant exchange rates to UK Sterling for the Group are as follows:

US dollar
Euro
Hong Kong dollar
Singaporean dollar
Australian dollar

2017

Closing 
rate
1.35
1.13
10.54
1.80
1.73

Average 
rate
1.29
1.14
10.18
1.80
1.69

2016

Closing 
rate
1.23
1.17

Average 
rate
1.36
1.22

4. Segmental information
In accordance with IFRS 8, the Group’s operating segments are based on the figures reviewed by the Board, which represents the chief operating 
decision maker. The Group is organised into four operating segments, having added a segment to report the acquired Markets business:

 • Print – sale of print advertising and publications;

 • Digital – sale of digital advertising (including premium profiles) and e-commerce and sales of live events commissions generated by online 

bookings and transactions;

 •

International – fees and royalties from third party licensees for the rights to publish print magazines and produce website content under the 
Time Out brand;

 • Markets – predominantly turnover related rent from restaurants in the market and charges for services.

No information is provided at the segment level concerning interest income, interest expense, depreciation or amortisation, income taxes, profit/
loss from associates or other material non-cash items. The Board of Directors do not review any measures of assets, liabilities or cash flows at a 
segment level.

Year ended 31 December 2017

Revenue 
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Operating loss
Analysed as
Adjusted EBITDA loss
Share based payments
Exceptional items
EBITDA loss
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Amortisation of intangible assets
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Operating loss
Finance income
Finance costs
Share of associate's loss
Loss before income tax
Income tax credit
Loss for the year

Print
£’000
15,493
(9,824)
5,669

Digital
£’000
21,499
(9,053)
12,446

International
£’000
1,401
–
1,401

Markets
£’000
5,971
(832)
5,139

Total
£’000
44,364
(19,709)
24,655
(49,293)
(24,638)

(14,217)
(1,527)
(3,155)
(18,899)
(1,124)
(4,420)
(195)
(24,638)
72
(825)
(954)
(26,345)
325
(26,020)

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO4. Segmental information continued
Year ended 31 December 2016

Revenue 
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Operating loss
Analysed as
Adjusted EBITDA loss
Share based payments
Exceptional items
EBITDA loss
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Amortisation of intangible assets
Operating loss
Finance income
Finance costs
Gain on investment and share of associate’s loss
Loss before income tax
Income tax credit
Loss for the year

Revenue is analysed geographically by origin as follows:

Europe
Americas
Rest of World

Print
£’000
15,238
(9,966)
5,272

Digital
£’000
16,316
(4,488)
11,828

International
£’000
1,880
(30)
1,850

Markets
£’000
2,302
(223)
2,079

Total
£’000
35,736
(14,707)
21,029
(38,882)
(17,853)

(10,231)
(1,064)
(2,728)
(14,023)
(710)
(3,120)
(17,853)
389
(1,531)
152
(18,843)
203
(18,640)

2016
£’000
20,289
13,567
1,880
35,736

2016
£’000
15,238
10,210
1,444
4,662
1,880
2,302
35,736

2017
£’000
26,575
14,313
3,476
44,364

2017
£’000
15,493
12,112
2,071
7,316
1,401
5,971
44,364

The Group earns its revenues by selling both goods and services. These can be analysed as follows:

Print advertising and circulation
Digital advertising
Premium profiles
E-commerce
International
Markets

There are no revenues from any single customer that exceed 10% of the Group’s revenues.

The Group has applied the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ‘Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures’ in these 
annual results. In the context of these results, an alternative performance measure (APM) is a financial measure of historical or future financial 
performance, position or cash flows of the Group which is not a measure defined or specified in IFRS. The reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to 
operating profit is contained within the segmental reporting note above.

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

5. Staff costs
Group

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Share based payments

The average monthly number of employees, including Executive Directors, during the year was as follows:

Sales and Marketing
Editorial and Production
Product Development
Administration

The Company has no employees (2016: nil).

2017
£’000
20,339
2,254
545
1,527
24,665

2017
£’000
126
148
41
111
426

2016
£’000
17,302
1,992
496
1,064
20,854

2016
£’000
126
111
44
54
335

The remuneration of the Executive Directors and Officers who are the key management personnel of the Group, is set out below in aggregate for 
each of the applicable categories specified in IAS 24 ‘Related Party Disclosures’. Further information about the remuneration of individual 
Executive Directors is provided in the Directors’ Remuneration report on page 34.

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

Information regarding the highest paid director or key manager is below:

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

2017
£’000
1,188
75
–
207
1,470

2017
£’000
309
28
106
443

2016
£’000
2,466
129
538
860
3,993

2016
£’000
587
29
780
1,396

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO6. Exceptional items
Costs are analysed as follows:

Restructuring costs
Fees relating to acquisitions in the year
Advisory fees in relation to the IPO
Revaluation of put option in Time Out Markets
Office relocation costs

2017
£’000
1,787
539
7
596
226
3,155

2016
£’000
1,261
514
953
–
–
2,728

All exceptional items are presented in Administrative expenses.

The 2017 restructuring costs include employee termination costs of £1,787k incurred to compensate members of senior management and other 
employees for loss of office and to reflect the Group’s new global organisation structure. 

Restructuring costs are treated as exceptional only where they are as a result of fundamental changes in the operating structure of the Group and 
which management do not consider to be part of ongoing or underlying activities. 

The acquisition fees are costs associated with the acquisition of subsidiaries and licensing partners in the year of £487k and fees related to 
corporate reorganisations of £52k. The revaluation of the put option relates to a minority interest held in Time Out Market. 

Office relocation costs relate to the costs associated with the relocation of the head office. The balance also includes the partial release of the 
provision made in 2016 for an onerous lease following subletting part of the building.

The 2016 advisory fees in relation to the IPO include costs not directly related to the raising of finance, including a portion of advisory costs 
incurred, management bonuses related to the IPO and marketing costs. 

The 2016 restructuring costs include employee termination costs of £847k incurred to compensate members of senior management for loss of 
office as part of the reorganisation of the Group structure required as part of the listing process. The prior year balance also includes a provision 
for an onerous lease of £371k relating to the office space previously occupied by the YPlan staff as well as associated legal and agent fees of 
£43k.

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

7. Operating costs / (income)

Cost of inventories recognised as cost of sales
Staff costs
Depreciation 
Intangible amortisation
Operating lease rentals – land and buildings
Loss / (gain) on foreign exchange
Other expenses

Analysed as:

Charged to cost of sales
Administrative expenses

Staff costs capitalised 

Fees payable to the Company's auditors for the audit of the consolidated and parent Company financial statements
Fees payable to the Company's auditors for the audit of the Company's subsidiaries

Fees payable to the Company's auditor for audit related assurance services
Fees payable to the Company's auditor for non-audit services
  Advice in relation to the IPO
  Company secretarial services
  Other services

Audit fees of the Group and Company are borne by Time Out Digital Ltd, a subsidiary company.

2017
£’000
2,965
24,665
1,124
4,420
2,281
22
33,525
69,002

2017
£’000
19,709
51,622
71,331
(2,329)
69,002

2017
£’000
181
70
251

30

–
46
22
349

2016
£’000
2,742
20,854
710
3,120
2,149
(250)
24,264
53,589

2016
£’000
14,707
39,999
54,706
(1,117)
53,589

2016
£’000
155
57
212

31

1,067
21
4
1,335

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO8. Finance income and costs
Finance income

Bank interest receivable
Interest on sponsorship contracts
Foreign exchange gain on financing items

Finance costs

Interest on line of credit
Interest on finance leases
Interest on loan stock and loan notes
Interest on senior and mezzanine debt
Interest on sponsorship loans
Interest on bank loans
Interest on short–term debt
Foreign exchange loss on financing items
Other

9. Taxation
Analysis of income tax

Current tax 
Current tax charge 
Deferred tax
Deferred tax credit

2017
£’000
72
–
–
72

2017
£’000
193
8
–
–
130
122
–
227
145
825

2017
£’000

150

(475)
(325)

2016
£’000
4
6
379
389

2016
£’000
241
2
377
778
45
35
53
–
–
1,531

2016
£’000

43

(246)
(203)

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

9. Taxation continued
Factors affecting the tax expense
The Group’s tax differs from the theoretical amount that would arise using the weighted average tax rate applicable to the results of the 
consolidated entities as follows:

Loss on ordinary activities before income tax
Loss on ordinary activities multiplied by the domestic tax rates applicable to the respective countries
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances
Unrecognised tax losses in the year
Other tax adjustments, reliefs and transfers

Prior year adjustments
Foreign tax charges
Utilisation of tax losses
Deferred tax movements
FX movement on associates
Income tax 

2017
£’000
(26,345)
(5,166)

2016
£’000
(18,843)
(3,769)

1,494
49
3,694
102

1
(7)
(17)
(475)
–
(325)

883
97
2,812
–

(1)
4
–
(246)
17
(203)

Potential deferred tax assets of £15,441k (2016: £9,754k) relating to timing differences on fixed assets, short-term timing differences and losses 
carried forward have not been recognised as the Directors take an approach not to recognise any deferred tax asset until such time as there is 
greater visibility of profitability in the medium term. 

The Group has deferred tax liabilities relating to the acquired intangible assets as follows:

Carrying value at beginning of year
Acquisition of subsidiary undertakings
Finalisation of PY acquisition fair values
Income statement credit
Foreign exchange 

2017
£’000
2,849
345
–
(475)
(96)
2,623

2016
£’000
1,474
1,220
36
(246)
365
2,849

The Group expects to utilise £392k (2016: £380k) of the deferred tax liability in the next twelve months, with the remaining balance being utilised 
in more than twelve months. 

68

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  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO10. Loss per share
Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of shares during the year.

For diluted loss per share, the weighted average number of shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion for all dilutive potential shares. All 
potential ordinary shares including options and deferred shares are anti-dilutive as they would decrease the loss per share, and are therefore not 
considered, diluted loss per share is equal to basic loss per share.

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purpose of basic and diluted loss per share

Loss from continuing operations for the purpose of loss per share

Basic and diluted loss per share

2017
Number
 131,985,250 

2016
Number
97,768,759

£’000
(25,048)

Pence
(19.0)

£’000
(18,462)

Pence
(18.9)

11. Business combinations
During 2017, the Group acquired Print & Digital Publishing Pty (“Time Out Australia”) and 80 Mes 4 Publicacions (“Time Out Spain”). The Group had 
a presence in both locations prior to acquisition, through international licencing agreements.  
As a result of these acquisitions, the Group continues its global expansion program, allowing further growth and monetisation opportunities across 
e-commerce, advertising and Premium Profiles.

Time Out Australia
On 2 June 2017, the Group acquired 100% of the issued ordinary share capital of Print & Digital Publishing Pty Limited for the issue of 1,656,930 
Ordinary Shares valued at £2,212k based on a share price of £1.335. Pre-acquisition international licensing revenues of £38k have been 
recognised as revenue directly in the income statement.

The fair value of the assets and liabilities acquired are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment
Customer relationships
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Deferred tax liability
Trade and other payables
Net assets acquired
Goodwill
Consideration paid

£’000
8
593
201
37
(178)
(485)
176
2,036
2,212

Revenue of £1,734k and operating profit of £79k since the acquisition date have been included in the consolidated income statement. If the 
business combination had occurred at the beginning of the year the revenue contribution to the Group for the year would have been £2,891k and 
the operating loss contribution to the Group for the year would have been £209k. 

The goodwill represents the value of the assembled workforce in the Australian business. None of the goodwill recognised is expected to be 
deductible for income tax purposes.

Acquisition-related costs of £255k have been charged to administrative expenses in the consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 
December 2017.

69

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  Proof 4

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

11. Business combinations continued

Time Out Spain
On 14 August 2017, the Group acquired 100% of the issued ordinary share capital of Time Out Spain Media SL (previously 80 Mes 4 Publicacions) 
in exchange for purchase consideration of cash of £905k and deferred consideration of £909k in the form of Time Out Group plc shares or cash, 
with payment on the first anniversary of the acquisition date. Pre-acquisition international licensing revenues of £53k have been recognised as 
revenue directly in the income statement.

The fair value of the assets and liabilities acquired are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment
Customer relationships
Investments
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Deferred tax liability
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Net assets acquired
Goodwill

Consideration paid
Deferred consideration
Total consideration

£’000
32
668
16
830
398
(167)
(501)
(362)
914
962

905
971
1,876

Revenue of £911k and operating loss of £44k since the acquisition date have been included in the consolidated income statement. If the 
business combination had occurred at the beginning of the year the revenue contribution to the Group for the year would have been £2,546k and 
the operating loss contribution to the Group for the year would have been £20k. 

The goodwill represents the value of the assembled workforce in the Spanish business. None of the goodwill recognised is expected to be 
deductible for income tax purposes.

Acquisition-related costs of £182k have been charged to administrative expenses in the consolidated income statement for the year ended 31 
December 2017.

12. Goodwill
Group

Cost
At 1 January
Acquisitions
Finalisation of PY acquisition fair values
Exchange differences

2017
£’000

49,230
2,998
–
(2,171)
50,057

2016
£’000

35,525
8,180
(164)
5,689
49,230

70

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  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO12. Goodwill continued
The carrying value of the goodwill is analysed by business segment as follows:

Digital
Print
Market

2017
£’000
33,333
8,586
8,138
50,057

2016
£’000
33,231
8,180
7,819
49,230

2015
£’000
28,340
7,185
–
35,525

There were no impairment losses relating to goodwill at the end of the year (2016: £nil).

Goodwill arises on the acquisition of subsidiaries and represents the excess of the consideration transferred over the Group’s interest in net fair 
value of the net identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the business acquired. Goodwill acquired in a business combination 
is allocated to each of the cash generating units (CGUs) that is expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. The Group’s CGUs 
consist of: Digital, Print and Market. This represents the lowest level within the entity at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management 
purposes. There is no goodwill in respect to the Group’s international segment.

Goodwill impairment reviews are undertaken annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate a potential impairment. 
The carrying value of goodwill is compared to the recoverable amount, which is the higher of value in use and the fair value less costs of disposal. 
Any impairment is recognised immediately as an expense and is not subsequently reversed.

An exercise was undertaken to establish whether there was any impairment of goodwill at 31 December 2017, determined by comparison of the 
carrying value to the fair value of the CGUs less costs of disposal using a market approach and assumptions reflecting a market participant view. 
The valuation applies multiples of 5.0x to 2017 Digital revenues, including acquired businesses, 8.0x 2017 Market revenues and 1.0x to 2018 
forecast Print revenues including acquired businesses, which are based upon sensitised benchmarks for comparable businesses. The 2018 
revenues were taken from the latest forecasts approved by the Board. For the Digital CGU the key assumptions were the growth in advertising 
revenues, the number of transacting members and the average revenue per user. For the Market CGU the key assumptions were relating to new 
markets worldwide and the continuing growth of the Lisbon market. For the Print CGU the key assumption was the ability of the Group to maintain 
print advertising revenues during the transition to digital. Since the forecast future revenues are based on significant unobservable inputs, the fair 
value less costs of disposal of the goodwill is classified as a level 3 fair value. 

A full sensitivity analysis has not been disclosed as management believes that any reasonable change in assumptions would not cause the 
carrying value of the Digital or Market CGUs to exceed their recoverable amounts. For the Print CGU, which has the lowest amount of headroom, 
if either revenues decline by 18% in the next 12 months or the multiple used decreased to .82x, it would most likely lead to an impairment of the 
goodwill of that segment.

The Company has no goodwill (2016: £nil).

71

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  Proof 4

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

13. Intangible assets – other

Group

Cost
At 1 January 2016
Acquisitions
Finalisation of prior year acquisition fair values
Additions
Disposals
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2016
Acquisitions
Finalisation of prior year acquisition fair values
Additions
Disposals
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2017
Amortisation
At 1 January 2016
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposal
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2016
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposal
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2017
Net book value
At 31 December 2017
At 31 December 2016
At 1 January 2016

The Company has no intangible assets (2016: £nil).

Trademarks 
and copyright
£’000

Development 
costs
£’000

Service 
concession 
arrangements
£’000

Customer 
relationships
£’000

Other 
intangible 
assets
£’000

4,597
28
201
27
(6)
760
5,607
–
–
60
–
(368)
5,299

385
456
–
107
948
348
–
(69)
1,227

4,072
4,659
4,212

7,089
10
–
1,829
(1,626)
–
7,302
–
–
2,367
(2,035)
(24)
7,610

3,710
1,705
(1,624)
–
3,791
2,099
(2,024)
(13)
3,853

3,757
3,511
3,379

–
1,212
–
–
–
97
1,309
–
–
–
–
62
1,371

–
22
–
1
23
94
–
11
128

1,243
1,286
–

–
3,275
–
–
–
263
3,538
1,261
–
–
–
(430)
4,369

–
384
–
–
384
1,206
–
(88)
1,502

2,867
3,154
–

5,637
2,227
–
–
–
1,126
8,990
5
–
5
–
10
9,010

509
553
–
171
1,233
673
–
(1)
1,905

7,105
7,757
5,128

Total
£’000

17,323
6,752
201
1,856
(1,632)
2,246
26,746
1,266
–
2,432
(2,035)
(750)
27,659

4,604
3,120
(1,624)
279
6,379
4,420
(2,024)
(160)
8,615

19,044
20,367
12,719

72

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  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO14. Property, plant and equipment
Group

Fixtures and 
fittings
£’000

Computer 
equipment
£’000

Leasehold 
improvements
£’000

Cost
At 1 January 2016
Acquisitions
Additions
Disposals
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2016
Acquisitions
Additions
Disposals
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2017
Depreciation 
At 1 January 2016
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposal
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2016
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposal
Exchange differences
At 31 December 2017
Net book value
At 31 December 2017
At 31 December 2016
At 1 January 2016

295
406
436
(56)
46
1,127
27
187
(353)
38
1,026

23
188
(52)
(16)
143
299
(233)
15
224

802
984
272

711
97
439
(114)
59
1,192
13
286
(197)
(36)
1,258

312
244
(110)
47
493
379
(172)
(25)
675

583
699
399

Group
Computer equipment includes the following amounts where the Group is a lessee under a finance lease:

Cost
Accumulated depreciation
Net book value

Lease liabilities are effectively secured, as the rights to the leased asset revert to the lessor in the event of default.

346
4,662
1,344
(155)
444
6,641
–
1,481
(466)
150
7,806

150
278
(155)
69
342
446
(416)
(15)
357

7,449
6,299
196

2017
£’000
167
(68)
99

Total
£’000

1,352
5,165
2,219
(325)
549
8,960
40
1,954
(1,016)
152
10,090

485
710
(317)
100
978
1,124
(821)
(25)
1,256

8,834
7,982
867

2016
£’000
147
(26)
121

Gross finance lease liabilities – minimum lease payments:
No later than 1 year
Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years

Future finance charges on finance lease liabilities
Present value of finance lease liabilities

2017
£’000

2016
£’000

80
35
115
(10)
105

54
71
125
(4)
121

73

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  Proof 4

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

14. Property, plant and equipment continued
The present value of finance lease liabilities is as follows:

No later than 1 year
later than 1 year and no later than 5 years

The Company has no property, plant and equipment (2016: £nil).

2017
£’000
72
33
105

2016
£’000
52
69
121

15. Investment in associate
Group
The Group owns 37.8% of the ordinary share capital of Flypay Limited.  Flypay is a market leader in innovative technology for the hospitality industry 
and the further investment is part of Time Out’s strategy to monetise local businesses and plays an important role in the Group’s transformation 
into a global multi-media and entertainment business. 

Associate – Flypay Limited

The Group’s share of post-tax losses from Flypay Limited accounted for using the equity method is £954k (2016: £577k)

The financial information of Flypay Limited as at and for the year ending is summarised below:

Non-current assets
Current assets
Gross assets
Non-current liabilities
Current liabilities
Gross liabilities
Net assets
Revenue
Operating loss
Group's share of loss for the period

A reconciliation of the movement in the carrying value is as follows:

At 1 January
Additions
Fair value gain
Share in loss of associate
At 31 December 

2017
£’000
6,199
6,199

2017
£’000
108
3,756
3,864
–
(227)
(227)
3,637
292
(2,523)
(954)

2017
£’000
7,153
–
–
(954)
6,199

2016
£’000
7,153
7,153

2016
£’000
67
6,188
6,255
–
(33)
(33)
6,222
111
(1,439)
(577)

2016
£’000
–
6,999
730
(576)
7,153

74

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  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO15. Investment in associate continued
The cost of investment in Flypay is recognised on the statement of financial position as an investment in associate.

There is a risk that the Group will not be able to recover the value of this asset as Flypay Limited is currently loss-making. Management have 
considered growth projections of the business and their future business plans. On this basis they believe the carrying value of the investment is 
supportable.  The Group will continue to assess the likelihood of recoverability.

Flypay Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales, who’s registered is address is 9th Floor 107 Cheapside, London, United Kingdom, EC2V 
6DN.

Prior year
On 14 June 2016, the Group acquired a further 41.5% of the ordinary share capital of Flypay Limited, having acquired 0.1% of their ordinary share 
capital during 2015. The Group issued 4,660,000 ordinary shares as consideration, with a total fair value of £6,990k. In October 2016, the 
Group’s share was diluted to 37.8% due to further investment from other investors. The dilution resulted in a fair value gain of £730k which was 
recognised in the income statement in the prior year.

16. Other investments
Company

Cost and Net Book Value
At 1 January
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December

Shares in Group undertakings
2016
£’000

2017
£’000

85,553
4,088
(192)
89,449

79,146
6,407
–
85,553

The additions in 2017 relate to the acquisitions of Time Out Australia (£2,212k) and Time Out Spain (£1,876k) which took place in June and 
August respectively. 

The additions in 2016 relate to a further investment in Time Out Group MC Limited of £4,000k (2015: £19,271k), a fellow Group undertaking and 
to the acquisition of Yplan (£2,407k) which took place in October 2016.

75

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  Proof 4

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

16. Other investments
As at 31 December 2017, the Group held investments in the following undertakings. All are accounted for using the acquisition method):

Group and Company

Name of company
Direct subsidiaries:
Time Out Group MC Limited
Time Out New York Limited
Time Out Spain Media SL

Holding

Nature of business

Registered address

Country of registration 
(or incorporation)

100%
100%
100%

Holding company
Holding company
Publishing & e-commerce 7–9 Via Laietana, no 20 1st floor, Barcelona 

77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY

England and Wales
England and Wales
Spain

Print & Digital Publishing Pty

100%

Indirect subsidiaries:
Time Out Group BC Limited
Time Out Digital Limited
Time Out Magazine Limited
Time Out Nominees Limited
Time Out England Limited
Time Out International Limited
Time Out Market Limited
Time Out Market London Limited

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
85%
100%

100%
Leanworks Limited
100%
TONY HC Corp
Time Out New York MC LLC
100%
Time Out Market US Holdings LLC 100%
100%
Time Out America LLC
100%
Time Out Chicago LLC
100%
Time Out Market Miami LLC

Time Out Market Chicago LLC

100%

Time Out Market Boston LLC

100%

Yplan Inc
100%
Time Out Portugal, Unipessoal LDA 100%

08003
Publishing & e-commerce 41 Bridge Rd, Glebe NSW 2037

Australia

77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Holding company
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Holding company
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Dormant
Dormant
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Publishing & e-commerce 77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Dormant
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Holding company
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Operator of cultural 
market
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
E–commerce
1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036
Holding company
1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036
Holding company
1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036
Holding company
Publishing & e-commerce 1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036
Publishing & e-commerce 100 N LaSalle Dr Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60602
Operator of cultural 
market
Operator of cultural 
market
Operator of cultural 
market
Dormant
Publishing & e-commerce Avenida de Liberdade, no 10–4, 1250–144 

1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036

1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036

1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036

1540 Broadway, 42nd Floor New York, NY 10036

England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales

England and Wales
United States of America
United States of America
United States of America
United States of America
United States of America
United States of America

United States of America

United States of America

United States of America
Portugal

MC-Mercados da Capital, LDA

82%

Time Out Market Porto, LDA

64%

Time Out Iberia SL

100%

Operator of cultural 
market
Operator of cultural 
market
Service company

Lisboa
Rua D. Luis, no 19–2 andar 1200–149 Lisboa 

Portugal

Rua D. Luis, no 19–2 andar 1200–149 Lisboa 

Portugal

Cl Marie Curie 810, Building Parc Tecnologic Ba 
08042

Spain

Time Out Hong Kong Company 
Limited
Time Out Media Singapore Pte Ltd 100%

100%

Publishing & e-commerce Rms 3201–3204, 32/F Harbour Ctr 25 Harbour 
Rd, Wanchai Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Publishing & e-commerce The Hive, 4/F 59 New Bridge Road, Singapore 

Singapore

059405

All subsidiaries’ reporting periods are consistent with the Group, except for Print & Digital Publishing Pty, which reports at 30 June annually. 
Following acquisition of this subsidiary during 2017, the Group have been working to align reporting periods and expect this to be completed  
during 2018.

All subsidiary undertakings are included in the consolidation.

All of the dormant companies listed above are exempt from preparing individual financial statements by virtue of s394A of the  
Companies Act 2006. 

76

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  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO17. Inventories
Group

Raw materials
Finished goods

The Company has no inventories (2016: £nil).

18. Trade and other receivables
Group

Current:
Trade debtors (net)
Other debtors
Prepayment and accrued income

Non-current:
Other debtors

2017
£’000
239
37
276

2016
£’000
229
12
241

2017
£’000

9,922
2,717
1,963
14,602

2017
£’000

958
958

2016
£’000

7,032
2,517
2,438
11,987

2016
£’000

550
550

The fair values of all financial assets of the Group equate to their carrying value.

As at 31 December 2017, Group trade receivables of £2,593k (2016: £1,587k) were past due but not impaired. The past due receivables relate 
to a number of independent customers for whom there is no recent history of default. The ageing of these trade receivables is over three months 
(2016: over three months).

As at 31 December 2017, Group trade receivables of £409k (2016: £416k) were impaired and provided for. The individually impaired receivables 
mainly relate to international trade receivables. The ageing analysis of these trade receivables is over three months (2016: over three months).

The non-current balance relates to office lease deposits that will mature in 2019 and 2020.

Movements on the Group provision for the impairment of trade receivables are as follows:

At 1 January
Acquisitions
Provision for receivable impairment
Receivables written off during the year as uncollectable
Unused amounts reversed
Exchange differences
At 31 December 

2017
£’000
416
10
290
(274)
(45)
12
409

2016
£’000
157
146
260
(162)
–
15
416

The creation and release of any provision for impaired receivables have been included in Administrative Expenses in the income statement. 
Amounts charged to the allowance account are generally written off when there is no expectation of recovering additional cash. 

77

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

18. Trade and other receivables continued
Company

Amounts owed by group undertakings
Prepayment and accrued income

2017
£’000
100,346
34
100,380

2016
£’000
100,374
45
100,419

All amounts due from Group companies relate to loans which are non-interest bearing, unsecured and repayable on demand.

19. Cash and bank balances
Group

Cash and cash equivalents
Monies held in restricted accounts and deposits

2017
£’000
28,746
1,093
29,839

2016
£’000
50,082
–
50,082

Monies held in restricted accounts and deposits represent cash held by the Group in accounts with conditions that restrict the use of these 
monies by the Group and, as such, does not meet the definition of cash and cash equivalents.

20. Trade and other payables
Group

Current:
Trade creditors
Social security taxes
Other creditors
Deferred consideration 
Line of credit
Accruals and deferred income
Value Added Tax

Non-current:
Option over minority interest
Other creditors

2017
£’000

3,720
531
1,849
971
3,733
6,331
704
17,839

2017
£’000

738
1,553
2,291

2016
£’000

4,919
575
1,764
809
3,424
6,028
124
17,643

2016
£’000

307
1,598
1,905

Line of credit amounts included above represent the Group’s accounts receivable financing agreements with RBS Invoice Finance Limited in the 
UK and US which is automatically renewed each year if certain conditions are met. Under the agreement, accounts receivable are assigned, with 
recourse, to this financial institution. In return the Group receives an advance up to 80%-85% of eligible assigned accounts receivable. 

78

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  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO20. Trade and other payables continued
The interest rate in effect for the UK agreement for the year ended 31 December 2017 was 2.85% above the Bank of England Base Rate (2015: 
2.85% above for the UK and around 10% for the US). At 31 December 2017, UK accounts receivable assigned to RBS Invoice Finance Limited were 
£3,317k (2016: £2,483k) and US accounts receivable assigned to RBS Invoice Finance Limited were £3,721k (2016: £2,222k assigned to Access 
Capital, Inc). The facility is secured by way of charges over certain of the Group’s assets.

Included within Other Creditors is an amount of £105k (2016: £121k) relating to finance leases undertaken for IT equipment. There were £42k 
(2016: £26k) of costs associated with these leases included in depreciation and £8k (2016: £2k) included in finance costs. 

Deferred consideration comprises amounts payable in cash or ordinary shares of Time Out in respect of the Time Out Spain acquisition, of which 
further details can be found in note 11. Other creditors also includes liabilities for the e-commerce business.

The non-current balance relates to a lease concession for the Lisbon market expiring 2031 and the put and call options over the minority interests 
in the Lisbon market, which can be exercised by the minority shareholder or the Group in 2019.

Company

Trade creditors
Deferred consideration
Accruals and deferred income

21. Provisions
Group

At 1 January 
Charged to the Income Statement
Used during the year
Unused amounts reversed
At 31 December 

Analysis of total provisions:

Current
Non-current

2017
£’000
45
971
229
1,245

2017
£’000
335
–
(162)
(106)
67

67
–
67

2016
£’000
–
782
244
1,026

2016
£’000
–
516
(37)
(144)
335

186
149
335

The provision relates to an onerous lease contract on the office previously occupied by Leanworks Limited which was acquired in October 2016. 
The lease expires in July 2018.

The Company has no provisions (2016: £nil).

79

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  Proof 4

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

22. Borrowings
Group

Current:
Loan stock and loan notes
Sponsorship loan
Bank loans

Non-current:
Loan stock
Bank loans

Borrowings repayable as follows:

Between nil and one year
Between one and two years
Between two and five years
Over five years

2017
£’000

–
329
891
1,220

–
8,178
8,178

2017
£’000
1,220
936
6,887
355
9,398

2016
£’000

171
784
128
1,083

1194
321
1,515

2016
£’000
1,083
491
512
512
2,598

Group
The balance at 31 December 2017 consists of non interest bearing loans from major suppliers under exclusivity contracts of £329k, financing 
provided by a local Urban Development Fund as part of the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) initiative of 
£1,244k, a loan entered in to in November 2017 of £7,495k and financing acquired with Time Out Spain of £330k.

The JESSICA loan is charged at a rate of the six-moth EURIBOR rate plus 1.75% repayable in instalments to 2024.

Time Out Market entered in to a new loan in November 2017 at a rate of 11% above EURIBOR, repayable in instalments annually through to 
November 2022.

The financing acquired with Time Out Spain consists of a bank loan charged at a rate of EURIBOR plus 3% subject to a minimum of 3% and 
maximum of 4%, maturing July 2021.

The fair value of all financial liabilities equate to their carrying value. 

Company
The company had no borrowings (2016: £nil).

80

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO23. Financial risk management and policies
Financial risk factors and management
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. The Group’s overall risk management 
programme focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise potential adverse effects on the Group’s financial 
performance.

Foreign currency
The Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk as it operates in overseas markets. The Group’s realised loss on foreign exchange for the year was 
£246k (2016: £250k gain). The Group does not hedge its foreign currency risk as the majority of the Group’s receivables, payables and borrowings 
are denominated in the functional currency of the relevant entity. Consequently, there are no material currency exposures to disclose (2016: £nil).

A sensitivity analysis was conducted at the end of the year ending 31 December 2017 in order to understand the exposure of the Group’s income 
statement to currency fluctuations. The analysis used the actual monthly average rates and appreciated/depreciated each of the rates by 10%. 
The main assumptions revolve around this 10% adjustment to the rates which was applied linearly across the months instead of for a specific time.

The effects of the analysis showed that if the euro and US dollar had appreciated by 10% during the year, reported revenue would be £47,270k 
and the adjusted EBITDA loss would be £15,071k. If, conversely, the euro and US dollar had depreciated by 10% during the year, reported revenue 
would be £41,987k and adjusted EBITDA loss would be £13,524k. 

Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in a financial loss to the Group. In order to 
minimise this risk the Group endeavours to only deal with companies which are demonstrably creditworthy. The maximum exposure to credit risk is 
the value of the outstanding trade receivables. The management do not consider that there is any concentration of risk within trade receivables. 

The Group puts provisions in place for specific known bad debts. In addition, further provisions are made based on historical customer payment 
trends, current local market conditions and the normal average time taken to pay in each individual country. An analysis of the Group’s trade 
receivables and provision for bad debts is included in note 18. The maximum credit risk exposure of the Group is the gross carrying value of each 
of its financial assets.

As well as credit risk on accounts receivable balances with customers, credit risk arises on cash and cash equivalents and deposits with banks 
and financial institutions. For banks and financial institutions, only reputable institutions with a strong, independently rated credit rating are used.

Liquidity risk
Cash flow forecasting is performed by the operating entities of the Group and aggregated by Group finance. Group finance monitors rolling 
forecasts of the Group’s liquidity requirements to ensure it has sufficient cash to meet operational needs whilst maintaining sufficient headroom 
to meet any repayment requirements. 

In June 2016, the Group raised gross proceeds of £90m from the IPO process. This funding was partially used to repay the existing shareholder 
debt at the time of listing. The remainder of the proceeds funded investment in the business. The maturity profile of the Group’s borrowings is set 
out in note 22.

The table below analyses the group’s non-derivative financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period at the 
balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. Derivative financial liabilities are included in the analysis if their contractual maturities are 
essential for an understanding of the timing of the cash flows. The amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows.

As at 31 December 2017
Borrowings (ex finance lease liabilities)
Finance lease liabilities
Trade and other payables

Within 
one year
£’000
1,220
72
17,839
19,131

Between 
one and two 
years
£’000
936
27
893
1,856

Between 
two and five 
years
£’000
6,887
6
155
7,048

Over 
five years
£’000
355
–
1,243
1,598

Total
£’000
9,398
105
20,130
29,633

81

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

23. Financial risk management and policies continued

As at 31 December 2016
Borrowings (ex finance lease liabilities)
Finance lease liabilities
Trade and other payables

Within one 
year
£’000
1,099
52
15,620
16,771

Between 
one and two 
years
£’000
499
52
464
1,015

Between 
two and five 
years
£’000
534
26
157
717

Over 
five years
£’000
564
–
1,252
1,816

Total
£’000
2,696
130
17,493
20,319

Interest rate risk
The Group’s exposure to interest rates is low. Lines of credit are subject to increases in the Bank of England base rate and both the Time Out 
Market and Time Out Spain loans are subject to increases in EURIBOR, but all other debt is at a fixed rate. The Group has not completed a 
sensitivity analysis for this risk because the low debt levels would result in an immaterial impact to the accounts.

Capital risk management
The Group’s capital management objective is to ensure the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern so that it can provide returns for 
shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders. To meet this objective the Group reviews the budgets and forecasts on a regular basis to ensure 
there is sufficient capital to meet the needs of the Group. 

The capital structure of the Group consists of shareholders equity as set out in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity. All working 
capital requirements are financed from existing cash resources and borrowings.

24. Financial instruments
Fair values
The table below illustrates the fair values of all financial assets and liabilities held by the Group at 31 December 2017 and 31 December 2016.

Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are 
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method and the carrying value in all cases approximates to the fair value.

The Group’s financial liability for the option over the non-controlling interests of MC-Mercados da Capital, LDA is measured at fair value through 
profit or loss. The initial recognition, as part of the acquisition of Time Out Market Limited, was at fair value and subsequent changes in fair value 
are charged to the Income Statement.

All other liabilities, including loans and trade and other payables are held at amortised cost. After initial fair value recognition, these instruments 
are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. The carrying value of these liabilities approximates to the fair value. 

82

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO24. Financial instruments continued

Classification of financial instruments
As at 31 December 2017
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Liabilities
Financing 
Finance lease obligations
Option over minority interest
Trade and other payables
Provisions

Classification of financial instruments
As at 31 December 2016
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other receivables
Other investments

Liabilities
Financing 
Finance lease obligations
Option over minority interest
Trade and other payables
Provisions

Loans and 
receivables
£’000

29,839

14,239
44,078

–
–
–
–
–
–

Loans and 
receivables
£’000

50,082
11,264
–
61,346

–
–
–
–
–
–

Available
 for sale 
assets
£’000

Liabilities 
measured at 
amortised 
cost
£’000

At fair value 
through 
profit or loss
£’000

–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–

(9,069)
(99)
–
(17,822)
(67)
(27,057)

–

–
–

(329)
–
(738)
–
–
(1,067)

Available
 for sale 
assets
£’000

Liabilities 
measured at 
amortised 
cost
£’000

At fair value 
through 
profit or loss
£’000

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

(1,493)
(121)
–
(16,862)
(335)
(18,811)

–
–
–
–

(1,105)
–
(307)
–
–
(1,412)

Total
£’000

29,839

14,239
44,078

(9,398)
(99)
(738)
(17,822)
(67)
(28,124)

Total
£’000

50,082
11,264
–
61,346

(2,598)
(121)
(307)
(16,862)
(335)
(20,223)

The Group assesses at each year end reporting date whether a financial asset or group of financial assets is impaired. In the financial year 2017 
there was no objective evidence that would have necessitated the impairment of loans and receivables or available for sale assets except the 
provision for impairment of receivables (see note 18).

The Company had financial asset investments held at amortised cost of £100,346k (2016: £100,374k) relating to intercompany debtors and also 
had financial liabilities measured at amortised cost of £1,200k (2016: £1,026k) related to deferred consideration and accruals.

83

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

24. Financial instruments continued
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through profit and loss

Balance at 1 January 2016
Acquisition of Time Out Market
Purchase of minority interest
Debt repayments
Gains and losses recognised in profit or loss
Balance at 31 December 2016
Purchase of minority interest
Debt repayments
Gains and losses recognised in profit or loss
Balance at 31 December 2017

Financing of 
TO Market
–
1,755
–
(420)
(230)
1,105
–
(904)
128
329

Financial liabilities measured at fair value through profit and loss
Financing of Time Out market
Option over minority interest

Level 1
–
–
–

Level 2
–
–
–

Minority 
interest
–
1,627
(1,322)
–
2
307
(195)
–
626
738

Level 3
329
738
1,067

Total
–
3,382
(1,322)
(420)
(228)
1,412
(195)
(904)
754
1,067

Total
329
738
1,067

25. Called up share capital
Authorised, issued and fully paid

Ordinary shares
Aggregate amounts

New ordinary shares
Aggregate amounts

Nominal value

2016
2017
Number
Number
£0.001 133,362,889 131,166,644
133,362,889 131,166,644

Nominal value
£0.001

2017
£’000
133
133

2016
£’000
131
131

On 2 June 2017 the company issued 1,656,930 Ordinary shares of £0.001 to the owners of Print & Digital Publishing Pty Limited in consideration 
of the acquisition of Time Out Australia. The fair value of the shares issued was £2,212k.

On 19 October 2017, the company issued 539,315 Ordinary shares being the deferred consideration payable in relation to the acquisition of 
Leanworks Limited (“Yplan”).  The fair value of the shares issued was £761k.

84

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO26. Notes to the cash flow statement
Group reconciliation of loss before income tax to cash used in operations

Loss before income tax
Add back:
Net finance costs
Share based payments
Depreciation charges
Amortisation charges
Fair value gain on investments
Loss / (gain) on disposals of fixed assets
Non-cash movements
Share of associate's loss
Increase in inventories
Increase in trade and other receivables
Decrease in trade and other payables
Cash used in operations

2017
£’000
(26,345)

753
1,527
1,124
4,420
626
195
(256)
954
(51)
(2,230)
(1,536)
(20,819)

2016
£’000
(18,843)

1,142
1,064
710
3,120
(730)
16
77
577
(29)
(1,982)
(1,087)
(15,965)

27. Operating lease commitments
Group
At the reporting date, the Group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases over 
land and buildings, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between one and five years
In more than five years

2017
£’000
1,986
5,011
671
7,668

2016
£’000
2,200
5,932
2,047
10,179

The leases relate to rental agreements in London, New York and other locations.

At the reporting date, the Group also had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under cancellable operating leases related 
to Time Out Market locations in Miami, Chicago, Boston and London which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between one and five years
In more than five years

If planning permissions are not received in each respective jurisdiction, these leases are cancellable without recourse.

The future minimum lease payments receivable under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

Within one year
Between one and five years
In more than five years

The receivables relate to the market in Lisbon.

2017
£’000
151
17,268
34,577
51,996

2017
£’000
817
2,239
1,270
4,326

2016
£’000
96
11,793
22,477
34,367

2016
£’000
916
1,914
1,047
3,877

85

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

27. Operating lease commitments continued
Company 

The Company does not have any operating leases (2016: £nil).

28. Pension commitments
The Group operates defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of its employees. During the year, contributions of £545k (2016: £496k) were 
made on behalf of employees and at the year end £90k (2016: £137k) remained outstanding.

29. Share based payments
Group
The charge in respect of share based payment transactions included in the Group’s Income Statement for the year is as follows:

Expense arising from share option plans

Long Term Incentive Plan
Awards have been made to the Executive Directors as follows:

Director
Julio Bruno

Richard Boult

Christine Petersen

Date of grant
14/06/2016

21/04/2017

14/06/2016
21/04/2017

21/10/2016

21/04/2017

Exercise price (p)
150p*
150p*
150p*
nil
nil
nil
150p*
135p
135p
135p
135p
141p**
141p**
141p**
141p**
135p
135p
135p
135p
nil
nil
nil
nil

2017
£’000
1,527

2016
£’000
1,064

Vesting dates
14/06/2017
14/06/2018
14/06/2019
21/04/2018
21/04/2019
21/04/2020
09/05/2019
21/04/2018
21/04/2019
21/04/2020
21/04/2021
23/08/2017
23/08/2018
23/08/2019
23/08/2020
21/04/2018
21/04/2019
21/04/2020
21/04/2021
21/04/2018
21/04/2019
21/04/2020
21/04/2021

Expiry date
14/06/2026
14/06/2026
14/06/2026
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
14/06/2026
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/10/2026
21/10/2026
21/10/2026
21/10/2026
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027
21/04/2027

Number of 
options awarded
2,166,666
2,166,666
2,166,667
100,000
100,000
100,000
266,667
50,000
50,000
50,000
50,000
37,500
37,500
37,500
37,500
212,500
212,500
212,500
212,500
50,000
50,000
50,000
50,000

*  IPO awards. Julio Bruno award vests a third on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of grant and Richard Boult award vests on the third anniversary of 

appointment.

**Award made prior to Ms Petersen being appointed Executive Director

86

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO29. Share based payments continued
The only specific performance condition attached to these awards is of continued service. Except for IPO Awards detailed above, a quarter of each 
award’s options vest each year on the anniversary date for four years after grant. There is a 12 month lock-up period following each vesting date. 
More information can be found in the Directors’ Report on page 29. 

Other awards made during the year and prior year were as follows:

Senior managers - August 2016
Senior managers - October 2016*
YPlan employees - October 2016
Senior managers - April 2017
Senior managers - October 2017

Exercise 
price
 (p)
141
141
nil
nil–135
144

Number 
of options 
awarded
825,000
1,916,667
1,262,876
1,175,000
350,000

Expiry dates
23/08/2026
21/10/2026
21/10/2026
21/04/2027
03/10/2027

* Includes awards of £150,000 made to Ms Petersen prior to her being appointed Executive Director

The only specific performance condition attached to these awards is of continued service. A quarter of each award’s options vest each year on the 
anniversary date for the four years after grant. There is a 12 month lock-up period following each vesting date. More information can be found in 
the Directors’ Report on page 29. 

The total movement during the year is as follows:

Outstanding at 1 January
Options exercised in the year
Options lapsed in the year
Options granted in the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December 

2017

2016

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(pence per 
option)
137
–
101
112
136

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(pence per 
option)
–
–
64
130
137
– 

Number of 
options
9,785,189
–
(1,944,526)
3,075,000
10,915,663
 2,329,167 

Number of 
options
–
–
(986,021)
10,771,210
9,785,189
–

The options which lapsed during the year relate to employees who have left the Group.

The fair value of the award was valued using the Black–Scholes model, the assumptions used in the valuation are:

Risk-free interest rate
Peer group volatility
Expected option life in years
Expected dividend yield
Share price at grant date
Exercise price at grant date
Weighted average fair value of options at grant date

The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year was 36p (2016: 47p). 

87

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  Proof 4

IPO award

Mgmt award
0.3% – 0.4% 0.03%–0.68%
47.5% – 48.9% 10.90%–48.3%
1–4
nil
135p–144p
nil–144p
7p–135p

1–3
nil
150p
150p
40p

www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

29. Share based payments continued
Share options outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry date and exercise prices:

IPO award
Senior managers – August 2016
Senior managers – October 2016
YPlan employees – October 2016
Senior managers – April 2017
Senior managers – October 2017

Expiry date
14/06/2026
23/08/2026
21/10/2026
21/10/2026
21/04/2027
03/10/2027

Exercise price 
(p)
150
141
141
nil
nil–135
144

Share options

2017
 6,766,667 
 375,000 
 625,000 
 173,996 
 2,725,000 
 250,000 
 10,915,663 

2016
 6,766,667 
 750,000 
 1,541,667 
 726,855 
 – 
 – 
 9,785,189 

30. Related party transactions
Group
The Group is controlled by Oakley Capital Limited and Oakley Capital Private Equity, who together owned 57.6% of the Company’s shares as at 31 
December 2017. There is a summary of majority ownership interests in the Directors’ Report on page 31. 

Subsequent to the year end, the Company entered into a £20m term loan facility agreement with Oakley Capital Investments Limited (“OCI”). The 
facility is for a period of 19 months and has an interest rate of between 10 -15% depending on amounts drawn. The proceeds of the new facilities 
are intended to be used by the Group to fund future Time Out Market developments.

OCI is a substantial shareholder in the Company as defined by the AIM Rules and as such entering into the revolving credit facility constitutes 
a related party transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 13. With the exception of Peter Dubens, who is a director of OCI, the Directors of the Group 
consider that, having consulted with Liberum, the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as shareholders are concerned.

Management share awards
Details of management share awards are contained in the Directors’ Remuneration report on page 34 and in note 29.

Other
The Group engages with Oakley Advisory, a subsidiary of Oakley Capital Investment Limited, on a consultancy basis and pays it a fee of £55k per 
annum.  Further to this, advisory fees of £125k were paid to Oakley Advisory during 2017 in relation to the 2016 Leanworks Limited acquisition.

The following transactions were carried out with related parties in the prior year:

Acquisition of Time Out Market Limited
On 14 June 2016, the Group acquired the entire issued preference share capital and an additional 76.6% of the ordinary share capital of Time 
Out Market Limited from OCI, a controlling related party. The Group issued 6,353,281 ordinary shares as consideration, with a total fair value of 
£9,530k. 

Other relating to Time Out Market Limited
Time Out Digital Limited had a debtor balance with Time Out Market Limited at the year end of £5,251k of which £3,147k related to funding. In 
addition to the funding, Time Out Digital Limited provided £1,750k in July 2016 in order to buy out a minority interest in the Lisbon market and pay 
off a shareholder loan in that company. The rest of the balance relates to transfer pricing charges and trading between companies. 

Acquisition of associate interest in Flypay Limited
On 14 June 2016, the Group acquired a further 41.5% of the ordinary share capital of Flypay Limited, from Oakley Capital Investments Limited, a 
controlling related party. The Group issued 4,660,000 ordinary shares as consideration, with a total fair value of £6,990k. In October 2016, the 
Group’s share was diluted to 37.8% due to further investment from other investors. The dilution resulted in a fair value gain of £730k which is 
recognised in the income statement.

88

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Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMO30. Related party transactions continued

Other 
During the year, Time Out America paid $80k to Oakley Capital for 2012 Directors Fees. The cost of the fees were included in prior year results. 
The Group also engages with Oakley Advisory, a subsidiary of Oakley Capital Investments Limited, on a consultancy basis and pays a minimum fee 
of £60k per annum.  

Financing transactions with related parties are detailed in note 21.  

The issue of share capital to related parties is detailed in note 24.  

Company
The Company had the following balances outstanding with related parties, all of whom are companies within the Group:

Time Out Group MC Limited
Time Out Group BC Limited
Time Out Digital Limited
Time Out England Limited
Time Out America LLC
Time Out New York Limited

2017
£’000
1,112
20,731
65,317
(1,738)
63
14,861
100,346

2016
£’000
1,112
20,731
63,954
(188)
(97)
14,861
100,373

31. Contingencies
Company
The Company has guaranteed Time Out Market’s obligations under the lease for the new market in Boston which amounted to $1.5m at 31 
December 2017 and has provided a guarantee in respect of subsidiary borrowings of €9m which is secured over shares in Time Out Market 
Limited. 

The Company has provided a guarantee in respect of rental payments under the operating lease for the building at 77 Wicklow Street totalling 
£2.4m.  

32. Events after the reporting period

Time Out Market 

In February 2018, the Group entered in to a new five year exclusivity agreement in respect of the supply of beer and soft drinks to the Time Out 
Market in Lisbon, with minimum purchase commitments.  

In February 2018, the Group signed a lease for 20,000 sqft of space in the Dumbo, Brooklyn district of New York, subject to planning. It is 
intended to start construction shortly and it is planned that the market will be open by Q4 2018.

Loan from Oakley Capital Investments

As set out in note 30, to fund the accelerating development of Time Out Market, the Group has entered in to a £20m loan facility with Oakley 
Capital Investments Limited.

89

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www.timeout.comFINANCIAL STATEMENTS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SHAREHOLDER NOTES

90

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  Proof4

Time Out Group plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017Stock code: TMOCOMPANY

INFORMATION

Registered Office
Time Out Group plc 
77 Wicklow Street  
London  
WC1X 9JY  
United Kingdom

Company Number: 07440171

Company website: www.timeout.com

Advisers
Nominated Adviser and Broker:  
Liberum Capital Limited 
Ropemaker Place  
25 Ropemaker Street  
London  
EC2Y 9LY  
United Kingdom

Legal Advisers:  
Ashurst LLP  
Broadwalk House  
5 Appold Street  
London  
EC2A 2HA  
United Kingdom

Independent Auditor:  
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP  
1 Embankment Place  
London  
WC2N 6RH  
United Kingdom

Registrars:  
Equiniti Limited  
Aspect House  
Spencer Road  
Lancing  
West Sussex  
BN99 6DA  
United Kingdom

25887 

  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof 4

25887 

  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof 4

T

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1

7

Time Out Group plc | 77 Wicklow Street | London | WC1X 9JY | Tel: +44 (0) 207 813 3000

www.timeout.com

25887 

  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof4

25887 

  11 April 2018 10:34 AM 

  Proof 4