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Tracsis Plc

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FY2021 Annual Report · Tracsis Plc
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Annual Report  
& Accounts 2021

Technology Makes It Possible, People Make It Happen

Contents

Strategic Report
Our Business at a Glance  
Strategy and Business Model  
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer’s Report  
(incorporating Business Review and Future 
Developments)
Risk Management  
Environmental, Social and  
Governance (ESG) Strategy  
Key Performance Indicators  
Section 172 Statement 

Governance
Board of Directors  
Directors’ Report  
Directors’ Remuneration Report  
Corporate Governance  
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities  
Independent Auditor’s Report to the  
members of Tracsis plc  

2
9
14

20

25
28
31

34
36
38
41
43

44

Financial Statements
Consolidated Statement of  
54
Comprehensive Income  
55
Consolidated Balance Sheet  
56
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity  
57
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement  
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements   58
98
Company Balance Sheet  
99
Company Statement of Changes in Equity  
100
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet  
110
Group Information  

Our Business 
at a Glance

Who we are
Tracsis’ purpose is to develop 
innovative technology-driven 
solutions that solve complex 
problems which maximise 
efficiency in regulated 
industries. Our approach 
focuses on combining leading 
edge software and hardware 
knowledge, data capture, 
analytics and industry 
expertise to generate insights 
and fast-to-market products 
and services.

Key Group 
locations

Livingston

Newcastle

Wetherby

Manchester

Boroughbridge

Leeds 
(Head Office)

Derby

Coleshill 
Coventry  

Silverstone

Chelmsford
London

Dublin

 
Tracsis plc was founded in January 
2004 to commercialise world 
class research and expertise 
developed in the field of transport 
scheduling and software optimisation 
technologies. Since then the Group 
has grown rapidly, diversified into 
related transport technologies, and 
successfully executed a strategy that 
has seen it make a total of sixteen 
acquisitions and three investments. 
Today Tracsis is a leading provider of 
software, hardware, data analytics/GIS 
and services for the rail, traffic data 
and wider transport industries.

Tracsis’ products and services are 

used to increase efficiency, reduce 
cost and improve the operational 
performance and decision making 
capabilities for its customers. The 
Group has a blue chip client base 
which includes the majority of UK 
transport operators. We also work 
extensively with large transport 
authorities and infrastructure 
operators such as Network Rail, the 
Department for Transport, a wide 
range of government agencies and 
local authorities, a variety of large 
engineering and infrastructure 
companies, plus event organisers.
The Group today has c.500 
permanent employees serving its 
growing customer base from offices in 
the UK and Ireland.

For the financial year ended 31 July 
2021, the Group has been reorganised 
into a new Divisional structure in order 
to better align with key areas of future 
growth.

Our Business at a Glance (continued)

Revenue by Division
%

47

53

Rail Technology & Services

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events

Global Sales Revenue
%

1

12

87

UK

Europe

Rest of the World

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

3

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsOur Business at a Glance (continued)

Our Divisions

Rail Technology & Services

Revenue
£m 

+12.7%

Adjusted EBITDA*
£m 

+4.9%

PBT
£m 

+3.1%

23.4

26.4

8.6

9.1

8.1

8.3

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2020

FY 2021

Core activities:

Operations and Planning
Supplies a range of software products to passenger 
and freight operators that enable them to increase the 
efficiency of their operations and provide an enhanced 
experience for their customers. The product suite covers 
all aspects of transport operations including timetabling, 
resource and rolling stock planning & optimisation, real 
time performance and control, service recovery, incident 
management, retail services and asset management. 
Products include TRACS, ATTUne, Compass, and Retail 
& Operations product suites. TRACS Enterprise is a high 
availability, cloud hosted, enterprise-wide modular 
planning and delivery system for passenger and freight 
operators providing a single source of information for all 
timetable, resource planning, work allocation and control 
decision support.

Customer Experience
Transit and Ticketing Solutions (iBlocks)
Provides smart-ticketing solutions and bespoke software 
development of mission-critical back office solutions used 
by train operators and the Rail Delivery Group (“RDG”). 
smartTIS is a unique account based ticketing product 
already deployed on about 20% of the UK rail network, that 
offers a flexible, multi-modal, tap and travel system with a 
best fare guarantee, and is the only RDG accredited pay-
as-you-go solution on the UK rail network. It is capable of 
performing the full cycle from token-agnostic tap capture 
through to fare generation, payment collection and revenue 
settlement. Capable of applying all rail fare types, railcard 
discounts, weekly capping and flexible ticketing, it is 
uniquely placed to facilitate the move towards a paperless, 
pay-as-you-go smart ticketing environment.

4 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Automated Delay Repay (iBlocks and TCS)
Provides automated delay-repay claim assessment on the 
UK rail network for train operators, including claim decision, 
fulfilment and fraud detection.

Digital Railway / Infrastructure
Remote Condition Monitoring (MPEC)
Provides hardware and software solutions that enable 
reactive, condition-based and predictive maintenance of 
critical infrastructure assets, improving their performance 
and life cycle. We are a leading provider of rail approved 
data loggers and sensors to monitor asset performance 
within level crossings, switch machines, track circuits, 
wiring and signalling systems. Supported by our own 
web-based data acquisition software platform Centrix, we 
offer infrastructure owners a complete solution to deliver 
operational efficiencies.

Safety and Risk Management (OnTrac)
Supplies software solutions that allow infrastructure 
providers and maintainers to plan and deliver safe work 
on the railways by automating heavily regulated business 
processes, by enabling users to plan and execute work 
collaboratively, and by providing better quality and more 
visual information. Our flagship product RailHub is a digital 
platform with unique capabilities including schematics on 
demand, live work site monitoring and digital sign-offs, that 
ensure work being carried out on or near the line is done so 
safely and productively. Accessible simultaneously across 
smartphones, tablets and desktops, our software solutions 
are part of the move to a more digital railway.

Our Business at a Glance (continued)

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events

Revenue
£m 

-3%

Adjusted EBITDA*
£m 

+114.2%

PBT
£m 

24.6

23.8

3.9

+494%

3.0

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2020

FY 2021

1.8

0.5

Core activities:

Data Informatics
(Compass Informatics and Icon GEO)(1)
Provides location-related technologies including 
geographical information systems (GIS) and Earth 
Observation, as well as analytics solutions and services, 
to assist government and commercial organisations to 
deliver more efficient operations, protect their assets and 
meet regulatory requirements. Application sectors are 
primarily regulated industries including transportation, 
utilities, environment and planning. The focus on location 
technology creates particularly valuable insights for 
planning transport services and assets, protecting and 
enhancing natural resources, and ensuring and facilitating 
regulatory compliance. Headquartered in Dublin, the 
business has a strong client base in Ireland and UK.

Transport Insights 
(Tracsis Transport Consultancy)(1)(2)
Provides consultancy, training and technology-related 
professional services to support operational, commercial, 
customer service and strategic planning activities in Rail, 
Bus and the wider transport industry. Our unique offering 
combines sector-specific expertise with innovative bespoke 
software tool development and passenger analytics 
capabilities including access to the range of products and 
services offered across the Tracsis Group.

Traffic Data
Provides transport data collection and analysis for local 
authorities, transport planners and operators, highways 
authorities, and large engineering consultancies. Through 
the application of automatic data collection systems, video 
with machine learning AI, and manual survey methods, we 
provide temporary or permanent data collection in any 
traffic environment and for any class of traffic including 
motor vehicle type, cyclists and pedestrians. The insights 
we offer are deployed by industry-leading public and 
private sector clients to improve the flow of traffic and trade 
throughout the UK and Ireland.

Event Traffic Management 
(SEP and CTM)
Deliver traffic management solutions and event admission 
control services for large, complex operations including 
cultural and sporting events, festivals, large retail sites and 
other ad hoc activities. We support our customers with all 
aspects of planning, control, signage, traffic management 
and car parking. Technologies such as Tracsis Live 
Technology (TLT) offer improved traffic monitoring and 
traffic flow in and out of major event venues.

(*)  This report provides Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”) which are not defined or specified under the requirements of International Financial 

Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). The Group uses these APMs to improve the comparability of information between reporting periods and Divisions, by adjusting 
for certain items which impact upon IFRS measures, to aid the user in understanding the activity taking place across the Group’s businesses. APMs are 
used by the Directors and management for performance analysis, planning, reporting and incentive purposes. A summary of APMs used and their closest 
equivalent statutory measures is given in note 31 to the Consolidated Financial Statements on pages 96 and 97.

(1) Data Informatics and Transport Insights operate across the whole of the Group, but are reported within the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events segment.

(2)  The Group’s previous segmental structure included Rail Consultancy within the Rail Technology & Services segment. This is now reported as part of Transport 

Insights in the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events segment.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

5

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsOur Business at a Glance (continued)

Our Businesses

Rail Technology 
& Services

Operations 
& Planning
•  Operational Planning and 
Rail Performance Software.

Digital Railway/
Infrastructure
•  Remote Condition 

Monitoring Hardware and 
Data Acquisition.
•  Safety and Risk 

Management Software and 
Asset Visualisation.

Customer  
Experience
•  Transit and Ticketing 

Solutions.

•  Automated Delay Repay.

22%

of revenue

26%

of revenue

5%

of revenue

Data Informatics
•  Location Technologies  
and Analytics Solutions

Transport Insights
•  Consultancy, Passenger Analytics  
and Bespoke Software Solutions

6 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

11%

of revenue

7%

of revenue

Our Business at a Glance (continued)

Our Brands

Data, Analytics, 
Consultancy & Events

Traffic Data
•  Traffic Data Capture  

and Analysis  
(Video, ANPR, Machine 
Learning).

Event Traffic 
Management
•  Event Transport Planning 

and Management.

15%

of revenue

14%

of revenue

11%

of revenue

7%

of revenue

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

7

Data Informatics

•  Location Technologies  

and Analytics Solutions

Transport Insights

•  Consultancy, Passenger Analytics  

and Bespoke Software Solutions

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsOur Business at a Glance (continued)

Investment Case

Strong Market 
Fundamentals

High Value 
Products  
and Services

Multiple 
Growth  
Vectors

Our products and services enable our customers to deliver mission-critical activities with increased 
efficiency, enhanced performance, higher productivity, and improved safety. This is well aligned with 
industry drivers in the short, medium and long term. 
The Williams-Shapps Plan for UK Rail issued in May 2021 outlined a strategic vision for the rail 
industry in the UK, with a greater focus on passenger and freight customers, the delivery of an 
increasingly safe and reliable rail network, and greater integration across different transport modes 
whilst prioritising innovation in new technologies.
Tracsis is well aligned to help deliver this strategic vision. With the rail industry focused on improving 
safety, improving timetabling and on-time train performance, increasing pre-emptive and asset-
condition maintenance, and accelerating innovation in areas like pay as you go smart ticketing and 
delay repay, the Group is well positioned to benefit from the commitment to greater innovation and 
investment in a digital railway.

Our products and services offer compelling value propositions for our customers. They are well 
differentiated, and in several cases are unique. We have strong, long-term relationships with our 
customers, which support a high level of recurring and repeat revenue and provide valuable insight 
in developing the next generation of products. This is underpinned by sector-specific expertise 
that allows us to provide expert advisory support and consultancy to our customers, and to fully 
understand their challenges and how best to provide a solution.

Our growth strategy is focused on five core areas. 
In the Rail Technology & Services segment, these are:
1.  Operational performance software; 
2.  Remote condition monitoring hardware and software; 
3.  Risk management and safety software; and 
4.  Smart ticketing and customer experience software.

In the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events segment, the fifth growth vector is:
5. 

’Big Data’ (data informatics and GIS)

These multiple vectors ensure diversification of our growth opportunities across customers and 
industry drivers, which supports our confidence that the Group can deliver further significant value for 
shareholders and provides some resilience against short-term market volatility.

Strong  
Balance Sheet

The Group has net cash of £25.4m at 31 July 2021, with no debt and high levels of operating cash 
generation. Our strong balance sheet enables us to invest for future growth and gives the financial 
flexibility to support investment in innovation and the development of our business infrastructure to 
deliver this.

M&A 
Opportunities

A Resilient 
Business Model

We are actively pursuing M&A opportunities to expand our addressable markets and increase our 
technical capabilities. 
In the year to 31 July 2021 we completed the acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting Ltd to enhance 
our Transport Consultancy offering, and post year end we acquired Icon Group which will be 
integrated into our Data Informatics business.

Our business model is highly resilient, and is built upon long-term customer relationships, well 
differentiated products and services that deliver compelling value propositions, high levels of recurring 
and repeat revenue, and strong cash generation. 
Our Rail Technology & Services products principally support the operational requirements of running 
and maintaining the railway and are therefore largely resilient against changes in passenger numbers, 
as demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The wider focus on investing in modernising and 
digitising the UK railway is an important long-term trend that will support growth.
The Covid-19 pandemic did reduce activity levels in certain parts of our business, most significantly 
in the Events, Traffic Data and Delay Repay businesses. We successfully implemented cost reduction 
actions in response, whilst at the same time protecting jobs. This has enabled these businesses to 
respond quickly to increasing activity levels as Covid-related restrictions have eased.

8 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Strategy and Business Model

Our vision for Tracsis is to become a leading provider of high value, niche technology 
solutions and services that solve complex problems which maximise efficiency in 
regulated industries. 

Our business model remains focussed on specialist offerings that have high barriers to entry, are sold on a recurring 
basis under contract, and to a retained customer base that is largely blue chip in nature.
Our strategy to achieve this vision is focused in four areas, as outlined below. We believe this strategy will allow 
Tracsis to continue the growth trajectory it has achieved since IPO in 2007 and to deliver further significant value to 
shareholders in the short, medium and longer term.

Strategic Priority

Progress in 2021

Future Focus

1

Organic Growth
Delivery of our pipeline, 
continual innovation of 
products and services, 
flawless high quality delivery 
and an excellent close 
working relationship with our 
customers

2 Expand Addressable 

Markets
Selling our products and 
services into new markets, 
including overseas, and 
expansion into select sectors 
that share problems with the 
industries we currently serve

3 Acquisitions

Reinvesting Group profits 
to fund further accretive 
acquisitions that meet our 
disciplined investment criteria

4 Integration and 

Capability
Enhanced integration 
and collaboration across 
the Group, increasing 
management capability and 
bandwidth, and improving 
our systems and processes, 
as key foundations to deliver 
our growth strategy

•  5% revenue growth for the Group; 13% 
growth in Rail Technology & Services
•  Awarded multi-year significant contract 

in UK for RailHub software suite
•  Record year for Remote Condition 

Monitoring product sales 

•  Large pipeline of multi-year contract 

opportunities for TRACS Enterprise and 
smart ticketing

•  Activity levels in Events, Traffic Data and 

Delay Repay impacted by Covid-19

•  Delivery of pipeline of large multi-year 

software contracts

•  Continued investment in software & 

technology products 

•  Support UK Rail Industry to deliver the 
strategic vision outlined in the Williams-
Shapps Plan

•  Complete post-Covid recovery in 

affected business units

•  Remote Condition Monitoring hardware 
and software contract win with major 
transit agency in North America

•  Continued growth in data informatics 

and GIS

•  Targeted growth opportunities overseas 

•  Further growth from Compass 

or in adjacent market segments

Informatics in Ireland and mainland UK

•  Active pursuit of M&A to extend rail 

software and data informatics footprint 
– focus on recurring revenue growth

•  Acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting 
Ltd to strengthen the Group’s Transport 
Insights offering

•  Post year end acquisition of Icon Group 
to enhance the Group’s Data Informatics 
capabilities

•  Further potential targets evaluated 

during the year

•  Launch of Group-wide Tracsis branding
•  ISO 27001 certification secured 

•  R&D collaboration via Innovation Hub
•  Enhance management capability & 

across all Rail Technology & Services 
businesses

bandwidth

•  Continued alignment of Group-wide 

•  Shared service model implemented in 

systems and processes

core functions

•  Focused people development

•  Investment in training and development

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

9

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsGrowth Drivers

The Group’s organic growth strategy is focused on five core areas

Product/Software 
based

1.  Operational 
Performance 
Software

2.  Remote Condition 

Monitoring Hardware 
and Software

Industry 
Drivers

•  Increasing demand from 

Government and train operators 
to deliver cost, efficiency and 
performance improvements
•  Legacy systems are under-

invested and poorly integrated

•  Operational efficiencies from real-
time asset tracking and condition-
based maintenance

•  Improvements in asset and 

rail network performance and 
availability

Tracsis 
Solution

Progress

•  TRACS Enterprise is a high 
availability, cloud hosted, 
enterprise-wide modular planning 
and delivery system for rail 
operators built around existing 
Tracsis standalone software 
products

•  Products sold as three modules:
1.  Short and Long Term Train 

Planning

2. Roster and Resourcing
3. Control

•  Single source of information for 
all timetable, resource planning, 
work allocation and control 
decision support

•  Delivers significant cost savings

•  First passenger operators due to 
go live with TRACS Enterprise in 
2022

•  Record pipeline of UK 

opportunities with passenger and 
freight operators

•  Our Remote Condition Monitoring 
products enable both reactive 
and predictive maintenance of rail 
industry assets, improving their 
performance and lifecycle
•  Hardware: rail approved data 
loggers and sensors monitor 
asset performance and predict 
failure modes within level 
crossings, switch machines, track 
circuits, wiring and signalling 
systems

•  Software: our own web-based 

data acquisition, diagnostics and 
performance analysis software 
called Centrix

•  Continued growth in UK installed 

base:
 − 20,000 data loggers installed
 − 30,000 assets monitored
 − 5 million events recorded
 − 19,000 alarms raised

•  Hardware and software contract 
win with major transit agency in 
North America

10 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Growth Drivers (continued)

Capability 
based

5.  Data Analytics  

and GIS

3.  Risk Management 

and Safety 
Software

4.  Smart Ticketing 
and Customer 
Experience

•  Improving safety, specifically to 
reduce the number of near-miss 
incidents and fatalities when 
working on or near the railway

•  Software solutions in safety 

and risk management are part 
of the move to a more digital 
railway, removing complex paper 
processes

•  The RailHub platform has been 
developed to change the way 
the rail industry approaches the 
management and planning of 
work on the railway, and provides 
access to a range of digital 
applications

•  Functionality includes:
1.  Safe work packs
2. National hazard directory
3. Access points
4. Person-in-charge electronic 

approval

5. Digital asset schematics
6. Work package plans / task 

briefing forms

•  Ensuring customers can purchase 

flexible, multi-modal tickets 
and have access to the best 
value fares via Pay-as-you-Go 
technology

•  Key theme of the Willams-Shapps 
Plan for Rail recommendations

•  Data rich organisations seeking 
greater insights into how they 
can facilitate better and faster 
decision-making utilising ‘big 
data’

•  Market regulated industries 
requiring GIS solutions to 
demonstrate ongoing compliance

•  smartTIS is a unique Account 

•  Our Compass Informatics 

Based Ticketing product. Token 
agnostic journey taps are 
captured and virtual tickets are 
created that are electronically 
billed to the customer post 
completion of their journey

•  Capable of applying all rail fare 
types, railcard discounts, weekly 
capping - the customer always 
pays the cheapest fare

•  Delay repay compensation 
automatically calculated

•  It is the only UK rail accredited 

Account Based Ticketing solution

business based in Ireland has 
capabilities in the following areas:
 − Geographical Information 

Systems (GIS)

 − Earth Observation (EO)
 − Data analytics and field 

computing

 − Mobile app development

•  Customer base across transport, 
utilities and environmental sectors

•  Large, multi-year RailHub contract 
win in UK which will double user 
base to over 30,000 individuals

•  smartTIS already deployed on 

•  Continue to launch innovative 

around 20% of the UK rail network 
(GTR, South Western Railway)

new products (BIO used by three 
water utilities)

•  Secured another smartTIS 

•  Ongoing expansion of Irish 

contract award post year-end
•  Opportunities for growth with 

ITSO smartcard, EMV contactless 
and mobile app / barcode 
deployment

customer base with opportunity to 
grow into the EU market

•  Post year-end acquisition of the 
Icon Group has enhanced our 
capabilities in this growing market

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

11

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsFinancial Highlights

•  Strong financial performance with growth in revenue and profit despite continued Covid-19 challenges

•  Revenue increased to £50.2m (2020: £48.0m) with growth in the higher margin Rail Technology & Services 

Division and in Data Analytics/GIS offset by lower sales in our Events and Traffic Data businesses as 
expected due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions on their end markets

 − Revenue growth of 12.7% in Rail Technology & Services Division

 − Revenue decrease of only 3.0% in Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events Division which was impacted by 

Covid-19

•  Adjusted EBITDA* of £13.0m (2020: £10.5m) reflects growth in software revenue and the positive impact of 

cost reduction actions taken in response to the pandemic

•  PBT increased to £4.6m (2020: £4.1m)

•  Cash balances of £25.4m (31 July 2020: £17.9m) with no Covid deferrals due to be paid

•  The Board is not declaring a final dividend but expects to restore the progressive dividend policy for the 

year to 31 July 2022

Revenue
£50.2m

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Cash
£25.4m

Adjusted EBITDA*
£13.0m

PBT
£4.6m

50.2

48.0

49.2

39.8

34.5

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

13.0

10.5

10.5

9.4

8.5

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

4.6

4.1

4.6

6.6

8.3

Adjusted EBITDA Margin*
25.8%

Basic EPS
8.1p

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

25.4

17.9

24.1

22.3

15.4

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

8.1

10.0

25.8

21.8

21.7

23.7

24.6

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

17.8

25.7

13.4

Adjusted Basic EPS
31.9p

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

31.9

24.1

28.3

26.3

34.5

*  Earnings before finance income & expense, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional items, other 

operating income, share-based payments charges and share of results of equity accounted investees. 
See note 31 for reconciliation.

12 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Operational Highlights

Large RailHub Enterprise Software Contract Win
Our safety and risk management software business, OnTrac, was awarded 
a significant multi-year contract in the UK that will double the user base 
of its RailHub product to over 30,000 individuals. This reflects the growing 
momentum in UK rail’s shift to digital and underpins our confidence in the 
future of the RailHub platform with both rail infrastructure providers and 
maintainers.

Strong Post Covid recovery
Our highest priorities through the pandemic have been to look after the 
wellbeing of our employees and to protect as many jobs as possible. We 
have achieved this through a number of measures, which included utilising 
the Government Coronavirus Job Support Scheme and delivering cost 
reduction actions in line with expectations. Any salary reductions taken by 
our teams to support these initiatives were repaid. The vast majority of our 
teams have been working from home, and we are currently transitioning to 
a hybrid working model. We have been able to respond quickly as activity 
levels have started to increase in those markets that were impacted by the 
pandemic.

Acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting
The Groups’ Transport Insights offering was strengthened through the 
acquisition of Flash Forward in February 2021. This has been fully 
integrated with the Group’s existing Rail Consultancy and Passenger 
Analytics businesses to create a consolidated Tracsis Transport 
Consultancy business offering products and services that cover all 
areas of the Group.

•  Continued to implement a number of large multi-year TRACS Enterprise rail contracts won in previous years

•  Continued growth of pipeline of other multi-year rail contract opportunities

•  Well positioned to benefit from the strategic direction outlined for the UK Rail industry in the Williams-Shapps 

plan for Rail

•  Continued investment in Group integration, management capability, processes and systems, including 
launch of new groupwide branding and securing ISO27001 certification across all our rail businesses

Post Year End Highlights

•  Rebound of activity levels in Events and Traffic Data with both markets expected to recover to full activity 

levels through the course of the coming year

•  Acquisition of Icon Group to enhance the Group’s Data Analytics/GIS capabilities

•  Secured another smart ticketing contract award in the UK

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

13

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsChairman & Chief Executive 
Officer’s Report

Introduction
The Group has performed 
well during the year ended 
31 July 2021, delivering 
growth in revenue and 
adjusted EBITDA*, and 
making further progress 
in executing its strategy, 
despite ongoing Covid-19 
driven revenue challenges.
Activity levels in the Rail 

Chris Cole, 
Chairman

Technology and Services 
Division remain high and 
this part of the Group has 
demonstrated the resilience 
of its business model in 
supporting the operational 
requirements of running and 
maintaining the railway. 
The Division has won some 
key contracts during the 
year, and there has been 
good progress in delivering 
large multi-year contracts won in previous years. Our focus 
on these projects is to work closely with our customers as 
a partner to deliver significant value over the long-term. 
Delivery timelines here are determined in partnership with 
our customers.

The release of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail in May 
2021 has provided clarity on the strategic direction of the 
UK rail industry, with a greater focus on passenger and 
freight customers, the delivery of an increasingly safe 
and reliable rail network, and greater integration across 
different transport modes whilst prioritising innovation in 
new technologies. The Directors believe that Tracsis is well 
positioned to help deliver this strategic vision. With the rail 
industry focused on improving safety, improving timetabling 
and on-time train performance, increasing pre-emptive and 
asset-condition maintenance, and accelerating innovation 
in areas like pay as you go smart ticketing and delay repay, 
the Group is well positioned to benefit from the commitment 
to greater innovation and investment in a digital railway.
Our pipeline across the Rail Technology and Services 
Division is at record levels, and the diversification of our 
revenue streams provides some mitigation against any 
potential short-term volatility as the industry transitions to a 
new Great British Railways-led operating model.

As anticipated, there were continued Covid-related 

challenges in the Events and Traffic Data businesses. Cost 
reduction actions taken in summer 2020 in response to 
these challenges were delivered in line with expectations. 
By taking these actions, we were able to protect jobs and 
both businesses were able to respond quickly when activity 
levels in their end markets increased as Covid restrictions 
were eased. We anticipate a continued recovery in these 

14 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Chris Barnes, 
Chief Executive Officer

markets through the coming year. There was further growth 
in Data Analytics/GIS during the year, and our Transport 
Insights offering has been significantly enhanced with the 
acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting in February 2021 
and the subsequent consolidation of our rail consultancy 
and passenger analytics businesses into Tracsis Transport 
Consultancy.

The Group has made good progress in implementing a 

more integrated business model and adopting common 
processes and systems. Key achievements in the year 
include securing ISO27001 certification across all our 
rail businesses, rolling out new Group-wide branding, 
launching the Innovation Hub to drive ‘next generation’ R&D 
and implementing a shared services model across core 
support functions.

The Board would like to recognise the outstanding 

contribution that Tracsis’ people have made during 
the year, especially during the unprecedented Covid 
pandemic. Our highest priorities through this period were 
to safeguard our employee’s health and welfare and to 
protect as many jobs as possible. The response of our 
teams to these unique challenges was outstanding and it 
is pleasing to see high activity levels across all parts of the 
Group.

Financial Summary
Group revenues of £50.2m (2020: £48.0m) were £2.2m 
(4.7%) higher than prior year. Revenues in the Rail 
Technology and Services segment grew by £3.0m (12.7%), 
with the impact of Covid-19 limited only to reduced delay 
repay transaction revenues which were a direct result 
of lower passenger numbers. In the Data, Analytics, 

Consultancy and Events segment revenue was £0.7m 
(3.0%) lower than prior year as a result of the continued 
impact of Covid-19 restrictions on end markets in our Events 
and Traffic Data businesses. The adverse year-on-year 
revenue performance across the Events, Traffic Data and 
Delay Repay businesses was £2.1m (12.3%). Across the rest 
of the Group, there was organic revenue growth of £2.4m 
(7.7%) after adjusting for a net £1.9m year-on-year benefit 
from acquisitions.

Adjusted EBITDA* of £13.0m was £2.5m (24.0%) higher 

than prior year (2020: £10.5m). This includes increased 
revenue from software and the positive impact of cost 
reduction actions taken in response to the pandemic, which 
delivered a benefit to EBITDA versus the comparative 
period of £1.8m. In addition, the Group has claimed through 
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) in respect 
of furloughed staff in the year, with support to the income 
statement of £0.9m (2020: £0.7m(1)).

Statutory profit before tax of £4.6m is £0.5m higher 
than prior year (2020: £4.1m). In addition to the increase 
in adjusted EBITDA* described above, this reflects the 
following items:
•   £1.6m depreciation charge (2020: £1.9m) which includes 
a net charge of £1.0m (2020: £1.0m) in relation to right 
of use assets in accordance with IFRS accounting 
standards;

•  £4.3m amortisation of intangible assets (2020: £3.6m) 

reflecting a full year charge following the acquisition of 
iBlocks in March 2020 and the initial charge for the five 
month period following the acquisition of Flash Forward 
Consulting in February 2021;

•  £1.3m share-based payment charges (2020: £1.1m) which 
principally relate to employee participation in the Group 
share option schemes as summarised in note 8 to the 
Consolidated Financial Statements;

•  £1.1m exceptional items (2020: £0.1m credit) reflecting 
£0.7m unwinding of previously discounted contingent 
consideration balances in accordance with IFRS 
accounting standards; a £0.3m net increase in the 
assessed fair value of contingent consideration based 
on the future expectations of performance from previous 
acquisitions; and £0.1m of transaction costs associated 
with the acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting;

•  £0.4m other operating income (2020: £0.4m) relating to a 
credit in respect of research and development costs for 
Corporation Tax purposes;

•  £0.1m net finance expense (2020: £nil) representing the 
interest charge on lease liabilities in accordance with 
IFRS accounting standards; and

•  £0.4m charge (2020: £0.3m) relating to the share of the 

result of equity accounted investees

Chief Executive Officer’s Report (continued)

The Group continues to have significant levels of cash 
and remains debt free. At 31 July 2021, the Group’s cash 
balances were £25.4m (2020: £17.9m). Cash generation 
remains strong. The Group has paid all contingent 
consideration, VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax due in the 
period and has not taken advantage of any Government 
support in respect of taxes.

Trading Progress and Prospects 

Rail Technology & Services 

Summary segment results:
Revenue
Adjusted EBITDA *
Profit before Tax

2021
£26.4m
£9.1m
£8.3m

2020
£23.4m
£8.6m
£8.1m

The Division has delivered further revenue growth in the 
year and continues to benefit from high levels of recurring 
software revenue, including that from multi-year contract 
wins in previous years. Annual recurring and routinely 
repeating revenue for the year to 31 July 2021 was 
approximately 70%. Underlying organic revenue growth, 
after adjusting for the effect of acquisitions and the impact 
of Covid-19 on delay repay revenue, was £2.4m (10.9%).
We continue to see good growth in our Operations 
& Planning product suites, where work continues on 
implementing our TRACS Enterprise product suite with 
Train Operating Companies (“TOCs”). Our digital railway 
and infrastructure businesses delivered record revenue in 
the year, and secured notable contract wins for our remote 
condition monitoring and risk and safety management 
products. The impact of Covid-19 in this Division was limited 
to delay repay revenues, with fewer passengers travelling 
due to Government restrictions. This was more than offset 
by the contribution from iBlocks, acquired in March 2020, 
where the pipeline for its smart ticketing technology is 
growing strongly.

Rail Operations & Planning
Total revenues from the Group’s rail operations & planning 
software and hosting offerings were £10.9m (2020: £10.5m). 
This takes account of the various revenue streams from 
our TRACS, ATTUne, COMPASS, and Retail & Operations 
product suites. Software sales continue to benefit from 
high renewal rates from existing customers, and also from 
multi-year contract wins from previous years which we are 
currently implementing for our clients. Work continues on 
implementing our TRACS Enterprise product with TOCs 
which were secured in previous years. Delivery timelines 
here are determined in partnership with our customers, 
and we expect two major TOC’s to go-live in the early 
stages of 2022. An update on timing for a third TOC will be 

(*)  Earnings before finance income, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional items, other operating income, and share-based payment charges and share of 

result of equity accounted investees – see note 31 for reconciliation.

(1)  Total received under the CJRS for the year ending 31 July 2020 was £2.4m, of which £1.7m was paid directly to casual labour leaving a balance of £0.7m which 

represents the true support to the Income Statement regarding permanent employees.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

15

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsChief Executive Officer’s Report (continued)

provided in due course. We have a strong pipeline of new 
large multi-year TRACS Enterprise opportunities in both 
the passenger and freight sectors of the industry. Bellvedi 
continues to perform well, and the ATTUne product forms 
an integral part of the overall TRACS Enterprise solution.

Digital Railway & Infrastructure
Total revenues across the Digital Railway and Infrastructure 
offerings increased by 19% to a record £13.0m (2020: 
£11.0m). Our remote condition monitoring business MPEC 
had a very strong year. It has continued to see strong 
demand from our core UK client base and during the year 
was awarded new contracts for the supply of remote 
condition monitoring hardware and software to a major 
North American transit agency which will expand our 
installed base in this market. 

Our safety and risk management software business 
OnTrac also had a very strong year. Activity here was 
dominated by design and development work on our 
RailHub product suite as part of a funded enterprise 
licence project. The completion of this work led to the 
award of a significant multi-year contract in the UK that 
will double RailHub’s user base to over 30,000 individuals. 
This reflects the growing momentum in UK rail’s shift to 
digital, and underpins our confidence in the future of the 
RailHub platform with both rail infrastructure providers and 
maintainers. The contract award delivered a non-repeat 
high-margin licence contribution in the year to 31 July 
2021, and will deliver additional recurring annual software 
revenue in future years in this part of the Group.

Both businesses have a good pipeline of large contract 

opportunities.

Customer Experience
Revenue of £2.5m increased by £0.5m versus prior 
year (2020: £2.0m). As anticipated, the reduction in rail 
passenger numbers as a result of Covid-19 restrictions 
resulted in lower delay repay transaction revenues. This 
business continues to operate from a modest cost base. 
The decrease in delay repay revenue was more than offset 
by the revenue contribution from iBlocks that was acquired 
in March 2020. We are seeing good levels of interest in 
iBlocks’ smart ticketing product offering, which is well 
aligned with future passenger requirements as Covid-19 
restrictions are lifted and with the UK Government’s 
strategic intent to deliver increased Pay As You Go (PAYG), 
multi-modal ticketing as outlined in the Williams-Shapps 
Plan for Rail. Post year-end we were awarded another 
contract to supply this technology in the UK.

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events 

Summary segment results:
Revenue
Adjusted EBITDA *
Profit before Tax

2021
£23.8m
£3.9m
£3.0m

2020
£24.6m
£1.8m
£0.5m

16 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

As anticipated, Covid-19 restrictions had a significant 
impact on the end markets of our Events and Traffic Data 
businesses in the year. In both cases, demand for our 
products and services remains strong and we have seen 
activity levels progressively recover as restrictions have 
been lifted. Our primary objective throughout the Covid 
pandemic was to protect jobs and employee wellbeing, as 
a result of which we have been well positioned to respond 
quickly to this increase in demand. We anticipate further 
recovery in activity levels in these markets through the 
year to 31 July 2022, supported by the Government-backed 
insurance scheme for the live events sector.

The Data Analytics/GIS market continues to offer 

attractive opportunities for growth and has been largely 
unaffected by Covid-19. We have a strong pipeline of 
opportunities in this area and post year-end we enhanced 
our product offering with the acquisition of Icon Group. 
Our Transport Insights business continues to perform well 
and was strengthened in the year by the acquisition of 
Flash Forward Consulting and the subsequent launch of a 
broader Transport Consultancy offering.

Despite lower revenue, adjusted EBITDA* increased by 
£2.1m which includes the £1.8m benefit from cost reduction 
actions taken in response to the pandemic.

Data Analytics/GIS
Revenue increased to £5.7m for the year (2020: £5.4m) 
with high activity levels across Irish and UK customers. 
During the year the business went live with an innovative 
new product that is now used by three water utilities to 
manage the regulated use of biosolids in agriculture, and 
continued to develop a range of innovative mobile apps 
and data analytics tools for other clients across the rail, bus, 
environmental and utilities sectors. The business has a strong 
pipeline of new opportunities. Post year-end, the acquisition 
of Icon Group has further enhanced our product offering in 
this growing market by adding earth observation capabilities. 
Icon Group will be integrated with Tracsis’ existing Data 
Analytics/GIS solutions provider Compass Informatics to 
create an Irish-based Data Analytics centre of excellence 
specialising in providing location-related technologies 
and analytics solutions to government and commercial 
organisations. The combined Irish business will have c.130 
staff and will work across a variety of sectors deriving most of 
its revenue from regulated industries including transportation, 
asset management, environmental and utilities.

Transport Insights
Revenue of £3.5m was broadly similar to the prior year 
(2020: £3.4m). The Flash Forward Consulting business 
acquired at the end of February 2021 was fully integrated 
during the second half of the year with the Group’s existing 
Rail Consultancy and Passenger Analytics businesses 
to create a consolidated Tracsis Transport Consultancy 
business delivering an enhanced offering to customers that 
covers all areas of the Group. This is already delivering a 
growing pipeline of opportunities and expanding our reach 
outside of rail into other transport industry sectors.

Chief Executive Officer’s Report (continued)

Rail Consultancy revenue increased versus the prior year, 

and there was further incremental contribution from Flash 
Forward. This was offset by lower activity in Passenger 
Analytics which was impacted by lower rail passenger 
numbers.

Traffic Data
Revenue of £7.7m was £1.0m lower than the prior year 
(£2020: £8.7m) due to the impact of Covid-19 related 
restrictions, which resulted in work being postponed 
or cancelled as the prevailing traffic conditions were 
not representative of client needs. The main exception 
was the National Road Traffic Census which continued 
and was a valuable source of revenue in the year. Cost 
reduction measures were implemented in this part of the 
Group, including utilising the CJRS to protect jobs. This 
has left the business well placed to respond to increasing 
activity levels as Covid-related restrictions have eased. 
We anticipate a full recovery in activity levels through the 
coming financial year, although the timing of this remains 
uncertain.

Event Transport Planning & Management
Revenue of £6.9m was very close to the prior year (2020: 
£7.0m) despite continued headwinds in the first half of the 
year from events being cancelled or postponed due to 
the Covid pandemic. This reflects the business winning 
additional work with new and existing customers, as well as 
a recovery in underlying activity levels in the final months 
of the financial year as Covid restrictions were lifted. New 
work secured included contracts to support Covid test and 
vaccination centres which delivered £1.3m revenue in the 
year. Similar to the Traffic Data business, the CJRS scheme 
enabled us to both protect jobs and to respond quickly 
to the rapid increase in demand towards the end of the 
year. The demand for sporting events and music festivals 
remains strong and we anticipate a full recovery in activity 
levels through the coming financial year.

Acquisitions
The Group acquired Flash Forward Consulting Limited 
(“FFC”) on 26 February 2021, which has enabled it to 
consolidate and expand its Transport Insights offering. 
Established in 2012, FFC is a London-based consultancy 
business that operates predominantly across the rail 
and bus sectors. It has a well-established senior level 
network across the transport owning groups, local and 
central transport governing authorities and Network Rail, 
and offers a range of strategic and practical technical 
consultancy services. Alex Warner, FFC founder, has joined 
the Group to lead our consolidated consultancy business 
which combines FFC with our existing Rail Consultancy and 
Passenger Analytics offerings. The consolidated business 
delivers an expanded offering to customers across the 
transport industries and offers consultancy services that 
cover all areas of the Group.

The acquisition consideration comprised an initial cash 
payment of £1.1m to reflect the net current asset position 
of the business which was funded out of Tracsis cash 
reserves and the issue of shares in Tracsis to a value of 
£0.1m. Deferred consideration totalling £0.9m is payable 
in three equal instalments on the first, second and third 
anniversary of the acquisition. Additionally the sellers 
were allotted 10,225 “A” shares in Tracsis Rail Consultancy 
Limited which have an assessed fair value of £0.6m at the 
acquisition date. The “A” shares have full dividend and 
capital distribution rights attached but do not have any 
voting rights attached to them. The Group holds a call 
option to re-purchase the full amount of “A” shares for a 
pre-determined multiple of Profit Before Tax from two years 
after the acquisition date.

Post year end the Group acquired Icon Group (“Icon”) 
on 3 November 2021. Headquartered in Dublin, Icon is an 
interdisciplinary geoscience business who specialise in 
earth observation (EO), GIS and spatial data analytics. Icon 
Group has several long-term repeat contracts and employs 
around 60 full-time staff, all of whom will remain with the 
business post transaction.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

17

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsChief Executive Officer’s Report (continued)

The acquisition consideration comprises an initial cash 

payment of £1.9m which was funded out of Tracsis cash 
reserves and the issue of 68,762 new ordinary shares 
in Tracsis to a value of £0.6m. An additional payment of 
approximately £1.7m will be made on a euro for euro basis 
to reflect the net current asset position of the business 
(above a working capital hurdle) at completion and will be 
finalised in due course. Additional contingent consideration 
of up to £1.5m is payable subject to Icon Group achieving 
certain stretched financial targets in the three years post 
acquisition.

People
The Group is thankful to the whole team for their hard work 
during the year, especially during the unprecedented Covid 
pandemic. Our priorities throughout this period have been 
to safeguard the health, welfare and safety of our people, 
and to protect as many jobs as possible. The response 
of our teams has been outstanding. We largely moved to 
remote homeworking across the Group, whilst ensuring 
that our product and service offerings have continued. 
As Covid restrictions have eased, we have re-opened 
all of our offices with safe working practices in place and 
we are transitioning to a hybrid working model with most 
employees spending some time in the office and some time 
working from home.

The Board believes that the long-term success of the 
Company depends on the engagement and commitment 
of its employees. We consider our employees to be some 
of the best in the sector, and we strive to provide them 
with opportunities for personal development, career 
progression, and a safe and inclusive working culture. The 
Group hired a Director of People in July 2021. This role 
is part of the senior leadership team and will ensure we 
have the processes, learning & development frameworks, 
and robust succession plans in place to continue to offer 
a compelling proposition to current and future employees, 
and to ensure we have the capabilities and talent to deliver 
our growth strategy.

Operations
The Group has made progress in implementing a more 
closely integrated operating model, as we continue to 
implement best practice across the Group and to lay the 
foundations to deliver further growth. A shared services 
structure has been adopted in core support functions 
including health & safety, HR, bid management, finance, IT 
security, risk management and quality. New Group-wide 
branding was implemented in the second half of the year, 
ensuring that all parts of the Group share a consistent 
brand identity. This will broaden the awareness of the 
Group’s breadth of products and services, whilst enhancing 
collaboration across the business. ISO27001 certification 
has been secured for all Rail Technology & Services 
businesses.

18 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Dividends
As detailed above, certain of the Group’s businesses were 
adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to 
protect jobs in the Group that would otherwise have been 
at risk, the Group utilised the Coronavirus Job Retention 
Scheme (“CJRS”) in respect of furloughed staff in the year. 
In this context, the Board does not consider it appropriate 
to pay a final dividend this year. The Board expects to 
restore the progressive dividend policy for the year ending 
31 July 2022.

Board
On 1 February 2021 Andy Kelly was appointed Chief 
Financial Officer, replacing Max Cawthra. The Board would 
like to thank Max for his significant contribution to Tracsis 
over the past decade. Mac Andrade resigned from the 
Board on 31 July 2021 to focus on other interests and the 
Board would like to thank Mac for his contribution. Post 
year-end Dr James Routh was appointed to the Board as a 
Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director on 
29 September 2021.

Summary and Outlook
Our end market drivers are strong, and Tracsis’ products 
and services are well aligned with these drivers as they 
enable our customers to deliver mission-critical activities 
with increased efficiency, enhanced performance, higher 
productivity, and improved safety. 

The Group has a clear growth strategy and has a 

strong balance sheet to support its delivery. We continue 
to implement a number of large multi year enterprise 
software contracts and have a record pipeline of future 
opportunities. Whilst the timing of these remains difficult 
to predict, the Directors believe they establish a strong 
foundation for future growth. In addition to delivering 
organic growth, M&A remains a core part of our strategy. 
We also recognise the need to continue to enhance 
integration and collaboration across our businesses, 
increase senior management bandwidth and talent, and 
improve our systems and processes as we prepare for 
scalable growth. We have made good progress in the year 
and will continue to invest in this area.

Q1 trading has been in line with the Board’s expectations, 

and we have seen further recovery in activity levels 
in those parts of the Group that have been previously 
impacted by Covid-19. We believe that activity levels 
will progressively return to normal through the rest of the 
financial year, although the timing of this remains uncertain.
The Board believes that the Group is well positioned 
to deliver further growth in the coming financial year and 
beyond.

Chris Cole, 
Chairman

9 November 2021

Chris Barnes, 
Chief Executive Officer

 
Case study

Tracsis Traffic 
Data Deliver Data 
Dashboard

Tracsis Traffic Data developed an 
interactive public-facing dashboard 
for Scottish Borders Council, via their 
Data Solutions Team. The software 
displayed transport data through 
an integrated map and enabled 
comparison of before and after 20mph 
implementation as well as a central 
hub for all the data collected across 
recent years. The cloud hosted data 
enabled it to be readily accessible, 
saving the Council time and cost and 
increasing the value of the past and 
present data. 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

19

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsRisk Management

Improving the way we manage our risks
The Group continues to grow rapidly including through acquisition, which brings 
additional challenges for managing risk. We have implemented a risk management 
model to systematically capture and evaluate risk at both the operating business 
and the Group level. The Group’s ability to effectively manage risk within a defined 
framework is maturing including the use of risk-based management systems such as 
ISO9001 and ISO27001. The key risks facing the Group are reviewed by the Board on 
a regular basis.

Key risks
The key risks currently facing the Group, and a summary of the mitigation measures in place, are set out below:

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

Coronavirus (Covid-19)
The business, like most businesses 
in the UK and the wider World, was 
impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
The main effect was a significant 
decrease in activity levels in our end 
markets, most notably in the Events 
and Traffic Data businesses. There 
remains a risk of a re-emergence of 
Covid-related restrictions in the UK and 
globally.

There is a risk that another global 
event, as yet unforeseeable, could 
have a similar adverse impact on our 
markets.

Project Delivery
The Group has several significant 
contracts with major UK Train 
Operating Companies and 
Infrastructure Providers which 
contain a number of deadlines for 
implementation, in accordance with 
the contractual requirements and 
timeframes. The scale and complexity 
of these projects require careful 
management to ensure delivery. 
Certain events within the Data, 
Analytics, Consultancy and Events 
Division are significant and require 
large staff deployments and delivery.

Decreased. Covid-related restrictions 
are easing globally, and mitigating 
actions have proved to be effective.

Implement remote working and Covid-
safe working environments, consistent 
with evolving Government advice. 
Regular monitoring of staff health and 
wellbeing. Access Government support 
schemes where available to help 
protect jobs. Implement cost reduction 
measures. Redeploy staff across the 
Group where possible.

Increased in Rail Technology & 
Services in the year due to additional 
contracts secured and growing 
pipeline of large, multi-year software 
opportunities.

The Group continues to deploy an 
extensive delivery team and works 
with clients to establish a programme 
and project plan to ensure that 
deliverables can be achieved. Best 
practice is shared across the operating 
businesses and is co-ordinated from 
the Group centre where appropriate. 
Event related work is subject to 
significant advance planning.

20 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Risk Management (continued)

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

Rail industry structure 
changes
The Group continues to derive a 
significant proportion of its revenue 
from the UK rail industry. The current 
UK Government have indicated a 
strategic intention to change the 
present structure and organisation 
of the UK rail industry. Legislation 
to enact this has yet to be passed. 
A future Government may introduce 
further changes.

Cyber Security Incident
A malicious cyber-attack or security 
breach on the Group’s IT systems. 
National Cyber Security Centre 
(NCSC) information and guidance to 
UK businesses, indicates that such 
an incident should attract a high 
probability rating. Any such incident 
could disrupt business continuity 
or impact contracted delivery 
requirements.

Downturn or Instability in 
Major Markets
The Group derives revenues directly 
and indirectly from the UK and 
Irish governments, and would be 
significantly impacted if these public 
funding streams were reduced as a 
result of spending reviews or a change 
in Government.

Several of the Group’s products and 
services are expected to still be 
required regardless of any changes 
to the structure of the industry as they 
have a clear value proposition and 
return on investment. These products 
and services are predominantly 
focused on improving the efficiency, 
health and safety, and customer 
experience on the UK railway, which 
are all well-aligned with the strategic 
goals of the Williams-Shapps Plan for 
UK Rail published in May 2021. In some 
parts of the Group there is a risk that 
competitor products could be adopted 
as an industry-wide solution.

ISO27001 certification has been 
achieved during the year for certain 
parts of the Group. All of our Rail 
Technology & Services business now 
have this certification. Cyber Essentials 
Certification has been maintained 
as a baseline for the remainder of 
the Group. The Group’s outsourced 
IT Services Provider manages some 
elements of operational risk within the 
framework required by ISO27001.
The Group has a Head of Quality, 
Risk, Safety & Compliance. Business 
continuity plans are in place, 
tested and maturing as a result of 
implementing ISO27001. The Group is 
currently engaged in developing an 
integrated IT strategy.

As the Group grows and diversifies 
its revenue streams, the exposure to 
government spending should reduce. 
It will always be a risk for parts of 
the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & 
Events Division due to the nature 
of its customer base. For the Rail 
Technology & Services Division, the 
Group seeks to ensure that its offerings 
have a clear return on investment and 
value proposition, to ensure demand 
remains high.

Decreased in the year due to the 
publication of the Williams-Shapps 
Plan for UK Rail which has clarified the 
current Government’s strategic plan for 
the railways. This aligns well with the 
Group’s product and service offering 
in the Rail Technology & Services 
Division.

No change

No change in the year

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

21

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsRisk Management (continued)

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

Reliance on certain key 
customers
The Group has a large number of 
customers but derives a significant 
amount from one key customer for 
a large part of its Rail Technology & 
Services offering. There can be no 
guarantee as to the timing or quantum 
of any potential future orders from 
this customer. There is therefore some 
exposure to the largest customer’s 
funding cycles and procurement 
processes.
In addition, the Group’s Data, 
Analytics, Consultancy and Events 
Division operates under a number 
of Framework Agreements with one 
large customer from whom a significant 
amount of revenue is obtained. Across 
the Group, there are a number of key 
customers which contribute to large 
amounts of revenue.

Attraction and retention of 
key employees
The Board believes that the long-
term success of the Group depends 
on the engagement and commitment 
of its employees. The Group has a 
number of key individuals, plus a wide 
and diverse workforce. Skills and 
expertise in the Group’s key markets 
are specialist and can be difficult to 
find or develop, and so growth of the 
business may be impacted should key 
individuals leave employment, or if the 
business is unable to attract, recruit 
and develop staff for its growth plans.

Competition
The success of the Group could lead 
to increased competition, in particular 
in Data, Analytics, Consultancy 
and Events where our products and 
services can be more easily replicated. 
The Group has a wide range of product 
and service offerings and some are 
more exposed to more competition 
than others.

No change in the year

Total revenues from the Group’s largest 
customer were 17% of Group revenue 
(2020: 21%).

As the Group continues to grow both 
organically and by acquisition, the 
exposure to and reliance on any one 
customer will reduce, relative to total 
Group revenue. Although there will 
always be an exposure to certain 
key customers, it manages this risk 
by managing customer requirements 
proactively to understand their needs 
and respond to them to ensure that its 
products and services are embedded 
with the customer as much as possible.

Increased in the year due to increased 
competition in the post-Covid jobs 
market

Unchanged in the year.

The Group seeks to offer competitive 
remuneration packages, and also 
offers various share incentive schemes 
to staff in order to attract and retain 
good calibre employees. The Group 
seeks to offer career development 
opportunities in order to offer its 
staff with opportunities to progress 
within the business. The Group has 
recruited a Director of People during 
the year to ensure we continue to offer 
a compelling proposition to current 
and future employees, and to ensure 
we have the capabilities and talent to 
deliver our growth strategy.

The Group pays close attention to 
pricing and customer satisfaction for 
areas subject to the most competition 
and seeks to be competitively priced 
where possible. The Group attempts to 
ensure its products and services have 
a clear value proposition and return 
on investment, and seeks to build 
long-term customer relationships that 
reduce the exposure to potential new 
entrants.

22 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
Risk Management (continued)

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

Technological changes
The Group has a variety of product 
and service offerings which may be 
threatened should competitors or other 
new market entrants develop rival 
technology or develop more effective 
ways of doing things.

Health & Safety
The Group has a large number of 
employees operating at a variety of 
temporary and permanent locations 
across the UK and Ireland. Some 
employees fulfil established high-risk 
and safety critical worker roles

Customer pricing pressure
Price pressure from customers may 
potentially result in margins being 
reduced over time if lower revenues 
are achieved than those which were 
achieved historically.

Unchanged in the year.

No change in the year

No change in the year

The Group continues to invest in its 
technology product development to 
ensure that they remain up to date and 
also relevant to the customer base. 
It also receives feedback from its 
clients about their requirements from 
the products which helps to ensure 
that they remain relevant. Some of 
the Group’s offerings continue to be 
protected by customer relationships, 
Framework Agreements, contractual 
terms and also a barrier to entry is 
the significant development costs 
required to enter the market, which 
provides some protection. The Group’s 
‘Innovation Hub’ provides a forum for 
cross-Divisional collaboration to help 
identify opportunities and drive future 
product development

Dedicated Group led Health & Safety 
team trained to IOSH & NEBOSH 
standards, as well as 24/7 access to 
external Health & Safety consultancy 
support, retained by contract.
Structured Health & Safety processes, 
policies and procedures are in place, 
led by a dedicated and appropriately-
trained Health & Safety team.
Dashcams and tracker devices 
installed in white fleets, whilst an 
external provider manages driver 
risk, licence and competence checks. 
On-site risk-based internal assurance 
activity is provided by dedicated 
Group resource. 
All work activity is assessed for risk 
and subject to a documented safe 
system of work.

The Group seeks to operate a lean 
organisation structure in order to 
mitigate pricing pressure, and ensures 
that its cost base operates efficiently 
and effectively. Pricing for large 
tenders and enquiries is reviewed at 
Group level prior to commitment. 
The Group is committed to ensuring 
customer satisfaction and offering a 
compelling return on investment for its 
products with a clear long-term value 
proposition to our customers.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

23

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsRisk Management (continued)

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

Brand reputation
Any adverse publicity concerning 
the Group, or any of its subsidiary 
businesses may have an impact on 
future trading prospects if the Group’s 
brand is adversely affected as a result 
of this.

Regulatory breach
Deviation from regulatory compliance 
leading to a fine, sanction of 
enforcement order imposed on the 
business by a Court or Regulatory 
body (including but not limited to FCA, 
HSE, ICO, etc).
Any security incident leading to a data 
breach could undermine trust and 
confidence in the Group’s ability to 
meet the requirements of the Privacy 
regulatory environment.

Integration risk
The Group has made one acquisition 
in the year, and has further M&A as 
a core part of its growth strategy. 
It plans to integrate each acquired 
business to deliver synergies and 
ensure compliance with all required 
governance policies and procedures.

No change in the year.

No change in the year

No change in the year.

There is a broad range of preventative 
measures in place across the Group 
that contribute to reducing this risk, 
including: Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) policies, principle 
and ethos; structured risk management 
processes; internal reporting 
mechanisms; embedded health & 
safety policy, processes and culture; 
and an internal compliance function.
As part of its Corporate Governance, 
the Board maintains regular dialogue 
with Operational staff and Heads of 
Department and so is made aware of 
any issues so that corrective action 
can be taken if necessary. Trained and 
qualified staff are in key appointments, 
there is an internal incident reporting 
mechanism, and structured risk 
management model.

Effective Group level Corporate 
governance mechanisms exercised.
Directors briefed on AIM rules in 
conjunction with Nominated Advisor, 
and regular dialogue maintained with 
our broker finnCap throughout the 
year.
Group controlled Privacy Programme 
in place designed to demonstrate 
regulatory compliance. The 
programme is benchmarked against 
the International Association of 
Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Certified 
Information Privacy Managers (CIPM) 
principles and doctrine.
Appointed PECB trained and certified 
Data Protection Officer to provide 
guidance, advice and support.

Comprehensive due diligence 
processes are undertaken prior to 
acquisition. 
A Group-controlled integration plan is 
developed for each acquisition, under 
the direction of the Group Operations 
Director, linked to the mitigation of risk 
and delivering synergies and growth.

24 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Description/Potential impact: Mitigation:

Change in the year:

There is a broad range of preventative 

No change in the year.

Brand reputation

Any adverse publicity concerning 

the Group, or any of its subsidiary 

businesses may have an impact on 

future trading prospects if the Group’s 

brand is adversely affected as a result 

of this.

measures in place across the Group 

that contribute to reducing this risk, 

including: Environmental, Social and 

Governance (ESG) policies, principle 

and ethos; structured risk management 

processes; internal reporting 

mechanisms; embedded health & 

safety policy, processes and culture; 

and an internal compliance function.

As part of its Corporate Governance, 

the Board maintains regular dialogue 

with Operational staff and Heads of 

Department and so is made aware of 

any issues so that corrective action 

can be taken if necessary. Trained and 

qualified staff are in key appointments, 

there is an internal incident reporting 

mechanism, and structured risk 

management model.

governance mechanisms exercised.

Directors briefed on AIM rules in 

conjunction with Nominated Advisor, 

and regular dialogue maintained with 

our broker finnCap throughout the 

Group controlled Privacy Programme 

in place designed to demonstrate 

regulatory compliance. The 

programme is benchmarked against 

the International Association of 

Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Certified 

Information Privacy Managers (CIPM) 

principles and doctrine.

Appointed PECB trained and certified 

Data Protection Officer to provide 

guidance, advice and support.

processes are undertaken prior to 

acquisition. 

A Group-controlled integration plan is 

developed for each acquisition, under 

the direction of the Group Operations 

Director, linked to the mitigation of risk 

and delivering synergies and growth.

Regulatory breach

Deviation from regulatory compliance 

leading to a fine, sanction of 

enforcement order imposed on the 

business by a Court or Regulatory 

body (including but not limited to FCA, 

HSE, ICO, etc).

Any security incident leading to a data 

year.

breach could undermine trust and 

confidence in the Group’s ability to 

meet the requirements of the Privacy 

regulatory environment.

Integration risk

The Group has made one acquisition 

in the year, and has further M&A as 

a core part of its growth strategy. 

It plans to integrate each acquired 

business to deliver synergies and 

ensure compliance with all required 

governance policies and procedures.

Comprehensive due diligence 

No change in the year.

Effective Group level Corporate 

No change in the year

Environmental, Social & 
Governance (ESG) Strategy

The Group is committed to the development and implementation of an effective ESG 
strategy that will be at the heart of how we operate

Responsibility 
Tracsis’ objective is to deliver sustainable growth that 
benefits the communities in which we, and our customers, 
operate. As we execute our growth strategy, Environmental, 
Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives are at the heart 
of how we operate. We recognise that this is increasingly 
important to our customers, employees and shareholders, 
and the Group is committed to providing greater 
transparency of our policies, practices and performance in 
this regard.

We have made good progress this year towards 
formalising an ESG strategy that will establish our 
operating framework and shape our business culture. This 
strategy is being set by the Board, who are monitoring 
the Group’s performance in delivering these objectives. 
This section of the Annual Report provides an overview 
of our purpose, our approach, our core principles and our 
objectives for the next 12 months.

In formalising our ESG strategy, we are building from a 
robust foundation:
•  Our corporate governance frameworks are well 

established and details of these are provided on pages 
41 to 42 of this report

•  Our products and services deliver positive efficiency/
performance, environmental and health and safety 
outcomes for our customers and for their end-users, and 
our growth strategy is focused in these areas

•  Our energy and water consumption and CO2 production 

are low given the nature of our business

•  The Group is focused on offering a compelling 

proposition to current and future employees. As an 
example, we already offer a share option scheme to all 
UK employees that enables them to share in the success 
of the business

•  We have good gender diversity for our industry. At 

senior levels we have 33% Board gender diversity, and 
at 31 July 2021 the total Female/Male mix of permanent 
employees was 25%/75%

•  Our effective tax rate is in excess of 19% with £1.4m 

corporation tax paid in the year

Progress made during the year includes:
•  Establishing an ESG working group with representation 
from a diverse range of employees from across the 
Group and at different levels of the organisation. This 
team have clear objectives to help identify what is most 
important and meaningful to our employees and our 
communities, and how Tracsis can best support making a 
positive impact in these areas

•  Rolling out the first set of groupwide policies that enable 
our people to make an active contribution to the Group’s 
environmental and social impact including:
 − Volunteer & Community Outreach Policy that provides 
paid time off to enable and encourage our people to 
volunteer their time and skills to support community 
and charitable initiatives

 − Energy Suppliers Policy through which the Group 

will transition to suppliers who generate energy from 
sustainable sources

 − Waste Management Policy to reduce the amount of 

waste the Group produces, and to increase the amount 
of re-use and recycling of waste materials

•  Recruiting the Group’s first Director of People to drive 
initiatives to further enhance equality, diversity and 
inclusion, and to ensure that we have the learning and 
development frameworks in place to help our people to 
progress their careers within Tracsis.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

25

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsEnvironmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Strategy (continued)

We have a number of focus areas for the next 12 months as 
we continue to formalise our strategy and embed it within 
our operating processes. These include:
•  Establishing a set of KPIs linked to our strategic 

objectives that will increase the transparency of our 
performance

•  Creating an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion forum to 

drive further improvements and awareness in these areas

•  Formalising further groupwide policies to shape how 

the Group operates and how it engages with the wider 
community

•  Putting in place a roadmap for developing our climate-

related reporting with reference to the Greenhouse Gas 
Protocol and the Taskforce of Climate-related Financial 
Disclosures (“TCFD”)

Making a positive difference
We are proud that our products and services enable our 
customers to make a positive environmental and social 
difference in the sectors and communities where they 
operate. These include:

Safety and Risk Management
Our RailHub digital platform was developed to change 
the way the rail industry approaches the management 
and planning of work on the railway. It has been designed 
to ensure work is carried out safely hence reducing the 
number of accidents and fatalities on the railway. 

Modern, Low Carbon Transportation
Our TRACS Enterprise and Remote Condition Monitoring 
solutions enable passenger and freight operators, and 
rail infrastructure owners, to achieve cost, efficiency and 
performance improvements in operating the railway. Our 

26 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Smart Ticketing products are helping to support increasing 
post-Covid rail passenger numbers by facilitating flexible, 
paperless, pay-as-you-go ticketing. By helping to deliver 
an efficient, modern railway with high levels of availability, 
we support our customers in providing a low carbon 
transport service for millions of users

Reuse of Biosolids in Agriculture
Compass BIO is a bioresources operations management 
and compliance platform developed by our Data Analytics 
/ GIS business Compass Informatics, which is used by water 
utilities to monitor the regulated use of biosolids generated 
in waste and wastewater treatment plants for safe reuse 
in agriculture. It allows for regulatory compliance for 
the multiple steps between the treatment plant and the 
field, to ensure that this resource is re-used in a safe and 
sustainable manner.

Monitoring Biodiversity
The National Biodiversity Data Centre, the national hub 
for biodiversity data and information in Ireland, makes 
extensive use of informatics and digitised data sets 
developed by Compass Informatics to mobilise biodiversity 
data that resides in archives, museums and libraries. This 
helps to support conservation initiatives and to track 
changes in the environment.

Optimising Traffic Flow at Major Events
Tracsis Live Technology is a bespoke digital offering to 
deliver optimised monitoring, management and control 
of traffic accessing major events (musical festivals, sports 
etc.). It enables an event organiser to efficiently and safely 
manage large volumes of traffic whilst minimising the 
environmental impact on the local community.

Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Strategy (continued)

Traffic Data Monitoring
Transport data collection and analysis to help highways/
local authorities, transport planners and operators deliver 
optimised transport infrastructure solutions which contribute 
to sustainable transport initiatives and CO2 reduction.

Our Purpose 
Is straightforward: to develop innovative technology driven 
solutions that solve complex problems which maximise 
efficiency in critical/regulated industries.

Our Approach 
Focuses on combining leading edge software and 
hardware knowledge, data capture, analytics, and 
industry expertise to generate insights and fast-to-market 
products and services. Our products and services are 
used to increase efficiency, reduce cost and improve 
the operational and decision making capabilities for our 
customers. We see ourselves as an enabler, helping clients 
achieve their own ESG goals, as our products and services 
contribute to reduced energy consumption/carbon footprint 
and deliver positive environmental impacts, whilst also 
improving health and safety outcomes

Our Objectives
The following objectives will be progressed during the next 
12 months:
•  Strategy: Formalise and articulate a comprehensive 

groupwide ESG strategy that identifies key focus areas 
and objectives

•  Measurement: Adopt an appropriate ESG scorecard that 

applies across the Group

•  Reporting: Establish a standard set of KPIs linked to our 

strategic objectives that will increase transparency of our 
performance, and establish a roadmap for maturing our 
climate-related reporting 

•  Standards: Benchmark performance against appropriate 

industry standards

•  Engagement: Maximise opportunity and ability for our 

people to participate in shaping and delivering our ESG 
activities

ESG Core principles
Our principles reflect our values:
•  We recognise that an effective ESG culture evolves 

through participation and engagement, starting with our 
employees, whilst any progress must be measurable 
•  We believe that a responsible ESG approach towards 
the Group’s customers, employees, suppliers, local 
communities, the environment, and wider society, is 
essential to our commercial success

•  By embedding ESG principles in our business cycles, we 
seek to ensure prominence is given to creating value for 
all our stakeholders

•  Fundamentally, we are committed to building a 

sustainable business that grows at pace, and generates 
economic benefit and employment, whilst ensuring that 
it does so in a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and 
socially responsible manner

•  Our approach will be managed and controlled within a 
defined corporate governance model, with regulatory 
compliance as a baseline

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

27

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsKey Performance Indicators

The KPIs used to monitor the financial performance of the Group are set out below.

These KPIs give insight into the growth, profitability and financial position of the business and therefore enable progress on the 
implementation of the Group strategy to be monitored.

KPI

Definition

Performance

Comment

Revenue 
(£m)

Value of goods sold and services 
provided to customers, net of 
sales taxes

Adjusted 
EBITDA (£m)

Adjusted 
EBITDA 
margin (%)

Earnings before finance income, 
tax, depreciation, amortisation, 
exceptional items, other 
operating income, share-based 
payment charges and share 
of result of equity accounted 
investees. See note 31 for 
reconciliation

Adjusted EBITDA divided by 
revenue

Profit Before 
Tax (£m)

Earnings before Taxation

Basic 
Earnings per 
Share (p)

Profit attributable to ordinary 
shareholders divided by the 
weighted average number of 
ordinary shares in issue

Cash (£m)

Value of cash and cash 
equivalents

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

50.2

48.0

49.2

13.0

39.8

34.5

10.5

10.5

9.4

8.5

25.8

21.8

21.7

23.7

24.6

6.6

8.3

4.6

4.1

4.6

8.1

10.0

17.8

25.7

13.4

Growth in Rail Technology & 
Services Division partly offset 
by lower sales in our Events 
and Traffic Data businesses 
as expected due to the effect 
of Covid-19 restrictions on 
their end markets

Strong performance 
from higher margin Rail 
Technology & Services 
Division.
Includes the benefit from 
management’s cost saving 
actions in response to the 
Covid pandemic

Reflects the increased 
weighting of Rail Technology 
& Services revenue and the 
benefit from management’s 
cost saving actions

Reflects increased adjusted 
EBITDA, partly offset by 
higher amortisation of 
intangible assets, share 
based payment charges and 
exceptional items

Increase in profit before 
tax is more than offset by a 
higher tax charge, principally 
reflecting the movement in 
deferred tax balances as a 
result of the future increase 
in the UK corporation tax rate 
from 19% to 25% 

25.4

Continued strong cash 
generation across the Group

24.1

22.3

17.9

15.4

2017 to 2018 financial statements prepared under IAS 18 
(‘Revenue’). 2019, 2020 and 2021 financial statements 
prepared under IFRS 15 (‘Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers’). 

2016 to 2019 financial statements prepared under IAS 17 
(‘Leases’). 2020 and 2021 financial statements prepared 
under IFRS 16 (‘Leases’).

28 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Case study

CrossCountry 
implements its first 
TRACS Enterprise 
module

Joining Transport for Wales 
Rail Limited and c2c Rail in the 
revolution to significantly improve 
performance and efficiency across 
its operations, CrossCountry has 
successfully implemented the Tracsis 
Information Manager (TIM) system. 
A communications module of the 
revolutionary end-to-end resource 
planning and management system, 
TRACS Enterprise, TIM enables 
CrossCountry to use state-of-the-
art messaging and communications 
features that are significantly more 
advanced than any current control 
log system in the UK. The system 
saves time and cost and increases 
the availability of accurate real-time 
information. 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

29

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsCase study

Tracsis Events 
support 
Glastonbury 
Festival

CTM have enabled the operational 
delivery of the traffic and transport plan 
at Glastonbury Festival since 1998, 
working hand in hand with the festival 
to provide efficient solutions across all 
transport modes including rail and coach.
Along with all management and personal 
to operate all the festivals onsite car 
parks, CTM manage the festival’s 
external transport routes using our CSAS 
accredited personnel and implement 
technology-based solutions to further 
maximise the efficiency of the festival’s 
traffic & transport plan.

30 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Section 172 Statement

Broader Stakeholder Interests 
Directors of the Group must consider Section 172 of the 
Companies Act 2006 which requires them to act in the 
way that would most likely promote the success of the 
Group for the benefit of all its stakeholders. The Board 
and its committees consider who its key stakeholders are, 
the potential impact of decisions made on them taking 
into account a wider range of factors, including the impact 
on the Group’s operations and the likely consequences 
of decisions made in the long term. The Group’s key 
stakeholders, material issues and how the Board and the 
Group have engaged with them during the year is set out 
below. 

The Directors promote a culture within Tracsis of treating 

everyone fairly and with respect and this extends to all 
principal stakeholders including shareholders, employees, 
consultants, suppliers, customers and the communities 
where it is active.

Long Term Decision Making
The Directors have acted in a way that they consider, 
in good faith, to be most likely to promote the long-
term success of the Company and to deliver long-term 
shareholder value. The Board has a structured governance 
model in place with scheduled Board meetings and clear 
documentation. Detailed budgets and forecasts are 
prepared to enable the Board to monitor performance and 
to ensure that mitigation steps are taken as appropriate. 
During the year to 31 July 2021 the Board paid particularly 
close attention to the impact of Covid-19 on performance. 
Measures were taken to reduce costs to mitigate lower 
revenue, and these were reported in detail to the Board 
on a regular basis. The Board did not lose sight of the 
importance of ensuring that long-term prospects for the 
business were not harmed. This notably included ensuring 
that as many jobs as possible were protected during the 
pandemic, which has enabled those businesses affected 
to respond quickly to increases in activity levels as Covid-
related restrictions were eased.

Details of the Group’s long term strategy are provided on 

page 9. The Board believes that this strategy will lead to 
further growth in the future and will deliver further value to 
shareholders. The Board reviews this strategy on an annual 
basis, the most recent review being in September 2021.

Employees
The Board believes that the long-term success of the 
Group depends on the engagement and commitment of 
its employees. We consider our employees to be some 
of the best in the sector, and we strive to provide them 
with opportunities for personal development, career 
progression, and a safe and inclusive working culture.
Our employees have continued to be impacted by 
Covid-19 through the year, and it has been our primary 
objective to support them through this by prioritising 
employee wellbeing and protecting jobs. The vast majority 
of our people have been working from home through this 
time. As Covid restrictions have eased, we have re-opened 

all of our offices with safe working practices in place and 
we are transitioning to a hybrid working model with most 
employees spending some time in the office and some time 
working from home. We continued to claim support from the 
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) through the year 
in order to protect jobs. The number of staff on ‘furlough’ 
under this scheme progressively reduced as activity levels 
in the affected markets recovered. By 31 July 2021 we were 
no longer accessing this scheme.

As part of cost-reduction measures to mitigate the 
impact of Covid-19 on revenue, certain employees took 
a salary reduction for a period of time through the year. 
This included members of the senior team including 
the CEO and CFO. As activity levels returned in those 
markets that were impacted by the pandemic, the Board 
reviewed the situation and decided that the Company had 
sufficient headroom to repay all of the salary reduction that 
employees had taken whilst working.

The CEO and CFO provide regular updates to each 
member of the Senior Leadership Team throughout the 
Group to keep them informed of what is happening across 
the wider Group. Since Covid restrictions have been eased, 
they have also been making regular visits to our offices 
which provide opportunities for all staff to engage with 
them and to ask questions in a more informal setting. We 
have continued to hold regular ‘lunch and learn’ sessions 
via videoconference which offer all employees the 
opportunity to learn about the Group’s various product and 
service offerings.

The Group hired a Director of People in July 2021, to 
ensure we have the processes, learning & development 
frameworks, and robust succession plans in place to 
continue to offer a compelling proposition to current and 
future employees, and to ensure we have the capabilities 
and talent to deliver our growth strategy.

The health and safety of all employees is a top priority 
for the Board. Health and safety activities are co-ordinated 
centrally by the Group Health & Safety Manager and are 
reported to senior management on a monthly basis. The 
Group’s Traffic Data and Event based work are considered 
to carry the highest risk from a Health & Safety perspective, 
as the majority of the Group’s other functions are office-
based which is deemed to be lower risk. Risk assessments 
have been completed for all the Group’s offices as staff 
have returned to work, to ensure they are Covid safe. 
During the year there were five RIDDORs.

Business conduct, ethics and regulation
The Group is committed to high standards of business 
conduct and ethics. Further details are provided in the 
Governance section on pages 34 to 43. 

Tracsis is required to comply with all AIM rules and has 

done so during the year. Information on the Company’s 
compliance with AIM Rule 26 is available on the Group 
website, www.tracsis.com, on the Investors page. Some 
of the Group’s subsidiary companies are certified for ISO 
27001, and certain ones are also certified for ISO 9001. 
During the year the Group completed an initiative to obtain 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

31

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsInvestors
Responsibility for managing shareholder relationships 
rests with CEO and CFO, with the support and assistance 
of the Company’s broker. Two investor roadshows were 
completed in the year for the final results from the previous 
year and interim results from the current year, and also 
various ad hoc meetings throughout the year covering both 
UK and overseas investors. Both roadshows were held 
virtually given the travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19. 
These roadshows cover both existing and potential new 
investors. 

The Board is committed to communicating openly with 
shareholders to ensure that its strategy and performance 
are understood. This is achieved through the Annual Report 
and the Interim Statement, face-to-face and online investor 
presentations for both institutional and private retail 
shareholders given by management, trading and other 
announcements made on RNS, and at the Annual General 
Meeting (“AGM”). The Group encourages all shareholders 
to attend the AGM. Full year and Interim results 
presentations and Q&A sessions are provided for private 
investors and for institutional shareholders, and overviews 
are available on the Company website. The Chairman has 
also had some contact with institutional shareholders. 

The Group discloses contact details on its website and on 

all announcements released via RNS. In addition, investor 
relations queries may be routed via the Group’s broker, 
finnCap Ltd.

Each of the Board members consider that they have 

acted together, in good faith in a way most likely to 
promote the success of the Group for the benefit of its 
broader range of stakeholders as a whole taking into 
account section 172 (1) (a-f) of the Companies Act 2006.

Section 172 Statement (continued)

ISO 27001 certification for all of its Rail Technology & 
Services businesses.

Clients 
The Group has a wide range of current and prospective 
clients across its various Divisions and business units. 
Regular contact is maintained through a variety of 
relationships at all levels throughout the organisation. The 
Group has a number of large projects that are ongoing at 
any point in time which require regular dialogue and close 
liaison with the customer base. Our products and services 
offer a compelling value case for our customers, and we 
seek to develop strong, long-term relationships with them 
to become trusted partners and innovators who can help 
them to address future challenges.

Suppliers
The majority of the Group’s costs are staff costs. In respect 
of external suppliers, the Group has a policy of treating 
all suppliers fairly and paying in accordance with agreed 
payment terms which are generally within 30 days of 
invoice. The Group provides details of its payment practices 
twice a year and the January 2021 report indicated that the 
average time taken to pay invoices was 21 days, and that 
79% of invoices were paid within 30 days. The July 2021 
report indicated that the average time taken to pay invoices 
was 21 days and that 85% of invoices were paid within 30 
days.

Community & Environment
The Board are increasingly aware of the need to ensure 
that the Group’s operations, products and services 
positively contribute to the communities within which the 
Group operates. In the main, the individual businesses hold 
these relationships at a local level. During the year the 
Group has articulated its approach to ESG, which is set out 
in more detail on pages 25 to 27. This will be rolled out fully 
over the coming year.

The strategic report has been approved by the Board of 
Directors and signed on their behalf.

Andy Kelly
Director Tracsis plc 
Nexus 
Discovery Way 
Leeds,  
United Kingdom 
LS2 3AA 

32 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Governance

Board of Directors 

Directors’ Report 

Directors’ Remuneration Report 

Corporate Governance 

Statement of Directors’  
Responsibilities 

Independent Auditor’s Report  
to the members of Tracsis plc 

34

36

38

41

43

44

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

33

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsBoard of Directors

Chris Cole (75) 
Independent Non-Executive 
Chairman

Chris is Non-Executive Chairman 
of WSP Global Inc. (listed on 
the Toronto Stock Exchange), a 
leading global engineering and 
environmental consultancy. Chris 
held the post of Chief Executive 
Officer at WSP between 1987 and 
2012, and in that time grew the 
Company both organically and by 
acquisition to become a market 
leader employing over 10,000 
people across 40 countries. Most 
recently, Chris led the merger of WSP 
with Genivar Inc and has become 
the Chairman of the enlarged entity, 
now named WSP Global Inc. WSP 
Global now trades on the Toronto 
Stock Exchange under the ticker 
WSP with turnover in excess of CAD 
$2bn. Chris is a Chartered Engineer 
and Chairman of the Association of 
Consulting Engineers.

Chair of Nomination Committee.

Chris Barnes (46) 
Chief Executive Officer

Andy Kelly (44) 
Chief Financial Officer

Chris was appointed as Chief 
Executive Officer on 1 May 2019. 
Prior to joining Tracsis, Chris was 
Managing Director of Ricardo UK 
Limited’s automotive consulting 
division, and had previously held a 
number of senior roles within Ricardo 
plc. Before joining Ricardo he held 
positions at Ford Motor Company 
and at A.T. Kearney. Chris has a 
Master’s degree in Engineering, 
Economics and Management from 
the University of Oxford and is an 
alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Andy was appointed as Chief 
Financial Officer on 1 February 
2021. Prior to joining Tracsis he 
spent eight years at The Vitec 
Group plc in a number of senior 
roles including Group Financial 
Controller and Divisional Finance 
Director. Before joining Vitec he held 
positions in finance and strategy at 
Anglo American plc and Carphone 
Warehouse plc. Andy is a Chartered 
Accountant, having qualified with 
Deloitte, and holds a first class 
degree in Natural Sciences from the 
University of Cambridge.

Other Directors serving in the year:
Executive Directors
Max Cawthra (43) 
Chief Financial Officer

Max was Chief Financial Officer of Tracsis from 
August 2011 until his resignation on 1 February 
2021. He is a Chartered Accountant, having 
trained with EY in Leeds. 

Max resigned as Chief Financial Officer on 1 
February 2021 and remained working with the 
Group until 5 March 2021.

Non-Executive Directors
Mac Andrade (45)
Independent Non-Executive Director

Mac was appointed to the Board on 1 
November 2018 and served as a Non-
Executive Director during the year until his 
resignation on 31 July 2021. Mac served as a 
member of the Audit Committee, Remuneration 
Committee and Nomination Committee during 
the year.

34 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Board of Directors (continued)

Lisa Charles-Jones (50) 
Independent Non-Executive 
Director 

Dr James Routh (48) 
Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Liz Richards (63) 
Independent Non-Executive 
Director

Lisa is currently HR Director for 
Parkdean Resorts. She is an HR 
professional and worked for LSL 
Property Services plc for 13 years, 
which is listed on the Main Market of 
the London Stock Exchange, firstly 
as Head of HR and for the last ten 
years as Group HR Director. Lisa is 
also a Trustee for the Percy Hedley 
Foundation. She is a member of the 
Chartered Institute of Personnel and 
Development and holds an MBA from 
the University of Durham.

Chair of Remuneration Committee. 
Member of Audit Committee and 
Nomination Committee.

James was appointed to the Board 
on 29 September 2021. He is 
currently Chief Executive Officer 
of AB Dynamics plc, having held 
the position since 2018. Prior to this 
he was Group Managing Director 
at FTSE 250 listed Diploma PLC 
for six years where he delivered a 
series of successful international 
acquisitions. His previous career 
involved leadership positions 
predominantly in the aerospace and 
defence industry, including senior 
roles at Chemring Group PLC and 
Cobham PLC. James holds a PhD 
in engineering and is a Chartered 
Mechanical Engineer and Fellow 
of the Institution of Mechanical 
Engineers.

Member of Audit Committee, 
Remuneration Committee and 
Nomination Committee.

Liz is a highly experienced executive 
and non-executive director with 
a career spanning the Financial 
Services, Data and Software 
sectors. She was previously Chief 
Financial Officer of CallCredit (now 
Transunion), a successful consumer 
data business where, as a founder 
member, she oversaw its rapid 
growth from start-up in 2000 to a 
£150m revenue business by 2015. Liz 
currently also holds Non-Executive 
Director and Audit Committee Chair 
positions at both LINK Scheme Ltd 
and dotdigital plc, as well as two pro 
bono roles – Governor and Chair 
of Audit for Leeds Trinity University 
and Trustee and Chair of Finance 
and Investment for Yorkshire Cancer 
Research.

Chair of Audit Committee. Member 
of Remuneration Committee and 
Nomination Committee.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

35

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsDirectors’ Report

The directors present their report and the audited financial 
statements for the year ended 31 July 2021.

Tracsis plc (‘the Company’) is a public limited company 
incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom and under 
the Companies Act 2006. The address of the Company’s 
registered office is Nexus, Discovery Way, Leeds, United 
Kingdom, LS2 3AA.

The Company is listed on AIM, part of the London Stock 

Exchange.

The Group financial statements were authorised for issue 

by the Board of Directors on 9 November 2021.

Further information on the activities of the business, the 

Group strategy and an indication of the outlook for the 
business are presented in the Chairman and Chief Executive 
Officer’s Statement and the Strategy and Business Model 
sections of the report. The Corporate Governance statement 
included on pages 41 to 42 forms part of the Directors’ Report.

Financial results
Details of the Group’s financial results are set out in the 
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, other 
primary statements and in the Notes to the Consolidated 
Financial Statements on pages 54 to 109.

Dividends
The Board does not consider it appropriate to pay a final 
dividend this year as the Group utilised the Coronavirus Job 
Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) in respect of furloughed staff. The 
Board expects to restore the progressive dividend policy for 
the year ending 31 July 2022.

Directors
The directors who serve on the Board and on Board 
Committees during the year are set out on pages 34 to 
35. Max Cawthra resigned as Chief Financial Officer on 1 
February 2021. Andy Kelly was appointed as Chief Financial 
Officer on 1 February 2021. Mac Andrade resigned as a 
Director on 31 July 2021. Dr James Routh was appointed as a 
Director on 29 September 2021.

Under the Articles of Association of the Company, one third 

of the directors (excluding those being re-elected for the first 
time by shareholders) are subject to retirement by rotation at 
the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (“AGM”), notice of 
which accompanies this Report and Accounts. Accordingly, 
Liz Richards retires by rotation and, being eligible, offers 
herself for re-election. The Company’s Articles of Association 
also require any person who has been appointed as a 
director since the date of the Company’s last AGM to retire 
at the next AGM following their appointment. Accordingly, 
Andy Kelly and Dr James Routh will retire from office at the 
forthcoming AGM and will stand for re-election. In relation to 
the re-elections of each of the directors, the Board is satisfied 
that each of these directors continues to be effective and to 
demonstrate commitment to the Company.

Information in respect of directors’ remuneration is given in 

the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 38 to 40.

36 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Directors’ shareholdings
Directors’ beneficial interests in the shares of the Company, 
including family interests, at 31 July 2021 and 2020 were as 
follows:

31 July 2021

31 July 2020

Number
of
shares
-
-

% of 
issued
share
capital
-
-

Number
of
shares
-
-

% of 
issued
share
capital
-
-

7,000

0.02%

7,000

0.02%

-
-
-

-
-
-

-
-
-

-
-
-

Chris Barnes
Andy Kelly

Chris Cole

Lisa Charles-Jones
Liz Richards
James Routh

None of the Directors had any interests in the share capital 
of subsidiaries. Further details of share options held by the 
Directors are set out in the Directors’ Remuneration Report. 

Substantial shareholdings
At 31 October 2021, being the latest practicable date prior 
to the publication of this document, the Company has been 
advised of the following shareholdings of 3% or more in the 
issued share capital of Tracsis plc:

Schroder Investment Management
Unicorn Asset Management
Charles Stanley
Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management
AXA Framlington Investment Managers
Franklin Templeton Fund Management
Downing
Premier Miton Investors
Investec Wealth & Investment
Rathbones
Berenberg Asset Management

Number
of 
shares
2,205,647
1,998,766
1,886,888
1,650,000
1,507,273
1,470,000
1,323,962
1,204,181
1,189,917
1,129,821
983,495

% of
issued 
shares
7.5%
6.8%
6.4%
5.6%
5.1%
5.0%
4.5%
4.1%
4.1%
3.9%
3.4%

Payment of suppliers
It is the Group’s policy to pay suppliers in accordance with 
the terms and conditions agreed in advance, providing all 
trading terms and conditions have been met. All payments 
are made in the ordinary course of business and the Group 
expects to pay all supplier debts as they become due.

Trade payable days for the Group at 31 July 2021 were 56 

days (2020: 42 days). 

Our approach to engagement with suppliers is detailed 

further in the section 172 statement on page 31 to 32.

Research and development
During the year the Group incurred £3,383,000 (2020: 
£3,048,000) of expenditure on research and development 
activity mainly relating to software development, which has 
been charged to the Income Statement in accordance with 
the Group’s accounting policy.

 
Financial instruments
Details of the Group’s exposure to financial risks are set out in 
Note 26 to the financial statements.

Employment policy
It is the policy of the Group to operate a fair employment 
policy. No employee or job applicant is less favourably 
treated than another on the grounds of their sex, sexual 
orientation, age, marital status, religion, race, nationality, 
ethnic or national origin, colour or disability and all 
appointments and promotions are determined solely on 
merit. The Directors encourage employees to be aware of all 
issues affecting the Group and place considerable emphasis 
on employees sharing in its success through its employee 
share option schemes. In addition, the Group is committed 
to training courses, with a number of staff undertaking 
apprenticeships and other technical training, and is also to 
career development and internal promotion where possible 
within the Group. Further details on employee engagement is 
provided in the Section 172 statement on pages 31 and 32.

Environment
The Group adheres to all environmental regulations and has, 
where possible, utilised environmental-sustaining policies 
such as recycling and waste reduction. Further details of the 
Group’s Environmental, Social & Governance strategy are 
provided on pages 25 to 27.

The Group is classed as large under the Companies Act 
2006 and therefore falls under the scope of the Streamlined 
Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements.  The Group 
is exempt from disclosure related to SECR as no individual 
UK registered subsidiary is a large company and the parent 
company itself consumes less than 40,000 KWH of energy 
per year.

Future business developments
Details of these are provided in the strategic report, and the 
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer’s report on pages 14 to 18.

Significant Contracts
There are a number of significant contracts in operation 
across the Group. 
•  Tracsis plc has some large contracts with Train Operating 
Companies from which it derives significant amounts of 
revenue;

•  MPEC Technology Limited, a subsidiary company, has a 
significant Framework Agreement with a major railway 
infrastructure provider, from which it has historically derived 
a significant amount of business;

•  Tracsis Traffic Data Limited, another subsidiary company, 

has a significant contract with a major worldwide 
engineering consultancy company from which it has 
historically derived a significant amount of business; 
•  Ontrac Limited has a large contract with a major railway 
infrastructure provider, from which it derives a significant 
amount of business;

•  SEP Limited, and Cash & Traffic Management Limited both 
have a number of significant, multi-year contracts with a 
number of key clients; 

Directors’ Report (continued)

•  Compass Informatics Limited has a range of contracts with 
government bodies and private sector organisations; and

•  iBlocks Limited has some significant contacts with Train 

Operating Companies and also industry association bodies

Auditor
A resolution to reappoint Grant Thornton UK LLP will be 
proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

Provision of information to auditor
All of the current Directors have taken all steps that they 
ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any 
information needed by the Company’s auditor for the 
purposes of their audit and to establish that the auditor is 
aware of that information. The Directors are not aware of any 
relevant audit information of which the auditor is unaware.

Anti-bribery and corruption
The Group is committed to conducting business with honesty 
and integrity. We have a policy on anti-bribery and corruption 
measures that sets out a zero-tolerance approach to these 
matters, and identifies the responsibilities and behaviours 
expected of all Tracsis employees in this regard.

Third party indemnity provisions
All Directors benefit from qualifying third party indemnity 
provisions in place during the financial year and at the date 
of this report. 

Events after the Balance Sheet date
The Group acquired Icon Group (“Icon”) on 3 November 
2021. Headquartered in Dublin, Icon is an interdisciplinary 
geoscience business who specialise in earth observation 
(EO), GIS and spatial data analytics. Icon will be integrated 
with Tracsis’ existing Compass Informatics business to 
create an Irish-based Data Analytics centre of excellence 
specialising in providing location-related technologies 
and analytics solutions and services to government and 
commercial organisations. The acquisition of Icon adds EO 
capabilities that enhance our offer in this growing market, and 
has a customer base that is complementary to Tracsis’. 
The acquisition consideration comprises an initial cash 
payment of £1.9m which was funded out of Tracsis cash 
reserves and the issue of 68,762 new ordinary shares 
in Tracsis to a value of £0.6m. An additional payment of 
approximately £1.7m will be made on a euro for euro basis to 
reflect the net current asset position of the business (above 
a working capital hurdle) at completion and will be finalised 
in due course. Additional contingent consideration of up to 
£1.5m is payable subject to Icon Group achieving certain 
stretched financial targets in the three years post acquisition.

By order of the Board

Andy Kelly
Company Secretary

9 November 2021

Nexus, Discovery Way
Leeds
United Kingdom
LS2 3AA

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

37

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsDirectors’ Remuneration Report

As a company listed on AIM, the Company is not required to comply with Schedule 8 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies 
and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 as amended in August 2013 (the “Regulations”), nor is it required to comply 
with the principles relating to directors’ remuneration in the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (the “Code”).

Unaudited information:
Tracsis plc, presents its remuneration report below.

Remuneration committee
The Remuneration Committee is described in the Report on Corporate Governance. The remuneration for each Executive Director 
is determined by the Remuneration Committee. None of the committee members has any personal financial interest, other than as 
shareholders, in the matters to be decided.

Activities during the year
•  Reviewed the remuneration for the CEO and CFO in light of Covid-19 and approved appropriate reductions
•  Reviewed the remuneration package to attract the right calibre of candidates for the appointment of a new CFO following the 

departure of Max Cawthra

•  Reviewed the remuneration package for the CEO to ensure that it remains competitive to attract and retain the right calibre of 

individual

•  Appointed FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP to review the fees for the Chairman to ensure that it remains competitive to attract 

and retain the right individuals. Although not under the Committee’s remit, Non-Executive Director fees were also reviewed
•  Reviewed performance against the 2020/21 annual bonus plan targets and resulting awards and agreed the metrics for the 

2021/22 bonus plan; and

•  Reviewed LTIP award levels and performance metrics / targets for the 2021 LTIP awards

Service contracts
It is the Group’s policy to enter into service contracts or letters of appointment with all Directors. Specific terms are:

Executive Directors
Chris Barnes
Andy Kelly

Non-Executive Directors
Chris Cole
Lisa Charles-Jones
Liz Richards
James Routh

Date of 
contract

Commencement
date

Unexpired
term

Notice
period

04.02.19
01.02.21

28.04.14
25.08.16
01.09.16
29.09.21

04.02.19
01.02.21

Indefinite
Indefinite

6 months
6 months

28.04.14
25.08.16
01.09.16
29.09.21

Indefinite
Indefinite
Indefinite
Indefinite

3 months
3 months
3 months
3 months

None of the service contracts or letters of appointment provide for any termination payments.

Remuneration policy
The remuneration packages for Directors and senior management have been structured so as to fairly compensate them for 
their contribution to the Group and to encourage them to remain within the Group, as well as motivating them to deliver the 
Group’s strategy. In determining the level of remuneration for each Director, the Remuneration Committee considers remuneration 
packages at companies of a similar size and market capitalisation that are of similar complexity to Tracsis. The Remuneration 
Committee aims to position and maintain the total remuneration package for each Director within the market
range.

Basic salary and bonus arrangements
Each Director receives an annual salary or Directors’ fee for his/her services. These salaries are reviewed annually by the 
Remuneration Committee and take into account the financial performance of the Group and market conditions. The Group 
operates a bonus scheme, which is based on profit related targets and also personal objectives. The Remuneration Committee is 
entitled to decide whether any bonuses are payable, and if so, what amounts should be granted to Executive Directors.

Performance Outcomes
The bonus scheme for Executive Directors pays out a maximum bonus of 80% of salary for financial performance against sliding 
scale profit targets and 20% of salary for personal objectives. The bonus award for each Executive Director for the year to 31 July 

38 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Directors’ Remuneration Report (continued)

2021 will be 42% of a maximum 100% of salary. 26% of salary will be paid in respect of financial performance which reflects the 
fact that the bonus target was partially achieved. 16% of salary will be paid in respect of personal objectives which were based on 
continuing to execute the Group’s growth strategy.

External appointments
The committee recognises that its Directors may be invited to become executive or non-executive directors of other companies or 
to become involved in charitable or public service organisations. As the Committee believes that this can broaden the knowledge 
and experience of the Directors to the benefit of the Group, it is the Group’s policy to approve such appointments provided that 
there is no conflict of interest and the commitment is not excessive. The Director concerned can retain the fees relating to any such 
appointment.

Pensions and benefits in kind
All staff, Executive Directors and senior management are entitled to participate in the stakeholder pension plan established 
by the Group. Benefits are provided to certain Executive Directors, including private health cover. The Group does not provide 
any company cars to any of its Directors. The Group makes employer pension contributions to the pension schemes at a rate of 
10% of basic salary for Chris Barnes and for Andy Kelly. Chris Barnes elected to exchange employer pension contributions for 
additional salary. There was no additional cost to the Group in respect of this arrangement.

Directors’ remuneration
Directors’ remuneration for the year ended 31 July 2021 is set out below

Executive Directors
Chris Barnes
Andy Kelly (from 1 February 2021)
Max Cawthra (to 1 February 2021)

Non-Executive Directors
Chris Cole 
Lisa Charles-Jones 
Liz Richards 
Mac Andrade

Basic
salary
£000

Pension
Conts
£’000

Bonus
£000

Benefits 
in kind
£000

282
88
75
445

60
33
33
30
156

-
9
4
13

-
-
-
-
-

109
37
34
180

-
-
-
-
-

1
-
-
1

-
-
-
-
-

Total
2021
£000

392
134
113
639

60
33
33
30
156

Total
2020
£000

300
-
178
478

60
33
33
30
156

Directors’ interests in share options in the Executive Share Option Schemes

Executive Directors
Chris Barnes 
(note a)
Andy Kelly
(note b)

Non-Executive Directors
Chris Cole
Lisa Charles-Jones
Liz Richards
James Routh

At
1 August
2020

Granted
(note c)

60,378

40,891

-

-
-
-
-

21,174

-
-
-
-

Lapsed

Exercised

At
31 July
2021

Exercise
price
pence

Date from
Which

Exercisable Expiry date

-

-

-
-
-
-

-

-

-
-
-
-

101,269

0.4p 04/02/2022 01/05/2029

21,174

0.4p

01/02/2024

01/02/2031 

-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-

In accordance with Corporate Governance best practice, the Group no longer grants stock options to Non-Executive Directors. This 
ensures objectivity and independence within the Board’s decision making process.

From 1 August 2021 shareholding objectives exist to ensure Executive Directors build up to a minimum of 100% of salary within 

five years.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

39

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Directors’ Remuneration Report (continued)

Note a
In connection with Chris Barnes’ appointment as a Director 
of the Group, the Remuneration Committee agreed a share 
option award to compensate Chris for unvested incentives 
forfeited from his previous employer on joining Tracsis. As such, 
Chris was awarded 21,417 share options in Tracsis plc with 
an exercise price of 0.4p, that can be exercised on or after 4 
February 2022 being three years since Chris joined the Group.

‘2019 LTIP’
•  Chris Barnes granted a maximum of 38,961 options
•  Full award is only payable should statutory diluted EPS for 

the year ending 31 July 2022 be 25.92p, and TSR versus the 
peer group is in the top quartile

•  Should statutory diluted EPS for the year ending 31 July 

2022 be less than 22.92p, and TSR versus the peer group is 
less than the median, no options will be awarded

Note c
‘2020 LTIP’
•  Chris Barnes granted a maximum of 40,891 options, Andy 

Kelly granted a maximum of 13,482 options

•  Full award is only payable should statutory diluted EPS for 
the year ending 31 July 2023 be 23.78p, and TSR versus 
the peer group is in the top quartile

•  Should statutory diluted EPS for the year ending 31 July 

2023 be less than 20.78p, and TSR versus the peer group 
is less than the median, no options will be awarded

•  For scenarios between the above range, the options will be 

exercisable on a sliding scale basis in both instances
•  Any options vesting will be able to be exercised from the 

following dates:
 − Chris Barnes: 29 December 2023 onwards, being three 

years from the grant date

 − Andy Kelly: 5 February 2024 onwards, being three years 

•  For scenarios between the above range, the options will be 

from the grant date

exercisable on a sliding scale basis in both instances
•  Any options vesting will be able to be exercised from 3 

December 2022 onwards, being three years from the grant 
date

Note b
In connection with Andy Kelly’s appointment as a Director 
of the Group, the Remuneration Committee agreed a share 
option award to compensate Andy for unvested incentives 
forfeited from his previous employer on joining Tracsis. As 
such, Andy was awarded 7,692 share options in Tracsis plc 
with an exercise price of 0.4p, that can be exercised on or 
after 1 February 2024 being three years since Andy joined 
the Group.

The aggregate amount of pre-tax gains made by Directors 
on the exercise of share options was £nil (2020: £nil). No 
Directors received or were due to receive any shares under 
long term incentive schemes other than under the share 
options schemes set out above.

Performance graph
The following graph shows the Company’s share price 
(rebased) compared with the performance of the FTSE AIM 
all-share index (rebased) for the period from 1 August 2020 to 
31 July 2021. 

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Jul 20

Aug 20

Sep 20

Oct 20

Nov 20

Dec 20

Jan 21

Feb 21

Mar 21

Apr 21

May 21

Jun 21

Jul 21

Tracsis

AIM All-Share Index

The committee has selected the above index because it is most relevant for a company of Tracsis’s size and sector

On behalf of the Board

Lisa Charles-Jones
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
9 November 2021

40 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Corporate Governance

Tracsis plc was listed on AIM on 27 November 2007. The 
Group recognises the importance of, and is committed to, 
high standards of corporate governance. Tracsis plc, as 
an AIM Company, adopts the Quoted Company Alliance’s 
Corporate Governance Code for Small and Mid-Size 
Quoted Companies 2013 (updated April 2018) (the “QCA 
Code”) which supports the Group’s long term success and 
strategy for growth. The Board believes that the Group 
currently complies with the provisions of the QCA Code in 
all areas with the exception of the formal board evaluation. 
Further details of the Group’s compliance with the QCA 
code can be found on the Group’s website https://www.
tracsis.com/investors/corporate-governance..

The Board
There are currently six Board members, comprising two 
Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Directors. The 
role of the Non-Executive Directors is to bring independent 
judgement to Board deliberations and decisions. Chris 
Cole was appointed as a Non-Executive Chairman of the 
Board in 2014 to oversee Board meetings and field all 
concerns regarding the executive management of the 
Group and the performance of the Executive Directors. A 
biography of each Director appears on pages 34 and 35. 
The Directors each have diverse backgrounds and a wide 
range of experience is available to the Group. The Board 
meets ten times a year to review the Group’s performance 
and to review and determine strategies for future growth. 
The Board has delegated specific responsibilities to its 
committees as set out below.

Each of the Directors is subject to either an executive 
services agreement or a letter of appointment as set out 
on page 38. Tracsis plc’s Articles of Association require 
directors to retire from office and submit themselves for 
re-election on a one third rotation at each Annual General 
Meeting (“AGM”). It also requires any person who has been 
appointed as a director by the Board since the date of the 
Company’s last AGM to retire at the next AGM following 
their appointment. Accordingly, Liz Richards, Andy Kelly 
and Dr James Routh will be retiring at the Annual General 
Meeting and submitting themselves for re-election.

Board meetings and attendance
Board meetings were held on 10 occasions during the 
year. The table below shows attendance at the meetings 
whether in person or by telephone. The Company 
Secretary records attendance at all Board meetings 
including where attendance is by telephone conference.

Independence of Non-Executive Directors
The Directors consider all Non-Executive Directors to be 
independent. 

Board committees
Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee comprises Chris Cole as 
Chairman, Lisa Charles-Jones, Liz Richards, and James 
Routh (from 29 September 2021). Mac Andrade served on 
the Nomination Committee until his resignation on 31 July 
2021. The committee’s primary responsibilities are to make 
recommendations to the Directors on all new appointments 
of Directors and senior management, interviewing 
nominees, to take up references and to consider related 
matters. 

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee comprises Lisa Charles-Jones 
as Chairperson, Liz Richards, and James Routh (from 29 
September 2021). Chris Cole is an attendee. Mac Andrade 
served on the Remuneration Committee until his resignation 
on 31 July 2021. The committee’s primary responsibilities are 
to review the performance of the Executive Directors and 
to determine the terms and conditions of service of senior 
management and any Executive Director appointed to the 
Board (including the remuneration of and grant of options to 
any such person under any share scheme adopted by the 
Group). 

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee comprises Liz Richards as 
Chairperson, Lisa Charles-Jones and James Routh (from 29 
September 2021). Chris Cole is an attendee. Mac Andrade 
served on the Audit Committee until his resignation on 31 
July 2021. The Audit Committee’s primary responsibilities 
are to monitor the financial affairs of the Group, to ensure 
that the financial performance of the Group is properly 
measured and reported on, and to review reports from 
the Group’s auditor relating to the accounting and internal 
controls. The significant issues considered by the Audit 
Committee relating to the Group’s financial statements 
include Revenue recognition, Intangible Assets, and 
Contingent Consideration, as detailed in note 4 to the 
financial statements. 

Non audit services
In accordance with its policy on non audit services provided 
by the Group’s auditor, the Audit Committee reviews and 

Chris Barnes
Andy Kelly
Max Cawthra
Chris Cole
Lisa Charles-Jones
Liz Richards
Mac Andrade

Board
Meetings
(total/poss)
10/10
6/6
4/4
10/10
10/10
10/10
10/10

Nomination
Committee
Meetings
-
-
-
1/1
1/1
1/1
1/1

Remuneration
Committee
Meetings
-
-
-
3/3
3/3
3/3
3/3

Audit
Committee
Meetings
3/3
1/1
2/2
3/3
3/3
3/3
3/3

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

41

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsCorporate Governance (continued)

approves the award of any such work. The Audit Committee 
refers to the Board for approval of any work comprising non 
audit services where the fees for such work represent more 
than 25% of the annual audit fee. During the year, £5,000 
was paid to Grant Thornton UK LLP in respect of non audit 
work (2020: £nil). This non audit work comprised the review 
of the half-yearly financial statements.

Auditor independence and conflicts of 
interest
The Audit Committee continues to evaluate the 
independence and objectivity of the external auditor and 
takes into consideration all United Kingdom professional 
and regulatory requirements. Consideration is given to 
all relationships between the Group and the audit firm 
(including in respect of the provision of non audit services). 
The Audit Committee considers whether, taken as a whole, 
and having regard to the views, as appropriate, of the 
external auditor and management, those relationships 
appear to impair the auditor’s judgement or independence. 
The Audit Committee feels they do not. In reaching this 
conclusion the Audit Committee considered the Group’s 
acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting Ltd (“FFC”) on 26 
February 2021.

Alex Warner was a director and owner of FFC until its 

acquisition by Tracsis Rail Consultancy (“TRC”) on that date. 
Since then he has remained a director of FFC and TRC, and 
he holds shares in both Tracsis plc and TRC. Alex’s brother, 
Ed Warner, was an independent non-executive director and 
independent Chair of the Partnership Governance Board 
at Grant Thornton UK LLP until 31 March 2021. Alex and Ed 
Warner are considered Close Family Members under the 
FRC Ethical Standard (2019) but are not Persons Closely 
Associated and Ed Warner was neither a Partner nor a 
Covered Person for Grant Thornton UK LLP’s audit or other 
public interest assurance engagements. Further, there was 
no ongoing work in relation to audit or other public interest 
assurance engagements by Grant Thornton UK LLP during 
the 33-day crossover period to 1 April 2021. The Audit 
Committee is therefore satisfied that the external auditor 
has remained independent and objective.

Internal audit
The Audit Committee agrees that there should be no 
internal audit function of the Group at this time considering 
the size of the Group and the close involvement of senior 
management over the Group’s accounting systems. 
However, the Committee will keep this matter under review 
in the event that circumstances warrant an internal function 
for the Group in the future.

Control procedures
The Board approves the annual budget each year. This 
process allows the Board to identify key performance 
targets and risks expected during the upcoming year. The 
Board also considers the agreed budget when reviewing 
trading updates and considering expenditures throughout 
the year. Progress against budget is monitored via monthly 

42 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

reporting of actual financial performance against budget 
and prior year actual results. The Group has clear authority 
limits deriving from the list of matters reserved for decision 
by the Board including capital expenditure approval 
procedures. 

Relations with shareholders
The Board recognises and understands that it has a 
fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. The Chairman’s 
Statement and Chief Executive’s Statement include 
detailed analysis of the Group’s performance and future 
expectations. The Group’s website (www.tracsis.com) 
allows shareholders access to information, including contact 
details and the current share price. The Chief Executive is 
responsible for on-going dialogue and relationships with 
shareholders, alongside the Chief Financial Officer and 
Chairman. The Annual General Meeting will be a platform 
for the Board to communicate with shareholders and the 
Board welcomes the attendance and participation of all 
shareholders.

Going concern
The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the 
Group has adequate resources to continue for at least 
twelve months from the signing of the financial statements 
in operational existence and have therefore adopted the 
going concern basis in preparing the accounts. The Group 
is debt free and has substantial cash resources. At 31 July 
2021 the Group had net cash and cash equivalents totalling 
£25.4m. The Board has prepared cash flow forecasts for the 
forthcoming year based upon assumptions for trading and 
the requirements for cash resources including contingent 
consideration. These forecasts take into account reasonably 
possible changes in trading financial performance, and 
indicate that it is appropriate to use the going concern 
basis for the preparation of the consolidated financial 
statements. Further to this, management prepared a severe 
but plausible scenario, reducing revenues from budget and 
including a more pessimistic view of working capital. There 
was still ample headroom under this scenario. A reverse 
stress test was also considered. The revenue and cashflow 
assumptions required to eliminate any headroom under the 
reverse stress test are considered by the Board to be highly 
unlikely and particularly given trading performance to date.

Board evaluation process 
The Board completed a formal evaluation process in a 
previous financial year which resulted in charges to the 
Board but has not completed a formal board evaluation 
process during the year. The Board collectively has skills in 
the areas of strategy, finance, human resources and global 
commercial experience to assist with the implementation of 
our strategy. Directors keep their skills and knowledge up 
to date through relevant training and development courses 
including from the Company’s advisors. All directors are 
encouraged to use their independent judgement and to 
constructively challenge other directors where appropriate.

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 
in respect of the Annual Report and the 
Financial Statements

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

The Directors confirm that:
•  so far as each Director is aware, there is no relevant audit 

information of which the parent Company’s auditor is 
unaware; and

•  the Directors have taken all the steps that they ought 

to have taken as Directors in order to make themselves 
aware of any relevant audit information and to establish 
that the parent Company’s auditor is aware of that 
information.

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

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual 
Report and the Group and parent Company financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law and 
regulations. 

Company law requires the Directors to prepare Group 
and parent Company financial statements for each financial 
year. Under the AIM Rules of the London Stock Exchange 
they are required to prepare the Group financial statements 
in accordance with International Accounting Standards 
in conformity with the Companies Act 2006 (“IFRSs”) and 
they have elected to prepare the parent Company financial 
statements in accordance with UK accounting standards 
and applicable law (UK Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice), including FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework.

Under company law the Directors must not approve 
the financial statements unless they are satisfied that 
they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs and 
profit or loss of the parent Company and Group for that 
period. Note that where the exemption has been taken 
under section 408, Companies Act 2006 not to publish the 
parent Company’s profit and loss account, section 408(3) 
states that the Directors must still prepare and approve the 
parent company’s profit and loss account even though it is 
not published. In preparing each of the Group and Parent 
company financial statements, the Directors are required to: 
•  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 

consistently; 

•  make judgements and estimates that are reasonable, 

and prudent; 

•  for the Group financial statements, state whether 
applicable International Accounting Standards in 
conformity with the Companies Act 2006 have been 
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed 
and explained in the financial statements; 

•  for the parent Company financial statements, state 

whether applicable UK accounting standards have been 
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed 
and explained in the financial statements; 

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

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

43

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsIndependent auditor’s report to the 
members of Tracsis plc

Opinion

Our opinion on the financial statements 
is unmodified
We have audited the financial statements of Tracsis 
plc (the ‘parent company’) and its subsidiaries 
(the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 July 2021, 
which comprise the Consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income, Consolidated balance 
sheet, Consolidated statement of changes in equity, 
Consolidated cash flow statement, Company balance 
sheet, Company statement of changes in equity 
and notes to the financial statements, including a 
summary of significant accounting policies. The 
financial reporting framework that has been applied 
in the preparation of the group financial statements 
is applicable law and international accounting 
standards in conformity with the requirements of 
the Companies Act 2006. The financial reporting 
framework that has been applied in the preparation 
of the parent company financial statements is 
applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting 
Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 
101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion:
•  the financial statements give a true and fair 

view of the state of the group’s and of the parent 
company’s affairs as at 31 July 2021 and of the 
group’s profit for the year then ended;

•  the group financial statements have been properly 

prepared in accordance with international 
accounting standards in conformity with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006;

•  the parent company financial statements have 

been properly prepared in accordance with United 
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; 
and

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

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International 
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. 
Our responsibilities under those standards are further 
described in the ‘Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit 
of the financial statements’ section of our report. We are 
independent of the group and the parent company in 
accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant 
to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including 
the FRC’s Ethical Standard as applied to listed entities, 
and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities 

44 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

in accordance with these requirements. We believe that 
the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and 
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern
We are responsible for concluding on the appropriateness 
of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of 
accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, 
whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or 
conditions that may cast significant doubt on the group’s 
and the parent company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, 
we are required to draw attention in our report to the 
related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such 
disclosures are inadequate, to modify the auditor’s opinion. 
Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained 
up to the date of our report. However, future events or 
conditions may cause the group or the parent company to 
cease to continue as a going concern.

Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the group’s 

and the parent company’s ability to continue to adopt the 
going concern basis of accounting included evaluation of 
management’s cashflow forecast for at least 12 months from 
date of approval of the financial statements, along with 
challenge and assessment of the inputs and assumptions 
used to prepare the forecast. We tested management’s 
severe but plausible case to check that there is adequate 
headroom in the forecast to cover unforeseen costs or 
reduced revenues. 

In our evaluation of the directors’ conclusions, we 

considered the inherent risks associated with the group’s 
and the parent company’s business model including 
effects arising from macro-economic uncertainties such 
as Brexit and Covid-19, we assessed and challenged the 
reasonableness of estimates made by the directors and 
the related disclosures, and we analysed how those risks 
might affect the group’s and the parent company’s financial 
resources or ability to continue operations over the going 
concern period. 

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

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded 

that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of 
accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is 
appropriate. 

The responsibilities of the directors with respect to going 

concern are described in the ‘Responsibilities of directors 
for the financial statements’ section of this report.

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

Our approach to the audit

Overview of our audit approach

Description
Overall materiality: 
Group: £220,000, which represents approximately 5% of the group’s profit before taxation.
Parent company: £135,000, which represents 3% of the parent company’s revenue.

Audit reponse

Description

Audit reponse

Materiality

Materiality

Key audit 
matters

Key audit 
matters

Scoping

Scoping

Key audit matters were identified as:
•  Revenue recognition (same as previous year); 
•  Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets (same as previous year); 
•  Valuation of intangible assets arising on acquisition (same as previous year); and
•  Valuation of contingent consideration payable (same as previous year).

Disclosures

Our results

Disclosures

Our results

KAM

KAM

Our auditor’s report for the year ended 31 July 2020 included one key audit matter that 
has not been reported as a key audit matter in our current year’s report. This relates to 
going concern which is not a key audit matter this year as the level of uncertainty in the 
assumptions and forecasts used to assess the future prospects of the group and the parent 
company has reduced.

Scoping has been determined to ensure appropriate coverage of the significant risks as well 
as coverage of the key results in the financial statements:
We performed an audit of the financial information of five components using component 
materiality (full-scope audit) and an audit of one or more account, balances, classes of 
transactions or disclosures of the component (specific-scope audit) for four components. 
We performed analytical procedures at group level (analytical procedures) on the financial 
information of all the remaining group components. In the previous year, we performed full-
scope audits on all components. The scope has been changed in the current year to include 
only those components with a material impact on the group results or that are materially 
exposed to the significant risks.

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

Key audit 
matters

Materiality

Scoping

In the graph below, we have presented the key audit matters, significant risks and other 

risks relevant to the audit.

Description

Audit reponse

KAM

Disclosures

Our results

Profit before tax 
£4,635,000

Profit before tax 
£4,635,000

PM 
£165,000,  
75%

FSM
£220,000, 
5%

Revenue
£4,510,000

PM 
£101,000  
75%

FSM
£135,000 
3%

TFPUM 
£55,000 25%

PM 
£165,000,  
75%

FSM
£220,000, 
5%

Revenue
£4,510,000

TFPUM 
£34,000 25%

FSM
£135,000 
3%

PM 
£101,000  
75%

TFPUM 
£55,000 25%

TFPUM 
£34,000 25%

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

45

Profit before tax 

£4,635,000

Revenue

£4,510,000

£165,000,  

PM 

75%

£220,000, 

FSM

5%

£101,000  

PM 

75%

FSM

£135,000 

3%

TFPUM 

£55,000 25%

TFPUM 

£34,000 25%

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

High

Potential 
financial 
statement 
impact

Going 
concern

Impairment of goodwill 
and intangible assets

Revenue 
recognition

Accuracy of staff 
costs including 
furlough receipts

Valuation of contingent 
consideration payable

Management 
override of controls

Valuation of 
intangible assets 
arising on acquisition

Existence and valuation 
of trade receivables 
and contract assets

Existence of assets 
and completeness of 
liabilities  for IFRS 16 
- Leases

Completeness 
and accuracy 
of trade 
creditors and 
accruals

Accuracy of the share 
based payment charge 

Low

Low

Extent of management judgment

High

Commercial in confidence

Key audit matter

Significant risk

Other risk

Key Audit Matter – Group

Key audit matter

Significant risk

Other risk

How our scope addressed the matter – Group

© 2021 Grant Thornton UK LLP   |   Audit Findings Report   |   29 October 2021

Revenue recognition 
We identified the risk that the revenue cycle includes fraudulent 
transactions as one of the most significant assessed risks of material 
misstatement due to fraud. 

We determined that the risk of material misstatement lies within the 
two types of revenue recognised as follows:

Revenue recognised over time 
Management allocate amounts of consideration to performance 
obligations and assess the stage of completion within a contract. 
This area includes judgments in relation to incomplete contracts at 
the year-end in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standard (IFRS) 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’. 
The significant risk is in relation to this and could occur through 
manipulation or error in revenue or deferred income which could be 
inaccurate or incomplete. 

Total revenue recognised over time is £12.2m (2020: £10.5m).

Revenue recognised at a point in time 
The significant risk identified is in relation to the acceleration of 
revenues that should be recognised in FY22 into FY21. This primarily 
impacts revenue recognised at the end of the financial year.

Total revenue recognised at a point in time is £38.1m (2020: £37.5m).

In responding to the key audit matter, we performed the following 
audit procedures:
•  evaluating the revenue recognition policies for consistency with 
IFRS 15, through assessment of management’s IFRS 15 paper 
including, specifically, consideration of management’s identification 
of performance obligations and allocation of the transaction prices 
to the performance obligations; 

1

•  performing analytical procedures through comparing revenue 
earned in the year to the prior year and budget, corroborating 
management’s explanation for significant or unusual variances;
•  recalculating IFRS 15 adjustments made by management based on 
the supporting documentation of contracts and proof of acceptance 
used to make these adjustments, in order to gain assurance over 
the accuracy of IFRS 15 adjustments made; 

•  testing a sample of revenue transactions through to supporting 
documentation, checking the revenue in the selected item is 
recognised as per the group’s accounting policy, and performing 
a recalculation of the revenue recognised in the year to determine 
the amount of revenue, if any, that should be deferred; 

•  recalculating the year-end deferred revenue balance in full based 
on management’s schedules, and performing procedures on a 
sample basis to ensure schedules were complete and accurate. 
To further assess completeness, we used our revenue sample to 
determine whether a deferred income balance should be recorded;
•  sampling from sales made around the period end and determining 

whether cut-off procedures are appropriate by agreeing to 
evidence of performance;

•  checking a sample of credit notes raised throughout the year and 
post year end to ensure revenue is not being artificially inflated at 
the year-end. Where we identified unusual credit notes, we tested 
them to supporting evidence to confirm the credit note should have 
been raised; and

•  testing a sample of manual journals posted to revenue by agreeing 
to supporting documentation, in order to gain an understanding of 
the rationale for these entries to check that they were not indicative 
of management override of controls.

Relevant disclosures in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021
•  Financial statements: Note 4 Critical Accounting Estimates and 

Judgements

•  Financial statements: Note 6 Revenue and Segmental analysis

Our results
Based on our audit work performed, we have not identified any 
material misstatements relating to revenue recognition.

46 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

Key Audit Matter – Group

How our scope addressed the matter – Group

Impairment of Goodwill and Intangible Assets 
We identified impairment of goodwill and intangible assets as one of 
the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement due to 
error. 

The group recorded goodwill and other intangible assets with a 
carrying value of £51.7m as at 31 July 2021 (2020: £54.4m). 

There is an increased risk that the goodwill and intangibles held by 
the group are impaired as per International Accounting Standard 
(‘IAS’) 36 ‘Impairment of Assets’ because of the high level of 
estimation uncertainty in assessing the future performance of the 
group using operating cash flows and long-term growth rates and 
also in assessing the appropriate discount rate to apply in calculating 
the ‘value in use’ of the cash generating units (CGUs).

Our significant risk relates to the iBlocks and Tracsis Travel 
Compensation Services (TTCS) CGUs as these represent £19.7m of 
intangible assets and one has seen a delay in certain contracts and 
the other is reliant on rail passenger numbers.

In responding to the key audit matter, we performed the following 
audit procedures:
•  assessing and challenging management’s impairment review, 

checking whether appropriate costs are included or excluded, that 
cash flows included in the model are appropriate, and that the 
methodology used is in accordance with the requirements of IAS 36; 

•  utilising internal valuation experts to independently determine 

a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for the group and to 
assess whether the WACC used by management as determined by 
the management expert, is appropriate; 

•  assessing the competence of management’s expert through 

reference to their qualifications and experience; 

•  performing sensitivity analysis on the forecast cash flows, long term 
growth rates and discount rates and determining their impact on 
the carrying value of the intangible assets; 

•  evaluating historical forecasting accuracy by comparing results 

achieved in prior years to budgets; 

•  evaluating whether the goodwill and intangible assets are 

allocated to the CGUs appropriately and challenging whether the 
CGUs identified are appropriate; and 

•  assessing whether the disclosure included for the headroom 

Furthermore, there has been a change in the CGUs reported in the 
year which could increase the risk of error.

sensitivities is appropriate and assessing whether the accounting 
policy is in line with IAS 36.

Relevant disclosures in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021
•  Financial statements: Note 4 Critical Accounting Estimates and 

Judgements

•  Financial statements: Note 15 Intangible assets

Our results
From our audit work performed we are satisfied with management’s 
judgement that the goodwill and intangibles allocated to the iBlocks 
CGU and TTCS CGU are not materially impaired.

Valuation of Intangible Assets arising on acquisition
We identified valuation of intangible assets arising on acquisition as 
one of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement 
due to error. 

The group acquired Flash Forward Limited in the year resulting in 
additions of £1.7m to intangible assets, of which £0.7m is allocated to 
customer related intangibles and £1.0m allocated to goodwill. 

IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ requires most newly acquired 
assets and liabilities to be recorded at fair value. There is significant 
management judgement involved in determining the fair value of 
the assets and liabilities acquired and consideration, including the 
calculation of the fair value of technology and customer related 
intangibles acquired, and the discount rate and long-term growth 
rates used in the valuation.

In responding to the key audit matter, we performed the following 
audit procedures:
•  utilising our valuation experts to assist in assessing the work 

performed by management’s valuation expert in relation to the 
valuation of acquired intangible assets and consideration paid. 
This included challenging whether the methodology used in the 
valuation is in line with acceptable valuation methods and whether 
inputs such as future profits, attrition rates and discount rates used 
are appropriate; 

•  assessing the competence of management’s expert through 

reference to their qualifications and experience; 

•  challenging management’s rationale and calculations behind 
the fair values of any contingent consideration, including the 
assessment of the value and classification of an option in favour of 
Tracsis plc over the shares issued in a subsidiary as consideration; 

•  testing of the acquisition balance sheet by agreeing material 
balances to supporting evidence, including cash balances on 
acquisition; 

•  reperforming the calculation of goodwill and comparing to the 

figure as determined by management to gain assurance over the 
mathematical accuracy of the calculation; 

•  agreeing the consideration paid, by reference to acquisition 

agreement, to bank statements; and 

•  assessing the adequacy of the accounting policy and relevant 
disclosures made in the financial statements with respect to the 
acquisition to determine whether they are complete, accurate and 
in line with IFRS 3

Relevant disclosures in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021
•  Financial statements: Note 4 Critical Accounting Estimates and 

Judgements

•  Financial statements: Note 5 Acquisitions and investments in the 

Our results
Based on our audit work performed we have not identified any 
material misstatements relating to the valuation of intangible assets 
arising on acquisition.

current year

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

47

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

Key Audit Matter – Group

How our scope addressed the matter – Group

Valuation of Contingent Consideration payable 
We identified the valuation of contingent consideration payable as 
one of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement 
due to error.

As at the year end, the group has total contingent consideration 
payable of £7.9m (2020: £7.3m). iBlocks and Bellvedi account for 
£7.2m of the total balance and there were material movements in the 
underlying profit estimates for both. 

The valuation of contingent consideration at fair value involves a 
significant degree of management judgement and is a material 
accounting estimate with a high degree of estimation uncertainty.

In responding to the key audit matter, we performed the following 
audit procedures:
•  agreeing contingent consideration per management’s workings to 
the trial balance and financial statements, and agreeing brought 
forward contingent consideration to prior year financial statements;
•  checking the mathematical accuracy of the schedules provided to 
us by performing recalculations of contingent consideration due; 
•  testing the movement in contingent consideration payable year 
on year, through agreeing payments made to bank records 
and checking whether any changes to the fair value of existing 
contingent consideration agreed to supporting documentation, 
including correspondence with the relevant individuals, and that the 
assumptions behind the changes to fair value are appropriate; 
•  challenging management’s rationale and assumptions used in 

calculations behind the fair values of any contingent consideration, 
including the assessment of the range of possible outcomes 
and the probability of each of these. This included a focussed 
assessment of the discounting used in measuring fair value of the 
contingent consideration; 

•  assessing whether contingent consideration due in more than one 
year has been discounted at an appropriate rate and performing a 
recalculation of the contingent consideration due after discounting; 
and

•  assessing the adequacy of the accounting policy and relevant 
disclosures made in the financial statements to ensure they are 
complete, accurate and in line with IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’.

Relevant disclosures in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021
•  Financial statements: Note 4 Critical Accounting Estimates and 

Judgements

•  Financial statements: Note 21 Contingent consideration

Key observations
Based on our audit work performed we have not identified any 
material misstatements relating to the valuation of contingent 
consideration payable.

We did not identify any key audit matters relating to the audit of the financial statements of the parent company.

48 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

Our application of materiality
We apply the concept of materiality both in planning and performing the audit, and in evaluating the effect of identified 
misstatements on the audit and of uncorrected misstatements, if any, on the financial statements and in forming the opinion in 
the auditor’s report.

Materiality was determined as follows:

Materiality measure Group

Parent company

Materiality for financial 
statements as a whole

We define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement in the financial statements that, individually or in 
the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of the users of these 
financial statements. We use materiality in determining the nature, timing and extent of our audit work.

Materiality threshold

£220,000, which is approximately 5% of the group’s 
profit before tax.

£135,000, which is 3% of the parent company’s 
revenue.

Significant judgements made 
by auditor in determining the 
materiality

In determining materiality, we made the following 
significant judgements:
•  Profit before tax is a key performance indicator 

In determining materiality, we made the following 
significant judgements:
•  This benchmark is considered the most 

for the group. 

Materiality for the current year is higher than the 
level that we determined for the year ended 31 July 
2020 to reflect the increase in the group’s profit 
before tax for the year.

appropriate because the parent company is a 
trading company, and the revenue figure is less 
volatile than profit before tax.

Materiality for the current year is higher than the 
level that we determined for the year ended 31 July 
2020 to reflect the increase in the parent company’s 
revenue for the year.

Performance materiality used 
to drive the extent of our 
testing

We set performance materiality at an amount less than materiality for the financial statements as a whole 
to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected and undetected 
misstatements exceeds materiality for the financial statements as a whole.

Performance materiality 
threshold

£165,000, which is 75% of financial statement 
materiality.

£101,000, which is 75% of financial statement 
materiality.

Significant judgements made 
by auditor in determining the 
performance materiality

In determining performance materiality, we made 
the following significant judgements: 
•  Based on prior experience, we have not 

In determining performance materiality, we made 
the following significant judgements: 
•  Based on prior experience, we have not 

Specific materiality

Specific materiality 

Communication of 
misstatements to the audit 
committee

Threshold for communication

identified a significant number of uncorrected 
misstatements or significant control deficiencies in 
respect of the group.

identified a significant number of uncorrected 
misstatements or significant control deficiencies in 
respect of the parent company.

We determine specific materiality for one or more particular classes of transactions, account balances or 
disclosures for which misstatements of lesser amounts than materiality for the financial statements as a 
whole could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the 
financial statements.

We determined a lower level of specific materiality 
for the following areas:
•  Directors’ remuneration; and 
•  Related party transactions outside of the normal 

We determined a lower level of specific materiality 
for the following areas:
•  Directors’ remuneration; and 
•  Related party transactions outside of the normal 

course of business.

course of business.

We determine a threshold for reporting unadjusted differences to the audit committee.

£11,000 and misstatements below that threshold 
that, in our view, warrant reporting on qualitative 
grounds.

£6,800 and misstatements below that threshold 
that, in our view, warrant reporting on qualitative 
grounds.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

49

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsDescription

Description

Audit reponse

Audit reponse

Materiality

Materiality

Key audit 

Key audit 

matters

matters

KAM

KAM

Scoping

Scoping

Disclosures

Disclosures

Our results

Our results

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

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

Overall materiality – Group

Overall materiality – Parent company

Profit before tax 
£4,635,000

Profit before tax 
£4,635,000

PM 
£165,000,  
75%

PM 
£165,000,  
75%

FSM
£220,000, 
5%

FSM
£220,000, 
5%

Revenue
£4,510,000

Revenue
£4,510,000

PM 
£101,000  
75%

PM 
£101,000  
75%

FSM
£135,000 
3%

FSM
£135,000 
3%

FSM: Financial statements materiality, PM: Performance materiality, TFPUM: Tolerance for potential uncorrected misstatements

TFPUM 
£55,000 25%

TFPUM 
£55,000 25%

TFPUM 
£34,000 25%

TFPUM 
£34,000 25%

An overview of the scope of our audit
We performed a risk-based audit that requires an 
understanding of the group’s and the parent company’s 
business and in particular matters related to:

Understanding the group, its components, 
and their environments, including group-wide 
controls
•  we obtained an understanding of the group and its 
environment, including group-wide controls, and 
assessed the risks of material misstatement at the group 
level; and

•  we obtained an understanding of the effect of the group 
organisational structure on the scope of the audit, for 
example, the level of centralisation of the group control 
function and the use of service organisations.

Identifying significant components
•  we evaluated the identified components to assess their 

significance and determined the planned audit response 
based on a measure of materiality. Significance was 
determined as a percentage of the group’s total revenue, 
profit before tax and total assets as well as considering 
qualitative factors, such as a component’s specific nature 
or circumstances; and

•  For five components we responded with a full-scope 

audit of their financial information and for a further four 
components we performed specific-scope audit. For 
the remaining ten components we performed analytical 
procedures. 

50 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Performance of our audit
•  All four KAMs were addressed with the full-scope audit 
procedures and specific-scope audits where relevant to 
the component;

•  Specific procedures were primarily designed to obtain 

further coverage of the KAMs;

•  we performed the full-scope audit and specific-scope 
audits across the components in line with the scope 
described. We engaged with the component auditor to 
provide support to the group engagement team.

Changes in approach from previous period
•  In the previous year, we performed full-scope audits 
on all components. The scope has been changed in 
the current year to include only those components 
with a material impact on the group results or that are 
materially exposed to the significant risks.

Audit approach
Full-scope audit
Specified audit 
procedures

Analytical procedures
Total

Number of 
components
5

% coverage 
Revenue
55

% coverage 
Loss before 
tax
67

4
10
19

29
16
100

24
9
100

Other information
The directors are responsible for the other information. 
The other information comprises the information included 
in the annual report and accounts, other than the financial 
statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion 
on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly 
stated in our report, we do not express any form of 
assurance conclusion thereon. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 

our responsibility is to read the other information and, 
in doing so, consider whether the other information is 
materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our 
knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears 
to be materially misstated. If we identify such material 
inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we 
are required to determine whether there is a material 
misstatement in the financial statements or a material 
misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work 
we have performed, we conclude that there is a material 
misstatement of this other information, we are required to 
report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Our opinion on other matters prescribed 
by the Companies Act 2006 is 
unmodified
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the 
course of the audit:
•  the information given in the strategic report and the 
directors’ report for the financial year for which the 
financial statements are prepared is consistent with 
the financial statements; and

•  the strategic report and the directors’ report have 

been prepared in accordance with applicable legal 
requirements.

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

Matters on which we are required to report 
by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following 
matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 
requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
•  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the 
parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have 
not been received from branches not visited by us; or

•  the parent company financial statements are not in 

agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified 

by law are not made; or

•  we have not received all the information and 

explanations we require for our audit. 

Responsibilities of directors for the financial 
statements
As explained more fully in the statement of directors’ 
responsibilities, the directors are responsible for the 
preparation of the financial statements and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such 
internal control as the directors determine is necessary to 
enable the preparation of financial statements that are free 
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are 

responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent 
company’s ability to continue as a going concern, 
disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern 
and using the going concern basis of accounting unless 
the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the 
parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic 
alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the 
financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about 
whether the financial statements as a whole are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, 
and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. 
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is 
not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance 
with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement 
when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or 
error and are considered material if, individually or in the 
aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence 
the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these 
financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the 

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

Explanation as to what extent the audit 
was considered capable of detecting 
irregularities, including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-
compliance with laws and regulations. We design 
procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined 
above, to detect material misstatements in respect of 
irregularities, including fraud. Owing to the inherent 
limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that 
material misstatements in the financial statements may not 
be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and 
performed in accordance with the ISAs (UK). 

The extent to which our procedures are capable of 

detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below: 
•  We obtained an understanding of the legal and 

regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the group 
and the parent company and determined that the 
most significant are applicable law and international 
accounting standards in conformity with the requirements 
of the Companies Act 2006 (for the group), United 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

51

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tracsis plc (continued)

Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (for the 
parent company), AIM rules and relevant tax regulations.

•  We assessed the susceptibility of the group’s and the 
parent company’s financial statements to material 
misstatement, including how fraud might occur, by 
evaluating management’s incentives and opportunities 
for manipulation of the financial statements. This included 
the evaluation of the risk of management override of 
controls. We determined that the principal risks were in 
relation to:
 − journal entries that increased revenues or that 

reclassified costs from the income statement to the 
balance sheet that are posted by senior finance 
personnel;

 − potential management bias in determining accounting 
estimates, especially in relation to their assessment 
of the valuation of intangible assets and contingent 
consideration; and

 − transactions with related parties.

•  Assessment of the appropriateness of the collective 

competence and capabilities of the engagement team 
including consideration of the engagement team’s:
 − understanding of, and practical experience with, audit 

engagements of a similar nature and complexity 
through appropriate training and participation

 − knowledge of the industry in which the group and the 

parent company operate; and

•  We obtained an understanding of the group’s and the 
parent company’s control environment, including the 
adequacy of the training to inform staff of the relevant 
legislation, the adequacy of procedures for authorisation 
of transactions and procedures to ensure that possible 
breaches of requirements are appropriately investigated 
and reported. 

•  We made enquiries of the one component auditor, and 
requested that they confirm to us instances of non-
compliance with laws and regulations that gave rise to 
a risk of material misstatement of the group financial 
statements.

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

 − understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements 

specific to the group and the parent company. 

Mark Overfield BSc FCA
Senior Statutory Auditor

•  We had team communications in respect of potential non-
compliance with laws and regulations and fraud included 
the potential for fraud in revenue recognition through 
manipulation of deferred income. 

•  In assessing the potential risks of material misstatement, 
we obtained an understanding of the group’s and the 
parent company’s operations, including the nature of 
their revenue sources, products and services and of 
their objectives and strategies to understand the classes 
of transactions, account balances, expected financial 
statement disclosures and business risks that may result 
in risks of material misstatement.

for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP 
Statutory Auditor, Chartered Accountants
Leeds

9 November 2021

52 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
Financial Statements

Consolidated Statement of  
Comprehensive Income 

Consolidated Balance Sheet 

Consolidated Statement of  
Changes in Equity 

Consolidated Cash Flow  
Statement 

Notes to the Consolidated  
Financial Statements 

Company Balance Sheet 

Company Statement of  
Changes in Equity 

Notes to the Company  
Balance Sheet 

Group Information 

54

55

56

57

58

98

99

100

110

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

53

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsConsolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income 
for the year ended 31 July 2021

2021

2020

Revenue 

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Administrative costs

Adjusted EBITDA*

Depreciation

Adjusted profit **

Amortisation of intangible assets

Other operating income

Share-based payment charges

Operating profit before exceptional items

Exceptional items:

Impairment losses

Other

Operating profit 

Finance income 

Finance expense 

Share of result of equity accounted investees

Profit before tax

Taxation

Profit after tax 

Other comprehensive (expense)/income

Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss

Foreign currency translation differences 

Total comprehensive income/(expense) for the year

Earnings per Ordinary Share

Basic 

Diluted 

Group 
excluding 
in-year 
acquisitions

£000

49,825

(15,157)

34,668

(29,390)

12,941

(1,602)

11,339

(4,240)

440

(1,276)

6,263

-

(985)

5,278

11

(98)

(434)

4,757

(2,258)

2,499

(126)

2,373

Acquisitions 
in-year

£000

412

(267)

145 

(267)

37

(1)

36

(29)

7

-

- 

-

(129)

(122)

-

-

-

(122)

(21)

(143)

-

(143)

Total

£000

50,237

(15,424)

34,813

(29,657)

12,978

(1,603)

11,375

(4,269)

440

(1,276)

6,270

-

(1,114)

5,156

11

(98)

(434)

4,635

(2,279)

2,356

(126)

2,230

8.06p

7.82p

Total

£000 

47,998

(16,796)

31,202

(26,779)

10,463

(1,882)

8,581

(3,599)

376

(1,050)

4,308

(1,155)

1,270

4,423

76

(79)

(309)

4,111

(1,234)

2,877

21

2,898

9.95p

9.67p

Notes

6

6, 31

14

31

15

9.4

8

9.3

9.3

9

10

11

16

12

13

13

* 

 Earnings before finance income, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional items, other operating income, and share-based payment charges and share of 
result of equity accounted investees – see note 31. 

**   Earnings before finance income, tax, amortisation, exceptional items, other operating income, share-based payment charges, and share of result of equity 

accounted investees – see note 31. 

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

54 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Consolidated Balance Sheet
as at 31 July 2021 Company number: 05019106

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Investments – equity

Investments in equity accounted investees

Deferred tax assets

Current assets

Inventories

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Non-current liabilities

Lease Liabilities

Contingent consideration payable

Deferred consideration payable

Deferred tax liabilities

Current liabilities

Lease liabilities

Trade and other payables

Contingent consideration payable

Deferred consideration payable

Current tax liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity attributable to equity holders of the company

Called up share capital

Share premium reserve

Merger reserve

Retained earnings

Translation reserve

Total equity

Note

14

15

16

16

22

17

19

18

21

21

22

18

20

21

21

23

24

24

24

24

S
t
r
a
t
e
g
i
c
R
e
p
o
r
t

i

F
n
a
n
c
i
a
l

S
t
a
t
e
m
e
n
t
s

2021

£000

3,540

51,745

50

605

551

2020

£000

3,581

54,376

50

1,039

877

56,491

59,923

381

11,263

25,387

37,031

93,522

1,131

3,220

584

8,517

13,452

928

17,007

4,689

308

473

23,405

36,857

56,665

117

6,401

5,525

44,710

(88)

430

6,382

17,920

24,732

84,655

986

5,587

-

8,234

14,807

1,128

13,509

1,747

-

439

16,823

31,630

53,025

116

6,373

5,420

41,078

38

56,665

53,025

The financial statements on pages 54 to 97 were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 9 November 
2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

Chris Barnes
Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Kelly 
Chief Financial Officer

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

55

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 

At 1 August 2019

Adjustment on initial application of IFRS 16  

(net of tax) 

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners:

Dividends

Share based payment charges

Exercise of share options

Shares issued as consideration for business 
combinations

At 31 July 2020

Share  
Capital

£’000

115

Share 
Premium

£’000

6,343

Merger 
Reserve

£’000

3,921

Retained 
Earnings

Translation
 Reserve

£’000

37,545

(106)

2,877

-

2,877

(288)

1,050

-

-

£’000

17

-

-

21

21

-

-

-

-

Total

 £’000

47,941

(106)

2,877

21

2,898

(288)

1,050

30

1,500

-

-

-

-

-

-

30

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,499

6,373

5,420

41,078

38

53,025

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

116

At 1 August 2020

116

6,373

5,420

41,078

38

53,025

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners:

Share based payment charges

Exercise of share options (note 23)

Shares issued as consideration for business 
combinations

-

-

-

-

-

1

-

-

-

-

28

-

-

-

-

-

-

105

2,356

-

2,356

1,276

-

-

-

(126)

(126)

-

-

-

2,356

(126)

2,230

1,276

29

105

At 31 July 2021

117

6,401

5,525

44,710

(88)

56,665

Details of the nature of each component of equity are set out in Notes 23 and 24.

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

56 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 31 July 2021

Notes

2021

£000 

2020 

£000 

Operating activities

Profit for the year

Finance income

Finance expense

Depreciation

Profit on disposal of plant and equipment

Non cash exceptional items

Other operating income

Amortisation of intangible assets

Share of result of equity accounted investees

Income tax charge

Share based payment charges

Operating cash inflow before changes in working capital

Movement in inventories

Movement in trade and other receivables

Movement in trade and other payables

Cash generated from operations

Interest received

Interest paid

Income tax paid

Net cash flow from operating activities

Investing activities

Purchase of plant and equipment

Proceeds from disposal of plant and equipment

Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of cash acquired)

Payment of contingent consideration

Net cash flow used in investing activities

Financing activities

Dividends paid

Proceeds from exercise of share options

Lease liability payments

Lease receivable receipts

Net cash flow used in financing activities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Exchange adjustments

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

10

11

14

9.1

9.3

9.4

15

16

12

8

10

11

14

5

21

30

18

2,356

(11)

98

1,603

(46)

985

(440)

4,269

434

2,279

1,276

12,803

49

(4,796)

2,784

10,840

7

(74)

(1,417)

9,356

(400)

88

127

(410)

(595)

-

27

(1,260)

32

(1,201)

7,560

(93)

17,920

25,387

2,877

(76)

79

1,882

(12)

(320)

(376)

3,599

309

1,234

1,050

10,246

(49)

5,121

(3,875)

11,443

76

(79)

(908)

10,532

(387)

66

(13,852)

(1,228)

(15,401)

(288)

30

(1,089)

11

(1,336)

(6,205)

21

24,104

17,920

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

57

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

1  Reporting entity

 Tracsis plc (the ‘Company’) is a public company 
incorporated, domiciled and registered in England 
in the United Kingdom. The registered number is 
05019106 and the registered address is Nexus, 
Discovery Way, Leeds, LS2 3AA. The consolidated 
financial statements of the Company for the year 
ended 31 July 2021 comprise the Company and its 
subsidiaries (together referred to as the ‘Group’) and 
equity account the Group’s interest in associates. 
The parent company financial statements present 
information about the Company as a separate entity 
and not about its Group.

2  Basis of preparation
(a)  Statement of compliance

 The Group consolidated financial statements have 
been prepared in accordance with International 
Accounting Standards in conformity with the 
Companies Act 2006 (“IFRSs”). The Company has 
elected to prepare its parent company financial 
statements in accordance with FRS 101. These parent 
company statements appear after the notes to the 
consolidated financial statements.

(b)  Basis of measurement

 The Accounts have been prepared under the historical 
cost convention, with the exception of the valuation 
of investments, contingent consideration, financial 
liabilities and initial valuation of assets and liabilities 
acquired in business combinations which are included 
on a fair value basis.

(c)  Presentation currency

 These consolidated financial statements are 
presented in sterling. All financial information 
presented in sterling has been rounded to the nearest 
thousand.

(d)  Use of estimates and judgements

 The preparation of financial statements in conformity 
with IFRSs requires management to make judgements, 
estimates and assumptions that affect the application 
of policies and reported amounts of assets and 
liabilities, income and expenses. The estimates and 
associated assumptions are based on historical 
experience and various other factors that are believed 
to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results 
of which form the basis of making the judgements 
about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are 
not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results 
may differ from these estimates.

 The estimates and underlying assumptions are 
reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to 
accounting estimates are recognised in the period 
in which the estimate is revised if the revision only 

58 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

affects that period, or in the period of the revision and 
future periods, if the revision affects both current and 
future periods. 

 Judgements made by management in the application 
of IFRSs that have a significant effect on the Group 
financial statements and estimates with a significant 
risk of material adjustment in future years are 
disclosed in Note 4.

(e)  Accounting developments

 The Group and Company financial statements 
have been prepared and approved by the directors 
in accordance with International Accounting 
Standards in conformity with the Companies Act 
2006 (“IFRSs”). The accounting policies have been 
applied consistently to all periods presented in the 
consolidated financial statements, unless otherwise 
stated.

 There are no new standards, amendments to existing 
standards or interpretations that are not yet effective 
that are expected to have a material impact on the 
Group.

(f)  Going concern

 The Group is debt free and has substantial cash 
resources. At 31 July 2021 the Group had net cash 
and cash equivalents totalling £25.4m. The Board 
has prepared cash flow forecasts for the forthcoming 
year based upon assumptions for trading and the 
requirements for cash resources, these forecasts take 
into account reasonably possible changes in trading 
financial performance and include an expectation of 
the Group’s continued recovery from the impact of 
Covid-19 predominantly on entities within the Data, 
Analytics, Consultancy and Events segment. The 
Group’s policies for financial risk management are 
detailed in note 26 to these financial statements. 

 Further to this, management prepared a severe but 
plausible scenario, reducing revenues from budget 
and including a more pessimistic view of working 
capital. There was still ample headroom under this 
scenario. A reverse stress test was also considered. 
The revenue and cashflow assumptions required to 
eliminate any headroom under the reverse stress test 
are considered by the Board to be highly unlikely and 
particularly given trading performance to date.
 Based upon this analysis, the Board has concluded 
that the Group has adequate working capital 
resources and that it is appropriate to use the going 
concern basis for the preparation of the consolidated 
financial statements. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies

(b)  Revenue recognition

 The accounting policies set out below have been 
applied consistently to all periods presented in these 
consolidated financial statements and have been 
applied consistently by Group entities.

 The Group applies IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts 
with Customers”. IFRS 15 established a comprehensive 
framework for determining whether, how much and 
when revenue is recognised. 

 The Group derives revenue from software licencing 
and bespoke development work, post contract 
customer support, sale of hardware & condition 
monitoring technology, consultancy and professional 
services, traffic data collection & capture, passenger 
counting, plus event planning, parking and traffic 
management services.

 The following tables provide information about the 
nature and timing of the satisfaction of performance 
obligations in contracts with customers, and the 
related revenue recognition policies. Revenue is 
recognised when the performance obligation in 
the contract has been performed (either at a “point 
in time” or “over time” as control is transferred to 
the customer). Consideration received in advance 
of the performance obligation being satisfied by 
the Group is included as a contract liability on the 
balance sheet. An asset is recognised in accordance 
with IFRS 15:95 in relation to costs associated with 
incomplete performance obligations where the 
costs relate directly to the contract and can be 
specifically identified, the costs generate or enhance 
resources of the Group and the costs are expected 
to be recovered. Adjustments are made to allocate 
discounts relative to the stand-alone selling price 
of each performance obligation. The Group does 
not adjust the transaction price for the time value of 
money as it does not expect to have any contracts 
where the period between the transfer of the promised 
service to the client, and the payment by the client 
exceeds one year.

(a)   Basis of consolidation

 Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Company. 
The Group controls an entity when it 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. In assessing 
control, the Group takes into consideration potential 
voting rights. The financial statements of subsidiaries 
are included in the consolidated financial statements 
from the date that control commences until the 
date control ceases. The accounting policies of 
subsidiary companies have been changed where 
necessary to align them with the policies adopted 
by the Group. The Group entities included in these 
consolidated financial statements are those listed in 
note 29. All intra-group balances and transactions, 
including unrealised profits arising from intra-group 
transactions, are eliminated fully on consolidation.

 Associates are those entities in which the Group 
has significant influence, but not control, over the 
financial and operating policies. Significant influence 
is presumed to exist either when the Group holds 
between 20 and 50 percent of the voting power 
of another entity or when the Group is deemed to 
have a significant influence by virtue of a Board 
position. Associates are accounted for using the 
equity method (equity accounted investees) and are 
initially recognised at cost. The Group’s investment 
includes goodwill identified on acquisition, net of any 
accumulated impairment losses. The consolidated 
financial statements include the Group’s share of the 
total comprehensive income and equity movements 
of equity accounted investees, from the date that 
significant influence commences until the date that 
significant influence ceases. When the Group’s share 
of losses exceeds its interest in an equity accounted 
investee, the Group’s carrying amount is reduced to 
nil and recognition of further losses is discontinued 
except to the extent that the Group has incurred legal 
or constructive obligations or made payments on 
behalf of an investee.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

59

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(b)  Revenue recognition (continued)

 The details of the significant accounting policies under IFRS 15 are set out below for each of the two operating segments 
within the Group.

Rail Technology & Services

Revenue Stream

Recognition Policy

Software – perpetual and 
non-cancellable annual 
software licenses, and 
support and maintenance 
services associated with 
these licenses

Software as a service, 
and support services 
associated with these 
licenses

Bespoke software 
development work

The criteria under IFRS 15 have been considered to assess whether the software licenses 
and support and maintenance are distinct performance obligations. As the support and 
updates do not makes changes to the software that are so fundamental that the software 
would not be able to operate without them they are considered distinct.

The Group recognises the revenue from the sale of perpetual and non-cancellable 
annual software licenses at the time that the license is made available to the customer 
as it is considered that control passes at that point in time. Additionally the Group does 
not undertake activities that significantly affect the license after the point at which it was 
provided to the customer.

The allocation of the transaction price between the two performance obligations 
included in the contract is based on an expected cost plus margin approach as the stand-
alone selling price is not observable.

Revenue related to ongoing support and periodic updates is recognised over the license 
period as the Group is unable to predict at inception of the license when the support and 
updates will be required to be provided to the customer. As such, control is considered to 
pass over time.

Under IFRS 15 two distinct performance obligations have been identified for these 
contracts.

•  Hosted software licenses
•  Maintenance and support

Revenue from the provision of the hosted software license is recognised evenly over the 
period in which the license is hosted by the Group. This policy reflects the continuous 
transfer of the service to the customer throughout the contracted license period. For 
renewals of hosted licenses, the revenue is recognised over the period of the contract

Revenue related to ongoing support and periodic updates is recognised over the license 
period as the Group is unable to predict at inception of the license when the support and 
updates will be required to be provided to the customer.

Revenue in relation to bespoke development work is recognised on completion of the 
work in most contracts as it is considered that control of the work does not pass until 
all development work has been completed. The development work does not create an 
asset with an alternative use to the Group. In some contracts the Group does have an 
enforceable contractual right to payment for performance completed to date and revenue 
is recognised over time.

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Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(b)  Revenue recognition (continued)

Revenue Stream

Recognition Policy

Hardware

Under IFRS 15, the Group has identified one performance obligation in relation to the sale 
of hardware items, being delivery to the customer, which is considered the point in time 
that control passes and revenue is recognised.

Hardware items are also sold to the customer alongside a license for condition 
monitoring software however the license is considered to be distinct from the hardware 
under IFRS 15 criteria as the two can be sold and used separately from each other. The 
transaction price is allocated to the components of the contract based on an adjusted 
market assessment approach. 

Revenue recognition for the condition monitoring software license is recognised in line with 
the nature of the software (hosted Software as a Service) which is detailed further above.

Provision is made for any returns by customers.

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events

Revenue Stream

Recognition Policy

Traffic data collection & 
capture and passenger 
counting 

Revenue from traffic data collection & capture and passenger counting services 
deliverables is recognised on the provision of the contract deliverables as agreed with 
the customer, unless there is an enforceable right to payment under the contract, in which 
instance revenue would be recognised over the completion of the project based on 
actual costs compared to expected total project costs, the input method under IFRS 15.

Event planning, parking 
and traffic management 
services

There is considered to be one performance obligation in the completion of event 
planning, parking and traffic management, which is the completion of the service, and this 
is satisfied upon its completion of the service, being at a point in time.

Consultancy services

Consultancy service contracts are either contracted on a time and materials basis, or as 
fixed fee contracts.

Time and materials contracts are recognised over time as services are provided at 
the fee rate agreed with the client where there is an enforceable right to payment for 
performance completed to date.

Fixed fee contracts are recognised over time based on the actual service provided to 
the end of the reporting period as a proportion of the total services to be provided where 
there is an enforceable right to payment, the output method under IFRS 15. In contracts 
where there is no enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date, 
revenue is recognised on completion of the contracted deliverables.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

61

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(c)  Property, plant and equipment

 Items of property, plant and equipment are initially 
recognised at cost. As well as the purchase price, cost 
includes directly attributable costs. Items of property, 
plant and equipment are carried at depreciated cost.

 Depreciation is provided on all items of property, plant 
and equipment so as to write off the carrying value of 
items over their expected useful economic lives. It is 
applied at the following rates:

Freehold buildings  
(excluding land) 

4% on cost

Computer equipment 

33 1/3% on cost

Office fixtures and fittings

0% – 20% on cost

Motor vehicles

20 – 25% per annum reducing 
balance basis

(d) 

Intangible assets
Goodwill
 Goodwill arising on acquisitions comprises the excess 
of the fair value of the consideration for investments in 
subsidiary undertakings over the fair value of the net 
identifiable assets acquired at the date of acquisition. 
Adjustments are made to assess the fair value of net 
identifiable assets and liabilities in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards. The costs 
of integrating and reorganising acquired businesses 
are charged to the post acquisition income statement. 
Goodwill arising on acquisitions of subsidiaries is 
included in intangible assets. 

 Goodwill is not amortised but is tested annually for 
impairment and carried at cost less accumulated 
impairment losses. Gains and losses on the disposal 
of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill 
relating to the entity sold.

 Goodwill is allocated to cash-generating units 
(“CGUs”) for the purpose of impairment testing. Each 
of those cash-generating units represents the lowest 
level within the Group at which the associated level 
of goodwill is monitored for management purposes 
and are not larger than the operating segments 
determined in accordance with IFRS 8 “Operating 
Segments”.

 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. When the recoverable amount of the CGU 

62 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

is less than the carrying amount including goodwill, 
an impairment loss is recognised. Any impairment is 
recognised immediately as an expense and is not 
subsequently reversed.

Business Combinations 
 From 1 August 2009 the Group has applied IFRS 
3 Business Combinations (2008) in accounting for 
business combinations. Business combinations are 
accounted for using the acquisition method as at the 
acquisition date, which is the date on which control 
is transferred to the Group. An investor controls an 
investee when the investor is exposed, or has rights, 
to variable returns from its involvement with the 
investee and has the ability to affect those returns 
through its power over the investee. 

 For acquisitions on or after 1 August 2009, the Group 
measures goodwill at the acquisition date as:

•   the fair value of the consideration transferred; plus
•  the recognised amount of any non-controlling 
interests in the acquiree; plus if the business 
combination is achieved in stages, the fair value of 
the existing equity interest in the acquiree; less
•  the net recognised amount (generally fair value) 
of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities 
assumed.

 When the excess is negative, a bargain purchase gain 
is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

 The consideration transferred does not include 
amounts related to the settlement of pre-existing 
relationships. Such amounts are generally recognised 
in profit or loss.

 Costs related to the acquisition, other than those 
associated with the issue of debt or equity securities, 
that the Group incurs in connection with a business 
combination are expensed as incurred.

 Any contingent consideration payable is recognised 
at fair value at the acquisition date. If the contingent 
consideration is classified as equity, it is not 
remeasured and settlement is accounted for within 
equity. Subsequent changes to the fair value of the 
contingent consideration are recognised in operating 
profit or loss as such changes are primarily as a result 
of operating performance. Settlement of contingent 
consideration is included within investing activities in 
the Statement of Cash flows.

 For acquisitions prior to 1 August 2009, goodwill 
represents the excess of the cost of the acquisition 
over the Group’s interest in the recognised amounts 
(generally fair value) of the identifiable assets, 
liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquiree. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(d) 

Intangible assets (continued)

 Transaction costs, other than those associated with 
the issue of debt or equity securities, that the Group 
incurred in connection with business combinations 
were capitalised as part of the cost of acquisition. An 
intangible asset, which is an identifiable non-monetary 
asset without physical substance, is recognised to 
the extent that it is probable that the expected future 
economic benefits attributable to the asset will flow to 
the Group and that its cost can be measured reliably. 
The asset is deemed to be identifiable when it is 
separable or when it arises from contractual or other 
legal rights. 

 Intangible assets, primarily customer relationships 
and technology related assets, acquired as part of a 
business combination are capitalised separately from 
goodwill and are carried at cost less accumulated 
amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. 
Amortisation is calculated using a straight line 
method over the estimated useful life of the assets 
of 10 to 20 years for customer related assets and 10 
years for technology related assets. Impairment and 
amortisation charges are included within operating 
expenditure in the income statement.

(e) 

 Impairment of property, plant and 
equipment
 Where an indication of impairment is identified, the 
recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order 
to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). 
If the recoverable amount (higher of fair value less 
cost to sell and value in use of an asset) is estimated 
to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying 
amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable 
amount. 

(f)  Research and Development Costs

 Expenditure on internally developed products 
is capitalised as intangible assets if it can be 
demonstrated that:
•  it is technically feasible to develop the product for it 

to be sold;

•  adequate resources are available to complete the 

development;

•  there is an intention to complete and sell the 

product;

•  the Group is able to sell the product;
•  sale of the product will generate future economic 

benefits; and

•  expenditure on the project can be measured 

reliably.

 At present, the Group has not considered that 
its development expenditure meets the criteria 
for capitalisation. Development expenditure not 
satisfying the above criteria and expenditure on the 
research phase of internal projects are recognised 
in the income statement as incurred. Capitalised 
development costs would be amortised over the 
periods the Group expected to benefit from selling the 
products developed. 

(g)  Financial instruments

i) Recognition and initial measurement
 Trade receivables are initially recognised when they 
are originated. All other financial assets and financial 
liabilities are initially recognised when the company 
becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the 
instrument.

 A financial asset (unless it is a trade receivable 
without a significant financing component) or financial 
liability is initially measured at fair value plus, for an 
item not at Fair Value Through Profit and Loss (FVTPL), 
transaction costs that are directly attributable to its 
acquisition or issue. A trade receivable without a 
significant financing component is initially measured 
at the transaction price.

ii) Classification and subsequent measurement

Financial assets
Classification
 On initial recognition, a financial asset is classified as 
measured at: amortised cost; Fair Value through Other 
Comprehensive Income (FVOCI) – debt investment; 
FVOCI – equity investment; or FVTPL.

 Financial assets are not reclassified subsequent 
to their initial recognition unless the Company 
changes its business model for managing financial 
assets in which case all affected financial assets are 
reclassified on the first day of the first reporting period 
following the change in the business model.
 A financial asset is measured at amortised cost if it 
meets both of the following conditions:
•    it is held within a business model whose objective is 
to hold assets to collect contractual cash flows; and
•    its contractual terms give rise on specified dates to 

cash flows that are solely payments of principal and 
interest on the principal amount outstanding.

 All financial assets not classified as measured at 
amortised cost or FVOCI are measured at FVTPL. This 
includes all derivative financial assets.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

63

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(g)  Financial instruments (continued)

Subsequent measurement and gains and losses
 Financial assets at FVTPL - these assets are 
subsequently measured at fair value. Net gains and 
losses, including any interest or dividend income, are 
recognised in profit or loss. 

 Financial assets at amortised cost - These assets 
are subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest method. The amortised cost 
is reduced by impairment losses. Interest income, 
foreign exchange gains and losses and impairment 
are recognised in profit or loss. Any gain or loss on 
derecognition is recognised in profit or loss.

Financial liabilities and equity
 Financial instruments issued by the Group are treated 
as equity only to the extent that they meet the 
following two conditions: 

(a)   they include no contractual obligations upon the 
Group to deliver cash or other financial assets or 
to exchange financial assets or financial liabilities 
with another party under conditions that are 
potentially unfavourable to the company; and 
(b)   where the instrument will or may be settled in the 
Group own equity instruments, it is either a non-
derivative that includes no obligation to deliver 
a variable number of the company’s own equity 
instruments or is a derivative that will be settled 
by the company’s exchanging a fixed amount of 
cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of 
its own equity instruments.

 To the extent that this definition is not met, the 
proceeds of issue are classified as a financial liability. 
Where the instrument so classified takes the legal 
form of the company’s own shares, the amounts 
presented in these financial statements for called up 
share capital and share premium account exclude 
amounts in relation to those shares. 

 Financial liabilities are classified as measured 
at amortised cost or FVTPL. A financial liability 
is classified as at FVTPL if it is classified as held-
for-trading, it is a derivative or it is designated as 
such on initial recognition. Financial liabilities at 
FVTPL are measured at fair value and net gains 
and losses, including any interest expense, are 
recognised in profit or loss. Other financial liabilities 
are subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest method. Interest expense and 
foreign exchange gains and losses are recognised in 
profit or loss. Any gain or loss on derecognition is also 
recognised in profit or loss.

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Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

iii)  Impairment 
 The Group recognises loss allowances for expected 
credit losses (ECLs) on financial assets measured at 
amortised cost and debt investments measured at 
FVOCI. The Group measures loss allowances at an 
amount equal to lifetime ECL, except for other debt 
securities and bank balances for which credit risk 
(i.e. the risk of default occurring over the expected 
life of the financial instrument) has not increased 
significantly since initial recognition, which are 
measured as 12-month ECL. 

 The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified model of 
recognising lifetime expected credit losses for all 
trade receivables as these items do not have a 
significant financing component. 

Measurement of ECLs
 ECLs are a probability-weighted estimate of credit 
losses. Credit losses are measured as the present 
value of all cash shortfalls (i.e. the difference between 
the cash flows due to the entity in accordance with the 
contract and the cash flows that the company expects 
to receive). ECLs are discounted at the effective 
interest rate of the financial asset.

Write-offs
 The gross carrying amount of a financial asset is 
written off (either partially or in full) to the extent that 
there is no realistic prospect of recovery. 

(h)  Taxation

 The tax on the profit or loss for the year represents 
current and deferred tax.

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

 Deferred tax is provided in full, using the liability 
method, on temporary differences arising between the 
tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
value in the financial statements. The principal 
temporary differences arise from depreciation on 
plant and equipment and share options granted by 
the Group to employees and directors. Deferred 
tax assets and liabilities are measured on an 
undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected 
to apply when the related asset is realised or liability 
is settled, based on tax rates and laws enacted or 
substantively enacted at the balance sheet date. 
Where the deferred tax asset recognised in respect 
of share-based payments would give rise to a credit 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(h)  Taxation (continued)

in excess of the related accounting charge at the 
prevailing tax rate the excess is recognised directly 
in equity. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the 
extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will 
be available against which the temporary differences 
can be utilised.

(i)  Dividend distribution 

 Dividend distribution to the Company’s shareholders 
is recognised as a liability in the Group’s financial 
statements in the period in which the dividends are 
approved by the Company’s shareholders, or in the 
case of interim dividends, when paid.

(j)  Leases

 The Group has applied IFRS 16 Leases throughout the 
financial year. For any new contracts entered into the 
Group considers whether a contract is, or contains a 
lease. A lease is defined as ‘a contract, or part of a 
contract, that conveys the right to use an asset (the 
underlying asset) for a period of time in exchange for 
consideration’.

 To apply this definition the Group assesses whether 
the contract meets three key evaluations which are 
whether:
•  the contract contains an identified asset, which is 

either explicitly identified in the contract or implicitly 
specified by being identified at the time the asset is 
made available to the Group

•  the Group has the right to obtain substantially all 
of the economic benefits from use of the identified 
asset throughout the period of use, considering its 
rights within the defined scope of the contract
•  the Group has the right to direct the use of the 
identified asset throughout the period of use.

 The Group assesses whether it has the right to 
direct ‘how and for what purpose’ the asset is used 
throughout the period of use.

Measurement and recognition of leases as a lessee
 At lease commencement date, the Group recognises a 
right-of-use asset and a lease liability on the balance 
sheet. 

 The right-of-use asset is measured at cost, which 
is made up of the initial measurement of the lease 
liability, any initial direct costs incurred by the Group, 
an estimate of any costs to dismantle and remove the 
asset at the end of the lease, and any lease payments 
made in advance of the lease commencement date 
(net of any incentives received).

 The Group depreciates the right-of-use assets on a 

straight-line basis from the lease commencement date 
to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the right-
of-use asset or the end of the lease term. The Group 
also assesses the right-of-use asset for impairment 
when such indicators exist. 

 At the commencement date, the Group measures 
the lease liability at the present value of the lease 
payments unpaid at that date, discounted using the 
interest rate implicit in the lease if that rate is readily 
available or the Group’s incremental borrowing rate.

 Lease payments included in the measurement of 
the lease liability are made up of fixed payments 
(including in substance fixed), variable payments 
based on an index or rate, amounts expected to 
be payable under a residual value guarantee and 
payments arising from options reasonably certain to 
be exercised.

 Subsequent to initial measurement, the liability will 
be reduced for payments made and increased for 
interest. It is remeasured to reflect any reassessment 
or modification, or if there are changes in in-substance 
fixed payments.

 When the lease liability is remeasured, the 
corresponding adjustment is reflected in the right-of-
use asset, or profit and loss if the right-of-use asset is 
already reduced to zero.

 The Group has elected to account for short-term 
leases and leases of low-value assets using the 
practical expedients. Instead of recognising a right-of-
use asset and lease liability, the payments in relation 
to these are recognised as an expense in profit or loss 
on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

(k)  Employee benefits 

 Wages, salaries, social security contributions, paid 
annual leave, bonuses and non-monetary benefits are 
accrued in the year in which the associated services 
are rendered by the employees of the Group. Where 
the Group provides long term employee benefits, the 
cost is accrued to match the rendering of the services 
by the employees concerned.

(l)  Share based payments 

 The Group issues equity-settled share based 
payments to certain employees (including directors). 
Equity-settled share based payments are measured 
at fair value at the date of grant. The fair value 
determined at the grant date of the equity-settled 
share based payments is expensed on a straight 
line basis over the vesting period, together with a 
corresponding increase in equity, based upon the 
Group’s estimate of the shares that will eventually 
vest.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

65

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)
(l)  Share based payments (continued)

 Directors LTIPs have two conditions attached – 
Earnings per Share (non-market condition) and Total 
Shareholder Return (TSR – market condition). An 
assessment of the fair value is made when the options 
are granted and in respect of TSR/market conditions, 
no further adjustment is made regardless of whether 
the conditions are met or not.

 In respect of share options which are not linked to 
TSR, which is the vast majority of share options for 
staff including EMI options and discounted LTIP, 
the fair value of the option is measured using the 
Black-Scholes option pricing model. The expected 
life used in the model has been adjusted, based on 
management’s best estimate, for the effects of non-
transferability, exercise restrictions and behavioural 
considerations.

 Where an equity-settled transaction is cancelled, 
it is treated as if it had vested on the date of the 
cancellation, and any expense not yet recognised for 
the transaction is recognised immediately. However, 
if a new transaction is substituted for the cancelled 
transaction, and designated as a replacement 
transaction on the date that it was granted, the 
cancelled and new transactions are treated as if they 
were a modification of the original transaction as 
described in the previous paragraph.

(m)  Retirement benefits 

 Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes 
are charged to the income statement in the year to 
which they relate.

(n)  Exceptional items

 Items which are significant by virtue of their size or 
nature and/or which are considered non-recurring 
are classified as exceptional operating items. Such 
items, which include for example costs relating to 
acquisitions, contingent consideration credits, any 
goodwill impairments and profit/loss on disposal, are 
included within the appropriate consolidated income 
statement category but are highlighted separately. 
Exceptional operating items are excluded from 
the profit measures used by the board to monitor 
underlying performance.

(o)  Finance income

 Finance income comprises interest income on funds 
invested. Interest income is recognised as it accrues in 
profit or loss, using the effective interest method.

(p)  Cash and cash equivalents

 Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances 

66 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

and call deposits. The Group considers all highly 
liquid investments with original maturity dates of three 
months or less to be cash equivalents.

(q)  Operating segments

 The Group has divided its results into two segments 
being ‘Rail Technology and Services’ and ‘Data, 
Analytics, Consultancy & Events’. The level of 
disclosure of segmental and other information is 
determined by such assessment. Further details of the 
considerations made and the resulting disclosures are 
provided in note 6 to the financial statements.

(r) 

Inventories
 Inventories are measured at the lower of cost and net 
realisable value. Provision is made for slow moving 
and obsolete inventories on a line by line basis.

(s)  Foreign currencies

 The individual financial statements of each Group 
entity are presented in the currency of the primary 
economic environment in which the entity operates 
(its functional currency). For the purpose of the 
consolidated financial statements, the results and 
financial position of each Group entity are expressed 
in Pounds Sterling, which is the functional currency of 
the Company and the presentation currency for the 
consolidated financial statements.

 In preparing the financial statements of the individual 
entities, transactions in currencies other than the 
entity’s functional currency (foreign currencies) are 
recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the 
dates of the transactions. At each balance sheet date, 
monetary items denominated in foreign currencies 
are retranslated at the rates prevailing at the balance 
sheet date. Non-monetary items carried at fair value 
that are denominated in foreign currencies are 
retranslated at the rates prevailing at the date when 
the fair value was determined. Non-monetary items 
that are measured in terms of historical cost in a 
foreign currency are not retranslated.

 Exchange differences are recognised in profit or loss 
in the period in which they arise except for:

•  exchange differences that relate to assets under 
construction for future productive use, which are 
included in the cost of those assets when they are 
regarded as an adjustment to interest costs on 
foreign currency borrowings; and

•  exchange differences on monetary items receivable 
from or payable to a foreign operation for which 
settlement is neither planned nor likely to occur, 
which form part of the net investment in a foreign 
operation, and which are recognised in the foreign 
currency translation reserve and recognised in profit 
or loss on disposal of the net investment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

3  Significant accounting policies (continued)

4 

 Critical Accounting Estimates and 
Judgements

(t) 

 Translation of financial statements of 
foreign entities
 The assets and liabilities of foreign operations are 
translated using exchange rates at the balance sheet 
date. The components of shareholders’ equity are 
stated at historical value. An average exchange rate 
for the period is used to translate the results and cash 
flows of foreign operations.

 Exchange differences arising on translating the results 
and net assets of foreign operations are taken to the 
translation reserve in equity until the disposal of the 
investment. The gain or loss in the income statement 
on the disposal of foreign operations includes the 
release of the translation reserve relating to the 
operation that is being sold.

(u) 

Investments
 Investments are carried at fair value. A review takes 
place each year to check for indicators of impairment 
and where a subsequent remeasurement is required, 
this is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive 
Income

 Where it is deemed that the Group has a significant 
influence over the investment, then the investment will 
be accounted for as an associated undertaking under 
the equity method.

(v)  Equity accounted investees

 Associates are accounted for using the equity 
method (equity accounted investees) and are 
initially recognised at cost. The Group’s investment 
includes goodwill identified on acquisition, net of any 
accumulated impairment losses. The consolidated 
financial statements include the Group’s share of the 
total comprehensive income and equity movements 
of equity accounted investees, from the date that 
significant influence commences until the date that 
significant influence ceases. When the Group’s share 
of losses exceeds its interest in an equity accounted 
investee, the Group’s carrying amount is reduced to 
nil and recognition of further losses is discontinued 
except to the extent that the Group has incurred legal 
or constructive obligations or made payments on 
behalf of an investee.

(w)  Government grants

 Grant income is recognised when work has been 
performed to be able to support making a claim 
under the terms of the grant, which could be linked 
to performance obligations or other milestones. In 
relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
grant from the UK Government, this is recognised in 
the period to which the employee cost relates.

 The Group’s accounting policies are set out in Note 3. 
The Directors consider that the key judgements and 
estimates made in the preparation of the consolidated 
financial statements are:

Estimates
Intangible fixed assets
 On acquisition, the Company calculates the fair 
value of the net assets acquired. Due to the nature 
of the companies acquired, this often requires the 
recognition of additional intangible assets, specifically 
in relation to technology or customer relationships. 
The assessment of intangible assets acquired is 
necessarily judgemental and has been performed 
using a discounted cash flow model.  Significant 
judgement has been applied in assessing the future 
revenues to be achieved from that acquisition, the 
growth rate of that revenue, the associated costs 
and the discount factor to be applied.  In addition, 
management make estimates as to the useful 
economic life of the resulting intangible assets, based 
on their industry expertise. These estimates affect the 
amount of amortisation recognised in each financial 
year. Total intangible assets of £1.6m were recognised 
in respect of the acquisition of Flash Forward 
Consulting Limited completed in the year, and the net 
book value of all intangible assets is £51.7m at the end 
of the financial year.

 Estimation uncertainty exists due to the possibility 
that actual results may vary significantly from 
expectations in future years.  Annual reviews of the 
Group’s intangible fixed assets are carried out, using 
commercial judgements to determine whether there 
is any evidence that the useful economic life is no 
longer appropriate, or whether there are impairment 
indicators relating to specific intangible assets due to 
changes in circumstance during the financial year in 
question.

 Contingent consideration
 Within the share purchase agreements for the 
acquisitions of Compass Informatics Limited, Cash 
& Traffic Management Limited, Bellvedi Limited, 
iBlocks Limited and Tracsis Travel Compensation 
Services Limited and Delay Repay Sniper Limited, 
are various provisions relating to the payment of 
contingent consideration which are linked to financial 
performance post acquisition. There is a degree of 
estimation uncertainty in calculating the fair value 
of the contingent consideration as it is dependent 
on the future profit performance which results 
from assumptions about revenues and costs of the 
acquired businesses, and each of which is subject 
to a separate share purchase agreement and basis 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

67

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

4 

 Critical Accounting Estimates and 
Judgements (continued)

for calculating contingent consideration. Each Share 
Purchase Agreement contains different provisions 
for calculating contingent consideration, timeframes 
over which it is calculated and payable, and therefore 
sensitivities regarding the total amount to be paid. 
Included within the balance sheet is a total amount 
of £7.9m, which is management’s best estimates 
of the fair value of the amount payable in respect 
of all of the acquisitions which have a remaining 
contingent consideration liability. Further details 
on management’s assessment of this, including 
sensitivities, is provided in note 21 to these financial 
statements.

Judgements
Revenue Recognition
 Judgements have been taken in the application of 
IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customer”. 
Performance obligations have been identified 
based on the contracts in place with customers 
in the accounting period, and because certain 
contracts include multiple performance obligations. 
Consideration has subsequently been allocated to 
these performance obligations. A judgement has been 
taken by the Group as to whether the performance 
obligations and subsequent revenue recognition is 
at a point in time or over a period of time. The criteria 
under IFRS 15 to recognise revenue over time are 
judgemental and the Group assesses on a contract by 
contract basis whether these are met. This includes 
considering for individual contracts whether there is 
an enforceable right to payment for work completed 
to date. There are judgements taken in allocating 
revenue recognised over time utilising the input 
and output methods under IFRS 15. Additionally 
judgements are made as to whether the performance 
obligation has been met prior to revenue being 
recognised. 

Investments in Associates
 Judgements have been taken in assessing the 
accounting for the investment in Vivacity Labs Limited 
applying IAS 28 Investment in Associates and Joint 
Ventures (2011). In the financial year the Group holding 
in Vivacity Labs Limited fell below 20% to 17.6%, 
however the Group continued to maintain a Board 
seat and take an active role in the future development 
of Vivacity Labs Limited. Considering the criteria 
set out in IAS 28 it was determined that the Group 
continues to exert significant influence over Vivacity 
Labs Limited and the investment continues to be 
accounted for using the equity method. 

68 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

5 

IFRS 16 Leases
 Judgements have been taken in the application 
of IFRS 16 in assessing the existence of significant 
events (including the likelihood of break clauses 
being exercised by the Group) at the reporting 
date. Uncertainty existed at the end of the previous 
financial year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a 
judgement was made by management that break 
clauses on certain properties would be utilised when 
calculating the IFRS 16 right of use asset and lease 
liabilities. These judgements have been re-assessed 
at 31 July 2021 with the increased certainty and lease 
modifications recognised where appropriate. 

 Right of Use Assets of £2.2m and Lease Liabilities of 
£2.1m have been included in the Balance Sheet at 31 
July 2021.

 Acquisitions and investments in the 
current year
 On 26 February 2021 the Group acquired Flash 
Forward Consulting Limited (“FFC”), a UK based 
transport consultancy business that operates 
predominantly across the rail and bus sectors. It 
has a well established senior level network across 
the transport owning groups, local and central 
transport governing authorities and Network Rail and 
offers a range of strategic and practical technical 
consultancy services. The acquisition aligns with 
the strategic objective of the Group to expand the 
existing consultancy offering to customers across the 
transport industries. On completion of the acquisition 
FFC has been consolidated with the Group’s 
existing Rail Consulting and Passenger Analytics 
businesses to form a new business unit “Tracsis 
Transport Consultancy” under the existing Tracsis Rail 
Consultancy Limited statutory entity.

 The acquisition consideration comprised an initial 
cash payment of £1.1m to reflect the net current 
asset position of the business which was funded out 
of Tracsis cash reserves and the issue of shares in 
Tracsis to a value of £0.1m. Deferred consideration 
totalling £0.9m is payable in three equal instalments 
on the first, second and third anniversary of the 
acquisition. Additionally the sellers were allotted 
10,225 “A” shares in Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited 
which have an assessed fair value of £0.6m at the 
acquisition date. The “A” shares have full dividend 
and capital distribution rights attached but do not 
have any voting rights attached to them. “A” shares 
guarantee the holder a dividend each financial year.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

5 

 Acquisitions and investments in the 
current year (continued)

 The A ordinary shares are classified as financial 
liabilities due to the shares having no voting rights 
and the dividend rights attached to them. The 
financial liability is held at fair value with changes 
recognised in the profit and loss. The fair value of 
the A shares has been calculated with reference to 
discounted future cashflows from the Tracsis Transport 
Consultancy business unit which has been assessed 
as £590,000 at the acquisition date, which will be 
included at amortised cost going forward. The Group 
holds a call option to re-purchase the full amount 
of “A” shares for a pre-determined multiple of Profit 
before Tax from two years after the acquisition date, 
and which is accounted for at Fair Value through Profit 
and Loss (FVTPL).

 The business is cash generative and debt free. In the 
period from acquisition to 31 July 2021 Flash Forward 
Consulting contributed revenue to the Group of £0.4m 
and pre tax profit of £36,000, before amortisation of 
associated intangible assets and exceptional deal 
costs. If the acquisition had occurred on 1 August 
2020 management estimates that the contribution 
to Group revenue would have been £1.1m and Group 
pre tax profit for the period of £0.2m. The fair value 

of intangible assets will be assessed throughout the 
measurement period up to 12 months from the date of 
acquisition.

 Pre-acquisition carrying amounts were determined 
based on applicable IFRSs, immediately prior to 
the acquisition. The values of assets and liabilities 
recognised on acquisition are the estimated fair 
values. The gross contractual amounts receivable 
for acquired receivables is consistent with fair value. 
Acquired receivables are expected to be collected in 
full following acquisition.

 The goodwill that arose on acquisition can be 
attributed to a multitude of assets that cannot readily 
be separately identified for the purposes of fair value 
accounting. 
 The fair value adjustments arise in accordance with 
the requirements of IFRSs to recognise intangible 
assets acquired. In determining the fair values of 
intangible assets the Group has used discounted cash 
flow forecasts. The fair value of shares issued was 
based on market value at the date of issue. The Group 
incurred acquisition related costs of £0.1m which are 
included within administrative expenses.

 The acquisition had the following effect on the 
Group’s assets and liabilities on the acquisition date:

Intangible assets: Customer related intangibles

Tangible fixed assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Trade and other payables 

Income tax payable

Deferred tax liability

Net identified assets and liabilities

Goodwill on acquisition

Consideration paid in cash 

Consideration paid: fair value of shares issued

Present value of deferred consideration payable

Interest in Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited

Total consideration

Pre-acquisition 
carrying 
amount 

£000 

-

1

1,269

143

(157)

(49)

-

1,207

Fair value 
adjustments 

£000 

684

-

-

-

-

-

(130)

554

Recognised 
value on 
acquisition 

£000 

684

1

1,269

143

(157)

(49)

(130)

1,761

954

2,715

1,142

105

878

590

2,715

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

69

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

6  Revenue and Segmental analysis
a)  Revenue

Rail Technology & Services 

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events 

Total revenue 

2021

£000

26,424

23,813

50,237

2020

£000

23,441

24,557

47,998

As reported in the Group’s final results for the year ended 31 July 2020, the Group has been reorganised into a new 
segmental structure to better align with key areas of future growth. See note 6b for further details of this change. 
Comparative periods have been re-stated to reflect these segments.

Revenue can also be analysed as follows:

Software and related services 

Other 

Total

2021

£000

20,980

29,257

50,237

2020

£000

18,840

29,158

47,998

Revenue to come from contracts entered into with performance obligations not fulfilled or only partially fulfilled amounted to 
£15.1m as at 31 July 2021, of which £8.9m is expected to be recognised within one year, and £6.2m after one year (£12.5m as 
at 31 July 2020, with £9.9m to be recognised within one year and £2.6m after one year).

Further information on revenue is provided below:

Recognised over time

At a point in time

Rail Technology & Services

Recognised over time

At a point in time

Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events / Traffic & Data Services 

Recognised over time

At a point in time

Total revenue 

2021

£000

12,180

14,244

26,424

-

23,813

23,813

12,180

38,057

50,237

Major customers
Transactions with the Group’s largest customer represent 17% of the Group’s total revenues (2020: 21%).

Geographic split of revenue 
A geographical analysis of revenue is provided below:

2020

£000

10,544

15,051

25,595

-

22,403

22,403

10,544

37,454

47,998

2020

£000

41,529

5,885

242

57

285

2021

£000

43,965

5,449

338

189

296

50,237

47,998

United Kingdom

Ireland

Rest of Europe

North America

Rest of the World

Total

70 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

6  Revenue and Segmental analysis (continued)
b)  Segmental Analysis

 As reported in the Group’s final results for the year ended 31 July 2020, the Group has been reorganised into a new 
segmental structure in order to align with key areas of future growth. The Group has divided its results into two segments 
being ‘Rail Technology & Services’ and ‘Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events’. As a result of this change the results of 
one subsidiary entity are now presented within the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events segment which were previously 
presented in the Rail Technology & Services segment. Flash Forward Consulting Limited is included in ‘Data, Analytics, 
Consultancy & Events’. The comparatives included in these financial statements have been re-stated to reflect the new 
segmental structure.

 The Group has a wide range of products and services and products and services for the rail industry, such as software, 
hosting services, and remote condition monitoring, and these have been included within the Rail Technology & Services 
segment as they have similar customer bases (such as Train Operating Companies and Infrastructure Providers). Traffic 
data collection and event planning & traffic management, and data and analytics and consultancy offerings have similar 
economic characteristics and distribution methods and so have been included within the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & 
Events segment.

 In accordance with IFRS 8 ‘Operating Segments’, the Group has made the following considerations to arrive at the 
disclosure made in these financial statements. IFRS 8 requires consideration of the Chief Operating Decision Maker 
(“CODM”) within the Group. In line with the Group’s internal reporting framework and management structure, the key 
strategic and operating decisions are made by the Executive Directors, who review internal monthly management 
reports, budgets and forecast information as part of this. Accordingly, the Executive Directors are deemed to be the 
CODM.

 Operating segments have then been identified based on the internal reporting information and management structures 
within the Group. From such information it has been noted that the CODM reviews the business as two operating 
segments, receiving internal information on that basis. The management structure and allocation of key resources, such 
as operational and administrative resources, are arranged on a centralised basis.

   Reconciliations of reportable segment revenues, profit or loss, assets and liabilities and other material items
 Information regarding the results of the reportable segments is included below. Performance is measured based on 
segment profit before income tax, as included in the internal management reports that are reviewed by the Board of 
Directors. Segment profit is used to measure performance. There are no material inter-segment transactions, however, 
when they do occur, pricing between segments is determined on an arm’s length basis. Revenues disclosed below 
materially represent revenues to external customers.

Revenues

Total revenue for reportable segments

Consolidated revenue

Profit or loss

EBITDA for reportable segments

 Amortisation of intangible assets

 Depreciation

 Exceptional items (net)

 Other operating income

 Share-based payment charges

 Interest payable (net)

 Share of result of equity accounted investees

Consolidated profit before tax

2021

Rail 
Technology & 
Services

Data, 
Analytics, 
Consultancy 
& Events

Unallocated

£000 

£000 

£000 

26,424

26,424

23,813

23,813

9,059

-

(699)

-

-

-

(36)

-

3,919

-

(904)

-

-

-

(37)

-

8,324

2,978

-

-

-

(4,269)

-

(1,114)

440

(1,276)

(14)

(434)

(6,667)

Total

£000 

50,237

50,237

12,978

(4,269)

(1,603)

(1,114)

440

(1,276)

(87)

(434)

4,635

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

71

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
   
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

6  Revenue and Segmental analysis (continued)
b)  Segmental Analysis (continued)

Segmental Analysis prepared to 31 July 2020
 As noted previously the segmental structure has changed from the previous financial year end. As a result of this change 
the results of one subsidiary entity are now presented within the Data, Analytics, Consultancy & Events which were 
previously presented in the Rail Technology & Services segment. 

Presented below are the 2020 results split by this new segmental structure.

Revenues

Total revenue for reportable segments

Consolidated revenue

Profit or loss

EBITDA for reportable segments

 Amortisation of intangible assets

 Depreciation

 Exceptional items (net)

 Other operating income

 Share-based payment charges

 Interest receivable/(payable) net

 Share of result of equity accounted investees

Consolidated profit before tax

2020

Rail 
Technology & 
Services

Data, 
Analytics, 
Consultancy  
& Events

Unallocated

£000 

£000 

£000 

23,441

23,441

8,633

-

(589)

-

-

-

33

-

8,077

24,557

24,557

1,830

-

-

-

-

(3,599)

-

115

376

(1,050)

-

(309)

(4,467)

(1,293)

-

-

-

(36)

-

501

2021

 Rail 
Technology & 
Services

Data, 
Analytics, 
Consultancy 
& Events

Unallocated

£’000

£000

£000

Assets

Total assets for reportable segments (exc. cash)

6,515

8,669

-

Intangible assets and investments

Deferred tax assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Consolidated total assets

Liabilities

-

-

16,862

23,377

-

-

6,483

15,152

Total liabilities for reportable segments

(11,913)

(7,036)

52,400

551

2,042

54,993

(590)

(8,517)

(7,909)

(892)

Total

£000 

47,998

47,998

10,463

(3,599)

(1,882)

115

376

(1,050)

(3)

(309)

4,111

Total

£000

15,184

52,400

551

25,387

93,522

(19,539)

(8,517)

(7,909)

(892)

-

-

-

-

-

-

(11,913)

(7,036)

(17,908)

(36,857)

Deferred tax liabilities

Contingent consideration

Deferred Consideration

Consolidated total liabilities

72 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

6  Revenue and Segmental analysis (continued)
b)  Segmental Analysis (continued)

2020

 Rail 
Technology & 
Services

Data, 
Analytics, 
Consultancy  
& Events

Unallocated

£’000

£000

£000

Assets

Total assets for reportable segments (exc. cash)

5,070

5,323

-

Intangible assets and investments

Deferred tax assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Consolidated total assets

Liabilities

Total liabilities for reportable segments

Deferred tax

Contingent consideration

Consolidated total liabilities

Non current assets can be split as follows

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Investments – equity

Investments in equity accounted investees

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Investments – equity

Investments in equity accounted investees

-

-

11,103

16,173

-

-

4,827

10,150

(11,562)

(4,500)

-

-

-

-

(11,562)

(4,500)

UK

£000

3,240

48,116

50

605

UK

£000

3,482

50,398

50

1,039

55,465

877

1,990

58,332

-

(8,234)

(7,334)

(15,568)

2021

Ireland

£000

300

3,629

-

-

2020

Ireland

£000

99

3,978

-

-

Total

£000

10,393

55,465

877

17,920

84,655

(16,062)

(8,234)

(7,334)

(31,630)

Total

£000

3,540

51,745

50

605

Total

£000

3,581

54,376

50

1,039

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

73

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

7   Employees and personnel costs 

Staff costs:

Wages and salaries

Social security contributions

Contributions to defined contribution plans

Equity-settled share based payment transactions

Split:

Cost of Sales

Administrative expenses

Total

Average number of permanent staff

Average number of casual staff (full time equivalents)

2021

£000

21,834

2,419

804

1,276

26,333

7,031

19,302

26,333

434

124

558

2020

£000

21,470

2,223

736

1,050

25,479

9,197

16,282

25,479

449

308

757

The staff number calculation above takes account of the Group’s permanent members of staff, and also takes account of 
a large number of casual employees that are used, and includes a ‘full time equivalent’ number in respect of them.

Included within the staff costs are claims made under the furlough scheme totalling £884,000 (2020: £2,369,000).

The directors’ remuneration and share options are detailed within the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 38 to 40. 
Total directors’ remuneration, including bonus and pension contributions was £795,000 (2020: £634,000). The aggregate 
remuneration of the highest paid director was £392,000 (2020: £300,000). The highest paid director did not exercise any 
share options during the year. No directors (2020: nil) exercised share options during the year. Two directors (2020: one) 
currently participate in the long term incentive plan. One director (2020: one) receives employer pension contributions 
into a personal pension scheme. Directors of the Company control 0.02% of the voting shares of the company (2020: 
0.6%). Details of other key management personnel are disclosed in note 27.

8  Share based payments

The Group has various share option schemes for its employees. 

EMI Share options
Options are exercisable at a price agreed at the date of grant. The vesting period is usually between one and five years. 
The exercise of options is dependent upon eligible employees meeting performance criteria. The options are settled in 
equity once exercised. If the options remain unexercised after a period of 10 years from the date of grant, the options 
expire. Options are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group before the options vest. This scheme is no longer open to 
new participants.

Discounted EMI Share options
In August 2012, the Group implemented a new EMI share option scheme, resulting in discounted EMI share options being 
issued to staff instead of cash bonuses, provided certain predetermined performance criteria were met for both the 
overall Group, and the part of the business the employee directly works in. This scheme was made available to all staff. 
Staff were also able to exchange an element of annual salary in return for share options. The vesting period is three 
years. The options are settled in equity once exercised. If the options remain unexercised after a period of 10 years from 
the date of grant, the options expire. Options are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group before the options vest. This 
scheme is no longer open to new participants.

74 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

8  Share based payments (continued)

Unapproved Share options
 In August 2015, the Group implemented a revised share option scheme, resulting in discounted unapproved share options 
being issued to staff instead of cash bonuses, provided certain predetermined performance criteria were met for both the 
overall Group, and the part of the business the employee directly works in. This scheme was made available to all UK-
based staff except for Directors. Staff are also able to exchange an element of annual salary in return for share options. 
The vesting period is three and a half years. The options are settled in equity once exercised. If the options remain 
unexercised after a period of 10 years from the date of grant, the options expire. Options are forfeited if the employee 
leaves the Group before the options vest. Employees are liable for settling income tax and national insurance liabilities 
arising from the exercise of options.

Directors’ scheme
 Directors were not entitled to take part in the 2015 to 2020 staff schemes and a revised scheme was implemented by the 
Remuneration Committee. Details of this scheme are provided in the Directors Remuneration Report.

Details of the schemes are given below:

Grant date
Staff schemes

Employees
entitled

Number 
of options 

Performance
conditions

Exercise
price (p)

Earliest
exercise
date

Expiry
date

02/08/2012

02/08/2012

08/01/2013

28/01/2013

01/08/2013

01/08/2013

01/08/2014

01/08/2015

25/09/2015

01/12/2015

01/08/2016

01/08/2017

01/08/2018

16/01/2019

01/05/2019

01/08/2019

01/08/2020

Directors’ schemes (5) 

01/05/2019

02/12/2019

29/12/2020

01/02/2021

05/02/2021

Outstanding

3

2

1

1

2

2

11

26

10

5

30

25

63

11

7

66

105

1

1

1

1

1

5,867

Time served

0.40

02/08/2013 (1)

02/08/2022

20,000

Time served

123.0

02/02/2013 (2)

02/08/2022

2,500

Time served

159.0

08/07/2013 (2)

08/01/2023

65,000

Time served

155.5

28/07/2013 (2)

28/01/2023

4,501

Time served

162.5

01/02/2014 (2)

01/08/2023

1,616

Time served

34,796

Time served

46,167

Time served

0.40

0.40

0.40

01/08/2014 (1)

01/08/2023

01/08/2015 (1)

01/08/2024

01/08/2016 (3)

01/08/2025

24,600

Time served

0.40

25/09/2016 (3)

25/09/2025

41,188

Time served

112,641

Time served

54,334

Time served

103,884

Time served

56,743

Time served

0.40

0.40

0.40

0.40

0.40

01/12/2016 (3)

01/12/2025

01/08/2017 (3)

01/08/2026

01/08/2018 (3)

01/08/2027

01/08/2019 (3)

01/08/2028

16/01/2020 (3)

16/01/2029

40,075

Time served

0.40

01/05/2023 (4) 

01/05/2029

105,963

Time served

0.40 01/08/2020 (3)

01/08/2029

212,477

Time served

0.40

01/08/2021 (3)

01/02/2030

21,417

Time served

38,961

EPS and TSR

40,891

EPS and TSR

7,692

Time served

13,482

EPS and TSR

1,054,795

0.40

0.40

0.40

0.40

0.40

04/02/2022

04/02/2029

02/12/2022

02/12/2029

29/12/2023

29/12/2030

01/02/2024

01/02/2031

05/02/2024

05/02/2031

(1)  Vesting dates for these options are linked to time served, and were awarded based on certain performance conditions being met, and in exchange for an 

annual cash bonus. The full vesting is achieved over a 3 year period, with various forfeit/reductions if exercise takes place sooner

(2)  Vesting dates for these options are: 10% vest six months after grant date, 15% vest 12 months after grant date, 15% vest 18 months after grant date, 15% 

vest 24 months after grant date, 20% vest 30 months after grant date, 25% vest 36 months after grant date.

(3)  Vesting dates for these options are linked to time served, and were awarded based on certain performance conditions being met, and in exchange for an 

annual cash bonus. The full vesting is achieved over a 3.5 year period, with various forfeit/reductions if exercise takes place sooner

(4)  Vesting of these options are linked to time served and also the financial performance of Bellvedi Limited which was acquired in 2019

(5) Details of EPS and TSR are disclosed in the Directors remuneration report

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

75

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

8  Share based payments (continued)

The number and weighted average exercise price of share options are as follows:

Outstanding at 1 August 

Granted

Lapsed 

Exercised

Outstanding at 31 July

Exercisable at 31 July

2021

Weighted

Average

Exercise

Price

17.0p

0.4p

0.4p

14.9p

13.2p

25.5p

2021 

Number 

978,469

275,668

(5,912)

(193,430)

1,054,795

543,821

2020

Weighted

Average

Exercise

Price

18.9p

0.4p

0.4p

16.4p

17.0p

27.4p

2020 

Number 

1,035,892

155,468

(31,847)

(181,044)

978,469

608,938

Share options were exercised at numerous points in the year, and the average share price for the year ended 31 July 
2021 was 695p (2020: 634p).

The share options outstanding at the end of the year have a weighted average remaining contractual life of 6.5 years 
(2020: 6.4 years).

Fair value assumptions of share based payment charges
The estimate of the fair value of share based awards is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The 
following assumptions were used on options granted in the year:

Options granted on

Share price at date of grant

Exercise price

Vesting period (years)

Expected volatility

Option life (years)

Expected life (years)

Risk-free rate

Expected dividends expressed as a dividend yield

01/08/2020

29/12/2020

01/02/2021

05/02/2021

575.0p

630.0p

650.0p

640.0p

0.4p

3.5

30%

10

10

3.5%

-

0.4p

3.0

30%

10

10

3.5%

-

0.4p

3.0

30%

10

10

3.5%

-

0.4p

3.0

30%

10

10

3.5%

-

The expected volatility is based on the historic volatility of the Company’s share price. An assessment of the likelihood of 
market conditions being achieved is made at the time that the options are granted. The fair value of the options granted 
in the year was 587p per share.

76 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

8  Share based payments (continued)

Charge to the income statement

Share based payment charges

9   Operating profit 
9.1   Operating profit is stated after charging/(crediting):

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment - owned

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment – leased (including right of use assets)

Total depreciation of property, plant and equipment (note 14)

Total amortisation (note 15)

Profit on disposal of plant and equipment

Operating lease rentals: Land and buildings *

Operating lease rentals: Motor Vehicles*

Operating lease rentals: Plant & machinery *

Total operating lease rentals

2021

£000

1,276

2020

£000

1,050

2021

£000

560

1,043

1,603

4,269

(46)

53

50

1

104

2020

£000

870

1,012

1,882

3,599

(12)

40

-

1

41

Research and development expenditure expensed as incurred

3,383

3,048

Grants received:

Government grants

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme **

(625)

(884)

(322)

(2,369)

*   Operating lease rentals in 2021 and 2020 relate to items for which the recognition and measurement exemptions have been taken available within 

IFRS 16 

** Of the total amount of £0.9m (2020: £2.4m) received, £nil (2020: £1.7m) was paid directly to casual labour leaving a balance of £0.9m (2020: £0.7m) 

which is deemed to be true support to the Income Statement regarding permanent employees.

9.2  Auditor’s remuneration:

Audit of these financial statements 

Amounts receivable by auditors and their associates in respect of:

- Audit of financial statements of subsidiaries pursuant to legislation

- Other services

2021

£000

72

153

5

2020

£000

65

135

-

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

77

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

9   Operating profit (continued) 

9.3  Exceptional items:

The Group incurred a number of exceptional items in 2021 and 2020 which are analysed as follows:

Impairment losses

Non cash:

Goodwill and investment impairment

Total impairment losses

Other

Non cash:

Contingent consideration fair value adjustment

Unwind of discounting of contingent consideration

Cash:

Legal and professional fees in respect of acquisitions 

Total other

Total exceptional items

Split

Non cash

Cash

Total

2021

£000

-

-

327

658

129

1,114

1,114

2021

£000

985

129

1,114

2020

£000

1,155

1,155

(1,475)

-

205

(1,270)

(115)

2020

£000

(320)

205

(115)

2021
During 2021 the Group acquired Flash Forward Consulting Limited and incurred exceptional deal related costs totalling 
£129,000 in relation to this. A net exceptional charge of £327,000 has also been recognised in the year to increase the 
assessed fair value of the contingent consideration based on future expectations of performance of the entities. The 
increase in the fair value of contingent consideration payable principally reflects an increased pipeline of software 
contract opportunities, partly offset by some extension of procurement cycles from certain customers. Unwind of 
discounting of contingent consideration totalling £0.7m was completed in the year. Contingent consideration at 31 July 
2021 has been discounted at 12% (31 July 2020: 12%). A breakdown of the remaining fair value of contingent consideration 
by acquisition is included in note 21. These costs are deemed to be exceptional items due to the size and volatility of the 
items which can vary significantly from year to year.

2020
In the previous financial year the Group incurred £205,000 of costs relating to the acquisition of iBlocks Limited. In 
addition, the Group reviewed the carrying value of the investment in Citi Logik Limited and concluded it was impaired, 
and as such a loss of £300,000 was recognised. A further impairment charge of £855,000 was also made against the 
remaining intangible assets of Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited. During the year, an exceptional credit of 
£1,475,000 was recognised due to a change in accounting estimate arising from the review of the assumptions of the 
fair value of the contingent consideration relating to recent acquisitions. The overall level of contingent consideration 
payable was assessed as being lower than in previous years due to reduced profit expectations and also using a higher 
discount rate, given the impact of Covid-19. 

9.4  Other operating income:

The Group does not qualify as a SME for R&D purposes and as such is governed by the large company ‘above the line’ 
credit in respect of research and development costs for Corporation Tax purposes. This amounted to £440,000 in 2021 
(2020: £376,000).

78 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

10   Finance income

Interest received on bank deposits

Interest on Lease receivable

11   Finance expense

Interest on Lease liabilities

Net foreign exchange loss

Unwind of discount of Deferred Consideration

Total finance expense

12   Taxation 

Recognised in the income statement

Current tax expense 

Current year

Adjustment in respect of prior periods

Total current tax 

Deferred tax

Current year 

Origination and reversal of temporary differences

Rate changes

Adjustment in respect of prior periods

Total deferred tax

Total tax in income statement

Reconciliation of the effective tax rate

Profit before tax for the period

Expected tax charge based on the standard rate of corporation tax  

in the UK of 19.0% (2020: 19.0%)

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes

Rate changes

Adjustments in respect of previous years

Overseas tax not at 19%

Trading losses carried forward

Other movements

Total tax expense

2021 

£000 

4,635

881

(251)

1,673

(100)

(79)

77

78

2,279

2021 

% 

100.0

19.0

(5.4)

36.1

(2.2)

(1.7)

1.7

1.7

49.2

2021

£000

7

4

11

2021

£000

74

10

14

98

2021

£000

1,850

(48)

1,802

(1,144)

1,673

(52)

477

2,279

2020 

£000 

4,111

781

17

557

20

(82)

-

(59)

1,234

2020

£000

73

3

76

2020

£000

73

6

-

79

2020

£000

1,484

(81)

1,403

(827)

557

101

(169)

1,234

2020 

% 

100.0

19.0

0.4

13.5

0.5

(2.0)

-

(1.4)

30.0

A UK corporation rate of 19% (effective 1 April 2020) was substantively enacted on 17 March 2020, reversing the previously 
enacted reduction in the rate from 19% to 17%. An increase in the UK corporation rate from 19% to 25% (effective 1 April 2023) was 
substantively enacted on 24 May 2021. This will increase the Group’s future current tax charge accordingly. The net deferred tax 
liability has been calculated at the rate that it is anticipated to unwind either 19% or 25% (2020: 19%). The group has carried forward 
tax losses at the year end totalling £0.9m (2020: £1.2m) which are anticipated to be offset against future taxable profits. There are 
no unrecognised tax losses carried forward.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

79

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

13  Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share
 The calculation of basic earnings per share at 31 July 2021 was based on the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 
of £2,356,000 (2020: £2,877,000) and a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue of 29,229,000 (2020: 
28,919,000), calculated as follows:

 Weighted average number of ordinary shares 
In thousands of shares

Issued ordinary shares at 1 August

Effect of shares issued related to business combinations

Effect of shares issued for cash

Weighted average number of shares at 31 July

2021

29,122

7

100

2020

28,749

76

94

29,229

28,919

Diluted earnings per share
The calculation of diluted earnings per share at 31 July 2021 was based on profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 
of £2,356,000 (2020: £2,877,000) and a weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue after adjustment for the 
effects of all dilutive potential ordinary shares of 30,131,000 (2020: 29,740,000):

Adjusted EPS
In addition, Adjusted Profit EPS is shown below on the grounds that it is a common metric used by the market in 
monitoring similar businesses. These figures are relevant to the Group and are provided to provide a comparison to 
similar businesses and are metrics used by Equities Analysts who cover the Group. The largest components of the 
adjusting items, being amortisation, and share based payment charges are deemed to be ‘non cash’ in nature, and 
therefore excluded in order to assist with the understanding of underlying trading. A reconciliation of this figure is 
provided below. The Group has also presented an ‘Adjusted Profit’ metric as detailed in note 31, with the key difference 
between the numbers presented below, and those disclosed in note 31 being the income tax charge.

Profit after tax

Amortisation of intangible assets

Share-based payment charges

Exceptional items (net)

Other operating income

Tax impact of adjusting items

Adjusted profit for EPS purposes

Weighted average number of ordinary shares 
In thousands of shares

For the purposes of calculating Basic earnings per share

Adjustment for the effects of all dilutive potential ordinary shares

For the purposes of calculating Dilutive earnings per share

Basic adjusted earnings per share

Diluted adjusted earnings per share

80 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

2021

£’000

2,356

4,269

1,276

1,114

(440)

746

9,321

29,229

902

30,131

31.89p

30.93p

2020

£’000

2,877

3,599

1,050

(115)

(376)

(55)

6,980

28,919

821

29,740

24.14p

23.47p

 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

14   Property, plant and equipment

Cost

At 1 August 2019

Arising on initial adoption of IFRS 16

Additions

Arising on acquisition

Disposals

At 31 July 2020

Lease Modifications

Additions

Arising on acquisition

Disposals

Exchange adjustment

At 31 July 2021

Depreciation

At 1 August 2019

Charge for the year 

Disposals

At 31 July 2020

Charge for the year 

Disposals

Exchange adjustment

At 31 July 2021

Net book value

At 1 August 2019

At 31 July 2020

At 31 July 2021

Land &
Buildings

£000

Motor
Vehicles

£000

Plant, 
machinery,
fixtures
& fittings

Computer
equipment

£000

£000

400

1,206

443

459

-

2,508

644

356

-

-

-

3,508

105

736

-

841

814

-

-

1,655

295

1,667

1,853

1,458

1,953

2,306

-

196

-

(195)

1,459

-

233

-

(426)

-

1,266

485

420

(143)

762

251

(400)

-

613

973

697

653

-

155

2

(201)

1,909

-

194

1

(1)

(6)

96

251

31

(280)

2,404

-

176

-

(39)

-

2,097

2,541

1,517

241

(200)

1,558

223

-

(6)

1,332

485

(279)

1,538

315

(24)

-

1,775

1,829

436

351

322

974

866

712

Total

£000

6,117

1,302

1,045

492

(676)

8,280

644

959

1

(466)

(6)

9,412

3,439

1,882

(622)

4,699

1,603

(424)

(6)

5,872

2,678

3,581

3,540

Additional information on Right of Use Assets included in the total property, plant and equipment balance is provided 
below.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

81

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

14   Property, plant and equipment (continued)

Cost

At 1 August 2020

Lease Modifications

Additions

Disposals

Transfer to ownership

At 31 July 2021

Depreciation

At 1 August 2020

Charge for the year 

Disposals

Transfer to ownership

At 31 July 2021

Net book value

At 31 July 2020

At 31 July 2021

Land &
Buildings

£000

Plant & 
 Machinery

Total
Right of Use 
asset

£000

£000

2,109

644

356

-

-

3,109

714

798

-

-

1,512

1,395

1,597

1,054

-

203

(114)

(32)

1,111

428

245

(104)

(20)

549

626

562

3,163

644

559

(114)

(32)

4,220

1,142

1,043

(104)

(20)

2,061

2,021

2,159

Lease modifications have arisen due to the re-assessment of the lease term in the financial year following decisions in 
the year to renew five leases at the break clause date.

15   Intangible assets

Cost

At 1 August 2019

Arising on acquisition

At 31 July 2020

Arising on acquisition

At 31 July 2021

Amortisation and impairment

At 1 August 2019

Impairment charge

Charge for the year

At 31 July 2020

Charge for the year

At 31 July 2021

Carrying amounts

At 1 August 2019

At 31 July 2020

At 31 July 2021

82 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Customer 
related
intangibles

Technology 
related
intangibles

£000

£000

Goodwill 

£000 

4,741

7,109

11,850

954

12,804

623

-

-

623

-

623

4,118

11,227

12,181

32,135

3,990

36,125

684

36,809

6,448

386

2,278

9,112

2,263

11,375

25,687

27,013

25,434

11,498

8,919

20,417

-

20,417

2,491

469

1,321

4,281

2,006

6,287

9,007

16,136

14,130

Total 

£000 

48,374

20,018

68,392

1,638

70,030

9,562

855

3,599

14,016

4,269

18,285

38,812

54,376

51,745

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

15   Intangible assets (continued)

The following carrying values of intangible assets arising from the acquisitions that the Group has completed in the 
current and previous years are analysed into the following cash generating units:

Goodwill

Customer related 
intangibles

Technology related
intangibles

Rail Operations(1)

Bellvedi Limited

MPEC Technology Limited

Ontrac Technology Limited

iBlocks Limited

2021

£000

 495 

 40 

 269

 602 

 7,109 

2020

£000

 495 

 40 

269

 602 

 7,109 

Tracsis Travel Compensation Services 

Limited & Delay Repay Sniper Limited

- 

- 

Tracsis Traffic Data Limited 

Event Traffic Management(2)

Compass Informatics Limited

Transport Consultancy(3)

 390 

 587 

 1,021 

 1,668 

12,181

 390 

 587 

 1,021 

 714 

11,227

2021

£000

 2,094 

 3,912 

628

 9,671 

 3,487 

 616 

 291 

 1,923 

 1,725 

 1,087 

25,434

2020

£000

 2,263 

 4,135 

 691

 10,346 

 3,753 

 678 

 462 

 2,244 

 1,956 

 485 

27,013

2021

£000

 463 

 3,682 

- 

 606 

 7,841 

 656 

- 

- 

 882 

- 

14,130

2020

£000

 629 

 4,148 

56

 746 

 8,733 

 823 

- 

- 

 1,001 

- 

16,136

(1)  Comprises Safety Information Systems Limited and Datasys Integration Limited 

(2)  Comprises SEP Limited and Cash & Traffic Management Limited

(3)  Comprises Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited, Tracsis Passenger Analytics Limited and Flash Forward Consulting Limited

The amortisation charge is recognised in the following line items in the income statement:

Administrative expenses

2021

£000

4,269

2020

£000

3,599

Customer related intangibles and technology related intangibles are amortised over their useful life, which is the 
period during which they are expected to generate revenue. Customer related intangibles have between 2 and 17 
years left to amortise. Technology related intangibles have between 3 and 9 years remaining to amortise.

The majority of technology related intangibles relates to six brands of software that have been acquired in past 
acquisitions. These are named in the annual report and accounts.

In accordance with the requirements of IAS36 “Impairment of Assets”, goodwill is allocated to the Group’s cash 
generating units (CGUs) which are expected to benefit from the combination. CGUs are not larger than the operating 
segments of the Group. Each CGU is assessed for impairment annually or whenever there is a specific indicator of 
impairment.

As part of the annual impairment test review, the carrying value of goodwill has been assessed with reference to 
value in use over a projected period of three years together with a terminal value. This reflects the projected cash 
flows of the CGU based on the actual operating results, the most recent Board approved Budget and management 
projections.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

83

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

15   Intangible assets (continued)

Long term growth rate

Discount rate

2021

2.0%

12%

2020

1.0%

12%

The key assumptions on which the value in use calculations are based relate to business performance over the next 
three years, long-term growth rates beyond 2024 and the discount rates applied. The key judgements are the level 
of revenue and margins anticipated and the proportion of operating profit converted into cash flow in each year. 
Forecasts are based on past experience and take into account current and future market conditions and opportunities. 

Sensitivities of reasonably possible changes have been considered for each CGU as below, resulting in the carrying 
amount not exceeding the recoverable amount for each CGU:

•  a 1% point increase in the discount rate
•  a 1% point reduction in the long term growth rate

The discount rate applied would need to increase by more than 2% points before the carrying amount would not 
exceed the recoverable amount in any CGU.
The CGU that is most sensitive to changes in key assumption is iBlocks. Were the discount rate to increase by 2.5% 
points, this would lead to an impairment of £0.7m. For this same CGU cash flows would need to reduce by more 
than 18% from those forecast before its carrying amount would exceed the recoverable amount Management do not 
consider either scenario to be reasonably possible.

16   Investments

 The Group has made investments in Vivacity Labs Limited, Citi Logik Limited and Nutshell Software Limited. 
The carrying value of the investments is detailed below:

Investments- Equity

Citi Logik Limited

Investments in equity accounted investees

Nutshell Software Limited

Vivacity Labs Limited

% held

At 31 July 2021

14.9%

23.4%

17.6%

2021

£000

50

57

548

655

2020

£000

50

217

822

1,089

In assessing the fair value of the investment in Citi Logik in the previous financial year, the Directors reduced the 
balance by £300,000.

During the financial year, Vivacity Labs Limited secured additional funding through the issue of A preferred shares. 
The Group did not subscribe for any of these newly issued preferred shares. This reduced the overall holding of the 
Group in Vivacity Labs Limited to 17.6% at the year end date. The Group continues to account for the investment as an 
associate despite the holding falling below 20% of the overall issued share capital as the Group has demonstrated that 
it continues to exert significant influence over Vivacity Labs Limited using the criteria set out in IAS 28 including, but not 
limited, to the maintenance of a Board seat.

Nutshell Software Limited continues to be accounted for as an equity accounted investee by virtue of the fact that the 
Group has a shareholding exceeding 20% of the issued share capital and continues to have significant influence over 
Nutshell Software Limited.

84 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

16   Investments (continued)

The Group’s share of the loss of Nutshell Software Limited and Vivacity Labs Limited can be summarised as follows:

Nutshell Software Limited 

Vivacity Labs Limited

Summary financial information in respect of each Company is as follows:

2021

£000

(160)

(274)

(434)

2020

£000

(144)

(165)

(309)

Prior years

£000

(139)

(313)

(452)

Total

£000

(443)

(752)

(1,195)

Name

Nutshell Software Limited

Vivacity Labs Limited

17   Inventories

Raw materials & work in progress

Finished goods

Date of last signed 
accounts

Revenue

Loss after tax

Net assets/
(liabilities)

30 September 2020

31 December 2020

£000

242

4,634

£000

(684)

(1,447)

2021

£000

83

298

381

£000

(1,661)

4,705

2020

£000

96

334

430

The value of inventories expensed in the period in cost of sales was £1,585,000 (2020: £1,352,000). Provision is made 
for slow moving and obsolete stock on a line by line basis. The value of any write downs/reversals in the current and 
previous period was not material. 

18  Lease Liabilities 

Due within one year

Due after more than one year:

 Between one and two years

 Between two and five years

Total due after more than one year

Total obligation

A reconciliation of the obligation is stated below.

At 1 August

Arising on adoption of IFRS 16

Lease modifications

New contracts

Arising on acquisition

Total cash outflow

Interest

At 31 July

2021

£000

928

754

377

1,131

2,059

2021

£000

2,114

-

644

561

-

(1,334)

74

2,059

2020

£000

1,128

612

374

986

2,114

2020

£000

562

1,386

-

796

459

(1,089)

-

2,114

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

85

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

18  Lease Liabilities (continued)

For new leases entered into in the year, the discount rate has been calculated as the incremental borrowing rate 
available to the Group at the date of the lease commencement. The range of incremental borrowing rates utilised to 
value the leases existing at the end of the year is 2.6% to 2.7% (2020: 2.6% to 2.7%)

Future minimum lease payments at 31 July 2021 were as follows:

2021

2020

Carrying 
amount

Contractual 
cash flows

Less than one 
year

One to Two 
years

Two to Five 
years

£000

2,059

2,114

£000

2,105

2,190

£000

985

1,172

£000

632

633

£000

488

385

Lease Payments not recognised as a liability
The Group has elected not to recognise a lease liability for short term leases (leases with an expected term of 12 months 
or less) or for leases of low value assets. Payments made under such leases are expensed on a straight line basis. 

The expense relating to payments not included in the measurement of the lease liability is as follows:

Short-term leases

Leases of low value assets

Total

19   Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables

Other receivables and prepayments

Lease receivable

2021

£000

103

1

104

2021

£000

8,874

2,290

99

11,263

2020

£000

40

1

41

2020

£000

4,387

1,868

127

6,382

Although the Group has a large number of customers, there is a concentration of risk in that the Group derives a large 
amount of revenue from one major customer as detailed in note 6 (2021: 17% of revenue, 2020: 21% of revenue), though 
there are no concerns over the credit worthiness of the customer. In other cases, where one customer represents a 
significant proportion of overall revenue, the relationship consists of a large number of small contracts which are not 
considered to be interdependent. 

The fair values of trade and other receivables are approximately the same as their book values.

The expected credit loss for Group trade receivables is immaterial. 

The other classes within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets. 

86 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

20  Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Other tax and social security

Contract liabilities

Accruals and other payables

Financial liability

2021

£000

1,173

2,644

8,085

4,515

590

17,007

2020

£000

883

1,681

7,809

3,136

-

13,509

The Directors consider that the carrying amounts of trade payables approximates to their fair value.
Contract liabilities relates to consideration received in advance of the completion of the associated performance 
obligation. Revenue recognised in the reporting period that was included in the contract liability balance at beginning of 
the year totalled £6,079,000 (2020: £6,789,000).

Financial liabilities are valued at fair value through the profit and loss (FVTPL). The instrument has arisen on the 
acquisition of Flash Forward Consulting Limited (see note 5 for further detail) and is in relation to A shares issued in 
Tracsis Rail Consultancy, which have no voting rights attached to them, and guarantee the holder a dividend each 
financial year. There is a call option held by the Group which allows for the re-purchase of the full amount of A shares at 
a pre-determined multiple of Profit before Tax from two years after the acquisition date.

21   Contingent and deferred consideration

a. Contingent consideration

During the previous financial year, the Group acquired iBlocks Limited. Under the share purchase agreement in place 
for this acquisition, contingent consideration is payable which is linked to the profitability of the acquired business for a 
three year period post acquisition and the signing of certain contracts currently under negotiation. The maximum amount 
payable is £8.5m, and the fair value of the amount payable was assessed at £2.8m at the year end date.
In 2019, the Group acquired Cash & Traffic Management Limited, Compass Informatics Limited and Bellvedi Limited. 
Under the share purchase agreements for each of these companies, contingent consideration is payable which is 
linked to the profitability of the acquired businesses over a two to four year period post acquisition. The maximum 
amount payable is £750,000 for Cash & Traffic Management Limited, €2,000,000 for Compass Informatics Limited and 
£7,900,000 for Bellvedi Limited. The fair value of the amount payable was assessed at £253,000 for Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited, £462,000 for Compass Informatics Limited and £4,357,000 for Bellvedi Limited.
During the financial year, contingent consideration of £410,000 was paid in respect of the Compass Informatics 
Limited acquisition which was made in year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £332,000), £nil in respect of the Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited acquisition which was made in year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £491,000), £nil in respect of the 
Bellvedi Limited acquisition which was made in the year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £57,000), and £nil (2020: £348,000) 
in respect of the acquisition of Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited and Delay Repay Sniper Limited which was 
made in the year ended 31 July 2018.

As detailed in note 9.3, a net exceptional charge of £327,000 was recognised, following a review of the assumptions of 
the fair value of the contingent consideration as at 31 July 2021. At the balance sheet date, the Directors assessed the fair 
value of the remaining amounts payable which were deemed to be as follows

Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited & Delay Repay Sniper Limited

Cash & Travel Management Limited

Compass Informatics Limited

Bellvedi Limited

iBlocks Limited

2021

£000

-

253

462

4,357

2,837

7,909

2020

£000

88

112

681

3,193

3,260

7,334

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

87

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

21   Contingent and deferred consideration (continued)

The Group has made numerous acquisitions over the past few years and carries contingent consideration payable in 
respect of them, which is considered to be a ‘Level 3 financial liability’ as defined by IFRS 13. These are carried at fair 
value, which is based on the estimated amounts payable based on the provisions of the Share Purchase Agreements 
which specify the specific arrangements and calculations relating to each acquisition. This involves assumptions about 
future profit forecasts, which results from assumptions about revenues and costs, and is discounted back to the present 
value using an appropriate discount rate and an estimate of when it is expected to be payable. A range of outcomes is 
considered, and a probability/likelihood weighting is applied to each of them in order to produce a weighted assessment 
of the amount payable.

The Group has considered multiple profit related scenarios in estimating the fair value of contingent consideration 
payable in the future. In all cases, contingent consideration payable could range from zero to the maximum amount 
included in the Share Purchase Agreements as detailed in this note and also note 5. Each Share Purchase Agreement 
contains different provisions for calculating contingent consideration, timeframes over which it is calculated and payable, 
and therefore sensitivities regarding the total amount to be paid. Contingent consideration in respect of Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited was paid in October 2021 totalling £0.3m. In respect of Compass Informatics Limited, Bellvedi 
Limited and iBlocks Limited a change in the estimated profit of 10% would result in a change in the fair value of contingent 
consideration of £1.1m.

The movement on contingent consideration can be summarised as follows:

At the start of the year

Arising on acquisition (note 5)

Cash payment

Fair value adjustment to Statement of Comprehensive Income 

Unwind of discounting

At the end of the year

The ageing profile of the remaining liabilities can be summarised as follows:

Payable in less than one year

Payable in more than one year 

Total

b. Deferred consideration

2021

£000

7,334

-

(410)

327

658

7,909

2021

£000

4,689

3,220

7,909

2020

£000

6,183

3,854

(1,228)

(1,475)

-

7,334

2020

£000

1,747

5,587

7,334

The Group acquired Flash Forward Consulting Limited on 26 February 2021. As part of this acquisition cash consideration 
totalling £945,000 is payable in three equal instalments on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd anniversary of the acquisition date. At 
acquisition the present value of this deferred consideration was assessed as £878,000 discounted using a rate of 3.75%. 
At 31 July 2021 the present value of this deferred consideration is £892,000. The movement on deferred consideration 
can be summarised as follows:

At the start of the year

Arising on acquisition (note 5)

Unwind of discounting

At the end of the year

88 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

2021

£000

-

878

14

892

2020

£000

-

-

-

-

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

21   Contingent and deferred consideration (continued)

The ageing profile of the remaining liabilities can be summarised as follows:

Payable in less than one year

Payable in more than one year 

Total

22  Deferred tax

Non-current liability/(asset)

At 31 July 2019

Arising on acquisition

(Credit)/charge to statement of comprehensive income 
(note 12)

At 31 July 2020

Arising on acquisition (note 5)

Charge/(credit) to statement of comprehensive income 
(note 12)

At 31 July 2021

Intangible 
assets 

£000 

5,859

2,453

(112)

8,200

132

1,140

9,472

Accelerated 
capital 
allowances 

£000 

83

-

(49)

34

-

22

56

2021

£000

308

584

892

Other

£’000

(105)

(202)

64

(243)

-

(2)

2020

£000

-

-

-

Total 

£000 

5,275

2,251

(169)

7,357

132

477

Share 
options 

£000 

(562)

-

(72)

(634)

-

(683)

(1,317)

(245)

7,966

The net deferred tax liability has been calculated at the rate that it is anticipated to unwind either 19% or 25% (2020: 19%).

This is presented on the Balance Sheet as follows within non-current assets and liabilities.

Deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities

Net liability per table above

23  Share capital 

Allotted, called up and fully paid:

Ordinary shares of 0.4p each

2021

£000

(551)

8,517

7,966

2020

£000

(877)

8,234

7,357

2021

Number

2021

£

2020

Number

2020

£

29,332,177

117,329

29,122,548

116,490

The following share transactions have taken place during the year ended 31 July 2021:

At start of the year

Issued as consideration for business combinations

Exercise of share options (Note 8)

At end of the year

2021

Number

2020

Number

29,122,548

28,748,578

16,199

193,430

192,926

181,044

29,332,177

29,122,548

During the year, a number of options were exercised from the schemes with exercise price varying from 0.4p to 162.5p – 
all took place at either the nominal value or above the nominal value

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

89

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

24  Capital and reserves 

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve:

Reserve  
Share capital 
Share premium 
Merger reserve 

Retained earnings 

Translation reserve 

Description and purpose
Amount subscribed for share capital at nominal value
Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value
 Amounts arising from the premium of the fair value of shares issued over their nominal 
value, in respect of certain business combinations 
 Cumulative net profits recognised in the income statement. The share based payment 
reserve which was previously shown separately was incorporated into retained 
earnings during a previous year.
Translation differences on retranslation of Irish subsidiary

26  Financial risk management 

The principal financial instruments comprise cash and short term deposits. The main purpose of these financial 
instruments is to provide finance for the Group’s operations. The Group has various other financial instruments, such 
as trade receivables and payables that arise directly from its operations. The fair values of the financial assets are 
approximately equal to their year end carrying values and represent the maximum exposure to credit risk.

Financial Assets

Cash and short term deposits (1)

Trade Receivables (1)

Investments in Equity and Debt instruments (3)

Lease Receivable (4)

2021

£000

25,387

8,874

50

99

2020

£000

17,920

4,387

50

127

34,410

22,484

Cash and short term deposits at 31 July 2021 are held in bank accounts with a floating rate of interest. This is consistent 
with cash and short term deposits held at 31 July 2020.

Financial Liabilities

Trade and Other Payables (1)

Contingent Consideration (2)

Financial Liabilities (2)

Deferred Consideration (4)

Lease Liabilities (4)

2021

£000

5,688

7,909

590

892

2,059

17,138

2020

£000

4,019

7,334

- 

- 

2,114

13,467

The Group had no derivative contracts in either the current or previous year. It is policy that no trading in financial 
instruments should be undertaken. The surplus cash balances have been invested in deposit accounts.

1.  Items are measured at amortised cost. There are no significant financing components and short-term in nature.
2. Measured at fair value with changes through the Income Statement
3. Investments in equity measured at fair value, investments in debt instruments measured at amortised cost
4. Measured at amortised cost

The Group considers that the fair value is materially consistent with amortised cost for those assets measured on this 
basis.

90 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

26  Financial risk management (continued)

Fair value or cash flow interest rate risk
Currently the Group has surplus cash balances so does not have a borrowing requirement. Surplus cash is put on short term 
deposit with high credit worthy banking institutions where appropriate at either fixed or floating rates, though the interest 
rates being offered by the major financial institutions are generally less than 0.5% with many being much less than this. 
Total finance income in the year amounted to £11,000. The Group has cash balances of £25.4m as at 31 July 2021 which is 
spread across different banks as detailed below, and each attracts a different interest rate. Any sensitivity to interest rates 
would depend on the following factors: Tracsis subsidiary entity making the investment, the amount invested, the length of 
commitment and ability to access to the funds, and the choice of financial institution. In view of current interest rates and the 
current economic backdrop, the Group does not consider that it has a major exposure to interest rates and should interest 
rates rise, any additional rates would have a small impact on the amount of finance income receivable. The Board monitors 
the financial markets and the Group’s future cash requirements to ensure that this policy is exercised in the Group’s best 
interests. At 31 July 2021, the Group had £nil in a fixed rate 30 day deposit account (2020: £nil). 

Credit risk
The Group monitors credit risk closely and considers that its current policies of credit checks meet its objectives of managing 
exposure to risk. The Group has no significant concentration of credit risk. Amounts shown in the balance sheet best 
represent the maximum credit risk exposure in the event that other parties fail to perform their obligations under financial 
instruments. The Group did not incur any material bad debts in the financial year, and has historically not had any either, and 
so views the overall credit risk to be low. As noted in note 6 and note 19, the Group derives c. 17% of its revenue from a major 
customer, whose credit worthiness is unquestionably strong. The Group had a trade receivables balance of £8,874,000 at 
31 July 2021, and this related to over 100 individual customers. The largest individual receivable was £1,054,000 and related 
to a major worldwide engineering Group in a very strong financial position. Other receivables over £100,000 were spread 
across 17 individual clients, and amounted to c. £5.4m. These clients include for example large infrastructure providers, 
Train Operators and Owning groups, numerous Government departments and other bodies, engineering consultants, plus 
shopping centre providers; all of whom are deemed to be creditworthy.

Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is managed on a day to day basis. Facilities are agreed at appropriate levels having regard to the Group’s 
forecast operating cash flows and future capital expenditures. The Group holds its cash balances with highly rated financial 
institutions and it is also spread across numerous institutions to avoid any exposure to one individual bank. As at 31 July 
2021, of the Group’s total cash balances of £25.4m, £24.4m was spread across six major, highly rated banking institutions with 
£9.5m held at the lead bank, £8.2m held at another bank, and £6.6m held with others. The remainder of the cash balances of 
£1.1m was spread across other financial institutions.

The maturity of the Group’s financial liabilities has been disclosed below. The tables below include the gross cash outflows 
associated with the financial liabilities on an undiscounted basis.

Maturity analysis of financial liabilities at 31 July 2021:

Balance Sheet value at 31 July 2021

Due within one year

Due between one and five years

Total

Maturity analysis of financial liabilities at 31 July 2020:

Balance Sheet value at 31 July 2020

Due within one year

Due between one and five years

Total

Trade 
and Other 
payables

£000

5,688

5,688

-

5,688

Trade 
and Other 
payables

£000

4,019

4,019

-

4,019

Contingent 
Consideration

Deferred 
Consideration

Lease 
liabilities

Financial 
liability

£000

7,909

5,047

3,914

8,961

£000

892

315

630

945

£000

2,059

985

1,120

2,105

Contingent 
Consideration

Deferred 
Consideration

Lease 
liabilities

£000

7,334

1,783

7,162

8,945

£000

-

-

-

-

£000

2,114

1,172

1,018

2,190

£000

590

590

-

590

Financial 
liability

£000

-

-

-

-

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

91

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

26  Financial risk management (continued)

Foreign currency risk
The Group makes some overseas sales and some overseas purchases, some of which are invoiced in Sterling and 
others in the local currency, so there continues to be a small exposure to foreign currency, in particular to the American 
and Australian dollar though these are not significant and as detailed in note 6 and total revenue in the year from these 
countries and others amounted to £485,000. The Group is exposed to the Euro following the acquisition of Compass 
Informatics Limited in 2019 which raises the vast majority of its sales invoices in Euros. Total sales to/from Ireland 
amounted to £5,449,000 in the year representing around 11% of total Group sales revenue. The closing exchange rate 
used was c.1.17 Euros to GBP, with an average throughout the year of c.1.14 GBP to Euros. Any changes to this exchange 
rate would increase the Group’s foreign currency risk, though as noted above the vast majority of sales continue to be 
made in Sterling. In addition, as detailed in note 21 the Group has assessed the fair value of the contingent consideration 
relating to the acquisition of Compass Informatics Limited as £0.5m, which under the terms of the Share Purchase 
Agreement has to be made in Euros. Any changes to the exchange rate would impact on the foreign currency exposure 
but as these payments are to be made over a number of years, the impact is not expected to be significant.

Capital disclosures
The Group’s objectives when maintaining capital are:
•  to safeguard the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, so that it can continue to provide returns for 

shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders, and;

•  to provide an adequate return to shareholders by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk.

The capital structure of the Group consists of cash and cash equivalents, and equity attributable to shareholders of the 
parent, comprising issued share capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in the Consolidated Statement of 
Changes in Equity and Notes 13, 23 and 24. The Group sets the amount of capital it requires in proportion to risk. The 
Group manages its capital structure and makes adjustments to it in the light of changes in economic conditions and the 
risk characteristics of the underlying assets. In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the 
amount of dividends paid to shareholders, return capital to shareholders, issue new shares or sell assets.

Sensitivity analysis
In managing interest rates the Group aims to reduce the impact of short term fluctuations on the Group’s earnings. Over 
the long term, permanent changes in interest rates would have an impact on consolidated earnings. The Directors 
consider that a change of 100 basis points in interest rates at any period end would not have a material impact on cash 
flows.

Market risks
The Directors consider that the Group has no significant exposure to market risks with respect to its financial instruments. 

Changes in liabilities from financing activities

Contingent 
Consideration

Deferred 
Consideration

Lease 
liabilities

£000

7,334

-

-

327

-

(410)

-

658

7,909

£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

878

14

892

£000

2,114

(1,334)

(1,334)

-

-

-

1,205

74

2,059

Financial 
liability

£000

-

-

-

-

590

-

-

-

590

At 1 August 2020

Changes from financing cash flows

Payment of lease liabilities

Total changes from financing cash flow

Changes in fair value

Other changes

Arising on acquisition

Payment of contingent consideration

Lease additions and modifications

Interest unwind on liabilities

At 31 July 2021

92 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

26  Financial risk management (continued)

At 1 August 2019

Adoption of IFRS 16

Revised 1 August 2019

Changes from financing cash flows

Payment of lease liabilities

Total changes from financing cash flow

Changes in fair value

Other changes

Arising on acquisition

Payment of contingent consideration

Lease additions and modifications

At 31 July 2020

Contingent 
Consideration

Deferred 
Consideration

Lease 
Liabilities 

£000

6,183

-

-

-

-

(1,475)

3,854

(1,228)

-

7,334

£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

£000

562

1,386

1,948

(1,089)

(1,089)

-

459

-

796

2,114

Financial 
liability

£000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

27  Related Party Transactions

The following transactions took place during the year with other related parties:

Nutshell Software Limited (1)

Vivacity Labs Limited (1)

WSP UK Limited (2)

Nutshell Software Limited (1)

Vivacity Labs Limited (1)

Purchase of
goods and services

Amounts owed to  
related parties     

2021

£000

97

439

2020

£000

13

404

2021

£000

8

-

2020

£000

-

4

Sale of
goods and services

Amounts owed by  
related parties     

2021

£000

3,112

93

6

2020

£000

2,706

14

-

2021

£000

1,054

4

2

2020

£000

495

-

-

(1)   Citi Logik Limited, Nutshell Software Limited, and Vivacity Labs Limited, are related parties by virtue of the Group’s shareholding in these entities.

(2)    WSP UK Limited (WSP) is a company which is connected to Chris Cole who serves as non-executive Chairman of Tracsis plc and also of WSP Global 

Inc, WSP’s parent company. Sales to WSP took place at arm’s length commercial rates and were not connected to Mr Cole’s position at WSP. 

In the financial statements for the previous financial year Nexus Leeds Limited was identified as a related party through 
its connection to the University of Leeds. Having assessed this entity at 31 July 2021 against the criteria set out in IAS 24 
Related Party Disclosures the entity no longer meets the definition of being a related party, and consequently disclosure 
of transactions is no longer required.

Terms and conditions of transactions with related parties
The purchases from related parties are made at normal market prices. Outstanding balances that relate to trading 
balances are unsecured, interest free and settlement occurs in cash. There have been no guarantees provided or 
received for any related party receivables or payables.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

93

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

27  Related Party Transactions (continued)

Compensation of key management personnel of the Group
The Group considers the key management personnel to be its directors and the directors of the Group’s subsidiaries. Full 
details of their compensation are set out below:

Total remuneration

Share based payment charges

28  Employee benefits

2021

£’000

3,190

610

3,800

2020

£’000

3,280

541

3,821

The Group makes contributions to defined contribution pension schemes for its employees. The assets of the schemes 
are held separately in independently administered funds. The pension cost charge for the year comprises contributions 
payable by the Group to the schemes and other personal pension plans and amounted to £804,000 (2020: £736,000). 
There were outstanding contributions at 31 July 2021 of £113,000 (2020: £99,000).

29  Group entities 

Below are the subsidiary undertakings which contribute to the Group results: 

Held by Tracsis plc
Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited (1)*
Tracsis Passenger Analytics Limited (1)
Safety Information Systems Limited (1)
MPEC Technology Limited (1)
Tracsis Traffic Data Limited (2)
Datasys Integration Limited (1)
Tracsis Retail & Operations Limited (1)
SEP Limited (1)
SEP Events Limited (2)
Ontrac Technology Limited (1)
Ontrac Limited (1)
Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited (1)
Delay Repay Sniper Limited (1)
Cash & Traffic Management Limited (2)
Compass Informatics Limited (6)
Bellvedi Limited (1)
iBlocks Limited (1)
Flash Forward Consulting Limited (1)*
Compass Informatics UK Limited (2)
S Dalby Consulting Limited (1)
Sky High Data Capture Limited (2)
Sky High Traffic Data Limited (2)
The Web Factory Birmingham Limited (2)
Forsyth Whitehead & Associates Limited (2)
Sky High Technology (Scotland) Limited (2)
Count on Us Traffic Limited (2)
Burra Burra Distribution Limited (2)
Sky High NCS Limited (2)
Halifax Computer Services Limited (2)
Skyhightraffic Limited (2)
The Traffic Survey Company Limited (2)
The People Counting Company Limited (2)
Myratech.net Limited (2)
Footfall Verification Limited (2)

Principal activity
Rail industry consultancy
Rail industry consultancy
Software and consultancy
Rail industry hardware & Datalogging
Transportation data collection
Holding Company
Rail industry software
Event planning & traffic management
Dormant
Holding company
Rail industry software
Rail industry software
Rail industry software
Event planning & traffic management
Software development
Rail industry software
Rail industry software
Transport industry consultancy
Software development
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant

Country of 
incorporation
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
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales
Republic of Ireland
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
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
England and Wales

% ordinary 
share capital 
owned
89.775%
100%
100%
100%
100% 
100% 
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
89.775%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

94 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

29  Group entities (continued)

Minority investments:

Citi Logik Limited (3)
Nutshell Software Limited (4)
Vivacity Labs Limited (5)

Mobile Network Data Analysis
Mobile application development
Machine Learning technology

England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales

14.9%
23.4%
17.6%

*  In the year 10,225 A Ordinary shares were issued in Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited reducing the percentage of ordinary shares held by Tracsis plc. 

Flash Forward Consulting Limited is indirectly owned by Tracsis plc through Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited.

The registered offices of the subsidiaries are as follows:

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Nexus, Discovery Way, Leeds, England, LS2 3AA

Templar House, 1 Sandbeck Court, Sandbeck Way, Wetherby, England LS22 7BA

The Platform, New Station Street, Leeds, England, LS1 4JB

Floor 1, Baltimore House, Baltic Business Quarter, Gateshead, Tyne And Wear, England, NE8 3DF

International House 24 Holborn Viaduct, City Of London, London, England, EC1A 2BN

(6)  Block 8, Blackrock Business Park, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland, A94 W209

30  Dividends

 The Group introduced a progressive dividend policy during previous years. The Board does not consider it appropriate to 
pay a final dividend this year. The Board is committed to restoring the progressive dividend policy at the earliest possible 
date. The cash cost of the dividend payments is below:

Final dividend for 2018/19 of 1.0p per share paid

Total dividends paid

The dividends paid or proposed in respect of each financial year is as follows:

2021

£000

-

-

2020

£000

288

288

Interim dividend for 2012/13 of 0.30p per share paid 

Final dividend for 2012/13 of 0.40p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2013/14 of 0.35p per share paid 

Final dividend for 2013/14 of 0.45p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2014/15 of 0.40p per share paid

Final dividend for 2014/15 of 0.60p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2015/16 of 0.50p per share paid

Final dividend for 2015/16 of 0.70p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2016/17 of 0.60p per share paid

Final dividend for 2016/17 of 0.80p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2017/18 of 0.70p per share paid

Final dividend for 2017/18 of 0.90p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2018/19 of 0.80p per share paid

Final dividend for 2018/19 of 1.0p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2019/20 of 0.0p per share paid

Final dividend for 2019/20 of 0.0p per share paid

Interim dividend for 2020/21 of 0.0p per share paid

Final dividend for 2020/21 of 0.0p per share paid

2021 2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

229

288

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

198

257

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

167

225

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

137

195

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

106

164

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

89

119

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

75

102

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

The total dividends paid or proposed in respect of each financial year ended 31 July is as follows:

Total dividends paid per share

2021 2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Nil

Nil

1.8p

1.6p

1.4p

1.2p

1.0p

2014

0.8p

2013

0.7p

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

95

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

31  Reconciliation of alternative performance measures (“APMs”)

The Group uses APMs, which are not defined or specified under the requirements of International Financial Reporting 
Standards (“IFRS”), to improve the comparability of reporting between different periods. These metrics are used by 
Equities Analysts who cover the Group as they reflect the underlying performance of the Group, and its ability to 
generate cash. The largest components of the adjusting items, being depreciation, amortisation, share based payments, 
and share of result of equity accounted investees, are ‘non cash’ items and are separately analysed to assist with the 
understanding of underlying trading. Share based payments are adjusted to reflect the underlying performance of the 
group as the fair value is impacted by market volatility that does not correlate directly to trading performance. APMs are 
used by the Directors and management for performance analysis, planning, reporting and incentive purposes.

Adjusted EBITDA
Calculated as Earnings before finance income, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional items, other operating 
income, share-based payment charges and share of result of equity accounted investees. This metric is used to show 
the underlying trading performance of the Group from period to period in a consistent manner, and is a key management 
incentive metric. The closest equivalent statutory measure is profit before tax. Adjusted EBITDA can be reconciled to 
statutory profit before tax as set out below:

Profit before tax

Finance expense – net

Share-based payment charges

Exceptional items - net

Other operating income

Amortisation of intangible assets

Depreciation

Share of result of equity accounted investees

Adjusted EBITDA

2021

£000

4,635

87

1,276

1,114

(440)

4,269

1,603

434

12,978

2020

£000

4,111

3

1,050

(115)

(376)

3,599

1,882

309

10,463

96 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

31  Reconciliation of alternative performance measures (“APMs”) (continued)

Adjusted Profit
Calculated as Earnings before finance income, tax, amortisation, exceptional items, other operating income, share-based 
payment charges, and share of result of equity accounted investees. This metric is used to show the underlying business 
performance of the Group from period to period in a consistent manner. The closest equivalent statutory measure is profit 
before tax. Adjusted profit can be reconciled to statutory profit before tax as set out below:

Profit before tax

Finance expense – net

Share-based payment charges

Exceptional items - net

Other operating income

Amortisation of intangible assets

Share of result of equity accounted investees

Adjusted profit

Adjusted EBITDA reconciles to adjusted profit as set out below:

Adjusted EBITDA

Depreciation

Adjusted profit

2021

£000

4,635

87

1,276

1,114

(440)

4,269

434

11,375

2021

£000

12,978

(1,603)

11,375

2020

£000

4,111

3

1,050

(115)

(376)

3,599

309

8,581

2020

£000

10,463

(1,882)

8,581

Adjusted Basic Earnings per Share
Calculated as profit after tax before amortisation, share-based payment charges, exceptional items and other operating 
income divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period. This is a common metric 
used by the market in monitoring similar businesses and is used by Equities Analysts who cover the Group to better 
understand the underlying performance of the Group. See note 13 “Earnings per share”

32   Subsequent Events

Post year end the Group acquired Icon Group (“Icon”) on 3 November 2021. Headquartered in Dublin, Icon is an 
interdisciplinary geoscience business who specialise in earth observation (EO), GIS and spatial data analytics. Icon 
will be integrated with Tracsis’ existing Data Analytics/GIS solutions provider Compass Informatics to create an Irish-
based Data Analytics centre of excellence specialising in providing location-related technologies and analytics 
solutions and services to government and commercial organisations. The acquisition of Icon adds EO capabilities that 
enhance our offer in this growing market, and has a customer base that is complementary to Tracsis’. 

The acquisition consideration comprises an initial cash payment of £1.9m which will be funded out of Tracsis cash 
reserves and the issue of 68,762 new ordinary shares in Tracsis to a value of £0.6m. An additional payment of 
approximately £1.7m will be made on a euro for euro basis to reflect the net current asset position of the business 
(above a working capital hurdle) at completion and will be finalised in due course. Additional contingent consideration 
of up to £1.5m is payable subject to Icon Group achieving certain stretched financial targets in the three years post 
acquisition. A formal valuation exercise has not yet been completed due to the timing of the acquisition

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

97

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsCompany Balance Sheet (prepared under FRS 101)
as at 31 July 2021 Company number: 05019106

Note

2021 

£000 

2020 

£000 

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Investments

Deferred tax assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Total assets

Non-current liabilities

Lease Liabilities

Contingent consideration

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Lease Liabilities

Contingent consideration

Total liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves

Called up share capital

Share premium reserve

Merger reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity

34

35

40

36

37

39

38

37

39

41

431

74,186

225

74,842

3,571

4,943

8,514

636

74,186

233

75,055

2,547

2,081

4,628

83,356

79,683

-

3,220

3,220

17,727

137

4,689

22,553

137

5,587

5,724

16,101

179

1,747

18,027

25,773

23,751

57,583

55,932

117

6,401

5,525

45,540

57,583

116

6,373

5,420

44,023

55,932

The Company’s profit for the year, after dividends received was £241,000 (2020: £10,018,000)
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 9 November 2021 and were 
signed on its behalf by:

Chris Barnes
Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Kelly
Chief Financial Officer

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

98 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Company Statement of Changes in Equity

At 1 August 2020

Profit and total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners

Share based payment charges

Shares issued as consideration for business combinations

Exercise of share options 

At 31 July 2021

At 1 August 2019 

Adjustment on initial application of IFRS 16 (net of tax) 

Profit and total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners

Dividends

Share based payment charges

Shares issued as consideration for business combinations

Exercise of share options 

At 31 July 2020

Share  
Capital
£000

116

Share 
Premium
£000

6,373

Merger 
Reserve
£000

5,420

5,525

45,540

57,583

Retained 
Earnings
£000

44,023

241

1,276

-

-

Total  
Equity
£000

55,932

241

1,276

105

29

Retained 
Earnings
£000

33,264

(21)

Total  
Equity
£000

43,643

(21)

10,018

10,018

(288)

1,050

-

-

(288)

1,050

1,500

30

-

-

105

-

-

-

-

-

1,499

-

5,420

44,023

55,932

Share  
Capital
£000

115

Share 
Premium
£000

6,343

Merger 
Reserve
£000

3,921

-

-

-

1

117

-

-

-

28

6,401

-

-

-

-

-

1

116

-

-

-

-

-

30

6,373

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve:

Reserve  
Share capital 
Share premium 
Merger reserve 

Retained earnings 

Description and purpose
Amount subscribed for share capital at nominal value
Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value
Amounts arising from the premium of the fair value of shares issued over their nominal value, in
respect of certain business combinations 
 Cumulative net profits recognised in the income statement. The share based payment reserve which 
was previously shown separately is incorporated in retained earnings in the previous and current 
financial year.

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

99

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet

33  Company accounting policies

Tracsis plc (“the Company”) was incorporated and is domiciled in England, in the United Kingdom. Its registered office 
is Nexus, Discovery Way, Leeds, LS2 3AA, registered number 05019106. The principal activity of Tracsis plc is that of a 
holding company and also software development and consultancy for the rail industry.

The company’s accounting reference date is 31 July.

Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure 
Framework’ (“FRS 101”) which has been applied.

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

The financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis. The presentation currency used is sterling and 
amounts have been presented in round thousands (“£000s”).

Disclosure exemptions adopted:

In preparing these financial statements the company has taken advantage of all disclosure exemptions conferred by FRS 
101.
Therefore these financial statements do not include:
•  certain comparative information as otherwise required by IFRS;
•  certain disclosures regarding the company’s capital;
•  a statement of cash flows;
•  the effect of future accounting standards not yet adopted;
•  these financial statements do not include certain disclosures in respect of share based payments;
•  the disclosure of the remuneration of key management personnel; and
•  disclosure of related party transactions with other wholly owned members of the Tracsis plc group of companies.

In addition, and in accordance with FRS 101 further disclosure exemptions have been adopted because equivalent 
disclosures are included in the Group’s financial statements.

Revenue recognition
The Company has initially applied IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” from 1 August 2018. IFRS 15 has 
established a comprehensive framework for determining whether, how much and when revenue is recognised.

The Company derives revenue from software licencing, bespoke development work and post contract customer support.

The following table provides information about the nature and timing of the satisfaction of performance obligations 
in contracts with customers, and the related revenue recognition policies. Revenue is recognised either when the 
performance obligation in the contract has been performed (“point in time” or “over time” as control is transferred to the 
customer). Consideration received in advance of the performance obligation being satisfied by the Company is included 
as a Contract Liability on the balance sheet. An asset is recognised when a performance obligation has been completed, 
but no consideration has yet been received. Adjustments are made to allocate discounts relative to the stand-alone 
selling price of each performance obligation. The Company does not adjust the transaction price for the time value of 
money as it does not expect to have any contracts where the period between the transfer of the promised service to the 
client, and the payment by the client exceeds one year.

100  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

33  Company accounting policies (continued)

Revenue Stream

Recognition Policy

Software – perpetual and 
non-cancellable annual 
software licenses, and 
support and maintenance 
services associated with 
these licenses

Software as a service, 
and support services 
associated with these 
licenses

There are two separate performance obligations associated with this revenue stream:

•  Provision of the perpetual or non cancellable annual software license
•  Maintenance and support services

The company recognises the revenue from the sale of perpetual and non-cancellable 
annual software licenses at the time that the license is made available to the customer as 
it is considered that control passes at that point in time.

The allocation of the transaction price between the two performance obligations 
included in the contract is based on an expected cost plus margin approach as the stand-
alone selling price is not observable.

Revenue related to ongoing support and periodic updates is recognised over the 
license period as the Company is unable to predict at inception of the license when the 
support and updates will be required to be provided to the customer. As such, control is 
considered to pass over time.

Under IFRS 15 two distinct performance obligations have been identified for these 
contracts.

•  Hosted software licenses
•  Maintenance and support

Revenue from the provision of the hosted software license is recognised evenly over the 
period in which the license is hosted by the Company. This policy reflects the continuous 
transfer of the service to the customer throughout the contracted license period.

Revenue related to ongoing support and periodic updates is recognised over the license 
period as the Company is unable to predict at inception of the license when the support 
and updates will be required to be provided to the customer.

Bespoke software 
development work

Revenue in relation to bespoke development work is recognised on completion of the 
work in most contracts as it is considered that control of the work does not pass until 
all development work has been completed. The development work does not create an 
asset with an alternative use to the Group. In some contracts the Group does have an 
enforceable contractual right to payment for performance completed to date and revenue 
is recognised over time.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

101

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial Statements 
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

33  Company accounting policies (continued)

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is initially recognised at cost. As well as the purchase price, cost includes directly 
attributable costs. 

Depreciation is provided on all items so as to write off the carrying value of items over their expected useful economic 
lives. It is applied at the following rates:

Freehold buildings (excluding land)  
Computer equipment 
Fixtures and Fittings 

– 
–  
–  

4% on cost 
33 1/3% on cost
10% on cost  

Investments
Fixed asset investments are stated at cost less provision for impairment where appropriate. The directors consider 
annually whether a provision against the value of investments on an individual basis is required. Such provisions are 
charged in the income statement in the year.

Taxation
The tax on the profit or loss for the year represents current and deferred tax.

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

Deferred tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of 
assets and liabilities and their carrying value in the financial statements. The principal temporary differences arise from 
depreciation on plant and equipment and share options granted by the Company to employees and directors. 

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply 
when the related asset is realised or liability is settled, based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at 
the balance sheet date. Where the deferred tax asset recognised in respect of share-based payments would give rise to 
a credit in excess of the related accounting charge at the prevailing tax rate the excess is recognised directly in equity.

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

Leases
For any new contracts entered into the Company considers whether a contract is, or contains a lease. A lease is defined 
as ‘a contract, or part of a contract, that conveys the right to use an asset (the underlying asset) for a period of time in 
exchange for consideration’.

To apply this definition the Company assesses whether the contract meets three key evaluations which are whether:
•  the contract contains an identified asset, which is either explicitly identified in the contract or implicitly specified by 

being identified at the time the asset is made available to the Group

•  the Group has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from use of the identified asset throughout 

the period of use, considering its rights within the defined scope of the contract

•  the Group has the right to direct the use of the identified asset throughout the period of use.

The Group assesses whether it has the right to direct ‘how and for what purpose’ the asset is used throughout the period 
of use.

102  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

 
 
 
 
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

33  Company accounting policies (continued)

Measurement and recognition of leases as a lessee

At lease commencement date, the Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet. 

The right-of-use asset is measured at cost, which is made up of the initial measurement of the lease liability, any initial 
direct costs incurred by the Group, an estimate of any costs to dismantle and remove the asset at the end of the lease, 
and any lease payments made in advance of the lease commencement date (net of any incentives received).

The Company depreciates the right-of-use assets on a straight-line basis from the lease commencement date to the 
earlier of the end of the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the end of the lease term. The Group also assesses the 
right-of-use asset for impairment when such indicators exist. 

At the commencement date, the Group measures the lease liability at the present value of the lease payments unpaid at 
that date, discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease if that rate is readily available or the Group’s incremental 
borrowing rate.

Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability are made up of fixed payments (including in 
substance fixed), variable payments based on an index or rate, amounts expected to be payable under a residual value 
guarantee and payments arising from options reasonably certain to be exercised.
Subsequent to initial measurement, the liability will be reduced for payments made and increased for interest. It is 
remeasured to reflect any reassessment or modification, or if there are changes in in-substance fixed payments.

When the lease liability is remeasured, the corresponding adjustment is reflected in the right-of-use asset, or profit and 
loss if the right-of-use asset is already reduced to zero.

The Group has elected to account for short-term leases and leases of low-value assets using the practical expedients. 
Instead of recognising a right-of-use asset and lease liability, the payments in relation to these are recognised as an 
expense in profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Share based payments
The Company’s accounting policies followed are in all material regards the same as the Group’s policy as shown on 
page 65. Where there are charges relating to subsidiary undertakings, these are borne in full by the relevant subsidiary 
undertakings via a recharge.

Profit and Loss account
The Company has not presented its own profit and loss account as permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 
2006. The Company’s profit after taxation for the year amounted to £241,000 after receiving dividends from subsidiary 
undertakings of £2,500,000 (2020: profit of £10,018,000 after receiving dividends from subsidiary undertakings of 
£9,950,000).

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

103

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

34  Property, plant and equipment

Cost

At 1 August 2020

Additions

At 31 July 2021

Depreciation

At 1 August 2020

Charge for the year

At 31 July 2021

Net book value

At 31 July 2020

At 31 July 2021

Land & 
Buildings*

Computer
equipment

Fixtures
And Fittings

£000

£000

£000

838

-

838

281

179

460

557

378

149

11

160

88

35

123

61

37

20

-

20

2

2

4

18

16

Total

£000

1,007

11

1,018

371

216

587

636

431

*Includes land of £100,000 which is not depreciated

Included in the net carrying amount of property, plant and equipment are assets held under leases of £104,000 
(2020: £271,000).

A reconciliation of the Right of Use Asset is as follows:

Cost

At 1 August 2020

At 31 July 2021

Depreciation

At 1 August 2020

Charge for the year

At 31 July 2021

Net book value

At 31 July 2020

At 31 July 2021

Land & 
Buildings

£000

438

438

167

167

334

271

104

104  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

35  Investments 

At 1 August 2020

At 31 July 2021

Shares in, and loans to subsidiary undertakings 

£000 

74,186

74,186

On 26 February 2021 Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited (a subsidiary of the Company) acquired 100% of the share capital 
of Flash Forward Consulting Limited. Further details about this acquisition are found in note 5 to the Group financial 
statements. 

The companies in which Tracsis plc’s interest is more than 10% at the year end are as follows: 

MPEC Technology Limited

England and Wales

Name

Subsidiary undertakings:

Tracsis Rail Consultancy 
Limited*

Tracsis Passenger Counts 
Limited 

Safety Information 
Systems Limited

Tracsis Traffic Data 
Limited

Datasys Integration 
Limited

Tracsis Retail & 
Operations Limited

SEP Limited

SEP Events Limited

Ontrac Technology 
Limited

Ontrac Limited

Tracsis Travel 
Compensation Services 
Limited

Delay Repay Sniper 
Limited

Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited

Compass Informatics 
Limited

Bellvedi Limited

iBlocks Limited

Flash Forward Consulting 
Limited*

Compass Informatics UK 
Limited

S Dalby Consulting 
Limited

Sky High Data Capture 
Limited

Sky High Traffic Data 
Limited

Country of
incorporation

Principal activity

Class and 
percentage
of shares held

England and Wales

Rail industry consultancy

Ordinary 89.775%

England and Wales

Rail industry ancillary
services

England and Wales Software and consultancy

England and Wales

Rail industry hardware & 
datalogging

Transportation data 
collection

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Holding Company

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Rail industry software

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Event planning & traffic 
management

England and Wales

Dormant

England and Wales

Holding Company

England and Wales

Rail industry software

England and Wales

Rail industry software

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Rail industry software

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Event planning & traffic 
management

Ordinary 100%

Republic of Ireland

Software Development

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Rail industry software

England and Wales

Rail industry software

England and Wales

Transport industry 
consultancy

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 89.775%

England and Wales

Software development

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

Holding

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

Indirect

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

105

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

35  Investments (continued)

Country of
incorporation

Principal activity

England and Wales

Dormant

Class and 
percentage
of shares held

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

England and Wales

England and Wales

Dormant

Dormant

Ordinary 100%

Ordinary 100%

Name

The Web Factory 
Birmingham Limited

Forsyth Whitehead & 
Associates Limited

Sky High Technology 
(Scotland) Limited

Count on Us Traffic 
Limited

Burra Burra Distribution 
Limited

Sky High NCS Limited

Halifax Computer 
Services Limited

Skyhightraffic Limited

The Traffic Survey 
Company Limited

The People Counting 
Company Limited

Myratech.net Limited

Footfall Verification 
Limited

Minority investments

Citi Logik Limited

England and Wales

Nutshell Software Limited

England and Wales

Vivacity Labs Limited

England and Wales

Mobile network data 
analysis

Mobile application 
development

Machine learning 
technology

Ordinary 14.9%

Ordinary 23.4%

Ordinary 17.6%

Holding

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Indirect

Direct

Direct

Direct

*  In the year 10,225 A Ordinary shares were issued in Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited reducing the percentage of ordinary shares held by Tracsis plc. 

Flash Forward Consulting Limited is indirectly owned by Tracsis plc through Tracsis Rail Consultancy Limited.

36  Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables 

Amounts owed by Group undertakings

Other debtors

Corporation Tax

Prepayments

2021

£000

284

2,871

600

922

266

4,943

2020

£000

431

671

295

629

55

2,081

The carrying value of trade receivables approximates to the fair value. Amounts owed by Group undertakings are interest 
free and repayable on demand.

Corporation tax is recoverable from other Group companies as Tracsis plc acts as the lead company for the Group’s 
Payment on Account regime.

106  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

37   Lease Liabilities

Due within one year

Due after more than one year:

 Between one and two years

 Between two and three years

Total due after more than one year

Total obligation

A reconciliation of the obligation is stated below.

At start of the year

Lease liabilities recognised on adoption of IFRS 16

Interest on lease liabilities

Total cash outflow

At end of the year

Future minimum lease payments at 31 July 2021 were as follows

2021

£000

137

-

-

-

137

2021

£000

316

-

6

(185)

137

2020

£000

179

137

-

137

316

2020

£000

-

483

-

(167)

316

2021

2020

Carrying 
amount

Contractual 
cash flows

Less than one 
year

One to Two 
years

Two to Five 
years

£000

137

316

£000

139

324

£000

139

185

£000

-

139

£000

-

-

The Company has elected not to recognise a lease liability for short term leases (leases with an expected term of 12 
months or less) or for leases of low value assets. Payments made under such leases are expensed on a straight line 
basis. 

The expense relating to payments not included in the measurement of the lease liability is as follows:

Short-term leases

Leases of low value assets

Total

38  Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Other tax and social security

Amounts owed to Group undertakings

Accruals and contract liabilities

2021

£000

-

1

1

2020

£000

148

97

14,441

1,415

16,101

2021

£000

88

139

15,278

2,222

17,727

The carrying value of trade payables approximates to the fair value. Amounts owed to Group undertakings are interest 
free and repayable on demand. 

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

107

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsNotes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

39  Contingent consideration

During the previous financial year, the Group acquired iBlocks Limited. Under the share purchase agreement in place 
for this acquisition, contingent consideration is payable which is linked to the profitability of the acquired businesses for 
a three year period post acquisition. The maximum amount payable is £8.5m, and the fair value of the amount payable 
was assessed at £2.8m at the year end date.

In 2019, the Group acquired Cash & Traffic Management Limited, Compass Informatics Limited and Bellvedi Limited. 
Under the share purchase agreements for each of these companies, contingent consideration is payable which is 
linked to the profitability of the acquired businesses over a two to four year period post acquisition. The maximum 
amount payable is £750,000 for Cash & Traffic Management Limited, €2,000,000 for Compass Informatics Limited and 
£7,900,000 for Bellvedi Limited. The fair value of the amount payable was assessed at £253,000 for Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited, £462,000 for Compass Informatics Limited and £4,357,000 for Bellvedi Limited.

During the financial year, contingent consideration of £410,000 was paid in respect of the Compass Informatics 
Limited acquisition which was made in year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £332,000), £nil in respect of the Cash & Traffic 
Management Limited acquisition which was made in year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £491,000), £nil in respect of the 
Bellvedi Limited acquisition which was made in the year ended 31 July 2019 (2020: £57,000), and £nil (2020: £348,000) 
in respect of the acquisition of Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited which was made in the year ended 31 July 
2018.

As detailed in note 9.3, an exceptional debit of £327,000 was recognised, following a review of the assumptions of the 
fair value of the contingent consideration as at 31 July 2021. At the balance sheet date, the Directors assessed the fair 
value of the remaining amounts payable which were deemed to be as follows.

Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited & Delay Repay Sniper Limited

Cash & Travel Management Limited

Compass Informatics Limited

Bellvedi Limited

iBlocks Limited

The ageing profile of the remaining liabilities can be summarised as follows:

Payable in less than one year

Payable in more than one year 

Total

40  Deferred tax (asset)

At start of the year 

Charge to statement of comprehensive income during the year

At end of the year

108  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

2021

£000

-

253

462

4,357

2,837

7,909

2021

£000

4,689

3,220

7,909

2021

£000

(233)

8

(225)

2020

£000

88

112

681

3,193

3,260

7,334

2020

£000

1,747

5,587

7,334

2020

£000

(208)

(25)

(233)

Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued)

40  Deferred tax (asset) (continued)

The deferred tax asset can be split as follows:

Accelerated Capital Allowances 

Share options

At end of the year

41  Share capital 

Allotted, called up and fully paid:

Ordinary shares of 0.4p each

2021

£000

(1)

(224)

(225)

2020

£000

5

(238)

(233)

2021

Number

2021

£

2020

Number

2020

£

29,332,177

117,329

29,122,548

116,490

The following share transactions have taken place during the year ended 31 July 2021:

At start of the year

Issued as consideration for business combinations

Exercise of share options

At end of the year

42  Related Party Transactions

2021

Number

2020

Number

29,122,548

28,748,578

16,199

193,430

192,926

181,044

29,332,177

29,122,548

In the financial statements for the previous financial year Nexus Leeds Limited was identified as a related party through 
its connection to the University of Leeds. Having assessed this entity at 31 July 2021 against the criteria set out in IAS 24 
Related Party Disclosures the entity no longer meets the definition of being a related party, and consequently disclosure 
of transactions is no longer required.

Terms and conditions of transactions with related parties
The purchases from related parties are made at normal market prices. Outstanding balances that relate to trading 
balances are unsecured, interest free and settlement occurs in cash. There have been no guarantees provided or 
received for any related party receivables or payables.

Compensation of key management personnel of the Group
The Company considers the directors to be its key management personnel. Full details of their compensation are set out 
in the Directors’ Remuneration Report.

Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021 

109

Strategic ReportGovernanceFinancial StatementsGroup information

Company Secretary and 
Registered Office
Andrew Kelly
Nexus
Discovery Way
Leeds
LS2 3AA

The registered office of all subsidiary 
entities is detailed in note 29 to the 
Group Financial statements.

Telephone:  +44 (0) 845 125 9162
+44 (0) 845 125 9163
Fax: 

Registered number
05019106 

Website
www.tracsis.com

Auditor
Grant Thornton UK LLP
No 1 Whitehall Riverside
Leeds
LS1 4BN

Principal bankers
HSBC Bank plc
33 Park Row
Leeds
LS1 1LD

Additional bankers
Barclays
NatWest
Santander
Royal Bank of Scotland
Co-Operative
Bank of Ireland
Triodos

Nominated Advisor and 
Stockbroker
finnCap Limited
1 Bartholomew Close
London
EC1A 7BL

Registrars
Neville Registrars
18 Laurel Lane
Halesowen
West Midlands
B63 3DA

Solicitors
Haynes & Boone LLP
1 New Fetter Lane
London
EC4A 1AN

110  Tracsis plc Annual Report & Accounts 2021

© Copyright Tracsis plc 2021

www.tracsis.com

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