Quarterlytics / Tungsten Corporation Plc

Tungsten Corporation Plc

tung · LSE
Claim this profile
Ticker tung
Exchange LSE
Sector
Industry
Employees 51-200
← All annual reports
FY2020 Annual Report · Tungsten Corporation Plc
Sign in to download
Loading PDF…
TUNGSTEN CORPORATION PLC

The network 
built to last

 Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

The foundation 
to world-class 
performance

Our purpose: We exist to enable 
organisations to optimise their working 
capital, accelerating the global economy. 
We digitise and deliver purchase orders 
and invoices between organisations. 
Through our global network, we provide 
accurate and timely data improving 
decision-making and efficiency. It’s not 
just about processing invoices, it’s about 
maximising the value across the global 
supply chain. Using data to make better 
decisions and drive our clients forward.

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Establishing the digital foundation  
for global customers

Years connecting companies, 
enabling tax compliant e-invoicing

20

Suppliers

273,000

Buyers

175

Transaction volumes

19m

Revenue

£36.8m

Net cash

£3.2m

Adjusted EBITDA1

£2.7m

1  Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating profit 

before other income, depreciation, amortisation, 
goodwill impairment, gain or loss on sale, foreign 
exchange gain or loss, share-based payments 
charge, exceptional items and is adjusted to 
include rental expenses and rental income.

CONTENTS

Strategic Report
Chairman's statement 
The Tungsten Network 
The Tungsten Solution  
Growth strategy  
Partnerships  
Our people & culture  
Our stakeholders 
CEO's review  
CFO's review  
Risk management  
Statement of compliance with  
Section 172 of the Companies  
Act 2006  

Corporate Governance 
Chairman's governance overview 
Board of Directors  
Composition and independence  
of the Board  
Audit Committee report  
Nomination Committee report  
Remuneration Committee report  
Report of Directors' remuneration  
Directors' report  
Statement of Directors'  
responsibilities  

Financial Statements 
Independent Auditors' report  
Consolidated income statement  
Consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income  
Consolidated statement of  
financial position  
Consolidated statement of  
changes in equity  
Consolidated statement of  
cash flows  
Notes to the consolidated  
financial statements  
Parent company balance sheet  
Parent company statement of  
changes in equity  
Parent company statement  
of cash flows  
Notes to the parent company  
financial statements  
Shareholder information  

Creating value for our stakeholders

We have been re-evaluating our brand, 
refocusing our core messaging and style.  
Check out our new website at:  
www.tungsten-network.com

 02
 06
08
10
12
14
18
20
24
28

31

34
36

38
42
50
52
54
60

65

68
74

75

76

77

78

79
108

109

110

111
120

01

 
 
 
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

“The past year has been one of 
transformation and consolidation for 
Tungsten.”
Tony Bromovsky
Chairman

0202

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

The past year has been one of 
transformation and consolidation 
for Tungsten. We have nonetheless 
continued to deliver on our strategic 
objectives, whilst recording growth 
in revenue and a reduction in 
costs, as reflected in our significant 
adjusted EBITDA improvement.

The impact of Covid-19 in the 
last two months of FY20 meant, 
however, that we have had little  
time to celebrate our successes. 
Instead, from March onwards,  
we concentrated all our attention 
and skills on supporting our team 
members and customers during  
a demanding and uncertain time.  
We have taken action to ensure  
that our business remains strong 
and resilient throughout this period 
and we are confident that we are 
now emerging from this crisis in  
a position to deliver against our 
long-term growth strategy.

Strong strategic progress
We are committed to delivering 
long-term value to shareholders 
and understand this depends 
on executing against a strategy 
which provides value for all our 
stakeholders: customers, partners, 
employees and communities as well 
as shareholders.

After a rigorous process of 
selection, the arrival of Andrew 
Lemonofides as the new Chief 
Executive in September 2019  
was a pivotal moment.

He has diligently focused on 
delivering on the agreed set of 
strategic initiatives whilst also 
bringing a focused operational 
approach to accountability and 
execution in the business. 

He has reshaped the senior team, 
the sales capability, the internal 
organisation, the reporting lines  

“The impact of Covid-19 in the last two months  
of FY20 meant, however, that we have had little 
time to celebrate our successes. Instead, from 
March onwards, we concentrated all our attention 
and skills on supporting our team members and 
customers during a demanding and uncertain time.”

Covid-19 pandemic
On behalf of the Board I want to 
say how grateful I am to our team 
members across the world for their 
commitment and dedication during 
the Covid-19 pandemic. While 
all working remotely, they have 
maintained high levels of service to 
our customers as well as supporting 
the well-being of their families 
and colleagues. It is a credit to 
them and the senior management 
team that we have been able to 
operate so effectively in light of the 
challenging conditions. I am justly 
proud of all their efforts.

The Chief Executive‘s report covers 
these points in more detail. The 
Board and its committees have 
functioned as effectively as usual, 
albeit via a new online medium. 
Senior management and the Board 
have cooperated closely on a range 
of matters relating to Covid-19, not 
least contingency planning for the 
eventual reopening of our offices.

and roles, and the back-office 
functions, bringing in outside 
consultants as needed. Employee 
efficiency and morale is up, HR 
churn is down.

A particular area of focus for the 
management team has been 
the drive to improve our core 
technology functions across the 
whole spectrum of our e-invoice 
services. These include, inter alia, 
client user experience, supplier 
onboarding and ticket support.

Andrew and the Executive team 
have also delivered well on each  
of the four key strategic targets 
that the Board laid down in July 
2019, following the Strategic  
Review that year.

These were: driving the network 
effect by, for the first time, 
approaching major global suppliers 
to handle all their outgoing invoices 
in myriad forms; implementing 
strategic partnerships with 
e-procurement providers to ensure 
our USP service received the widest 
possible attention; interconnecting 
with other leading e-invoice 
platforms; and finally the launch 

How we engage

We recognise that each of our stakeholder groups has 
a high impact on our business. They are imperative to 
achieving our ambitious goals and driving value for our 
customers, and we have structured communications 
channels to ensure they are kept informed regularly and 
transparently. 

Stakeholder  
feedback

Engage

Listen

Review

Respond

Tangible  
long-term  
value

Our Directors engage with all our key stakeholder groups 
on an ongoing basis: Our People, Our Customers and  
Our Investors. The Directors continually review the impact 
any company decision will have on key stakeholders. 

For more information turn to page 18

03

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT continued

of our dramatically enhanced and 
effective supply chain trade finance 
platform to better access the 
considerable Trade flows across  
our global platform.

Further details around the progress 
and results of these initiatives are 
given in the CEO’s review.

As a result of all this, it is fair to 
say that this company and this 
business, both operationally and 
strategically, are now almost 
unrecognisable to what they  
were 18 months ago.

lead his executive team. We also 
appointed Chris Allen as our new 
Chief Financial Officer on 27 April 
2020.

In January, following the successful 
selection of Orbian as our preferred 
supply chain financing partner, 
Duncan Goldie-Morrison agreed to 
step down from the Board. After 
a thorough search, I was pleased 
that we were able to appoint Nick 
Wells, Head of Corporate Finance at 
Cenkos, as our new Non-Executive 
Director. Nick has brought a 
wealth of market knowledge and 

“FY20 will be remembered as the year in which we 
put the basics right, whilst maintaining the right 
direction of travel.”

experience to the Board and 
has already made a significant 
contribution in his role as the head 
of the Remuneration Committee.

AGM
In light of current and anticipated 
Covid-19 public health guidelines, 
Tungsten Corporation is asking 
shareholders to comply with 
certain unprecedented but urgent 
measures for this year’s AGM. 
These measures, which follow 
current best practice, are being 
taken to safeguard the safety and 
well-being of shareholders and 
other participants and to make  
the AGM as safe as possible.

As the UK Government has 
imposed measures restricting 
public gatherings, the meeting 
will unfortunately be closed to 
external shareholder attendees. 
The notice of meeting sent out in 
mid-September will state that the 
meeting will be held on a closed 
basis, and that all votes on the 
resolutions before the meeting 
will need to be submitted by the 
proxy deadline, two days before the 
meeting itself. 

Further details and instructions 
will be detailed in the AGM notice 
issued to shareholders and subject 
to any subsequent Government 
advice. Given this new state of 
affairs at the AGM, we shall of 
course take extra care and trouble 
over the coming months to ensure 
our shareholders, both institutional 
and retail, are kept fully informed on 
our progress.

Financial performance
Against a challenging backdrop of 
unprecedented global uncertainty, 
we delivered a good financial 
performance in-line with our 
revised guidance. Group revenue 
grew 2% to £36.8 million, adjusted 
EBITDA grew to £2.7 million and we 
had net cash at year end of £3.2 
million, reflecting a positive full year 
cash generation of £0.4 million. Our 
operating loss of £25.5m increased 
from £5.2 million because of a 
£23.0 million goodwill impairment 
charge booked against the 2013 
OB10 Ltd acquisition.

Over the last two years we have 
worked hard to strengthen our 
financial position. The extension  
of our existing revolving credit 
facility post year end has ensured 
that we have no short-term 
refinancing needs and good 
liquidity.

Given the challenging 
circumstances at the end of 
the year, this is a good financial 
performance, driven by the radical 
approach and bold steps I have 
outlined above.

Our goal remains to deliver a 
scalable and agile business 
model in a fast-changing online 
landscape. The solid achievements 
in FY20 provide confidence that 
we can meet our shared growth 
aspirations in the coming years.

Board composition
During the year we completed 
our search for our new Chief 
Executive, Andrew Lemonofides, 
who joined the Company on  
2 September 2019. Following  
wa period of transition, I stepped 
back from the role of Executive 
Chairman in December 2019, 
allowing Andrew freedom to 

04

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

The year ahead
FY20 will be remembered as the 
year in which we put the basics 
right, whilst maintaining the right 
direction of travel.

This is an evolving business and 
it is now much closer to being fit 
for purpose in markets where the 
potential is great. Covid remains a 
threat, although invoice digitisation 
and remote working play massively 
to our strengths. Our new strategy, 
as described above, is playing out 
well and we believe that FY21 may 
well allow us to move into some 
new e-invoice adoption sectors.

We anticipate that our transaction 
volumes will recover as more 
organisations increase their 
demand for invoice digitisation  
in response to Covid. 

We remain confident in the longer-
term prospects of the Company 
thanks to a combination of a 
well-established growth strategy, 
significant market opportunity, 
diversified customer base and 
world-class products.

On behalf of the Board, I would like 
to thank Duncan Goldie-Morrison 
for his excellent services to the 
Company as a Non-Executive 
Director over 18 months and, in 
particular, Andrew Lemonofides, 
his Executive team and all of our 
team members for their hard work 
in achieving the result for 2020. I 
am grateful for their commitment 
and dedication during this difficult 
time. I would also like to thank our 
shareholders and customers for 
their continued support.

Tony Bromovsky
Chairman

6 September 2020

05

 
 
 
THE TUNGSTEN NETWORK

The key to unlocking  
the global supply chain

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

The Network

Why choose Tungsten 
Network?
Tungsten Network digital invoicing 
processes allow you to:

Increase visibility
Total visibility of spend across 
all enterprise resource planning 
(ERP) systems with line-level detail 
provides full insight, control and 
enhanced performance.

Intelligently manage exceptions
Handle exceptions at the point 
of invoice submission, reducing 
delays and avoiding errors. 

Remain compliant  
around the globe
Government mandates and 
country regulations are on the 
rise. Through Tungsten Network 
solutions you can be prepared, 
manage growing demand before 
it happens and handle local 
compliance requirements – all 
through a single connection.

Achieve agility
For both AP and AR, you optimise 
your costs, maximise your invoice 
value and enhance front office 
decision-making. 

Our solutions
Total AP  
100% invoice 
digitisation from  
day one

Total AR  
Complete solution for 
AR departments

Tungsten Network 
Workflow  
Full AP process 
automation

Trade Finance  
Custom supply chain 
finance programme

Supplier Enrolment 
White glove 
onboarding to 
ensure a successful 
e-invoicing 
programme

For more information  
turn to page 08

Built to last
Within a constantly changing and 
dynamic business environment, 
digitisation is key to staying 
agile and achieving world-
class performance. Tungsten 
Network delivers digital invoice 
solutions for accounts payable 
(AP) and accounts receivable 
(AR) departments that bring 
transformative benefits throughout 
the supply chain.

Our touchless invoice process 
allows businesses around the 
globe to stay agile, receive 
tangible cost benefits and become 
a strategic partner to their 
organisations. 

Our technology
Since 2000, our technology has 
evolved but our mission has 
remained the same: to enable our 
customers to maximise the value 
of their invoice processes through 
our digital network of buyers, 
suppliers and other business 
ecosystems. 

Effortless transacting without 
manual, human intervention is 
possible, and Tungsten Network  
is the way to get there.

"We couldn’t be happier with our association with 
Tungsten. Tungsten Network has accelerated our 
global invoice process, helped us to reduce labour 
costs significantly, and allowed us to maintain 
and even strengthen our relationships with our 
valued suppliers." 

Mark Dailey 
Director Shared Services,  
Mohawk Industries

06

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

The Best-in-Class effect
Time to process a single invoice

3.1 days

(All others: 11.7 days)

Invoice exception rate

10.6%

(All others: 27.3%)

Invoices processed  
"straight through"

67.2%

(All others: 21.2%)

Cost to process  
a single invoice 

$2.56

All others: $12.88 
(all-inclusive cost)

Suppliers that submit  
invoices electronically

54.0%

(All others: 25.2%)

Invoices linked to a purchase 
order (PO)

80.2%

(All others: 44.3%)

i A stronger network
At Tungsten Network, we  
believe that the new world of 
business is about outcomes 
for our customers, and not 
ownership by us.

For more information  
turn to page 12

07

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

THE TUNGSTEN SOLUTION

Streamlining P2P transactions 
across the world

Tungsten Network technology brings a wealth 
of insightful data, strategic value and revenue 
optimisation to our customers’ invoice processes. 
Historic challenges require innovative solutions, 
and our key motivation is to deliver tangible value 
to the global businesses we serve.

PDF

Paper/post

Country 
mandates

Tax 
requirements

Total AR for  
accounts 
receivable 

Invoice created

Exceptions 
managed

Online portal

Other  
networks

Government  
gateways

EDI

Over the last 20 years, we have 
had the privilege of working 
with some of the world’s most 
respected organisations across a 
variety of industries, turning their 
digital ambitions into reality and 
helping them move away from the 
cost and complexity of multiple 
legacy systems. 

For all our solutions, our clients 
gain enhanced efficiencies through 
total invoice automation, real-
time reports and analytics, secure 
invoice archiving, and mitigation 
against potential fraud and error. 

Unlike many legacy systems, 
Tungsten Network applications 
are easily scalable to any size 
organisation, providing them with 
a future-proof solution. They can 
choose from a suite of products 
to suit their exact requirements, 
and transacting around the world 
ensuring tax and regulatory 
compliance in 54 countries.

08

Total AR
Through Total AR, we digitise 
100% of outbound sales invoices, 
converting paper and PDF to 
standardised electronic formats 
for guaranteed delivery to our 
customers’ clients. 

Easily scalable to specific 
operational needs, this solution 
unburdens AR departments 
from complex customer and 
government requirements and 
provides complete visibility across 
multiple distribution channels. 

Tungsten Network’s Total AR 
solution gives our clients complete 
control of cash flow, and real-time 
visibility to when their invoice has 
been received and when it is due 
for payment. 

More than just an AR function,  
it is a strategic financial asset.

01.   Invoice created by supplier, 

02.  The invoice is  

and uploaded in a number  
of different formats

then processed

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

"Tungsten Network brings a global, standardised approach  
to all our suppliers, which permits us to standardise our  
own processes. End-to-end solutions and partnerships  
also solve our procurement issues, too." 

Yasmine Deparre
Head of Performance & Catalog,  
Sanofi

Translation

Compliance 
check

Archive

Invoice data

Total AP for  
accounts  
payable 

Analytics

Total AP
Designed with buyers and 
suppliers in mind, Total AP 
represents a paradigm shift for 
accounts payable and shared 
services departments. 

It delivers time saving benefits, 
greatly improves cash management 
and gives businesses the agility to 
succeed in a global economy by 
converting all invoices into a single, 
digital format. 

With Total AP, our customers 
achieve 100% invoice digitisation 
from day one, accommodating all 
their suppliers, regardless of size, 
location or maturity. With real-time 
spend visibility and analysis, they 
improve their contract compliance, 
manage suppliers more effectively 
and significantly reduce costs.

Workflow
Through our fully automated 
Tungsten Network Workflow 
technology, businesses save 
valuable time in matching purchase 
order (PO) based invoices, 
approving non-standard invoices 
and processing exceptions. 

Compatible with multiple legacy 
applications, it automatically 
posts transactions into existing 
ERP systems with no human 
intervention and distributes 
invoices with no manual coding. 

By linking Tungsten Network 
Workflow to their e-invoicing 
system, our customers improve the 
efficiency of their working capital 
and can reduce AP costs by 60% or 
more. It removes their headaches 
and helps them optimise their 
buyer-supplier relationships. 

09

03.  Invoice data is then supplied 
to the buyer for fulfillment

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

GROWTH STRATEGY

Clear objectives for  
sustained growth & success

It is estimated that the global e-invoicing and enablement 
market in 2019 was €4.3 billion, and that it will reach 
around €18 billion in 2025. 

E-invoicing landscape

Key

 Leading
 Average
 Emerging
 Non-existent

Market overview
2019 Market 
Highlights

Invoices sent annually

550bn

Electronic invoices 
issued in 2019

1.3bn

Estimated value

€4.3bn

10

Key trends in 2019
From a compliance perspective, 
2019 and early 2020 is characterised 
by three main trends:

•  A focus from local tax authorities 
on reducing indirect tax gaps 
and simplifying tax filing for 
businesses

•  The full enforcement of the  
EU e-invoicing Directive

•  The immediate impact of 
Covid-19 on fiscal policies

Source: The Billentis Report

EU E-invoicing Directive
The European Union (EU) 
e-invoicing Directive (2014/55/
EU) also came into force during 
2019. It states that all public sector 
contracting entities must accept 
electronic invoices which are 
compliant with the European norm. 
The deadline for full compliance 
with the Directive was 18 April 
2020 and public authorities across 
the EU should now be able to 
process e-invoices that comply. The 
Directive is driving several countries 
to make e-invoicing compulsory for 
suppliers to the public sector, often 
mandating the invoice format. 

We expand on each of these below:

Indirect tax gaps
Tax gaps are detrimental to a 
country’s ability to invest in and 
maintain public infrastructure. 
They also negatively affect the 
ability to borrow money. Several 
countries announced legislation 
and invoicing models during 2019 
that allow governments to step into 
the business-to-business (B2B) 
invoicing cycle, capture tax early 
and eventually fully automate and 
simplify the tax filing process. This 
has been accelerated by technology 
that allows for early visibility of tax 
obligations on B2B invoices. It has 
also been inspired by the success 
of Italy’s e-invoicing mandate 
that went live on 1 January 2019. 
Turkey and some countries in Latin 
America have already deployed 
such models, also known as 
mandates.

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Covid-19 impact
The last two months of the financial 
year ending April 2020 saw 
significant emergency fiscal relief 
measures in countries partially or 
completely locking down to stem 
the spread of Covid-19. Tungsten 
Network’s flexibility in dealing 
with tax rate changes and new 
compliance requirements has 
helped many of our multinational 
customers deal with fast-changing 
regulation.

Country mandates
We work closely with ur compliance 
partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers 
(PwC), and with local tax authorities 
so we can proactively plan for 
new country mandates or other 
regulation, inform our customers 
in a timely manner and ensure 
continuity in our compliant 
territories. During 2019, Tungsten 
Network was actively engaged in 
legislation changes across several 
countries:

•  India announced mandatory 

invoice registration to a 
government platform for 
companies with annual revenues 
in excess of 100CrRn (17 Million 
USD) from 1 April 2020. Three 
weeks before implementation, 
the mandate was delayed 
until October 2020. Tungsten 
Network was ready for the April 
2020 implementation date and 
was already going through final 
testing with customers.

•  France passed a law for the 
phased implementation of 
mandatory e-invoicing between 
2023 and 2025. The French 
Ministry of Finance initiated 
a first pilot in March 2020 
aimed at understanding best 
practice. Tungsten Network 
successfully participated in this 
pilot and had the opportunity to 
provide feedback to the French 
government.

•  Germany announced that 

invoices into any public sector 
entity must be electronic 
from 27 November 2020, 
following countries such as the 
Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, 
Italy and France. Tungsten 
Network is ready for the German 
legislation through our Pan-
European Public Procurement 
Online (PEPPOL) capabilities.  
Our ability to support business-
to-government (B2G) 
connections in the EU and 
elsewhere is critical for the 
success of Total AR.

•  Hungary has implemented 
real-time invoice reporting 
requirements that initially caused 
ambiguity over the permissibility 
to use e-invoicing networks. 
Tungsten Network obtained 
two rulings from the Hungarian 
Ministry of Finance that remove 
the lack of clarity and provide 
confidence to customers in the 
region.

•  Vietnam had advanced plans to 

implement mandatory e-invoicing 
in November 2020, but in 
March 2020 the Vietnamese 
government decided to postpone 
this until July 2022.

•  Poland and the Baltic States 

are amongst a growing number of 
countries considering mandatory 
e-invoicing or invoice reporting. 
Tungsten Network compliance is 
working very closely with PwC to 
stay on top of developments.

•  In the Philippines, Tungsten 

Network has supported a major 
network buyer in obtaining a 
permit to use a computerised 
accounting system (CAS). This 
is a major development, as only 
very few e-invoicing providers 
have succeeded in obtaining this 
permit for their customers. The 
buyer can now release suppliers 
in the Philippines region.

Strategic focus for 2020
Our strategy remains one of achieving 
sustainable growth through delivering  
on the four main strategic initiatives  
that were agreed at the start of the 
financial year.

Drive the  
network effect 

Drive more value  
from our customer  
base

Deepen relationships 
with existing  
customers

Strategic  
partnerships

"The past financial year has been transformational 
for Tungsten Network. We have maintained 
resilient performance against the backdrop of a 
challenging business environment. Our continued 
focus on sales execution drove good billing 
momentum in the second half, while we invested 
in building out our capabilities and delivering on 
our strategic objectives. We maintained strong 
expense management and achieved positive 
cash generation. All these factors position the 
business well for future growth." 

Andrew Lemonofides
Chief Executive Officer

11

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

PARTNERSHIPS

Trusted partners, 
stronger network

At Tungsten Network, we believe that the 
new world of business is about outcomes  
for our customers, and not ownership by us. 

Tungsten’s mission is centred 
on enabling a touchless invoice 
process – we remain focused on 
expanding the Network to facilitate 
the delivery of a cross-border, tax 
and business compliant e-invoice 
from suppliers to their customers 
around the world. 

But that is just the beginning. 

Through our strategic partnerships, 
we are creating the ecosystem to 
allow our customers to realise greater 
value from their digital foundation, 
propelling them on their journey to 
world-class performance. 

From government portals, business 
ecosystems, e-procurement solutions 
to value-add service providers, we 
have built a dedicated team focused 
on building relationships with leading 
providers to jointly deliver our services 
resulting in better outcomes for our 
customers. These partnerships will 
allow Tungsten Network customers 
to realise greater value from their 
investment.

"We’ve been with Tungsten Network for five years now,  
they are a major part of our journey to ‘net-cost zero.’ 
They’re our key partner, our only partner, for electronic 
invoice submission." 

Paul Harvey, 
Head of Procurement Operations & Infrastructure, 
Marsh McLennan and Companies

12

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

FY20 highlights:
In FY20, our team has progressed 
partnership discussions with 
leading e-procurement, payment 
and vendor master data providers. 
Tungsten became the first certified 
e-invoicing partner with one 
of the largest e-procurement 
players globally, and collaboration 
discussions are underway with 
multiple other players. 

Trade finance remains an important 
and complementary service to 
our core offering, and during 
FY20 we engaged in a financing 
partnership with Orbian to provide 
this important service to our global 
customer base. Formally shared 
with our customers at Insights 
2020, we have already seen a 
major retailer go live and begin 
offering much-needed financing 
opportunities to their supply base 
during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Outlook
Our dedicated team is just getting 
started. In FY21 they will continue 
to focus on building partnerships 
that support our customers and 
their ambitions to build a world-
class finance function, and also 
accelerate Network growth. 

i More information
For more information check out 
our website:

www.tungsten-network.com/
about-us/partners

13

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

OUR PEOPLE & CULTURE

Embedded in our operations  
& central to what we do

134

London  
UK

5
Offices

286

Total headcount

Our stakeholders
For more information  
turn to page 18

To deliver against our strategy and 
growth ambitions, we recognise 
the need to cultivate new ways 
of working. Particularly in the 
technology sector, businesses 
evolve every day and new 
uncertainties arise. Tungsten 
Network continuously strives to 
develop a culture that inspires 
every individual to deliver 
excellence in everything they 
do, every single day, and foster 
a workforce that is agile to the 
changing dynamics of the digital 
world and evolving customer 
needs. 

This responsibility for creating an 
environment where this culture 
can thrive begins and ends with 
the Tungsten Network leadership 
team. If we expect our people 
to go above and beyond for 
our customers, we must do the 
same for them. This is why our 
employees remain at the heart 
of our wider strategy – in their 
personal aspirations, professional 
development and in shaping the 
Company’s future.

Our values
During 2020, we identified 
areas where we can develop 
interventions to support a people-
centric strategy. We needed a 
common language and vision to 
support new innovative ways of 
working. Integral to this was the 
rebrand of our internal values 
proposition, focused on the input 
of our people and the things most 
important to them. Our rebranded 
values are based on four major 
pillars:

We are Connected
We are interconnected and rely 
on each other to deliver high 
performance.

I Contribute 
We all contribute to the performance 
and success of Tungsten Network 
and we all make a difference.

Loving our Customers
We are here to support our 
customers with innovative 
technology and unsurpassed 
customer service.

14

Our people across  
the world

94

Kuala Lumpur  
Malaysia

14

Sofia 
Bulgaria

Caring for the Environment
We are focused on having a low 
impact on the environment and 
encouraging companies to use our 
services to reduce their carbon 
footprint. 

Personal and professional 
development
Employee development remains 
at the top of our agenda. Now, at 
the time of joining, each employee 
attends an induction programme 
delivered through a series of 
recorded modules and live  
webinars which take them  
through every aspect of what 
Tungsten Network does.

We have also implemented a new 
agile performance management 
approach. Instead of one major 
annual review, we run a quarterly 
objectives-based employee review 
system. 

40

Toledo 
USA

04

Rest of the  
world

Through structured two-way 
conversations, employees receive 
constructive feedback and work 
with their manager to ensure their 
objectives remain aligned to the 
priorities for the organisation. 
These reviews also provide an 
opportunity to discuss employees’ 
career aspirations and how 
Tungsten Network can support 
them in achieving these. 

Employee recognition
Our employee survey in January 
2020 yielded invaluable input from 
employees and resulted in several 
initiatives which will form part of 
our growth platform through 2020 
and beyond. 

We have fantastic people who 
deliver day in and day out for  
our customers and shareholders. 

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 
Strategic Report 

We are Connected
We are interconnected and rely 
on each other to deliver high 
performance.

Loving our Customers
We are here to support our 
customers with innovative 
technology and unsurpassed 
customer service.

The Tungsten Network leadership 
team has focused on showing our 
appreciation and recognising the 
great work happening across the 
organisation, improving two-way 
communications at all levels. 

As part of our People Strategy, 
we have developed a new 
recognition programme, linked to 
our rebranded company values. It 
includes intranet-based peer-to-
peer social recognition, quarterly 
nominations and annual Tungsten 
Hero awards. This is supported 
by a new intranet which drives 
improved communication and 
social engagement globally.

These initiatives have already 
been well received across our 
international workforce. We are 
confident that by reinforcing our 
people values throughout the 
organisation, we will continue to 
enhance delivery across all areas 
of our business. 

Sales Excellence 
programme
Continuing to recruit and develop 
salespeople with the right skills 
and attributes remained a key 
focus area for H2 of FY20. To 
grow the business during 2020, 
we needed to accelerate our 
recruitment activity without 
compromising on the quality 
of people we brought into the 
team. With this in mind, we have 
developed a Sales Excellence 
programme to continuously 
develop our sales professionals.

Aimed at unifying the sales team 
within a consistent operational 
framework, the Sales Excellence 
programme focuses on core selling 
and strategic skills. It includes 
a competency framework and 
growth development path for 
each role, helping our sales teams 
improve their individual skills and 
work at peak performance levels. 

15

I Contribute
We all contribute to the 
performance and success of 
Tungsten Network and we all 
make a difference.

Caring for the 
Environment
We are focused on having a 
low impact on the environment 
and encouraging companies to 
use our services to reduce their 
carbon footprint. 

 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

OUR PEOPLE & CULTURE continued

Life in lockdown

It is often said the only constant in life is 
change, but nothing could have prepared 
businesses and communities globally for 
Covid-19. 

At Tungsten Network, we quickly 
reacted to ensure business 
continuity while keeping our people 
and customers safe. Our robust 
business continuity processes stood 
us in good stead to manage the 
transition quickly and effectively.

Like many organisations, our 
offices have been closed since 
March and our employees have 
been working remotely – a new 
experience for many. Our challenge 
was to make sure everyone stayed 
engaged, productive, motivated 
and continued to feel part of the 
Tungsten Network community  
even from afar. ‘We are Connected’ 
is one of our core values, so it was 
important for us to make it as  
easy as possible for our people  
to communicate and collaborate  
as they did when they worked  
from a physical office.

The launch of our new intranet, 
where news and updates from 
around the Company are posted 
daily, has played an important role 
in keeping everyone in the loop and 
focused on achieving our company 
objectives. In response to employee 
feedback, we also added a social 
feed to the site, which makes it easy 
to connect with colleagues around 
the world, and a virtual recognition 
scheme where you can send kudos 
to someone to thank them for great 
work. This has been an excellent 
means of fostering a sense of 
community across our locations, 
keeping everyone connected and 
motivated. Our CEO, a staunch 
believer in the power of the 
handwritten note, has also adapted 
to the new situation. The messages 
he normally pens and posts to 
employees to congratulate them on 
birthdays, work anniversaries and 
other achievements, are now being 
sent electronically with the help of 
a scanner.

Highlights

New joiners

60

16

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

To date, we have welcomed 60 new 
joiners during lockdown, all of whom 
joined remotely. These new recruits 
must adapt not only to a new 
company, team and culture, but 
they are also navigating an entirely 
new way of working. To tackle 
these challenges, our HR team 
has established a special remote 
onboarding process that aims to be 
both thoughtful and practical, and 
is carefully tailored to the virtual 
nature of current working.

Our IT department has worked 
tirelessly behind the scenes to make 
the remote onboarding process as 
easy as possible for new employees. 
The team used to build laptops 
for new employees in the office. 
This was an automated process 
that required little attention, but 
with our offices closed they had to 
adapt quickly. Our Global IT Support 
Manager turned his own home into 
a laptop-building factory during 
lockdown. He would have the 
machines delivered to his house, 
build them, then have a courier 
collect them and ship them to the 
new employee with all the software 
installed and ready to go. With 60 
laptops to ship, it didn’t take long for 
him to be on first name terms with 
his local courier.

It’s clear that 2020 is not ‘business 
as usual’ for any company – ours 
included. However, it is how you 
deal with challenges that really 
shows your mettle. Everyone in the 
Company has met this monumental 
change with poise, pragmatism 
and positivity. If this pandemic has 
proved anything, it has to be the 
resilience, drive and calibre of our 
employees and the robustness of 
our company. We will emerge from 
this experience a stronger and more 
united organisation.

With offices closed, the importance 
of technology and connectivity 
quickly emerged so we could do 
our jobs and access the information 
we needed. Video conferencing 
is the standout service that has 
made the transition to remote 
working easier for everyone, and 
many of our teams organise virtual 
events to keep in contact with 
their colleagues. In Sofia, Bulgaria, 
members of the Service Delivery 
and Support teams often have 
informal catch ups where they 
discuss non-work topics, introduce 
their pets, and have a laugh. Our 
Technical Operations team has 
set up an online pub quiz, and 
Marketing holds virtual coffee 
breaks every week.

In May, we used video conferencing 
to hold a series of virtual kick-
off meetings, where we brought 
everyone together to celebrate 
our people, highlight our business 
priorities, and lay out our company 
strategy for the year. Although 
we originally planned for these 
sessions to be run in person, they 
were very popular even in virtual 
format, and dozens of departments 
sent in hundreds of fantastic team 
collages from all around the world. 
These pictures highlighted the 
brilliant personalities and spirit of 
our employees and brought us all 
together as one team, even though 
we were physically apart.

However, few would disagree that 
a video call is no substitute for 
face-to-face relationship building, 
especially for those who are new 
to Tungsten Network. Being in the 
office allows you to take in sounds, 
body language and nuances that 
help you begin to understand 
and assimilate to a new company 
culture. With our offices still closed, 
this is not possible – so new 
joiners find themselves in a unique 
situation that presents a new 
challenge both for them and the 
business.

17

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

OUR STAKEHOLDERS

Embedded in our operations  
& central to what we do

We recognise that each of our 
stakeholder groups has a high 
impact on our business. They 
are imperative to achieving our 
ambitious goals and driving value 
for our customers, and we have 
structured communications 
channels to ensure they are 
kept informed regularly and 
transparently. 

Like all UK companies, Tungsten 
Network’s Board of Directors 
must act in accordance with a set 
of general duties as detailed in 
section 172 of the UK Companies 
Act 2006 and summarised as 
follows:

Our Directors engage with all our 
key stakeholder groups on an 
ongoing basis: Our People, Our 
Customers and Our Investors.  
The Directors continually review 
the impact any company decision 
will have on key stakeholders. 

Our people
We continuously engage with our 
people on several levels. Central 
to our people culture is to gain 
their valuable input which we do 
through employee surveys and 
regular ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions. 
For general communications and 
company updates, we use various 
channels that include our company 
intranet, weekly communications, 
quarterly staff meetings and 
annual kick-offs. 

We recognise that supporting 
our people so they can meet 
their professional and personal 
aspirations is crucial to their 
morale and also the success of 
the Company. In this regard, we 
have changed our performance 
management process from annual 
to quarterly reviews so employees 
can receive constructive feedback, 
voice their concerns and update 
their objectives on a regular basis. 
In addition, our recently updated 
recognition system includes 
intranet-based peer-to-peer social 
recognition, quarterly nominations 
and our annual Tungsten Hero 
awards. We go into more detail on 
both our performance management 
and people recognition in the 
People & Culture section of  
this report.

18

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Our customers
Like every business, our customers 
are crucial to Tungsten Network’s 
ongoing success and strategic 
growth. And like our people, 
they are therefore central to 
everything we do. We continuously 
communicate with our customers 
through annual events and 
monthly newsletters, while our 
dedicated Client Management 
team is engaged in constant 
customer liaison. 

Through our Sales Excellence 
programme, our sales teams 
are able to optimise their own 
engagement levels with our 
customers, understanding their 
needs and ensuring they gain the 
maximum value from the solutions 
we provide. In turn, through 
Tungsten Network solutions our 
customers are able to engage with 
their own clients and stakeholders 
across the supply chain 
transparently and efficiently. 

Our investors
It is top of our agenda to maintain 
strong relationships with our 
investors and shareholders, and 
we maintain high levels of trust 
through transparent engagement 
and open communications. 

As well as regular meetings, 
we stay engaged with our 
investors and shareholders 
through channels such as annual 
general meetings (AGMs) and 
regulatory news service (RNS) 
announcements. These could be 
monthly or quarterly, depending  
on the purpose or context. 

19

 
 
 
CEO'S REVIEW

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

“Our continued focus on sales execution has 
driven good billing momentum in the second 
half, as we have invested in building out our 
capabilities and delivering on our strategic 
objectives.”
Andrew Lemonofides
Chief Executive Officer

2020

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Overview
FY20 was a year of transformation 
for Tungsten in which, although 
we reported an operating loss 
of £25.5 million, we delivered 
revenue and adjusted EBITDA 
growth whilst also making strong 
progress against our key strategic 
objectives. We had a robust 
approach to the Covid-19 crisis 
which gives us the confidence to 
face the challenges and embrace 
the opportunities ahead of us. 

Covid-19 response
The Covid-19 crisis has had a 
limited financial impact on FY20 as 
it escalated toward the end of our 
financial year. Our priorities have 
been to protect our team members 
and to protect their health and well-
being; to look after our customers; 
and to make our business secure 
both financially and operationally. 

We took a number of swift actions 
including:

“With our market experience and stable suite of 
products that are both innovative and global, 
we help our customers benefit and succeed in 
the digital economy by digitising their invoice 
flows, enabling invoice processing to be faster 
and allowing greater flexibility around cash flow 
management.”

Performance  
highlights

New deals

4

Expected new buyers

28

Expected new  
suppliers

40,000

Growth in transaction 
volume

4%

Repeatable and  
recurring revenue 

94%

Our continued focus on sales 
execution has driven good billing 
momentum in the second half as 
we have invested in building out 
our capabilities and delivering 
on our strategic objectives. We 
maintained strong expense 
management and achieved 
positive cash generation, which 
positions the business well for 
future growth.

Our purpose
With our market experience and 
stable suite of products that are 
both innovative and global, we help 
our customers benefit and succeed 
in the digital economy by digitising 
their invoice flows, enabling 
invoice processing to be faster and 
allowing greater flexibility around 
cash flow management.

Whilst it is too early to draw 
definitive conclusions on the 
impact of Covid-19, initial 
indications are that we see 
Covid-19 providing a potential 
catalyst to accelerate the need to 
digitise invoices as a response to 
the crisis and also to reflect the 
new way of working going forward. 

Many organisations have yet to 
fully digitise their invoice flows 
and we are now seeing customers 
looking at ways to speed up their 
digitisation plans as we play our 
part of being an essential partner 
on their journey to best-in-class 
digital invoice processing.

•  Achieving a smooth transition 
to full remote working across 
all our sites: London; Atlanta; 
Sofia; Kuala Lumpur and Toledo 
ahead of formal lockdowns being 
implemented in each country;

•  We took prudent and early 

action to preserve liquidity and 
reduce discretionary costs 
which included an immediate 
Group-wide pay freeze as well 
as pausing all non-essential 
recruitment. We also decided that 
we would not pay a management 
bonus to staff for FY20; and

•  We formed a Covid-19 team in 
March and have held regular 
management and Company-wide 
updates. These meetings will 
continue as we work to define 
our “new operating model” to 
meet these new challenges and 
opportunities.

Although the impact of Covid-19 
has not been as marked as with 
many other organisations, the 
full effect on the business is still 
unfolding. 

Our strategic focus areas
In the current rapidly changing 
environment, we continue 
to invest and strengthen the 
capabilities and skills of our teams 
to support the growing needs of 
our customers around the world, 
especially as their own customers 
(buyers and suppliers) are also 
looking to speed up the rate of 
invoice digitisation. 

We remain committed to 
supporting our customers with 
solutions which meet the demands 
being placed on them and 
which meet all of the regulatory 
requirements.

Our strategy remains one of 
achieving sustainable growth 
through delivering on the four  
main strategic initiatives that  
were agreed at the start of the 
financial year.

Driving the network effect  
– Total AR
The key objective here is to 
handle 100% of the outgoing 
invoices in all formats. Following 
launch in July 2019, we signed 
four new deals across the year, 
proving the concept and customer 
requirements. We enter FY21 with  
a growing pipeline.

Strategic partnerships with 
e-procurement providers
Ensures our service receives the 
widest possible attention. We have 
integrated with the Coupa network 
and gained CoupaLink certification. 
This provides a platform to explore 
further opportunities for working 
with Coupa and their buyers and 
suppliers. Additionally, we are 
exploring partnerships with a 
number of other key P2P players.

Interconnecting with other 
leading e-invoice platforms
This is designed to improve the 
scale and reach for our customers 
and in turn boost turnover, volume 
and income. We have signed a 
major partnership with a US bank 
which is expected to add up to 28 
new buyers and 40,000 suppliers 
to our network. 

Trade Finance Reset
Focused on accessing the 
considerable trade flows 
across our global platform. Our 
exclusive partnership with Orbian 
was successfully launched in 
March following two months of 
technical integration. Our launch 
customer signed in April and we 
are expecting to advance up to 
c. £100 million of finance to this 
one customer’s suppliers. We 
have a strong pipeline of further 
opportunities for the coming year, 
from what is proving to be an 
exciting profitable revenue stream.

21

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Risk management
For more information  
turn to pages 28  
to 30 

Expansion of our customer base 
and network remain key, not 
only through our existing and 
new customer base, but through 
extending the offerings we give to 
our customers, for example supply 
chain finance. 

We also have our Workflow offering 
and are looking at how to monetise 
our data through the provision of 
analytics.

Foundations for growth
As we continue to execute against 
our strategic priorities, they will 
provide a solid foundation to 
the growth aspirations that we 
have for Tungsten. We have three 
fundamental pillars of success:

“The changing dynamics of the market 
mean that network interconnection and 
interoperability form the foundation of 
future success which we will continue to 
address through our strategic initiatives.”

1.  Our global network – 

this remains a significant 
differentiator as the overall 
network effect is multiplied 
as more buyers and suppliers 
are connected through and 
transact across the network. 
Clearly our goals are around 
maximising those connections 
and interconnecting with other 
networks to broaden reach.

2. Innovation remains key to our 
long-term success. This year 
the successful launch of our 
Total AR product and the new 
Orbian platform underlined 
the importance of continuing 
to innovate. Ahead of us we 
need to look both at further 
augmenting our product set 
and also at platform usability as 
these will become increasingly 
important differentiators.

3. Our people are fundamental 
to our long-term success. 
Whilst much of my initial focus 
was around creating the right 
organisational structure, this has 
been balanced with changing 
the culture to one which is more 
value driven and inclusive. We 
have significantly increased the 
level of internal communication 
and engagement, as we seek to 
show how much we value the 
contributions that our team are 
making and how important they 
are to our future success.

An evolving competitive 
landscape
As we look to leverage our global 
network effect, we will make an 
investment in building out our 
partner business to provide greater 
reach over the coming year. We 
need to have the capability to 
deliver our model both directly 
and indirectly to allow us to most 
effectively meet the increasing 
demands of our customers.

The changing dynamics 
of the market mean that 
network interconnection 
and interoperability form the 
foundation of future success 
which we will continue to address 
through our strategic initiatives.

Equally with the increasing 
complexity of the regulatory 
frameworks being introduced by 
individual countries, we remain 
heavily focused on building out our 
compliant network to give presence 
in those countries that introduce 
mandates for invoice processing 
to ensure that we continue to offer 
our comprehensive service to our 
customers. 

Our people
In this year of transformation, 
there have been a number of 
notable changes since I joined in 
September 2019. I was keen to 
strengthen my leadership team 
to give the needed focus around 
driving both accountability and 
execution. Chris Allen joined as 
our new Chief Financial Officer, 
in addition to Eric Craig being 
appointed as Chief Sales Officer 
and Ian Kelly as our new Chief 
Commercial Officer. All have hit 
the ground running and have 
elevated the commerciality 
and professionalism within the 
business.

The sales team has also been 
reshaped, to ensure that we 
had capable sales professionals 
focused on delivering the right 
results for our customers and able 
to build the right relationships. 
Equally our back office has been 
transformed as we have sought 
to establish a more collaborative 
environment, with everyone, at all 
levels, focused around delivering 
customer-oriented results.

CEO'S REVIEW continued

Performance
Our core business has performed 
well over the year, with transaction 
volumes growing 4%. 94% of 
revenue was repeatable and 
recurring (up from 92% in FY19) 
and we had net cash of £3.2 
million reflecting positive full year 
cash generated from operations 
of £4.6 million. We had six new 
AP and AR customer wins, four of 
which were with our new Total AR 
product. Accounts Payable (AP) is 
Tungsten transmitting e-invoices 
from buyer to supplier, Accounts 
Receivable (AR) is the opposite, in 
which suppliers are sending their 
invoices to a number of buyers. In 
both cases, we look to handle 100% 
of the invoice volume to maximise 
efficiencies and cost savings. 

We also successfully wound down 
our TNF portfolio, replacing it 
with our new partnership with 
Orbian where we were able to 
replace our legacy approach to 
Trade Finance for one which sees 
our systems integrated and the 
request for financing made at the 
point of need. The flexibility and 
simplicity of this approach has 
proved highly successful with our 
launch customer and we have high 
expectations for the success of 
this product going forward.

We have a considerable 
opportunity to continue to work 
with our existing customers to 
build out and fully digitise their 
existing invoice flows. In addition, 
we plan to achieve further success 
in bringing new customers to our 
network, whilst leveraging the 
network effect which our global 
network provides as we look to 
connect buyers to their suppliers 
and in reverse (allowing for the first 
time, suppliers to transmit 100% of 
their outbound invoices through 
the Tungsten Network in a variety 
of formats to their buyers), making 
it easy for suppliers to connect to 
multiple buyers.

Tungsten has continued to invest 
in robust and efficient processes 
to swiftly onboard new buyers 
and suppliers to the network, 
in addition to providing leading 
exception handling processes 
that seek to maximise the straight 
through processing of invoices 
for customers. This allows them 
to maximise the potential savings 
associated with invoice digitisation.

22

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

“Our people are fundamental to our long-
term success. Whilst much of my initial 
focus was around creating the right 
organisational structure, this has been 
balanced with changing the culture 
to one which is more value driven and 
inclusive.”

Finally, I would like to thank all 
of our customers, suppliers and 
employees for their dedication 
and commitment in what has 
been a challenging year. I am very 
proud of the contribution and 
achievements of the entire team  
at Tungsten, who have proved  
their ability to be flexible and 
agile in focusing on delivering 
to customer expectations. We 
have achieved a great deal in a 
short time and have built a strong 
foundation from which to deliver 
growth in our business.

As we exit our “transition phase” 
we are well placed to take 
advantage of the opportunities 
which the “new ways of doing 
business” in the post-Covid-19  
era will undoubtedly present.

Andrew Lemonofides
Chief Executive Officer

6 September 2020

•  Service Cloud – as part of the 
rollout of Salesforce.com, the 
service platform Service Cloud 
has been adopted across our 
back-office to further enhance 
the customer journey and 
visibility of customer engagement 
across the business.

With our focus on simplicity and 
scalability, we have also launched 
an updated version of our website, 
designed to more effectively 
position the Tungsten USPs and 
our product set. We also appointed 
Tavistock as our Financial PR 
agency and have been working 
with them to implement a 
cohesive strategy focused on both 
institutional and retail investors, 
both in Europe and particularly  
the US. 

We will continue to evolve our 
offerings across FY21, with an 
increased focus on the user 
experience.

Looking ahead
FY20 was a transformational year 
for Tungsten. We made significant 
progress in further reducing costs 
and putting the right sales and 
support structures in place to 
drive sustainable growth over the 
medium term.

We continue to have a loyal 
customer base who are keen to 
work with us to address many of 
the challenges which the market 
is facing in the post Covid-19 
world. Covid-19 if nothing else, has 
acted as a catalyst to encourage 
companies to view their paper 
invoice streams as a risk which 
can be mitigated through the 
acceleration of the digitisation  
of their invoices.

We will continue to work closely 
with our partners, develop our 
network, invest in innovative new 
revenue streams and in our people. 
We will continue to deliver on our 
four strategic initiatives to ensure 
that we remain the leading player 
in our industry. 

We also launched our first 
employee engagement survey, the 
results of which were interesting 
and very encouraging as they 
highlighted what a truly passionate 
and committed team we have. 
We have launched a number of 
initiatives aimed at leveraging 
this internal passion and focusing 
attention around meeting and 
exceeding customer needs and 
expectations. 

Enhancing our approach
We have delivered on four new 
technological steps which further 
help our clients integrate and work 
with the Tungsten Network.

•  The Tungsten Portal used by 
our buyers and suppliers has 
been a key focus during the year. 
We adopted an evolutionary 
approach which has been taken 
to redesign the user experience 
focusing on known customer 
pain points. During the year we 
have also delivered a re-designed 
supplier onboarding experience 
along with a new look and feel to 
the overall portal.

•  Supplier Connect – one of the 
key drivers for Tungsten is to 
onboard increasing numbers of 
suppliers, but once on boarded 
we want to encourage these 
suppliers to expand their usage 
on the network by increasing 
their connections to new buyers. 
We have introduced exciting  
new capability “Customer 
Connect” which allows our 
suppliers to connect to buyers 
using a self-service option 
which allows them to transact in 
minimal time and with minimal 
effort. We have seen significant 
uptake and very positive feedback 
from our suppliers since launch.

•  Touchless Campaigns – supplier 
onboarding is our “white glove” 
process which has always been 
popular with buyers. We have 
enhanced this with a “touchless 
campaigns” capability which 
allows buyers to integrate their 
vendor management solution 
directly with Tungsten to enable 
a touchless onboarding process. 
This allows a continual cycle of 
supplier onboarding as and when 
new suppliers are added to the 
buyer’s vendor management 
system.

23

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Income statement
£m 

Revenue 
Cost of sales 

Gross profit  

Adjusted operating expenses2 

Adjusted EBITDA3 
Rent adjustment4 

EBITDA5 

Other operating expenses 

Operating loss 
Net finance income/(costs) 

Loss before taxation 
Taxation 

Loss for the year 

Group

FY20 

FY19 
(Restated)

1

36.8 
(1.6) 

35.2 

(32.5) 

2.7 
1.0 

3.7 

(29.2) 

(25.5) 
(0.4) 

(25.9) 
(0.1) 

(26.0) 

36.0
(1.9)

34.1

(33.5)

0.6
-

0.6

(5.8)

(5.2)
(0.1)

(5.3)
1.4

(3.9)

1  The 2019 income statement has been restated to amend the recognition of a deferred tax charge.

2  Adjusted operating expenses exclude cost of sales, other income, interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, impairment of intangible 
assets, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gains or losses, share-based payments charges, and exceptional items, and is 
adjusted to include cash rental expenses and rental income.

3  Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net finance cost, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment of intangible assets, 
loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss, share-based payment expense and exceptional items, and is adjusted to 
include cash rental expenses and rental income. 

4  Rent adjustment includes both cash rental expenses and rental income. The adoption of IFRS 16 results in this expense falling below 

EBITDA in FY20.

5  EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net finance cost, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment of intangible assets, loss on 

disposal of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss, share-based payment expense and exceptional items. The most directly comparable 
IFRS measure to segment EBITDA is operating loss for the period. Management utilises EBITDA to monitor performance as it illustrates 
the underlying performance of the business by excluding items management considers to be not reflective of the underlying trading 
operations of the Group, or adding items which are reflective of the overall trading operations, as applicable.

Revenue
£m  

Recurring revenue2 
Repeatable revenue3 

Total recurring and repeatable revenue 
Other revenue4 

Tungsten Network total revenue  

TNF revenue5 

Group revenue 

Recurring revenue % of total Tungsten Network revenue6 
Total recurring & repeating revenue % of total  
Tungsten Network revenue7 

FY20 

FY19  Movement

1

19.6 
14.4 

34.0 
2.3 

36.3 

0.5 

36.8 

54% 

94% 

19.0 
13.5 

32.5 
2.9 

35.4 

0.6 

36.0 

54% 

92% 

4%
5%

4%
-17%

3%

-17%

2%

–

2%

1  Revenue is shown to the nearest £0.1 million. Movement is calculated on figures to the nearest £1.

2  Recurring revenue represents annual subscription and maintenance fees on contracts typically ranging from one to three years and 

billed annually in advance.

3  Repeatable revenue represents transaction-based fees from contracted customers, typically billed at the point of usage or at the end 

of the month of usage.

4  Other revenue represents implementation, modification and professional services fees, billed either in advance or on completion of 

project stages.

5  TNF revenue relates to revenue generated by the trade finance business announced for disposal but not treated as an asset held for 

disposal at the end of FY20.

6  Recurring revenue is revenue from annual subscription and maintenance fees as a % of revenue excluding TNF.

7  Recurring and repeatable revenue is total recurring and repeatable revenue as a % of revenue excluding TNF.

CFO'S REVIEW

Revenue excluding TNF for the 
year was £36.3 million (FY19: 
£35.4 million), representing an 
increase of 2.6%. The growth in 
revenue reflected the net benefits 
of new customer sales, additional 
product sales to current customers 
and increased transaction 
volumes. Revenue including TNF 
for the year was £36.8 million 
(FY19: £36.0 million), representing 
an increase of 2.1%.

Total new sales billings in FY20  
were £4.0 million, representing 
year one billings for new services 
sold to current and new buyers. 
£3.2 million of this was recognised 
in FY20, with the balance of £0.8 
million to be recognised in FY21.

Recurring revenue increased 
by £0.6 million, or 3%, to £19.6 
million (FY19: £19.0 million) due 
to a combination of six new sales 
across our AP and AR solutions, 
offset by the loss of one AP buyer.

Repeatable revenue increased 
by £0.9 million, or 7%, to £14.4 
million (FY19: £13.5 million) due 
to increased transaction volumes 
processed for new and existing 
customers, as well as targeted 
supplier price increases. 

Other revenue decreased by £0.6 
million to £2.3 million (FY19: £2.9 
million) due to fewer AP and AR 
sales in the year, as well as the 
benefit in FY19 from increased set 
up fees following the regulatory 
changes enforced by the Italian tax 
authority. 

TNF revenue generated fees of 
£0.5 million in FY20 (FY19: £0.6 
million), a decrease of £0.1 million 
due to a decrease in the average 
outstanding as the business is 
being wound down.

Revenue by type of customer
Buyer revenue represented 42%  
of Tungsten Network revenue in 
FY20 (FY19: 43%). Total Buyer 
revenue was £15.3 million (FY19: 
£15.2 million), reflecting a growth  
in recurring and discretionary 
revenue of 8.6% (£1.1 million)  
and a fall in one-off revenue  
of 41.1% (£1.0 million).

Supplier revenue represented 58% 
of Tungsten Network revenue in the 
2020 financial year (FY19: 57%). Total 
Supplier revenue grew 4.4% to £21.0 
million (FY19: £20.1 million). This 
reflected a growth in recurring and 
discretionary revenue of 4.1% (£0.8 
million) as well as a growth in one-
off revenue of 12.0% (£0.1 million).

2424

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Expenses
£m  

Sales & marketing 
Service delivery 
Technology & product 
Finance, administration, Board & central overheads 

Adjusted operating expenses1 

Rent adjustment 
Cost of sales 
Depreciation and amortisation  
Loss on disposal of assets 
Foreign exchange gain/(loss) 
Share based payment expense 
Exceptional items 
Impairment 

Statutory operating expenses 

FY20 

(5.8) 
(7.2) 
(10.3) 
(9.2) 

(32.5) 

1.0 
(1.6) 
(4.4) 
(0.6) 
0.8 
(0.5) 
(1.5) 
(23.0) 

(62.3) 

FY19  Movement1

(7.3) 
(6.8) 
(10.0) 
(9.4) 

(33.5) 

– 
(1.9) 
(4.1) 
(2.2) 
1.7 
(0.2) 
(1.0) 
– 

(41.2)  

1.5
0.4
(0.3)
0.2

1.0

1.0
0.3
(0.3)
1.6
(0.9)
(0.3)
(0.5)
(23.0)

(21.1)

1  Adjusted operating expenses exclude cost of sales, other income, interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, impairment of intangible 
assets, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gains or losses, share-based payments charges, and exceptional items, and are 
adjusted to include cash rental expenses and rental income.

Financial  
Statements
For more information  
turn to pages 66  
to 119

Expenses
The Group’s adjusted operating 
expenses reduced by 3% to £32.5 
million (FY19: £33.5 million). 

Sales and marketing expenses 
reduced by £1.5 million to £5.8 
million. This primarily reflects 
reductions to ineffective marketing 
spend in the second half of the 
financial year and savings in payroll.

Service delivery expenses 
increased by £0.4 million, largely 
due to increased staff costs. 
Technology and product costs 
increased by £0.3 million year-
on-year largely due to investment 
in our technical operations and 
development resources. Finance, 
administration, Board and central 
overheads reduced by £0.2 million,  
or 2%, to £9.2 million due to 
savings from professional  
support and office costs. 

Statutory operating expenses 
increased by £21.1 million to  
£62.3 million (FY19: £41.2 million). 
Key movements include:

•  Goodwill impairment of £23.0 
million relating to the carrying 
value of the goodwill associated 
with the OB10 acquisition in 
2013, reflecting unprecedented 
economic conditions brought 
about by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
This does not reflect a change 
in the overall Group’s strategic 
outlook for its longer-term future. 

•  Reduction in the foreign 

exchange translation gain of £0.9 
million reflecting the revaluation 
at year-end of monetary assets 
and liabilities denominated in 
foreign currencies.

•  Reduction in loss on disposal 
of £1.6 million related to the 
write-off of internally generated 
intangible assets.

•  Share-based payment expense 
increase of £0.3 million due to 
the issuance of share options for 
new senior management.

•  Depreciation and amortisation 
increase of £0.3 million due 
to the commencement of 
amortising software development 
costs incurred in FY19 and FY20.

•  Exceptional items increased  
by £0.5 million primarily due  
to restructure activity.

Loss before tax
The Group generated a loss 
before tax of £26.0 million (FY19: 
£5.3 million). The reduction 
primarily reflects the £23.0 
million impairment charge for 
goodwill, reflecting unprecedented 
economic conditions brought 
about by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
This does not reflect a change 
in the overall Group’s strategic 
outlook for its longer-term future.

Taxation
There is a tax charge of £0.1 million 
for the year (FY19 restated: credit 
£1.4 million). Last year’s tax credit 
included a £1.5 million research 
and development tax credit.

Loss per share
The basic and diluted loss per share 
was 20.62p (FY19 restated: 3.11p). 

Dividends
The Company has not paid, 
and does not propose to pay, a 
dividend in relation to FY20.

Prior year adjustments
During the year the Group 
identified a deferred tax liability 
that had been incorrectly recorded 
in 2013 following the acquisition 
of OB10 Ltd and the incorrect 
unwinding of a deferred tax liability 
created following the acquisition 
of DocuSphere Inc., in 2014. Both 
liabilities have been offset with an 
equal and opposite deferred tax 
asset which has been unwound 
through the prior year accounts in 
line with the historic treatment of 
the deferred tax liability.

The Group also identified three 
liabilities totalling £0.9 million 
that arose in previous years, but 
which were not recorded on the 30 
April 2019 statement of financial 
position. The liabilities reflected 
a more appropriate revenue 
recognition policy from our Web 
Form supplier revenue, the booking 
of a compensated absence accrual 
and the booking of an additional 
indirect tax accrual relating to the 
Group’s global activities. These 
have resulted in the restatement 
of the consolidated statements of 
financial position at 30 April 2019 
and 30 April 2018 to include these 
liabilities. The effect of these items 
on the 2019 income statement is 
not material and so they have no 
effect on either the loss for the 
year or the loss per share in 2019. 
Further details are set out in Note 
26 to the consolidated financial 
statements.

Funding and liquidity
Cash and cash equivalents at the 
end of FY20 were £5.2 million 
(FY19: £3.8 million). Net cash 
(including borrowings under the 
revolving credit facility) at the end 
of FY20 was £3.2 million (FY19: 
£2.8 million).

The Group had a cash inflow in  
FY20 of £1.5 million, with cash  
and cash equivalents at the end 
of FY20 of £5.2 million. Including 
borrowings, cash was £3.2 million. 
Liquidity, including £2 million of 
undrawn revolving credit facility 
with a maturity date of July 2021, 
was £7.2 million.

25

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

CFO'S REVIEW continued

Cash flows from operating 
activities
Cash generated from operating 
activities was £4.6 million (FY19: 
-£0.3 million). The improvement 
on the prior year was due to lower 
operating losses and improved 
working capital, particularly around 
invoice billing and cash collection. 

Cash flows from investing 
activities
Cash spent on investing activities 
decreased by £0.3m to £3.0 million 
(FY19: £3.3 million), reflecting a 
higher mix of maintenance work as 
opposed to the development work  
of our technology team.

Cash flows from financing 
activities
Cash flow from financing activities 
of £(0.1)m (FY19: £1.0 million) 
relates to the partial draw down 
of another £1 million of the 
revolving credit facility in March 
2020, offset by £1.1 million of 
office rental payments. The office 
rental payments were included 
in operating activities prior to the 
adoption of IFRS 16.

The FY20 movement in the Group’s 
cash, excluding drawings from the 
revolving credit facility (RCF), was 
a £0.5 million inflow. This included 
a £1.8 million outflow in H1-FY20, 
offset by a £2.4 million inflow in  
H2-FY20 (£3.4 million inflow, less 
£1.0 million drawings on the RCF). 

Capital expenditure 
During the year, the Group spent 
£3.0 million on capital expenditure, 
being £0.2 million in relation to 
property, plant and equipment, and 
£2.8 million in relation to internally 
capitalised software development. 
This compares to £3.3 million 
in total in FY19. Our significant 
internally-generated software 
development expenditure was in 
relation to the development of new 
functionality and a more modern 
look and feel for our customer 
portal and updates to our core 
transaction processing software. 

26

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Cash flow
£m  

Net cash flow from operating activities 
Net cash flow from investing activities 
Net cash flow from financing activities 

Net movement in cash & cash equivalents 
Exchange adjustments 
Cash & cash equivalents at the start of the period 

Cash & cash equivalents at the end of the period 

FY20 

FY19

4.6 
(3.0) 
(0.1) 

1.5 
(0.1) 
3.8 

5.2 

(0.3)
(3.3)
1.0

(2.6)
–
6.4

3.8

We must therefore prepare the 
business for varying levels of 
sales decline. To that end, we have 
modelled the effects of differing 
levels of sales decline along with 
the measures we can take to 
ensure that the Group remains 
within its covenants, and we have 
prepared cash flow forecasts for a 
period in excess of 12 months.

We anticipate revenues meeting 
budget over FY21 but recognise 
that there is a risk that the Group 
will be impacted by reductions 
in the number of invoices our 
customers process and by 
prospective customers delaying 
implementation projects. If sales 
and settlement of existing debts 
are not in line with cash flow 
forecasts, the Directors have 
identified cost savings associated 
with the reduction in revenues and 
have the ability to identify further 
cost savings if necessary.

The Directors have no reason to 
believe that customer revenues 
and receipts will decline to the 
point that the Group no longer has 
sufficient resources to fund its 
operations. However, in the unlikely 
event that this should occur, 
the Group will have to adjust its 
working capital positions, as well 
as making significant reductions  
in its fixed cost expenses. 

Chris Allen
Chief Financial Officer

6 September 2020

Balance sheet items
Goodwill has reduced by  
£22.9 million to £76.1 million  
(FY19 restated: £99.0 million), 
reflecting the £23.0 million 
impairment charge which is 
partially offset by foreign exchange 
translation movements.

Following the adoption of IFRS 16 
‘Leases’ the Group recognised  
£6.4 million right-of-use assets  
and £7.0 million of lease liabilities, 
more details of which are disclosed 
in Note 2 of the Group accounts.

The Group has increased contract 
liabilities by £1.8 million to £8.9 
million, details of which are 
disclosed in Note 22. 

Related parties
The Group entered into 
transactions with related parties 
in the ordinary course of business, 
more details of which are disclosed 
in Note 25 of the Group accounts.

Going concern
Although the impact of Covid-19 
has not been as marked as with 
many other organisations, the 
full effect on the business is still 
unfolding. Revenue since the 
year end has been in line with our 
expectations with only limited 
adverse effects of Covid-19 
being apparent, and the move to 
remote working has increased 
the importance of e-invoicing 
to our customers and potential 
customers. However, we have no 
experience of a similar crisis and 
so it is difficult to predict the extent 
to which Covid-19 may affect 
future revenues. It is not yet clear 
how long the pandemic will last 
and what the medium to long-
term effect will be on business 
behaviour.

27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

RISK MANAGEMENT

Principal risks & uncertainties

For more information
Audit Committee 
report: page 42

Tungsten Corporation Plc is proud 
to operate the world’s biggest 
compliant e-invoicing network and 
to be a trusted partner to hundreds 
of thousands of global enterprises. 
Our customers expect us to 
proactively manage and predict  
the risks and uncertainties that  
are inherent in business.

Risk management at Tungsten 
Corporation Plc starts at Board 
level but is delivered throughout 
the Group. The Audit Committee 
continually monitors and promotes 
the highest standards of integrity, 
financial reporting, risk management 
and internal control.

The Executive Directors and senior 
management team oversee the 
management of the business 
utilising a wide range of controls, 
including financial, operational, 
compliance and risk management 
oversight. They ensure the 
implementation and execution 
of our risk management strategy 
across the business.

Tungsten Corporation Plc’s 
dedicated compliance and cyber 
security teams are accountable 
for sustaining the Company’s 
ISO 27001 (information security 
management) and ISAE 3402 
(controls at a service organisation) 
certifications. Chaired by Tungsten 
Network’s General Counsel/Data 
Protection Officer, our Security 
Committee includes members of 
the senior management team and 
key personnel from the business 
who are responsible for delivery.

All significant sales opportunities 
are subject to technical and 
contractual review by senior 
members of our legal, financial, and 
commercial and technology teams, 
and we develop all our systems, 
products and services under strict 
controls. As part of our risk strategy, 
we recruit individuals who are 
expert in our markets, technology 
and support disciplines. The Group 
has a delegation of authorities 
that clearly sets out the approval 
required for key activities, including 
those conducted by the Board and 
Executive Directors. 

The Company has undergone a 
period of change in Board, strategy, 
senior management, operations, 
governance and culture. Effective 
risk management has remained 
a high priority throughout these 
changes.

While not exhaustive, the tables 
below show Tungsten Network’s key 
risks and our mitigation strategies.

Risk

Impact

Mitigation

•  Active management in place to spread revenues across all customers. 
No one customer accounts for significant revenue or concentration of 
revenue.

•  Structured contracts approval process with clearly defined selection 
criteria, to ensure contracts are taken on or renewed only where 
Tungsten Network can provide a good service and manage any risks 
involved.

•  Continual review and development of the client relationship 

management structure and function to improve services to the existing 
customer base.

•  Robust process to continuously listen and respond to customers so we 
can enhance their experience of using Tungsten Network’s products 
and services.

•  Timely Executive Committee reviews on market movement.

•  Regular communications with our main buyers to understand how any 

potential geopolitical factors are affecting their businesses.

Customer Relationships 
Tungsten Network works with some 
of the world’s biggest companies. 
There is a risk that we may fail 
to win or retain contracts on 
satisfactory terms and conditions 
with existing as well as new 
targeted customers and markets.

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

•  Failure to achieve 

revenue, profit and 
earnings targets. 

Risk level
Risk change: Unchanged
Impact on strategy: Medium

Market 
Geopolitical issues around global 
trade wars, regulation, Brexit and 
global recession could lead to 
catastrophic loss of business  
by our large customers.

Risk level
Risk change: NEW
Impact on strategy: Medium

•  Failure to meet our 
revenue, profit and 
earnings targets.

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

•  Impact on the 

viability of doing 
business in some 
countries.

28

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

Impact

Mitigation

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

•  Failure to achieve 
our revenue, profit 
and earnings 
targets.

•  Since late February, Tungsten Network’s Executive Management  
team has closely monitored the Covid-19 situation and observed  
reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), local governments 
and agencies – particularly within the countries where we operate.

•  Stress testing on employees’ capability to work from home,  

completed with minimal interruption to day-to-day operations.

•  Products and 

•  Close monitoring on reported cases and observing country  

services becoming 
unavailable.

regulations to combat Covid-19.

•  Regular updates to all employees on the pandemic and on  

company measures to ensure business as usual while keeping  
the employees safe.

•  Close monitoring on service delivery by high-risk vendors that  

provide processing services to our customers. 

•  After continuous monitoring, Covid-19’s impact on the business  
has been minimal. And even though all employees have worked 
remotely since mid-March, full business across all services and 
operations has continued to expected service level agreements.

•  Failure to meet our 

•  Governance frameworks for the successful implementation of planned 

growth plans.

enhancements and changes.

•  Failure to achieve 

revenue, profit and 
earnings targets.

•  Unavailability of 
products and 
services.

•  Reputational 

damage and loss  
of customers.

•  Detailed approval and planning process prior to project commencement.
•  Executive Committee and Board reviews on the status of key change 

programmes and projects.

•  Hiring of experts in infrastructure projects and change programmes to 

achieve successful implementation.

•  Post-implementation reviews after project completion so that lessons 

can be learned.

Risk

Pandemic  
Covid-19 virus.

Risk level
Risk change: NEW
Impact on strategy: High

Technology 
Failure to invest in enhancements 
to our infrastructure and operating 
systems could lead to a loss of 
competitor advantage and inability 
to meet customer expectations.

Risk level
Risk change: Increased
Impact on strategy: High

Business Continuity 
Tungsten Network has a highly 
developed and complex operational 
and IT infrastructure, which 
is constantly developed and 
upgraded. A major incident as a 
result of an internal or external 
event could impact the Company’s 
ability to provide products and 
services to our customers.

•  Unavailability of 
products and 
services.

•  Customer claims  

•  Regular Executive Committee and Board review of business continuity 

strategy.

•  The strategy forms the basis of the annual business planning process. It 
aligns to performance targets and is regularly communicated to all staff.

for losses. 

•  Documented, up-to-date and regularly tested disaster recovery and 

•  Reputational 

damage and loss of 
customers.

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

business continuity plans. Use of multiple hosting centres.

•  IT recovery plans including website resilience and penetration tests.
•  Ongoing, real-time technology defence mechanisms in place.
•  Continuous monitoring of IT systems availability.
•  Governance frameworks in place to ensure appropriate risk mitigation 

Risk level
Risk change: Unchanged
Impact on strategy: Medium

management.

•  Recruitment of new employees with the appropriate skills. And where 
required, third party experts to review and validate both the planning 
and execution of programmes of work.

•  Training and employee awareness programmes in place.

29

 
 
 
RISK MANAGEMENT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Risk

Impact

Mitigation

•  Unavailability of 
products and 
services.

•  Damage to 

reputation and loss 
of customers.

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

•  Loss of ISO 

accreditation.

•  Mitigating cyberattacks to ensure customer confidence in the security 

and availability of our products and services.

•  Well-defined IT security procedures.
•  Documented, up-to-date and regularly tested disaster recovery and 

business continuity plans. Use of multiple hosting centres.

•  Comprehensive review of procedures and controls as per International 
Standards for Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3402 Assurance Reports 
on Controls at a Service Organisation.

•  Comprehensive review of procedures and controls as per the ISO 27001 

international standard describing best practice for an Information 
Security Management System.

•  Training and employee awareness programmes in place.

•  Failure to continue 
in business or meet 
liabilities.

•  Failure to meet our 

growth plans.

•  Our Executive Directors regularly stress test the business model to 

ensure the Group has adequate working capital.

•  Robust procedures to monitor effective cash and debt management, 

including cash reports and cash forecasting.

•  A cash mitigation plan, should liquidity fall below expected levels.
•  The Group has secured and extended its revolving credit facility  

with its bank.

•  Failure to maintain 

•  Training and development, customer relationship, leadership,  

satisfactory 
customer service 
levels.

•  Loss of knowledge 
and skills within the 
business.

•  Overreliance on key 

personnel.

social responsibility and communications programmes in place  
to actively engage and retain employees.

•  Competitive remuneration packages overseen by our Remuneration 

Committee.

•  Focus on creation of a culture and values to attract and motivate  

our people.

•  Recruitment strategy and succession planning in place including  

active encouragement of promotion from within.

Cyber Security 
Tungsten Network has a highly 
developed and complex IT 
infrastructure. There is a risk 
of information security breach 
including cyber-attacks, leading to 
loss of confidentiality, integrity or 
data availability.

Risk level
Risk change: Unchanged
Impact on strategy: Medium

Liquidity and Financing 
Inability to finance the Group 
businesses.

Risk level
Risk change: Unchanged
Impact on strategy: Medium

Retention and Succession 
Planning 
Inability to attract, retain, develop 
and motivate the best people with 
the appropriate capabilities to 
create a high quality, diverse and 
flexible workforce.

Risk level
Risk change: Unchanged
Impact on strategy: Medium

Chris Allen
Chief Financial Officer

6 September 2020

30

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Strategic Report 

STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 172 OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006

Recent legislation requires that 
directors include a separate 
statement in the annual report 
that explains how they have had 
regard to wider stakeholder needs 
when performing their duty under 
Section 172(1) of the Companies 
Act 2006. This duty requires that 
a director of a company must act 
in the way he or she considers, in 
good faith, would be most likely 
to promote the success of the 
company for the benefit of its 
members as a whole, and in doing 
so have regard (amongst other 
matters) to: 

a)  the likely consequences of any 

decision in the long term; 

b)  the interests of the company's 

employees; 

c)  the need to foster the 
company's business 
relationships with suppliers, 
customers and others; 

d)  the impact of the company's 
operations on the community 
and the environment; 

e)  the desirability of the company 
maintaining a reputation for 
high standards of business 
conduct; and 

f)  the need to act fairly as 

between members of the 
company. 

Guidance recommends that in 
connection with its statement, the 
Board describes in general terms 
how key stakeholders, as well as 
issues relevant to key decisions, 
are identified, and also the 
processes for engaging with key 
stakeholders and understanding 
those issues. It is the Board’s 
view that these requirements are 
predominantly addressed in the 
corporate governance disclosures 
we have made in the Directors’ 
report, which are themselves 
more extensively discussed on the 
Company’s website. 

Guidance also recommends that 
more detailed description is limited 
to matters that are of strategic 
importance in order to remain 
meaningful and informative for 
shareholders. 

The Board believes that two 
decisions in particular taken during 
the year fall into this category, 
and engaged with internal and 
external stakeholders on this.

(i) Operating Review
Following the announcement 
on 30 April 2019 of the initial 
conclusions of the Board’s 
Operating Review, the Board and 
Operating Review Committee 
continued work on defining the key 
strategic focuses for the Company 
going forwards. 

This culminated in the further 
announcement on 22 July 2019, 
in which the Company reiterated 
its commitment to three key 
strategic objectives, i.e. (i) driving 
the Network effect, including 
introducing Total AR; (ii) strategic 
partnerships with e-procurement 
providers to provide an additional 
channel to market, and (iii) 
connecting with other platforms 
to improve automation, customer 
service and user experience. 

The announcement on 22 July 
2019 also identified several 
continuous improvements in 
day-to-day operations that were 
identified and implemented as 
part of the Operating Review 
with a view to increasing the 
effectiveness of our operations 
and service delivery and of 
our ongoing investment in the 
platform. 

These included, in particular, 
the process that ultimately 
led to the wind-down of the 
Company’s existing Tungsten 
Network Finance trade finance 
business and its replacement with 
a new partnership with Orbian 
Corporation, allowing Tungsten to 
focus on its core focus areas of 
electronic invoicing solutions for 
accounts payable and receivables 
and other associated services, 
while still leveraging the Tungsten 
Network to offer tailored supply 
chain finance and other trade 
finance products and solutions to 
its customers. 

As part of the Operating Review 
process, the Board and Operating 
Review Committee engaged 
with both internal and external 
stakeholders, including working 
extensively with Company 
management and employees 
at other levels within the 
organisation, and with significant 
shareholders, customers and 
partners and the Company’s 
broker and advisers.

(ii) Working capital 
management
Following net cash outflow of 
£1.8 million in the first half of the 
year, the Board was presented 
with a plan early in the second 
half of the year to improve cash 
generation. This plan involved 
improving significantly the Group’s 
ability to bill amounts due to 
customers in line with contractual 
terms, improving significantly 
cash collection procedures from 
suppliers on the network and 
engaging with vendors to facilitate 
better payment terms on large 
items of expenditure. The plan 
also proposed to delay paying 
any cash bonuses, subject to final 
approval by the Remuneration 
Committee, until November 2020 
and to defer any annual salary 
uplift until the FY22 financial year. 
The Board debated the impact of 
these measures on our customers, 
key vendors and employees 
and decided that they were an 
appropriate response in order 
to safeguard the future of the 
business.

Neither of the key decisions 
considered by the Board in FY20 
had an environmental impact 
and the Directors are satisfied 
that decisions made by the Board 
promote the long-term interest 
of Tungsten for the benefit of its 
members as a whole.

The Strategic Report 
was approved by the 
Board on 6 September 
2020 and signed on its 
behalf by:

Andrew Lemonofides 
Chief Executive 
Officer

6 September 2020

31

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Corporate 
Governance

32

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

In this section

Chairman’s governance overview  
Board of Directors  
Composition and independence  
of the Board  
Audit Committee report  
Nomination Committee report  
Remuneration Committee report  
Report of Directors’ remuneration  
Directors’ report  
Statement of Directors’  
responsibilities  

34
36

38
42
50
52
54
60

65

33

 
 
 
CHAIRMAN'S GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

“As a Board we recognise the importance of 
high standards of corporate governance and 
their importance and support to our strategic 
goals and long-term success.”
Tony Bromovsky
Non-Executive Chairman

34
34

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Dear Shareholder,

The Principles of Corporate Governance
As Chairman, my role includes upholding the highest levels of integrity, probity and corporate governance throughout the Company and 
particularly at Board level. It therefore gives me great pleasure to introduce our Governance statement.

As a Board we recognise the importance of high standards of corporate governance and their importance and support to our strategic goals 
and long-term success. The Company is listed on AIM and is subject to the continuing obligations of the AIM Rules. From September 2018, the 
Company has been required to apply a recognised corporate governance code. We have therefore formally adopted the Quoted Companies 
Alliance Corporate Governance Code (the “QCA Code”). We believe we apply the ten principles of the QCA Code. The policies and procedures 
put in place at the time of admission to AIM gave us a firm foundation for our governance structures and we continue to build on and evolve 
these each year.

The QCA’s Ten Principles of Corporate Governance
Companies need to deliver growth in long-term shareholder value. This requires an efficient, effective and dynamic management framework 
and should be accompanied by good communication which helps to promote confidence and trust. The Board is highly committed to meeting 
these standards.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Establish a strategy and business model which  
promote long-term value for shareholders.

Seek to understand and meet shareholder needs 
and expectations.

Take into account wider stakeholder and  
social responsibilities and their implications for 
long-term success.

Embed effective risk management, considering 
both opportunities and threats, throughout  
the organisation.

Maintain the Board as a well-functioning,  
balanced team led by the chair.

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

Evaluate Board performance based on clear 
and relevant objectives, seeking continuous 
improvement.

Promote a corporate culture that is based  
on ethical values and behaviours.

Maintain governance structures and processes.

10

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

Deliver growth

The Board has collective responsibility for setting the strategic aims and 
objectives of the Group. 

These growth aims are articulated in the CEO’s statement in the Annual 
Report and on our website along with our business model. In the course 
of implementing these strategic aims, the Board takes into account 
the expectations of the Company’s shareholder base and also its wider 
stakeholder, environmental and social responsibilities.

The Board also has responsibility for the Group’s internal control and risk 
management systems and structures. Our risk management process 
is embedded into the business and starts at the Board and is delivered 
throughout the Group.

Maintain a dynamic management framework

As Chairman, I continually consider the operation of the Board as a whole  
and the performance of the Directors individually. 

During the last year, we have appointed two new Executive Directors and  
one new Non-Executive Director. Together with the new appointments made 
in the previous year, this maintained the focus, momentum, diversity and 
relevant technology industry experience of the Board and provides a strong 
platform moving forwards. 

It is fundamental to me as Chairman to see that the Board and its Committees 
adhere to best practices pursuant to the QCA Code. We challenge ourselves  
to ensure continuous improvement of our performance in this respect and  
to promote a corporate culture that is based on ethical values and behaviours. 

Responsibility for the overall leadership of the Group and setting the Group’s 
values and standards sits with the Board.

Build trust

During the year the Company has undertaken a number of investor relations 
activities. These include several investor roadshows and many investor 
meetings, participation at investor conferences and attending other events 
where investors have the opportunity to meet and talk to the Executive 
Directors and other members of the Board. Investors are actively encouraged 
to attend our AGM and each member of our Board sees this as an important 
event in the annual calendar to meet and talk to shareholders.

During the year the Board has continued to review governance and the  
Group’s corporate governance framework. We reviewed our governance 
against the new QCA Code in July 2020 and will do so annually, as required  
by AIM Rule 26.

Tony Bromovsky
Non-Executive Chairman 

6 September 2020

35

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Strong leadership

Membership key

A    Audit  

Committee

N    Nomination  
Committee

R    Remuneration  
Committee

   Committee  

chair 

   Committee  

member

Andrew Lemonofides
Chief Executive Officer

Tony Bromovsky
Non-Executive Chairman

Chris Allen
Chief Financial Officer

Chris is a highly motivated finance 
and strategy professional with over 
10 years’ experience in dynamic, 
innovative environments for high 
growth companies including BSkyB, 
LOVEFiLM, and NOW TV.

Most recently, he served as Chief 
Financial Officer for the UK and 
Europe at Worldpay where he 
provided finance leadership across 
this market-leading UK business unit.

Throughout his career, Chris has 
focused on executing change 
delivery and business transformation, 
investor management, and 
acquisitions.

In a career spanning over 40 years, 
Tony has acted as an executive 
and non-executive director for a 
variety of companies across sectors 
including investment, healthcare, 
media, and technology. He was 
previously a non-executive director 
of Vertical Intelligence Limited,  
Local World Holdings Limited, 
Chronos Therapeutics Limited, 
Oxford Biodynamics Limited  
and Circle Holdings (OS) Limited.  
He is also an executive director of 
Kilda Investments Limited, which  
he established in 1991 as a vehicle to 
invest in a number of ventures across 
Eastern Europe covering industries 
such as food production, micro-
finance lending, pharmaceuticals, 
wineries, and steelmaking. Tony 
spent the early part of his career as a 
commodities trader at Louis Dreyfus 
followed by Woodhouse Drake and 
Carey and Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Membership
N   R  

Andrew served as Chief Strategy 
and Transformation Officer at IWG 
plc, having previously worked 
as Chief Strategy Officer and a 
valued member of the IWG Senior 
Leadership team since 2012. Andrew 
has extensive experience of the 
technology sector, having held a 
number of senior roles in global 
technology companies for a total of 
23 years. Most recently Andrew spent 
13 years at Dell Corporation in various 
senior finance and operations roles, 
including COO Emerging Markets, 
European Commercial Operations 
Director and Finance Director  
UK LCA.

He has focused on the execution  
of transformational change through  
a detailed, systematic and 
customer-centric approach to 
deliver simple and effective business 
models. Importantly he has also 
led reengineering programmes 
encompassing both AR and AP 
systems, allowing him a deep 
understanding of the solutions  
which Tungsten offers from all 
customer perspectives.

Andrew holds a degree in  
Business Studies with Marketing,  
a postgraduate degree in  
Economics and also an MBA.

36

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Vivienne Maclachlan
Non-Executive Director

Nick Wells
Non-Executive Director

Andrew Doman
Non-Executive Director

Nick has over 30 years’ experience of 
investment banking and is Co-head 
of Corporate Finance at Cenkos 
Securities which he joined in 2005. 
Prior to joining Cenkos Securities, 
he was, for five years, Global Head 
of M&A at WestLB. Nick is also a 
Chartered Accountant and qualified 
in 1979.

Membership
A   N   R  

Vivienne is the Chief Financial 
Officer for ThomasLloyd, a global 
asset management group focused 
on the investment in renewable 
energy infrastructure assets in south 
east Asia and headquartered in 
Zurich. She oversees all of the core 
finance function responsibilities, as 
well as being a key member of the 
Executive Leadership Team. Prior to 
this, Vivienne was the CFO of Alfa 
Financial Software, a technology 
company based in London and was 
a capital markets specialist for more 
than 12 years at PwC in London, 
assisting management teams and 
owners of companies to raise capital 
in the UK and US markets. Vivienne 
is a member of the Institute of 
Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Membership
A   N   R  

Andrew Doman is an experienced 
non-executive director. He is 
Chairman of Castle Trust and a  
non-executive director at Target 
Group. He was previously a non-
executive director at OneSavings 
Bank (2016-8), Chief Executive 
Officer of Premium Credit (2012-5), 
and he was Chairman of Russell 
Investments (2011-2) having been 
President and CEO from 2009. He 
was also a non-executive director 
of Wesleyan Assurance Society 
(2008-9).

Andrew spent 22 years at McKinsey  
& Co, where his clients included  
a number of leading UK and 
European financial services 
companies. He focused on 
performance improvement and 
turnaround strategy. He has 
degrees in Medicine & Surgery and 
Economics, and also holds an MBA.

Membership
A   N   R  

Committee reports

Audit  
Committee 
on page 42

Nomination  
Committee 
on page 50

Remuneration 
Committee 
on page 52

37

 
 
 
COMPOSITION AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE BOARD

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

The composition of the Board has been 
structured to ensure that no one individual 
can dominate its decision-making 
processes. The Board consists of six 
Directors: the Chairman (acting in a Non-
Executive capacity), two Executive Directors, 
and three Non-Executive Directors. All of the 
Non-Executive Directors are considered by 
the Board, and regularly demonstrate, that 
they are independent. 

Details of each Director’s experience and 
background are given in their biographies 
on pages 36 and 37. The skill-set and 
experience of Board members is relevant 
for the current position of the Company and 
covers areas including finance, technology, 
capital raising, financial services, banking, 
marketing, network platforms and general 
management. 

Appointments to the Board and 
re-election
The Board has delegated the tasks of 
reviewing Board composition, searching 
for appropriate candidates and making 
recommendations to the Board on 
candidates to be appointed as Directors to 
the Nomination Committee. Further details 
on the role of the Nomination Committee 
may be found on page 50.

With regard to re-election of Directors, 
the Company is governed by its Articles of 
Association (‘Articles’). Under the Articles, 
the Board has the power to appoint a 
Director during the year but any person so 
appointed must stand for election at the 
next Annual General Meeting. Nick Wells and 
our new Chief Financial Officer Chris Allen will 
therefore stand for election at the next AGM. 

At each Annual General Meeting, one-third 
(or the number nearest to one-third) of 
the Directors must retire from office and, if 
willing, may offer themselves for re-election. 
Andrew Doman and Vivienne Maclachlan will 
retire and stand for re-election at the next 
AGM. The Board considers that the Directors 
offering themselves for re-election continue 
to make a valuable contribution to the Board.

Division of responsibilities 
Chairman and Chief Executive 
Officer
The division of responsibilities between the 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer have 
been agreed and approved by the Board.

A summary of the main responsibilities of 
each role is given below:

Role of the Chairman
•  Upholding the highest levels of integrity, 

probity and corporate governance 
throughout the Company, particularly at 
Board level.

•  Chairing the Board meetings, setting the 
Board agenda and ensuring the Directors 
receive accurate, timely, and clear 
information to enable the Board to make 
sound decisions, monitor effectively and 
promote the success of the Company.

•  Facilitating the effective contribution of 

and active engagement of all the Directors 
and ensuring constructive relationships 
between the Non-Executive Directors and 
the Executive Directors.

•  Considering succession planning and 
ensuring the composition of the Board 
meets the needs of the business.

•  Ensuring the appropriate balance is 
maintained between the interests of 
shareholders and other stakeholders.

•  Ensuring the developmental needs of the 
Directors are identified and that these 
needs are met to enable Directors to 
update their skills and knowledge of the 
Group in order to carry out their duties as 
Directors.

•  Ensuring the performance of the Board, 

Audit Committee and individual Directors 
are evaluated once a year and acting on 
the results of the evaluation.

•  Ensure effective communication with 

shareholders and other stakeholders and 
ensure the Board is aware of the views of 
the shareholders.

•  Chairing the AGM and other general 

meetings of the Company.

Role of the Chief Executive Officer
•  Running of the business of the Group 

within the authorities delegated to him  
by the Board.

•  Ensuring implementation across the  

Group of the policies and strategy agreed 
by the Board.

•  Leading the development of the Group’s 
future strategy, including identifying and 
assessing opportunities for the growth of 
its business, and putting in place the long-
term capital to support such development.

•  Reviewing the performance of the 
businesses, managing and holding 
to account the Executive and senior 
management teams.

•  Ensuring the Chairman is kept appraised 
in a timely manner of the issues facing 
the Group and of any events and 
developments.

•  Ensuring the market and regulators are 

kept appraised in a timely manner of any 
material events and developments.

•  Ensuring that all major transactions 
are conducted with the commercial 
interests of the Group at the forefront 
of negotiations, commensurate with the 
need to always treat customers fairly.

From February 2019 until the arrival 
of Andrew Lemonofides as Chief 
Executive Officer in September 2019, the 
responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer 
were divided between the Chairman, acting 
in an Executive capacity, and the former 
Chief Financial Officer, David Williams, 
acting as Interim Chief Executive Officer. 
The Chairman continued in an Executive 
capacity until 12 December 2019, when  
he reverted back to a Non-Executive role. 

38

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Senior Independent Director
The Board has not had a Senior Independent 
Director (SID) since the departure of Duncan 
Goldie-Morrison on 28 February 2020. The 
appointment of a SID is not an essential 
requirement of the QCA Code, but the Board 
is keeping any future appointment under 
review. 

Non-Executive Directors
Each of the Non-Executive Directors has 
entered into a letter of appointment with the 
Company. The appointment of each of the 
Non-Executive Directors is stated to be for 
a fixed term, expiring after 12 months of the 
date of renewal or appointment. The Non-
Executive Directors’ letters of appointment 
set out the duties of the Director and 
commitment expected. They are expected 
to commit a reasonable and appropriate 
amount of time each year in order to 
fulfil their commitments to their role. Key 
elements of the Non-Executive Director’s 
role are to constructively challenge and help 
provide the Board with effective leadership 
in relation to the Company’s strategy, 
performance, risk and people management, 
and ensuring high standards of financial 
probity and corporate governance.

Development, information  
and support
The Directors are encouraged to attend 
training and continuing professional 
development courses as required. Updates 
are given to the Board on developments in 
governance and regulations at each Board 
meeting. Patrick Clark is the Company 
Secretary and supports the Chairman 
in ensuring that the Board receives the 
information and support it needs to carry 
out its roles. When Directors join the Board 
they receive an induction covering topics 
such as the operation of the Board, Directors’ 
responsibilities, insider dealing, AIM Rules 
and governance documents. Each Director 
also receives an induction pack including all 
of the key company documents.

Board meetings

Tony Bromovsky 
Andrew Lemonofides1 
Chris Allen2 
Andrew Doman 
Vivienne Maclachlan 
Nick Wells3 
Duncan Goldie-Morrison4 
David Williams5 

1  Appointed 2 September 2019.
2  Appointed 27 April 2020.
3  Appointed 31 March 2020.
4  Resigned 28 February 2020.
5  Resigned 28 February 2020.

Board 
(Full Board) 

Audit  Remuneration 
Committee 

Committee 

Nomination 
Committee

8/8 
6/6 
– 
7/8 
8/8 
– 
4/4 
6/6 

– 
– 
– 
2/3 
3/3 
– 
3/3 
– 

4/4 
– 
– 
4/4 
3/4 
– 
3/3 
– 

1/1
–
–
1/1
1/1
–
–
–

Conflicts of interest
Under the Articles, the Directors may 
authorise any actual or potential conflict  
of interest a Director may have and may 
impose any conditions on the Director that 
are felt to be appropriate. Directors are 
not able to vote in respect of any contract, 
arrangement or transaction in which they 
have a material interest and they are not 
counted in the quorum.

A process has been developed to identify 
any of the Directors’ potential or actual 
conflicts of interest. This includes declaring 
any new conflicts before the start of each 
Board meeting.

Performance evaluation
The Chairman considers the operation of 
the Board and performance of the Directors 
on an ongoing basis as part of his duties 
and will bring any areas of improvement 
he considers are needed to the attention 
of the Board. The Chairman’s performance 
for this year has also been reviewed by the 
other Non-Executive Directors as part of the 
business of the Remuneration Committee. 
In terms of governance, this year there has 
been particular focus on further improving 
the quality of Board papers, and the 
Company engaged with external consultants 
Board Intelligence to provide a new set of 
templates for key reports that have now 
been fully adopted. The improvement 
in the Board papers has also increased 
the effectiveness of Board meetings and 
the Board is looking for further ways of 
continuing this improvement in FY21. 

The Board will conduct a further internal 
review of its progress in the course of FY21. 
The Board also has in place a programme 
of assessments for individual Board 
members, with the Chairman responsible for 
Board member evaluations, and the Board 
responsible for evaluation of the Chairman. 

How the Board operates
The Board meets at regular intervals and the 
full Board met eight times during the year 
under review. Directors also have contact on 
a variety of issues between formal meetings. 
There is also regular contact with the senior 
management.

The Board has regular formal Board 
meetings, with a standing agenda 
focusing on key business and governance 
issues. During the year Board meetings 
have included presentations from senior 
management responsible for the various 
parts of the Tungsten business, giving the 
Board greater visibility and understanding 
over the Company’s business and the steps 
being taken to execute its strategy. 

An agenda and accompanying detailed 
papers, including reports from the Executive 
Directors and other members of senior 
management, are circulated to the Board in 
advance of each Board meeting. All Directors 
have direct access to senior management 
should they require additional information on 
any of the items to be discussed. A calendar 
of matters to be discussed at each meeting 
is prepared to ensure that all key issues are 
captured.

39

 
 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE BOARD continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

•  Review of implications of Covid-19 on the 

Company and Group.

•  Strategy presentations.

•  Presentations from various parts of the 

business.

•  Approval of Annual Report and financial 

statements.

•  Review of budgets and business plans.

•  Implementation of new remuneration plan.

•  Going concern and cash flow.

•  Systems and internal controls.

•  Risk.

•  Briefings and review of conflicts of 

interest.

•  Review of AGM business.

The Board Committees
There are three Board Committees, the 
Audit Committee, the Remuneration 
Committee and the Nomination Committee. 
The Nomination Committee and the 
Remuneration Committee are each 
composed of the Chairman and the 
three Non-Executive Directors. The Audit 
Committee is composed of the three Non-
Executive Directors.

Each Board Committee has approved 
Terms of Reference setting out their 
responsibilities. The Terms of Reference were 
approved and reviewed by the Board during 
the year and are available on the Company’s 
website www.tungsten-network.com. Details 
of the operation of the Board Committees 
are set out in their respective reports below. 
All of the Board Committees are authorised 
to obtain, at the Company’s expense, 
professional advice on any matter within 
their Terms of Reference and to have access 
to sufficient resources in order to carry out 
their duties.

External advisers
The Board seeks advice on various matters 
from its Broker and Nomad, Canaccord 
Genuity, its lawyers, Memery Crystal LLP, 
Ashurst LLP and Shepherd and Wedderburn 
LLP, accountants Grant Thornton UK LLP, 
communications and investor relations 
advisers Tavistock Communications Limited 
and remuneration advisers Aon Hewitt 
Limited. 

Accountability
The Company has in place a system of 
internal financial controls commensurate 
with its current size and activities, which is 
designed to ensure that the possibility of 
misstatement or loss is kept to a minimum. 
These procedures include the preparation 
of management accounts, forecast variance 
analysis and other ad-hoc reports. There are 
clearly defined authority limits throughout 
the Group, including those matters that are 
reserved specifically for the Board. 

Risks throughout the Group are considered 
and reviewed on a regular basis. Risks are 
identified and mitigating actions put into 
place as appropriate. Principal risks identified 
are set out in the Strategic Report on pages 
2 to 31. Internal control and risk management 
procedures can only provide reasonable 
and not absolute assurance against 
material misstatement. The internal control 
procedures were in place throughout the 
financial year and up to the date of approval 
of this report.

Financial and business reporting
The Board seeks to present a fair, balanced 
and understandable assessment of the 
Group’s position and prospects in all half-
year, final and any other ad-hoc reports and 
other information as may be required from 
time to time. The Board receives a number 
of reports, including those from the Audit 
Committee, to enable it to monitor and 
clearly understand the Group’s financial 
position.

A Disclosure Policy is in place to ensure 
that price-sensitive information is identified 
effectively and all communications with 
the market are released in accordance 
with expected time scales. The Board 
considers that this Annual Report and 
financial statements, taken as a whole, is fair, 
balanced and understandable and provides 
the information necessary for shareholders 
to assess the Company’s performance, 
business model and strategy.

All Directors are expected to attend all 
meetings of the Board and any committees 
of which they are members, and to devote 
sufficient time to the Company’s affairs 
to fulfil their duties as Directors. Where 
Directors are unable to attend a meeting, 
they are encouraged to submit any 
comments in advance to the Chairman to 
ensure that their views are recorded and 
taken into account during the meeting.

Directors are encouraged to question  
and voice any concerns they may have  
on any topic put to the Board for debate.  
The Board is supported in its work by Board 
Committees, which are responsible for a 
variety of tasks delegated by the Board. 
There is also an Executive Committee 
composed of the CEO and CFO and 
representatives from senior management, 
whose responsibilities are to implement the 
decisions of the Board and review the key 
business objectives and status of projects.

Attendance at Board and Committee 
meetings by the Directors is shown below. 
In relation to the eight full Board meetings 
mentioned above, five were regularly 
scheduled Board meetings, in line with the 
Board calendar agreed at the beginning 
of the each year, and three were ad hoc 
meetings called to review and agree matters 
required to be dealt with in between the 
regularly scheduled Board meetings. There 
were also three Board sub-committee 
meetings to approve the FY19 year-end 
accounts and awards made under the 
Company’s Deferred Share Bonus Plan  
and Long Term Incentive Plan.

The main activities of the Board 
during the year
There are a number of standing and 
routine items included for review on each 
Board agenda. These include the CEO’s 
report and operations reports, financial 
reports, consideration of reports from the 
Board Committees, Governance, Risk and 
compliance and investor relations updates. 

In addition key areas put to the Board for 
consideration and review included:

•  Implementation and ongoing review of the 
new strategy and other initiatives arising 
out of the Operating Review.

•  Review and approval of new trade 

finance strategy, including entry into new 
partnership with Orbian Corporation and 
wind-down of existing Tungsten Network 
Finance operations.

40

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

During FY20, the Board engaged 
communications and investor relations 
advisers Tavistock Communications Limited 
to support it further in this area, and as 
a result a number of new initiatives are 
planned for FY21.

The Annual Report and financial statements 
is a key communication document and is 
also available on the Company’s website. 
This year’s Annual General Meeting of the 
Company will be held on 16 October 2020. 
The Notice of Annual General Meeting will 
be available on the Company’s website 
at https://www.tungsten-network.com/
about-us/investor-relations/. The Notice of 
Annual General Meeting will be sent out at 
least 21 days before the meeting. Separate 
resolutions are provided on each issue so 
that they can be given proper consideration.

Promotion of a corporate culture 
that is based on ethical values 
and behaviours
The Board recognises that a corporate 
culture based on sound ethical values 
and behaviours is an asset. The Company 
endeavours to conduct its business with 
integrity, in an ethical, professional and 
responsible manner, treating our employees, 
customers, suppliers and partners with 
courtesy and respect, the principles which 
are enshrined in the Company policies 
including its Code of Conduct and Business 
Ethics and Conduct Policy that apply to all 
employees in the Group.

The Group’s anti-corruption procedures state 
that the Company and its subsidiaries intend 
to conduct business in an honest and ethical 
manner. A zero-tolerance approach is taken 
to bribery and corruption and the Company 
is committed to acting professionally, fairly 
and with integrity in all its business dealings 
and relationships wherever it operates and 
to implementing and enforcing effective 
systems to counter bribery and corruption. 
The Company has a whistleblowing 
procedure under which staff may report any 
suspicion of fraud, financial irregularity or 
other malpractice to any Executive Director. 

The Directors follow Rule 21 of the AIM 
Rules relating to dealings by Directors in the 
Company’s securities, which is embodied in 
the Company’s share dealing code.

The Board intends to further develop its 
assessment of the recognition of corporate 
culture and ethical values during the year, 
and will enhance disclosures in these areas 
on our website and in our 2021 Annual 
Report.

Modern slavery
We are committed to acting ethically and 
with integrity in all our business dealings 
and relationships and to implementing and 
enforcing effective systems and controls to 
ensure modern slavery is not taking place 
anywhere in our own business or in any 
of our supply chains, consistent with our 
obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 
2015. We expect the same high standards 
from all of our contractors, suppliers and 
other business partners. As part of our 
contracting processes, we expect our 
suppliers to comply with the Modern Slavery 
Act 2015. Our Modern Slavery Act statement 
is published on our website.

Shareholders
The Board is committed to maintaining 
regular and clear communication with its 
shareholders. The Board receives regular 
reports on investor relations matters. 
The Directors are keen to build a mutual 
understanding of objectives with its 
institutional shareholders and a regular 
dialogue with institutional investors has 
been maintained throughout the year. The 
Directors also encourage communications 
with private shareholders and encourage 
their participation in the Company’s Annual 
General Meeting. The Company uses its 
corporate website (www.tungsten-network.
com) to communicate with institutional 
shareholders and private investors. It 
contains the latest announcements, press 
releases, published financial information, 
current projects and other information about 
the Company. 

41

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

Continual review of internal controls  
and risk management 

I am pleased to present the 
Audit Committee report 
for the year ended 30 April 
2020, which summarises our 
activities during the year, as 
well as setting out intended 
key areas of focus for FY21.

FY20 has been a period of change with  
the appointment of our new CEO and new 
CFO, and I would like to take this opportunity 
to welcome Nick Wells to the Committee 
as of April 2020. I would also like to thank 
Duncan Goldie-Morrison for his service  
over the last year. 

We have also appointed BDO LLP as our 
external auditor for the FY20 financial year. 
In this year of change and evolution, the 
Committee has spent time continuing to 
assess the Company’s risk management 
framework, internal controls and 
management information systems and  
in assessing the ongoing application of 
IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers”.

This year we have continued to review the 
internal controls and risk management 
throughout the business, including business 
continuity planning which was tested and 
evidenced as successful during the period 
of lockdown across the world. In August 
2019, I had the opportunity to visit the shared 
service centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to 
meet key individuals within the finance team 
and risk management. This has given the 
Committee greater insight into the workings 
of the global team and we also continue 
to meet with key individuals within the 
executive team throughout the year.

42

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

“In this year of change and evolution, the Committee  
has spent time continuing to assess the Company’s  
risk management framework, internal controls and  
management information systems."

Membership of the Committee 
and meetings attended
The Audit Committee solely comprises 
members who are independent Non-
Executive Directors. Members’ skills and 
experience are documented on pages 36 
to 37, with the Board concluding that it 
is satisfied that the Audit Committee has 
the required relevant and recent financial 
experience, with appropriate experience of 
the technology sector.

I would like to take this opportunity to 
welcome Nick Wells to the Committee as 
of April 2020 and thank Duncan Goldie-
Morrison for his service over the last year.

By invitation, the meetings of the Audit 
Committee may be attended by the 
Executive Chairman, CEO, CFO and other 
members of the Executive Committee. BDO 
LLP, the external auditor, is also present at all 
of the Audit Committee meetings to ensure 
full communication of matters as they relate 
to external audit.

The Audit Committee meets without 
management present before each full 
meeting. It also meets with the external 
auditor, without management present, for  
an open discussion about the audit process 
and relationship with management. It is 
important for the Audit Committee Chair 
to fully understand any topics of particular 
concern in order to facilitate meaningful 
dialogue during Committee meetings. 
To support this, Viv Maclachlan has met 
regularly, on a one-to-one basis, with the 
Chief Financial Officer and also meets with 
the Financial Controller and other members 
of senior management and the lead audit 
partner. The Company Secretary also attends 
all Audit Committee meetings at the invitation 
of the Chair.

Role of the Audit Committee
The Board has delegated to the Audit 
Committee responsibility for overseeing 
financial reporting, the review and 
assessment of the effectiveness of the 
internal control and risk management 
systems and maintaining an appropriate 
relationship with the external auditor. In 
order to fulfil these responsibilities, the Audit 
Committee’s duties include the following:

Committee highlights

Members of the Committee 
The Committee consists of  
Non-Executive Directors. 

Members 

Meeting attendance

Vivienne Maclachlan  
(Chair) 

Andrew Doman 

Duncan Goldie-Morrison 

Nick Wells 

  (4/4)

  (4/4)

 (3/4)

  N/A

Members during the year were as follows:

•  Giving due consideration to applicable 

Name 

laws and regulations;

•  Monitoring the integrity of the consolidated 

financial statements;

Vivienne Maclachlan (Chair) 
Appointed February 2019 – Current

Andrew Doman 
Appointed December 2018 – Current

Duncan Goldie-Morrison 
Appointed October 2018 – Feb 2020

Nick Wells 
Appointed April 2020 – Current

•  Reviewing and challenging the application 
of accounting policies, including estimates 
and judgements made by management, 
and the clarity and completeness of 
disclosures;

•  Overseeing the relationship with the 

external auditor, including a review of their 
independence; and

•  Monitoring the effectiveness of the 

Company’s internal financial controls and 
risk management systems.

Details of the roles and responsibilities can 
be found in the Audit Committee’s terms 
of reference on our website, which were 
updated in June 2020.

43

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Principal activities of the Audit Committee in FY20

Meeting

July 2019

Area of focus

•  FY19 Annual Report and accounts – review focused on whether the report was fair, balanced and 

understandable.

•  Going concern and goodwill impairment.

•  Review of the impact of the application of IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”.

•  Review of the impact of the application of IFRS 16 “Leases”.

•  Review of impairment in relation to goodwill and subsidiary and intercompany receivables.

•  Review of exceptional items.

•  Review of internal controls and risk management processes.

•  Review of principal risks and uncertainties.

•  Appointment of new auditors.

September 2019

•  Review of principal risks and uncertainties.

•  Review of internal controls and risk management processes.

•  Review of treasury and foreign exchange issues.

•  Review of initial FY20 interim audit plan.

December 2019

•  Review of the FY20 interim financial statements and interim release.

•  Review of principal risks and uncertainties.

•  Review of going concern.

•  Review of internal controls and risk management processes.

•  Review of treasury and foreign exchange issues.

June 2020 (Postponed due to 
Covid-19 pandemic)

•  Review of principal risks and uncertainties disclosure for the Annual Report.

•  Review of key accounting judgements and estimates.

•  Review of the Trading Update statement.

•  Review of FY20 external audit plan.

44

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Key matters considered in relation to the consolidated financial statements
Prior to the year-end Audit Committee meeting, management prepares a paper providing details of significant areas of accounting 
judgements or estimates, tax related matters, disclosure areas and other matters where relevant. The critical accounting estimates, 
judgements and disclosure areas are disclosed below. The external auditor reported to the Audit Committee any misstatements that  
they found in the course of their work, and no further material adjustments were required. 

After reviewing the presentations and reports from management and consulting where necessary the external auditor, the Audit Committee 
was satisfied that the consolidated financial statements appropriately addressed the critical judgements and key estimates in respect of both 
the amounts reported and disclosures.

Revenue recognition

Management’s assessment
Following adoption of IFRS 15 from 1 May 2018, management has reviewed the critical estimates and judgements to gain comfort on the 
recognition policies. Management prepared documentation that identified the main performance obligations and provided a more detailed 
rationale for the treatment of each obligation under IFRS 15. Management are comfortable that revenue is recognised in accordance with 
these obligations for set up, analytics, transactions, archiving, professional services, integrated suppliers, workflow and the Orbian supply 
chain financing partnership.

Management reviewed the treatment of revenue from Webform suppliers, in particular the method used to estimate the deferral relating  
to transactions purchased but not utilised. Following that review, a change has been made to the deferred revenue calculation which has 
led to an increased liability as at 30 April 2020, resulting in a restatement of the FY19 statement of financial position but no impact on the 
FY19 income statement.

Audit Committee’s response
The Committee reviewed in detail, with the external auditor, management’s analysis of IFRS 15, as applied to the different types of customer 
contracts during FY20. The auditors reviewed the approach to revenue recognition and challenged the basis of key assumptions. The 
Committee is satisfied with the conclusions made, specifically the determination of the timing of revenue recognition on Webform sales and 
therefore is satisfied that management’s assessment is in compliance with IFRS 15, the disclosure in the consolidated financial statements 
is appropriate, specifically around the restatement of the opening statement of financial position and that the Group has applied the relevant 
standard appropriately. 

Capitalised internal development costs

Management’s assessment 
The Group continues to invest significant effort in the development of the Tungsten Network platform and this requires management to 
assess the carrying value of the capitalised internal development costs. Projects under development are capitalised if management intend 
to complete the project, it is technically feasible to do so and the carrying value of the software is supported by expected future benefits. 
Projects under development are not amortised and so are subject to impairment testing. Completed projects are amortised over their 
estimated useful life and are tested for impairment if there are any indicators of impairment.

Management reviewed the carrying value of internally developed software by project and for projects under development, considered if the 
future benefits supported the carrying value (considering the project’s estimated net present value). For completed projects with a carrying 
value over £0.1 million, management considered whether the projects are still expected to generate benefits over the remaining useful life 
and whether there are any indicators of impairment.

For software under development, management intends to complete the projects, it is technically feasible to do so and the capitalised cost is 
supported by expected future benefits. For completed projects, software is still expected to generate benefits over its remaining useful life 
and there are no indicators of impairment. The carrying value of internally developed software is therefore supported and no impairment is 
required.

Audit Committee’s response
The Committee reviewed and discussed with management and the external auditor as to: 

(i)  whether development costs met the capitalisation criteria under IAS 38;

(ii)  where development costs had been capitalised in relation to ongoing projects, that these were in relation to commercially viable  

projects and therefore remained on balance sheet; and

(iii)  whether satisfied that all other expenditure, with the exception to those projects capitalised, should be expensed.

The Committee has reviewed and is satisfied with judgements applied by management in determining the value of the costs relating  
to projects that have been capitalised during FY20. These judgements have also been discussed with the external auditor.

45

 
 
 
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Key matters considered in relation to the consolidated financial statements continued

Alternative performance measures (“APMs”) and presentations not specifically defined by IFRS

Management’s assessment 
The Group uses EBITDA, adjusted for certain items including exceptional items, which are not specifically defined by IFRS, to show the 
impact of underlying business performance on the income statement. Adjusting for exceptional items is matter of judgement because there 
is no definition under IFRS. The Group defines exceptional items as those which are both material and considered by the Directors to be 
unusual in nature, where the nature of the item, or its magnitude, is material and likely to be non-recurring.

Audit Committee’s response
The Audit Committee considered the presentations made in light of the guidance provided by the European Securities and Markets 
authority and is satisfied that the measures presented continue to be appropriately adjusted and disclosed as non-GAAP measures. The 
Audit Committee is satisfied that the non-GAAP measures were not given undue prominence and that the reconciliations provided were 
presented in a clear manner.

Impairment of goodwill

Management’s assessment 
Goodwill of £101.8 million was recorded on the acquisition of OB10 in 2013 and DocuSphere in 2014. The goodwill balance is reviewed annually 
for impairment based on an estimated value-in-use of the cash-generating unit (“CGU”). The key assumptions were WACC, revenue growth, 
cost inflation and taxation rate. The base case was then sensitised for each of these assumptions. The combination of this analysis, combined 
with other qualitative factors (in particular the broader UK economic environment), has led management to propose an impairment charge of 
£23.0 million against the carrying value of goodwill associated with the OB10 acquisition.

Audit Committee’s response
The Committee discussed and considered the key assumptions and inputs into the going concern model, in particular the appropriateness 
of the discount rate used. After discussion with both management and the external auditor, the Committee is satisfied that the discount 
rate is in the acceptable range and that the additional disclosures included in the financial statements would add transparency to the 
assumptions and judgements made. 

Going concern

Management’s assessment 
The Directors must satisfy themselves that the going-concern assumption is appropriate.

Having assessed the future prospects of the Group and taken into account the principal risks, the Directors considered it appropriate to 
adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing its consolidated financial statements.

Audit Committee’s response
The Committee reviewed management’s budget and forecasts, including an overview of the assumptions made in the preparation of the 
base case supporting the going concern statement. This included the Group’s FY21 budget and also the high level plans for FY22. The 
Committee discussed, and challenged as appropriate, and assessed this in light of the principal risks and uncertainties, including the impact 
of Covid-19. The Committee discussed and challenged the downside scenarios modelled by management, the funding headroom available 
and the feasibility of mitigating actions and the speed of implementation of any cost-saving measures following management decision 
making. The Committee noted the requirement for the Directors to state whether they consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern 
basis of accounting for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the FY20 financial statements. The Committee considered 
the additional downside stress testing performed by management. Following this evaluation and analysis, the Committee was satisfied with 
the judgements made and that the continued use of the going concern basis was appropriate.

Newly applicable accounting standards – IFRS 16

Management’s assessment 
The Group adopted IFRS 16, Leases from 1 May 2019. The Group applied IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach which does not 
require the restatement of comparative information. The application of IFRS 16 requires management to apply judgement in setting an 
appropriate incremental borrowing rate to be used in calculating the lease liability on transition. Management prepared an Audit Committee 
paper documenting the basis for the rate selected.

Audit Committee’s response
The Committee has reviewed and discussed these judgements, explanations and conclusions with management and the external auditor. 
The Committee is satisfied with the explanations provided, the judgements and conclusions made and the disclosure in the consolidated 
financial statements.

46

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Assessment of the Annual Report
The Board has charged the Audit Committee with reviewing the contents of this FY20 Annual Report to assess whether, when taken as a 
whole, it is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the necessary information for shareholders to assess the consolidated position, 
performance, business model and strategy. As such, the Audit Committee has reviewed the contents of this FY20 Annual Report and when 
forming its opinion in respect of the above matters, the Audit Committee assessed the following:

Fair
•  Is the presentation or information complete based on materiality?

•  Are the key messages in the narrative aligned with the financial statements and supported by KPIs?

•  Are the KPIs appropriate based on the financial reporting and the outlook?

Balanced
•  Is the Strategic Report consistent with the financial reporting?

•  Is there appropriate balance between financial measures under IFRS and adjusted measures not defined by IFRS, with the latter not having 

undue prominence?

•  Are the key judgements and issues set out in this report consistent with the critical accounting estimates and judgements in the financial 

reporting and the significant issues set out in the report of the external auditor?

•  Are the principal risks and uncertainties set out in the Strategic Report aligned with the key risks set out in the report of the external auditor?

Understandable
•  Are the important messages highlighted and presented consistently and prominently throughout this Annual Report?

•  Are the messages written clearly, simply and transparently?

•  Will a shareholder understand the market we operate in?

•  And how we generate value?

Following the Audit Committee’s review, the Directors confirm that the FY20 Annual Report, when taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and presents the information necessary for a shareholder to assess the Company’s position and performance, business 
model and strategy.

Internal controls and risk management
In the absence of an internal control function, the Board is ultimately responsible for the operation of an effective system of internal control 
and risk management appropriate to the business. The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing the risk management systems and 
internal controls to ensure that they remain effective and that any identified weaknesses are appropriately dealt with.

Overview of the internal control environment
The following key elements comprise the internal control environment which has been designed to identify, evaluate and manage, rather than 
eliminate, the risks facing the Group and to ensure timely and accurate reporting of financial data.

•  An appropriate organisational structure with clear lines of responsibility.

•  A comprehensive process for the annual strategic and business planning process.

•  Systems of control procedures and delegated authorities, beyond the Board Terms of Reference, which operate within defined guidelines 

and approval limits for capital and operating expenditure and other key business transactions and decisions.

•  Procedures by which the Group’s consolidated financial information and statements are prepared, which identify and take into account 
changes to financial risks as a result of changes to operating models or commercial terms or new accounting standards and disclosures.

•  Established policies and procedures setting out expected standards of business conduct, integrity and ethical standards which require all 

employees to adhere to legal and regulatory requirements in the area in which they do business.

•  A finance function which has appropriate experience and qualifications, and which regularly assesses the financial impact of risks facing 

the Group.

•  An appropriate and documented risk management process.

47

 
 
 
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Developments to the control environment in FY20
The most significant activities during FY20 relate to the following:

•  Further progress of a project to enhance the Group’s end-to-end Order-To-Cash processes; 

•  Development of a centralised accounting controls manual; and

•  Commercial review of contracts. 

Order-To-Cash processes
Commencing in late FY19, the Company has been implementing new processes and systems that will have a positive impact on the speed, 
efficiency and effectiveness of the Company’s Order-To-Cash processes. Work on this project is at an advanced stage, and is expected to be 
completed in December 2020.

Controls manual
Following discussion and review by the Audit Committee, the Company is in the process of compiling a definitive centralised accounting 
controls manual, which will bring together the various policies already existing within the organisation. This is expected to be completed in 
March 2021.

Review of effectiveness of the internal control environment
The Audit Committee, on behalf of the Board, is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of the internal control systems and the risk 
management process on an ongoing basis. The process of review has been operational throughout the year and through to the date of 
approval of this Annual Report. At each Audit Committee meeting, management reports any whistle-blowing activity, frauds identified and any 
other significant issues. The Audit Committee has neither identified, nor been informed of any failings or weaknesses that it has determined to 
be significant.

In FY21, management has indicated to the Audit Committee that they will continue to focus on increased automation of controls, specifically 
in the area of revenue recognition and cash collection, and also to increase detective controls as increased reporting related to non-financial 
metrics are increased.

Risk management process
In addition to management’s risk management process as highlighted on page 28 of this Annual Report, the Audit Committee has, and will 
continue to, review the risk register a minimum of twice-annually and assess the actions taken by management to manage and mitigate the 
risks. The Group’s principal risks and uncertainties are laid out on pages 28 to 30 in the Strategic Report.

48

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Independence and performance of the external auditor
The Board has approved a policy which is intended to maintain the independence and objectivity of the external auditor. The policy  
governs the provision of audit, audit-related services and non-audit services provided by the auditor. In summary this requires Committee 
approval for all projects with an expected cost in excess of £10,000 and prohibits the engagement of the external auditor for the provision  
on non-audit services.

The Group’s auditors are BDO LLP, and were appointed as statutory auditor to the Group in 2019, commencing with the FY20 audit. The lead 
audit partner is Iain Henderson. 

There were no non-audit fees paid or payable to BDO in FY20. Details of audit, audit-related fees and non-audit fees are included in Note 8 
to the consolidated financial statements. The external auditor is prohibited from providing internal audit services. No former employee of the 
external or internal audit providers is employed by the Group. BDO has confirmed its independence to the Audit Committee.

Effectiveness of the external auditor
The Audit Committee has reviewed the quality of the audit plan and related reports for the FY20 audit and is satisfied with the quality of these 
documents. Due to the recent appointment of BDO LLP, an internal evaluation will be undertaken in early FY21. 

The Audit Committee has reviewed the independence of the external auditor and concluded that it complies with UK regulatory and 
professional requirements and that its objectivity is not compromised.

Focus for FY21
Moving into FY21, we will continue to discuss and give healthy challenge to management on their key judgements and estimates in relation 
to financial accounting and review and assess the performance of the business in line with the plan. We also look forward to supporting 
management as they further develop and enhance their IT systems, specifically in the area of billing, which will support the expected future 
growth of the business.

Specifically, we will:

•  Review the changes to the financial control environment as the billing system enhancements are implemented;

•  Review the budgeting process and the enhancement of development of a three - five year planning process and the interplay with the 

newly formed Commercial department;

•  Review the appropriateness of KPIs and timeliness of production of non-financial reporting metrics; and

•  Continue to review risk management systems and IT security arrangements to ensure that they are appropriately robust to support  

the strategies of a high growth business.

Viv Maclachlan
Chair of the Audit Committee

6 September 2020

49

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT

A globally diverse business

The Committee met formally 
on one (1) occasion in FY20. 
The business of the Committee 
was also subject to several 
ad hoc discussions involving 
all Committee members in 
spring and summer 2019 
in connection with the 
recruitment process for the 
new Chief Executive Officer, 
resulting in the appointment  
of Andrew Lemonofides,  
who joined the Company  
on 2 September 2019.

Although only members of the Committee 
have the right to attend meetings, other 
individuals, such as the Chief Executive 
Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Company 
Secretary and external advisers, may 
be invited to attend for all or part of any 
meeting.

Duties
The main duties of the Nomination 
Committee are set out in its Terms of 
Reference and include the following:

•  To keep under review the leadership needs 
of the organisation, both executive and 
non-executive, with a view to ensuring  
the continued ability of the organisation  
to compete effectively in the marketplace.

•  To keep up to date and fully informed 

about strategic issues and commercial 
changes affecting the Company and the 
market in which it operates.

•  To be responsible for identifying and 

nominating for the approval of the Board, 
candidates to fill Board vacancies as and 
when they arise.

•  To formulate plans for succession for both 
Executive and Non-Executive Directors  
and in particular for the key roles of 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

•  To assess the reappointment of any 

Non-Executive Director at the conclusion 
of their specified term of office having 
given due regard to their performance 
and ability to continue to contribute to the 
Board in light of the knowledge, skills and 
experience required.

•  To assess the re-election by shareholders 
of any Director having due regard to their 
performance and ability to continue to 
contribute to the Board in light of the 
knowledge, skills and experience required 
and the need for progressive refreshing of 
the Board.

50

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

“The Board believes that appointments to the Board should  
be made relative to a number of criteria, including diversity  
of gender, background and personal attributes, alongside  
the appropriate skill set, experience and expertise.”

The main activities of the Nomination 
Committee during the year were as follows:

•  Recruitment of new Non-Executive 

Directors.

•  Recruitment of new Chief Executive 

Officer.

•  Recruitment of Chief Financial Officer.

•  Succession planning.

•  Consideration of continuing training needs 

for Directors.

•  Board balance and diversity discussions.

•  Re-election of Directors at the AGM.

•  Review of Terms of Reference.

Diversity
The Group has in place anti-discrimination 
policies and considers candidates for 
appointment or promotion at Board and 
senior management level from a wide 
pool from various backgrounds and not 
necessarily the more traditional routes. 
The Board believes that appointments 
to the Board should be made relative to 
a number of criteria, including diversity 
of gender, background and personal 
attributes, alongside the appropriate skill set, 
experience and expertise. All appointments 
take these criteria into account. We currently 
have a globally diverse Board and employees 
which reflects our global business.

Tony Bromovsky
Chair of the Nomination Committee

6 September 2020

Committee highlights

Members of the Committee 
The Committee consists of Non-Executive 
Directors. 

Members 

Meeting attendance

Tony Bromovsky  
(Chair) 

Andrew Doman 

Vivienne Maclachlan 

Nick Wells 

   (1/1) 

   (1/1)

   (1/1)

  N/A

Members during the year were as follows:

Name 

Member since/until

Tony Bromovsky (Chairman) 
Appointed October 2018 – Current

Andrew Doman 
Appointed December 2018 – Current

Vivienne Maclachlan 
Appointed February 2019 – Current

Nick Wells 
Appointed April 2020 – Current

51

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT

Thorough and independent  
policy setting

The Committee usually meets 
at least three (3) times a year 
and at such other times during 
the year as is necessary to 
discharge its duties. During 
the course of FY20, the 
Remuneration Committee  
met on four (4) occasions. 

Although only members of the Committee 
have the right to attend meetings, other 
individuals, such as the Chief Executive 
Officer, Chief Financial Officer and external 
advisers, may be invited to attend for all or 
part of any meeting.

Duties
The main duties of the Remuneration 
Committee are set out in its Terms of 
Reference and include the following:

•  Setting the remuneration policy for the 
Executive Directors and the Company’s 
Chairman, including pension rights and 
compensation payments.

•  In determining such policy, to take into 
account relevant legal and regulatory 
requirements, and the provisions and 
recommendations of the QCA Code, the 
QCA’s Remuneration Committee Guide and 
associated guidance.

•  Recommending and monitoring the level 
and structure of remuneration for senior 
management.

•  When setting the remuneration policy for 
Executive Directors, to review and have 
regard to pay and employment conditions 
across the Group.

•  To review the appropriateness and 

relevance of the remuneration policy.

•  To appoint and determine the terms 
of reference for any remuneration 
consultants who advise the committee.

•  To approve the design of and determine 

the targets for any schemes of 
performance related remuneration and 
approve the total remuneration paid under 
such schemes.

•  To review the design of all share incentive 

plans for approval by the Board.

52

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

“The Committee usually meets at least three times a year  
and at such other times during the year as is necessary  
to discharge its duties.”

•  To determine the policy and scope of 
pension arrangements for Executive 
Directors and other designated senior 
executives.

•  To oversee any major changes in 

employee benefits structure throughout 
the Group.

The main activities of the 
Remuneration Committee during 
the year:
Following the implementation of the 
Company’s new remuneration plan in FY19, 
the main activities of the Remuneration 
Committee during the year were as follows: 

•  Consideration of Executive Directors’ and 
Exco bonuses, and in particular reviewing 
performance for FY19 and setting 
objectives and outcomes for FY20.

•  Review and approval of remuneration 
packages for the new Chief Executive 
Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

•  Review and approval of remuneration 

package for the Chairman.

•  Approval of awards made under the 

Company’s new Deferred Share Bonus 
Plan and Long Term Incentive Plan.

•  Review of potential mechanism for 

conversion of awards made under the 
previous UK Share Option Scheme and 
US Stock Option Plan into shares in the 
Company.

•  Review of Terms of Reference.

Nick Wells
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

6 September 2020

Committee highlights

Members of the Committee 
The Committee consists of Non-Executive 
Directors.

Members 

Meeting attendance

Duncan Goldie-Morrison  
(Chair until 28 February 2020) 

Tony Bromovsky 

Andrew Doman 

Vivienne Maclachlan 

Nick Wells (Chair) 

  (3/3)

  (4/4)

  (4/4)

 (3/3)

  N/A

Members during the year were as follows:

Name 

Member since/until

Duncan Goldie-Morrison
(Chair until 28 February 2020) 
Appointed October 2018 – Resigned 
February 2020

Tony Bromovsky
Appointed October 2018 – Current

Andrew Doman
Appointed December 2018 – Current

Vivienne Maclachlan
Appointed February 2019 – Current

Nick Wells (Chair)
Appointed April 2020 – Current

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REPORT OF DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

The following disclosures are made to support the Board’s goals of working towards best practice governance standards as an AIM company 
and to promote transparency about how our Directors are rewarded.

The Remuneration Committee
The Board has delegated certain responsibilities for executive remuneration to the Remuneration Committee. Details of the Remuneration 
Committee, its remit and activities are set out on pages 52 to 53.

The Remuneration Committee is, among other things, responsible for setting the remuneration policy for Executive Directors and the 
Chairman, and recommending and monitoring the level and structure of remuneration for senior management.

Remuneration policy
In FY19 the Remuneration Committee Board worked with the Aon Hewitt Limited Executive Benefits team to create a new Remuneration Plan 
for the Company that covers Executive Directors, Non-Executive Directors and employees in general.

In creating the new Remuneration Plan, the Board sought to implement best practice for AIM listed companies, and to ensure that benefits 
packages adhered to the median benchmarks for comparable companies. 

In formulating remuneration policy for the Executive Directors, the Remuneration Committee considers a number of factors designed to:

•  have regard to the Director’s experience and the nature and complexity of their work in order to pay a competitive salary, in line with 

comparable companies, that attracts and retains Directors of the highest quality;

•  reflect the Director’s personal performance as scored against quantifiable targets; and

•  link individual remuneration packages, and particularly equity awards, to the Group’s long-term performance and continued success  

of the Group through the award of annual bonuses and share-based incentive schemes.

The objective of the remuneration policy is to promote the long-term success of the Company, having regard to the views of shareholders  
and stakeholders.

The key elements of the Remuneration Plan adopted in FY19 are as follows:

Base Salary

Base salary is reviewed annually by the Remuneration Committee.

Going forwards, base salaries for Executive Directors and other senior employees are being 
benchmarked and will be awarded in line with the median level for comparable companies.

The Remuneration Committee has agreed performance conditions for the annual bonuses of the 
Executive Directors based on the achievement of certain financial and operational KPIs. Each Executive 
Director has performance conditions relating to the profitable growth of the Group, specifically 
in relation to growth in Company revenue and EBITDA. Each Executive Director has additional 
performance conditions relevant to their own areas of responsibility.

The new Remuneration Plan encourages a move from payment of bonuses 100% in cash to a mix  
of cash and deferred bonus shares under the Company’s Deferred Share Bonus Plan (the “DSBP”). 

The DSBP was adopted by the Board by resolution on 29 April 2019, the key points of which are:

•  Deferred bonus shares under the DSBP are typically one or two year vesting. If two year vesting they 

would vest 50% after 12 months, 100% after 24 months. 

•  DSBP is targeted at Executive Directors, Exco members and senior level employees.

•  Deferred bonus shares are awarded subject to performance over the period under assessment, 
though vesting of awarded deferred bonus shares is not subject to performance conditions.

•  Deferred bonus shares lapse if the recipient leaves before vesting, subject to discretion for good 

leavers to receive on pro-rated basis. Early vesting upon M&A and other corporate events.

•  Malus and clawback provisions apply.

•  Deferred bonus shares under the DSBP are structured as options with a nominal exercise price. 

Bonuses for Executive Directors and Exco members for FY19 performance were awarded on the basis 
of 50% cash and 50% deferred bonus shares, with the deferred bonus shares vesting after 12 months. 

Due to the financial performance of the Company in FY20, no bonuses were awarded to Executive 
Directors and Exco members for FY20 performance.

Bonus

54

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

LTIP

The Long Term Incentive Plan (the “LTIP”) was introduced to incentivise senior management and 
encourage retention. The LTIP replaces awards under the Company’s UK Share Option Scheme and US 
Stock Option Plan.

The LTIP was adopted by the Board by resolution on 29 April 2019, the key points of which are:

•  LTIPs are typically three year vesting subject to agreed performance criteria.

•  Performance criteria for LTIPs are to be assessed for each financial year under review, and will focus 
on revenue growth, EBITDA growth and increase in share price. KPIs to be weighted and vesting 
subject to sliding scale of assessment.

•  LTIP is targeted at Executive Directors and Exco members.

•  LTIPs lapse if the recipient leaves before vesting, subject to discretion for good leavers to receive 

shares on pro-rated basis. Early vesting upon M&A and other corporate events.

•  Malus and clawback provisions apply.

•  LTIPs are structured as options with a nominal exercise price.

Details of LTIP awards made in relation to FY20 are set out below.

Other Benefits

A range of benefits may be provided including pension, private medical insurance, life assurance, long-
term disability insurance, general employee benefits and travel and related expenses. The Remuneration 
Committee also retains the discretion to offer additional benefits as appropriate, such as assistance with 
relocation, tax equalisation and overseas tax advisory fees.

Directors’ service agreements
Details of the Executive Directors’ service agreements are set out below.

Director

Date of contract

Unexpired term

Andrew Lemonofides

2 July 2019

Rolling contract

Chris Allen

16 April 2020

Rolling contract

Notice period by 
Company

Notice period by 
Director

6 months for first year, 
and then 12 months 
thereafter

6 months for first year, 
and then 12 months 
thereafter

3 months for first year, 
and then 6 months 
thereafter

3 months for first year, 
and then 6 months 
thereafter

The Executive Directors may be put on gardening leave during their notice period, and the Company can elect to terminate their employment 
by making a payment in lieu of notice of up to the applicable notice period.

Employees’ pay
Employees’ pay and conditions across the Group are considered when reviewing remuneration policy for Executive Directors.

Non-Executive Directors
The remuneration payable to Non-Executive Directors (other than the Chairman) is decided by the Chairman and Executive Directors.

Fees are designed to ensure the Company attracts and retains high calibre individuals. They are reviewed on an annual basis and account  
is taken of the level of fees paid by other companies of a similar size and complexity. 

In November 2018, the Director fees for all Non-Executive Directors were benchmarked and adjusted in line with the median benchmark for 
comparable companies. This resulted in a reduction of the total amounts payable to Non-Executive Directors going forwards (e.g. the base 
fee was reduced from £60,000 per annum to £42,000 per annum, with proportionate additional fees payable for the committee chairs and, 
where applicable, the SID, to reflect the additional responsibility and time commitments of such roles). 

Non-Executive Directors do not participate in any annual bonus, performance related share or option awards or pension arrangements.  
The Company repays the reasonable expenses that Non-Executive Directors incur in carrying out their duties as Directors.

55

 
 
 
REPORT OF DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Terms of appointment
The terms of appointment for the Non-Executive Directors are shown below.

Director 

Date of letter of appointment 

Term 

Tony Bromovsky 
Andrew Doman 
Vivienne Maclachlan 
Nick Wells 

21 September 2018 
27 February 2019 
11 February 2019 
31 March 2020 

12 months 
12 months 
12 months 
12 months 

Notice

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Annual remuneration report
The annual remuneration report sets out details of Directors’ remuneration payments during FY20 and information in respect of share awards 
and Directors’ shareholdings.

Directors’ remuneration table (audited)

Director 
All amounts £’000 

Executive Directors 
Andrew Lemonofides2 
Chris Allen3 
David Williams4 

Non-Executive Directors 
Tony Bromovsky 
Andrew Doman 
Duncan Goldie-Morrison7 
Vivienne Maclachlan 
Nick Wells8 

Total 

Base salary 
£’000 

Annual
Benefits  Performance 
Bonus1 
£’000 

in kind 
£’000 

Pensions 
£’000 

Total 
FY20 
£’000 

Total
FY199
£’000

330 
4 
1985 

3506 
42 
50 
56 
4 

1,034 

2 
– 
1 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

3 

– 
– 
– 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

28 
– 
21 

38 
– 
– 
– 
– 

49 

360 
4 
220 

350 
42 
50 
56 
4 

1,086 

–
–
287

100
27
42
9
–

465

Notes:
1  The figures above show the amounts paid, or accrued to be paid, in relation to performance in FY20. 
2  Appointed on 2 September 2019.The base salary includes a sign-on bonus of £71,000.
3  Appointed on 27 April 2020.
4  Resigned on 28 February 2020. In addition to the above, Mr Williams received a termination payment totalling £259,000 in July 2020 in respect of his departure from the Company.
5  David Williams received a salary uplift of 20% of his base salary for the period 13 February 2019 to 2 September 2019 in respect of his role as Interim Chief Executive Officer.
6  FY20 fees include an additional element in recognition of the additional responsibility assumed as Executive Chairman on an interim basis until 12 December 2020 pending the appointment 

of the new Chief Executive Officer. The fees payable to Mr Bromovsky following his return to Non-Executive Chairman are £120,000 per annum. 

7  Resigned on 28 February 2020.
8  Appointed on 31 March 2020.
9  The total of FY19 excluded Directors that are no longer engaged. Total actual cost of salaries, bonuses and other short-term employee benefits was £1,254,000. 

56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

FY20 Deferred Share Bonus Awards to Directors (audited)

Director 

Andrew Lemonofides 

David Williams2 

Number of 
deferred bonus 
shares held 
as at 1 May  
2019 

Awards  
granted  
during 
the year 

Awards 
  exercised 
during 
the year 

Option 
price 

Date of grant 

Awards
lapsed 
during  as at 30 April 
2020 

Balance  Vesting and
exercise
period

the year 

– 

– 

250,000 

19 September 2019 

Nominal 

51,867 

31 July 2019 

Nominal 

– 

– 

– 

– 

250,000 

See below1

51,867  See below3

1  This award was granted as an exceptional award of nominal cost options granted on identical terms to an award under the DSBP. The award will vest over a two year period  

(50% vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant, and the remaining 50% will vest on the second anniversary of the date of grant), subject to the grantee's continued  
service with the Tungsten group.

2  Resigned on 28 February 2020.
3  The award vested on 31 July 2020, 12 months after the date of award.

In addition to the above, a further exceptional award of nominal cost options granted on identical terms to an award under the DSBP was 
made to Tony Bromovsky in recognition of his work as Executive Chairman, reflecting his contribution to the performance of the Group in 
FY20. Deferred bonus shares to the value of £114,843.75 will be awarded to Mr Bromovsky in September 2020. These deferred bonus shares 
will vest over a two year period (50% vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant, and the remaining 50% will vest on the second 
anniversary of the date of grant). No future service is required to be provided in order to be entitled to these shares and, as such, the full 
cost has been recorded in FY20. However, the deferred bonus shares will be forfeit in circumstances where Mr Bromovsky’s appointment is 
terminated for cause or where he leaves as a good leaver but then starts working for a direct competitor to Tungsten. 

FY20 LTIP Awards to Directors (audited)

Director 

Number of 
LTIPS held 
as at 1 May  
2019 

Awards  
granted  
during 
the year 

Awards 
  exercised 
during 
the year 

Option 
price 

Date of grant 

Awards
lapsed 
during  as at 30 April 
2020 

Balance  Vesting and
exercise
period

the year 

Andrew Lemonofides 
David Williams1 

– 
– 

531,632 
478,469 

19 September 2019 
19 September 2019 

Nominal 
Nominal 

0 
0 

– 
478,469 

531,632  See below
–  See below

1  Resigned on 28 February 2020. LTIPs forfeited on 21 January 2020.

The above LTIP awards were granted as nominal cost options which would be exercisable on 19 September 2022, subject to satisfaction of 
performance conditions in relation to revenue growth, EBITDA growth and increase in share price over three financial years (FY20, FY21  
and FY22, the “Performance Period”), and also to the grantee’s continued service with the Tungsten group.

57

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REPORT OF DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

FY20 LTIP awards to Directors (audited) continued
The performance conditions for the FY20 LTIP awards were as follows:

Revenue Performance Condition

EBITDA Performance Condition

Share Price Performance Condition

CAGR %

£m

1/3 of total award

1/3 of total award

Pence per share

1/3 of total award

CAGR

Below 12%

12%

16%

18.5%

Vesting

EBITDA

Vesting

Price

Vesting

0%

25%

50%

100%

Below £11.375m

£11.375m

£16.25m

£21.125m

0%

25%

50%

100%

Below 80p

80p

100p

120p

0%

25%

50%

100%

Between 12% and 
16%, or between 
16% and 18.5%

Between 25% 
and 50% or 50% 
and 100% (as 
applicable) on a 
straight-line basis

Between 
£11.375m and 
£16.25m, or 
between £16.25m 
and £21.125m

Between 25% 
and 50% or 50% 
and 100% (as 
applicable) on a 
straight-line basis

Between £0.80 and 
£1.00, or between 
£1.00 and £1.20

Between 25% and 
50% or 50% and 
100% (as applicable) 
on a straight-line 
basis

Note:
Measures the compound annual growth 
in the Company’s revenue over the 
Performance Period.

Note:
Measures the Company’s earnings 
before interest, tax, deductions and 
amortisation (“EBITDA”) in the 2021/22 
financial year.

Note:
Measures the Company’s average share  
price over the one-month period ending  
on 19 September 2022 (i.e. the third 
anniversary of the Grant Date).

Following a review of the Company’s strategy and performance in FY20 against the targets set for the FY20 LTIP and in recognition of the 
Company’s current dilution position, Mr Lemonofides and other participants agreed in August 2020 to waive their FY20 LTIP awards. No 
consideration was offered in return for the waiver of these awards. The Company intends that the next grant of awards under the LTIP will take 
place in FY21.

Share option schemes (audited) 

Director 

David Williams 

Number
of options 
held as at 
1 May 
2019 

Awards 
granted 
during 
the year 

Awards  
exercised 
during 
the year 

Awards 
lapsed  
during 
the year 

Balance 
as at 

Vesting
30 April  and exercise
period

2020 

680,000 

– 

– 

– 

680,0001  See below

1  Following Mr William’s departure on 28 February 2020, 187,500 unvested options forfeited on 31 July 2020. The remaining 492,500 options will lapse on 31 October 2020 if not  

exercised before that date.

The Company’s UK Share Option Scheme and US Stock Option Plan provided recipients with the ability to purchase vested options at the 
option grant price. Each option grant typically vested in four tranches over four years from date of grant and is exercisable for 10 years from 
date of grant. Share options were awarded in recognition of performance over the financial year under assessment. While the option awards 
made under the UK Share Option Scheme and the US Stock Option Plan remain outstanding, these schemes have been now replaced by the 
Company’s LTIP introduced in FY19, as described above.

58

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Directors’ interests in the share capital of the Company (audited)

Number of ordinary 

shares held on  Acquired/disposed 
during the year 

1 May 2019 

  Number of ordinary 
shares held on 
30 April 2020 

Percentage of
issued share
capital in issue on
30 April 2020

Director 

Executive Directors 
Andrew Lemonofides 
Chris Allen 
David Williams1 
Non-Executive Directors 
Tony Bromovsky 
Andrew Doman 
Duncan Goldie-Morrison 
Vivienne Maclachlan 
Nick Wells 

1 

Includes 3,200 shares held by his son.

– 
– 
250,255 

219,339 
251,339 
219,339 
– 
– 

– 
– 
– 

714,765 
– 
– 
– 
100,000 

– 
– 
250,255 

934,104 
251,649 
219,339 
– 
100,000 

–
–
0.20%

0.74%
0.20%
0.17%
–
0.08%

Founders LTIP Scheme
In FY2013, certain former Directors and other individuals acquired interests in the B ordinary shares (the ‘Founders LTIP Shares’) and  
C ordinary shares (the ‘Founders LTIP Securities’) of Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited, a subsidiary of the Company. 

The Founders LTIP Shares were all exchanged into ordinary shares of the Company as part of the admission process. 

The Founders LTIP Securities are exchangeable into ordinary shares of the Company once the price per ordinary share of the Company has 
reached (for any 20 trading days out of 30 successive trading days, the last of such days falling not less than five and not more than 10 years 
following admission) a closing price equal to the price resulting from applying an equivalent of a compound rate of return from the date of the 
admission to the adjusted issue price equal to 8.25% per annum accrued daily and compounded quarterly.

No current Directors of the Company hold or have any interest in any Founders LTIP Securities. 

This Directors’ Remuneration Report will be put to an advisory vote at the forthcoming 2020 AGM.

Nick Wells
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

6 September 2020

59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

The Directors of Tungsten Corporation Plc present their report for the year ended 30 April 2020. Particulars of important events affecting the 
Company and its subsidiaries and likely future developments may be found in the Strategic Report on pages 2 to 31.

Directors
Biographical details of the Directors currently serving on the Board and their dates of appointment are set out on pages 36 to 37.

The Directors of the Company who were in office during the year and up to the date of signing the financial statements were:

Executive Directors 

Andrew Lemonofides1 
Chris Allen2 
David Williams3 

Non-Executive Directors

Tony Bromovsky4
Andrew Doman
Duncan Goldie-Morrison5
Vivienne Maclachlan
Nick Wells6

Notes:
1  Appointed on 2 September 2019.
2  Appointed on 27 April 2020.
3  Resigned on 28 February 2020.
4  Executive Chairman from 13 February 2019 to 12 December 2019. Non-Executive Chairman from 12 December 2019.
5  Resigned on 28 February 2020.
6  Appointed on 31 March 2020.

The Company’s approach to the appointment and replacement of Directors is governed by its Articles of Association (together with relevant 
legislation) and takes into consideration any recommendations of the QCA Code.

Subject to any restrictions in its Articles of Association and the Companies Act 2006, the Directors may exercise any powers which are not 
reserved for exercise by the shareholders.

Results and dividend
Results for the year ended 30 April 2020 are set out in the consolidated income statement on page 74. The Company has no distributable 
reserves to declare a dividend for the year ended 30 April 2020.

Change of control/significant agreements
Should the Company be subject to a change of control, the following represents the likely effects on significant agreements: 

•  The Founder Share Scheme Securities will become exchangeable into ordinary shares in Tungsten Corporation Plc, with a value equal to 

15% of the increase in the actual market capitalisation of Tungsten Corporation Plc since admission, subject to:

(a)  The value of Tungsten Corporation Plc having risen by over 8.25% per annum since admission (the ‘Threshold Price’); and

(b)  Where the change of control results from, or triggers, an offer to holders of the ordinary shares of the Company, that offer being at an 

equivalent price per ordinary share of the Company equal to (or greater than) the Threshold Price; or

(c)  Where the change of control results from, or in, the removal of either of Danny Truell or Edmund Truell (the Founders) from the Board of 
the Company, and the Threshold Price having been previously reached for any 20 trading days out of 30 successive trading days.

Other than the above the Company does not have any agreements with any Non-Executive Director, Executive Director or employee requiring 
compensation for loss of office resulting from a change of control.

Articles of Association
Any amendments to the Articles of Association of the Company may be made by Special Resolution of the shareholders.

60

 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Share capital
Details of the Company’s share capital are set out in Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements. The Company’s share capital consists of 
one class of ordinary shares that do not carry rights to fixed income. As at 30 April 2020, there were 126,088,147 ordinary shares of £0.00438 
each in issue. Ordinary shareholders are entitled to receive notice and to attend and speak at general meetings.

Each shareholder present in person or by proxy (or by duly authorised corporate representatives) has, on a show of hands, one vote. On a poll, 
each shareholder present in person or by proxy has one vote for each share held.

Other than the general provisions of the Articles (and prevailing legislation) there are no specific restrictions of the size of a holding or on the 
transfer of the ordinary shares.

The Directors are not aware of any agreements between holders of the Company’s shares that may result in the restriction of the transfer of 
securities or on voting rights. No shareholder holds securities carrying any special rights or control over the Company’s share capital.

Authority to purchase own shares
The Company was authorised by shareholder resolution at the 2019 Annual General Meeting to purchase up to 10% of its issued share capital.  
A resolution will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and authority sought to purchase up to 10% of its issued share 
capital. Under this authority, any shares purchased must be held as treasury shares or, otherwise, cancelled resulting in a reduction of the 
Company’s issued share capital. 

No shares were purchased by the Company during the year.  

Directors’ interests
The number of ordinary shares of the Company in which the Directors are beneficially interested at 30 April 2020 is set out in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report on page 59.

Director indemnities and insurance
In accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and the Company’s Articles of Association, the Company has purchased Directors’ and Officers’ 
Liability Insurance which remains in place at the date of this report. The Company reviews its insurance policies on an annual basis in order  
to satisfy itself that its level of cover remains adequate.

The Directors are also indemnified under the Articles of Association of the Company.

61

 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REPORT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Significant shareholders
As at 4 September 2020, the latest practicable date prior to publication, Tungsten Corporation Plc is aware of the following holdings of 
significant shareholders in the Company (as defined in the AIM Rules). These figures are based on its most recent analysis of shareholders 
as at 4 September, and other notifications to the Company. For clarity, shareholdings are shown separately from holdings in financial 
instruments, where disclosed.

Shareholdings as at 
4 September 2020 

Financial
instruments notified  

Total

Shares 

% 

Number1 

% 

Holdings 

%

Odey Asset Management 
Mr Edmund Truell3 
AXA Framlington Investment Management 
Chelverton Asset Management 
Majedie Asset Management 
Invesco 
Archon Capital Management 
Herald Investment Management 

17,675,661 
16,483,199 
9,243,807 
7,340,202 
5,308,554 
5,136,230 
4,222,000 
3,960,000 

14.02 
13.07 
7.33 
5.82 
4.21 
4.07 
3.35 
3.14 

3,213,972 
–4 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

2.55  20,889,633 
16,483,199 
9,243,807 
7,340,202 
5,308,554 
5,136,230 
4,222,000 
3,960,000 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

16.57
13.07
7.33
5.82
4.21
4.07
3.35
3.14

1  Total voting rights, or share equivalent.
2  3,213,972 shares equivalent held via CFDs, reported to the Company on 2 July 2020.
3  Edmund Truell’s holdings disclosed above represent both his direct and indirect holdings including investments via Disruptive Capital Investments Limited (“DCIL”). 
4  DCIL previously notified the Company of its interest in relation to 6,000,000 shares that are subject to a Loan Facility entered into with Equities First Holdings LLC (“EFH”) in October 2016 
(“the Loan Shares”), as most recently reported to the Company on 19 April 2018. DCIL has notified the Company that it does not have voting rights in relation to the Loan Shares until such 
shares are returned to DCIL under the Loan Facility. The Loan Facility was due to mature on 11 January 2020.

Financial risk management
The Company’s objectives and policies on financial risk management including information on the exposure of the Company to credit risks, 
liquidity risks and capital management risks are set out in Note 23 to the financial statements and in the managing Group Principal Risks and 
Uncertainties section on pages 28 to 30. 

Research & development
The Company capitalised £2.8 million during the year (FY19: £2.9 million) of software development costs relating to the in-house e-commerce 
software platform. Amortisation of the software platform totalled £1.8 million in the period (FY19: £1.8 million).

62

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

Greenhouse gas emissions
The 2018 Regulations introduced requirements under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 for large unquoted companies to disclose their 
annual energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and related information. However, the Group has applied the option permitted to exclude 
any energy and carbon information relating to its subsidiary which the subsidiary would not itself be obliged to include if reporting on its 
own account; this applies to all subsidiaries within the Group. Tungsten Corporation plc itself consumes less than 40MWh and therefore 
as a low energy user, it is not required to make the detailed disclosures of energy and carbon information but is required to state, in its 
relevant report, that its energy and carbon information is not disclosed for that reason. Tungsten Corporation plc’s annual energy use and 
greenhouse gas emissions, and related information has not been disclosed in this Annual Report as it is a low energy user.

Brexit
The UK formally left the EU on 30 January 2020. The UK is now in a transition period, being an intermediary arrangement covering matters 
like trade and border arrangements, citizens’ rights and jurisdiction on matters including dispute resolution. The transition period is currently 
due to end on 31 December 2020 and negotiations are ongoing to determine and conclude a formal agreement. As the Group operates 
subsidiaries in other countries, there are alternative channels available to us to continue business with the same customers, should the 
need arise, with little to no effect from Brexit changes. As such, while the Directors are closely monitoring the situation, they currently deem 
that the effects of Brexit will not have a significant impact on the Group’s operations.

Going concern statement
The Group going concern assessment is based on forecasts and projections of anticipated trading performance. The assumptions applied  
are subjective and management applies judgement in estimating the probability, timing and value of underlying cash flows. 

The Directors confirm that they have a reasonable expectation that the Group will have adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the next 12 months from approval of these financial statements and accordingly these financial statements are prepared  
on a going concern basis.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far had limited impact on our business and the Board believes that the business is able to navigate  
through the impact of Covid-19 due to the strength of its customer proposition, its statement of financial position and the net cash  
position of the Group. 

However, the rapid emergence of the coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption to many businesses where the implementation 
of social distancing measures is not practical or is deemed ineffective and this had implication for the wider global economy and specifically 
to the supply chain within which we reside – be it our customers’ willingness to use our services in the volumes planned prior to the pandemic 
or where customers will have the ability to settle their debts to the value of sales already recorded and to the originally agreed settlement 
terms. The move to remote working has increased the importance of e-invoicing to our customers and potential customers. There is however 
a risk that the Group will be impacted by reductions in the number of invoices our customers process and by prospective customers delaying 
implementation projects. If sales and settlement of existing debts are not in line with cash flow forecasts, the Directors have identified cost 
savings associated with the reduction in revenues and have the ability to identify further cost savings if necessary.

While the Directors have no reason to believe that customer revenues and receipts will decline to the point that the Group no longer has 
sufficient resources to fund its operations, should this occur, the Group may need to seek additional funding beyond the facilities that 
are currently available to it, as well as making significant reductions in its fixed cost expenses. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial 
statements for further information on going concern.

63

 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REPORT continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Post balance sheet event 
The Covid-19 pandemic and the initial lockdown measures introduced by governments in response were conditions in existence at the 
year-end date and have therefore been treated as adjusting post-statement of financial position events. The disruption has had material 
implications for the wider global economy, although the Group has been less impacted than many companies. The Directors continue to 
monitor the ongoing implications of Covid-19. Further information is given in the Directors’ report. 

On 14 August 2020, the Group renewed its £4.0 million revolving credit facility with HSBC. The new facility expires in December 2023.

Independent auditors
BDO LLP has expressed their willingness to continue in office as auditors and a resolution seeking to reappoint them will be proposed at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Annual General Meeting
The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 3 pm on 16 October 2020.

As a result of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, and the Government’s current guidelines on social distancing and public gatherings, we are 
currently planning that this year’s AGM will be held on a closed basis. We therefore regret that physical attendance of shareholders and other 
usual participants will therefore not be possible. All valid proxy votes, whether submitted electronically or in hard copy form, will be included in 
the poll to be taken at the meeting. 

Details of the resolutions to be proposed are set out in a separate Notice of Meeting which will be sent out in advance of the meeting.

This report was approved by the Board of Directors of Tungsten Corporation Plc and signed by order of the Board:

Patrick Clark
General Counsel and Company Secretary 

6 September 2020

64

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Corporate Governance 

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulation.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have prepared the 
Group financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and 
parent company financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European 
Union. Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view 
of the state of affairs of the Group and parent company and of the profit or loss of the Group and parent company for that period. In preparing 
the financial statements, the Directors are required to:

•  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

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

•  state whether applicable IFRSs as adopted by the European Union have been followed for the Group and parent company, subject  

to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

•  prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group and parent company  

will continue in business.

The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and parent company and hence for taking reasonable steps  
for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

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

Directors' confirmations
In the case of each Director in office at the date the Directors’ report is approved:

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

•  they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit 

information and to establish that the Group and parent company’s auditors are aware of that information. 

The Directors’ report was approved by a duly authorised committee of the Board of Directors on 6 September 2020 and signed on its behalf by:

Patrick Clark
General Counsel and Company Secretary

6 September 2020

65

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Financial 
Statements

66

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

In this section

Independent Auditors’ report  
Consolidated income statement  
Consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income  
Consolidated statement of  
financial position  
Consolidated statement of  
changes in equity  
Consolidated statement of  
cash flows  
Notes to the consolidated  
financial statements  
Parent company balance sheet  
Parent company statement of  
changes in equity  
Parent company statement  
of cash flows  
Notes to the parent company  
financial statements  
Shareholder information  

68
74

75

76

77

78

79
108

109

110

111
120

67

 
 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF TUNGSTEN CORPORATION PLC

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Tungsten Corporation plc (the ‘parent company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year 
ended 30 April 2020 which comprise the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated 
and company statement of financial position, consolidated and company statement of changes in equity, consolidated and company cash 
flow statements, 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 financial statements is applicable law and International 
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and, as regards the parent company financial statements, as applied 
in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

In our opinion:

•  the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 30 April 2020 and of the 

group’s loss for the year then ended;

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

•  the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union and as 

applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006; and

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

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

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

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

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

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

68

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Key audit matter

How the key audit matter was addressed in our audit

With regards to the risk of material misstatement related to the inappropriate or incorrect recognition of 
revenue we performed the following specific testing:

•  During the planning phase, discussions are held in relation to the revenue approach, and the senior 

members of the audit team are responsible for procedures that are performed around revenue.

•  We performed walkthroughs involving understanding the design of the controls, including IT general 

controls, over the group’s revenue cycle and checking that those controls appear to have been 
implemented, in order to assess the appropriateness of the processes and controls in place that 
impact upon revenue recognition.

•  We obtained a selection of contracts to confirm the nature of the obligations and the appropriateness 

of the method used to recognise revenue, either at a point in time or over time. 

•  The engagement team used digital analytical procedures, with the assistance of IT specialists, 
to reconcile the amounts recorded as revenue with the underlying transactions captured in the 
company’s operational systems. These procedures covered 100% of the underlying transactions, 
billings, and amounts recorded in the general ledger before any manual journal entries to record 
movements in contract liabilities related to deferred revenue. 

•  To address the risk of revenue being recognised in the incorrect financial year, we obtained support 
for the manual journal entries to record adjustments to revenue for movements in contract liabilities 
and for a sample of transactions and tested the accuracy of the amounts recognised and deferred 
by reference to supporting documentation such as invoices and customer agreements. 

•  Finally, our procedures, in relation to IFRS 15, also considered the presentation of trade receivable 
and contract liabilities to ensure that both balances reflect the required presentation position. 
This being the earlier of either, the date the payment becomes due (i.e. when the ‘receivable’ 
is recognised), or the date the goods or services are delivered (i.e. when a ‘contract asset’ is 
recognised). 

We assessed whether the revenue recognition policies adopted by the Group comply with IFRS as 
adopted by the European Union and Industry Standards. The relevant IFRS is International Financial 
Reporting Standard 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. 

Key observations:
Based on the procedures performed, we noted no material instances of management bias or error 
associated with the inappropriate or incorrect recognition of revenue, nor with the accounting of any 
associated components to the sales agreements. Based on the work performed we consider that 
revenue has been materially recognised appropriately and in accordance with the group’s revenue 
recognition accounting policy.

Revenue Recognition
The group generates revenue 
from the provision of e-invoicing 
services primarily via subscription 
fees for access to the service 
and per-transaction fees. Details 
of the group’s revenue streams 
and accounting policies applied 
during the period are given in 
note 2 on page 82.

We considered there to be a 
significant audit risk arising 
from inappropriate or incorrect 
recognition of revenue. 

The key audit matters related 
to revenue recognition are as 
follows:

•  The risk of material 

misstatement in relation to 
revenue recognition concerns 
the recognition around the year 
end, particularly in relation to 
the adjustments recorded with 
respect to subscription fees for 
which revenue is recognised 
over time. 

•  There is also a risk that 

revenue streams have not 
been recognised appropriately 
in line with the performance 
obligations, and that the policy 
itself is not in accordance 
with IFRS as adopted by the 
European Union. 

•  There is a risk that accounts 
receivable and deferred 
income are shown gross in the 
financial statements where 
there is not an unconditional 
right to consideration.

69

 
 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT continued
TO THE MEMBERS OF TUNGSTEN CORPORATION PLC

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Key audit matter

How the key audit matter was addressed in our audit

With regards to the risk of material misstatement related to the inappropriate or incorrect capitalisation 
of developments costs, the incorrect calculation of amortisation and the inaccurate evaluation of 
impairment related to this financial statement area, we performed the following specific testing:

•  Discussions were held by senior members of the audit teams with the Group’s technology officer to 
understand the group’s processes and procedures and projects in relation to development costs. 

•  We considered whether the development costs capitalised met the criteria for capitalisation under 

IAS 38 and subsequently whether the mechanics over capturing time spent and translating that cost 
into an accounting entry operated accurately. Utilising the underlying timecard information for a 
samples of items, the underlying hours and cost were agreed back through to the timecard system. 

•  For costs incurred with third parties, these have been agreed to supporting documentation to ensure 

they are suitable for capitalisation and related to the development project.

•  Any capitalised projects with a material net book value (“NBV”) on the balance sheet were selected 

for testing. 

•  We considered the ability for the asset to generate future economic benefits for the business by 
analysing future expected cash flows and cost efficiencies that internal projects are expected to 
generate. 

•  For each intangible asset all inputs were agreed back to supporting documentation for each of the 
samples selected for testing, ensuring the existence and accuracy of the intangible asset created.

•  As an extension of the above, we considered management’s estimate of the amortisation period 

applied to the software development asset.

•  Finally, in line with IAS 36 we ensured that assets that were not yet available for use (such as 

projects in development) had undertaken an impairment review as required. There were no instances 
where this was an issue in the year. 

Key observations:
Based on the procedures performed, we noted no instances of material numerical or presentational 
misstatements in the year relating to the accounting for development costs, including the calculation 
of the related amortisation charge and the evaluation of impairment.

Intangible Assets: Development 
Costs, amortisation and 
impairment
The group capitalises costs in 
relation to the development of 
the software used in the delivery 
of services to its clients. See 
accounting policy in Note 2 and 
intangible assets in Note 12 on 
pages 94 to 95 respectively.

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

The key audit matters related to 
these financial statement areas 
are as follows:

•  Development costs not 

satisfying the above criteria 
and expenditure on the 
research phase of internal 
projects are recognised in the 
income statement as incurred. 
Furthermore, that development 
costs are incorrectly capitalised; 

•  Capitalised development 

costs are amortised over the 
period within which the group 
expects to benefit from selling 
the product developed. This is 
deemed to be between 3 and 5 
years; and 

•  That assets not available for 
use have not been impaired  
as required.

70

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Key audit matter

How the key audit matter was addressed in our audit

Going Concern 
As discussed in note 2 on 
page 79, there is a continued 
uncertainty due to the current 
economic conditions caused by 
the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Directors have prepared 
forecasts and applied various 
sensitivity analyses to reflect 
a variety of possible cash flow 
scenarios. These scenarios 
indicate the Group has sufficient 
cash and cash equivalents to 
meet its liabilities as they fall due 
for a period of at least 12 months 
from the date of approval of the 
financial statements. 

The estimates, inputs and 
calculations supporting the going 
concern assessment require 
the Directors to make significant 
judgements. 

Impairment of Intangibles 
(including Goodwill)
As disclosed in note 12 on 
page 95, the Directors have 
determined that an impairment 
of goodwill exists. This has been 
determined based on a value 
in use model, which includes 
consideration of probability 
adjusted scenarios based on 
difference revenue and cost 
growth assumptions, to assess 
the recoverability of the Goodwill

There is significant judgement 
involved in the estimation of 
the recoverable amount of the 
intangibles (including goodwill).

The senior members of the audit team are responsible for completing the work in relation to going 
concern and our audit procedures included the following:

•  We reviewed the internal forecasting process to confirm the projections are prepared by an 

appropriate level of staff that is aware of the detailed figures included in the forecast but also has a 
high level understanding of the entity’s market, strategy and changes in the customer base and the 
potential impact that Covid-19 might have on these projections.

•  We considered whether the projections were consistent with those approved by the directors and 

with other information obtained during our audit, for example in connection with the impairment of 
goodwill;

•  We reviewed the forecasts prepared and challenged the key assumptions and inputs within the 

model so as to determine whether there is adequate support for the assumptions underlying the 
forecasts.

•  The Directors have applied downwards sensitivities to the more variable aspects of the forecasts 
and also modelled a number of mitigating cash saving initiatives. This includes, taking account of 
the Covid-19 pandemic, reverse stress testing to ascertain what levels of cost increases or revenue 
decline cause a cash shortage at any point in management’s post balance sheet assessment period 
and considering the likelihood that those fact patterns could occur;

•  We have considered the appropriateness of the sensitivities applied and confirmed that they have 
suitably addressed the inputs which are most susceptible to change. We have also considered the 
feasibility of each of the possible expenditure reductions identified.

•  We reviewed of post year end management accounts, specifically comparing the cash position 

against that budgeted. 

•  We made inquiries of management as to their knowledge of events or conditions beyond the period 
of their assessment that may cast significant doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going 
concern. 

•  We considered the adequacy of the disclosures in the financial statements against the requirements 

of the accounting standards.

Key observations:
Based on the procedures performed, we concur with management’s conclusions and the disclosures 
included in the financial statements. 

The senior members of the audit team are responsible for completing the work in relation to going 
concern and our audit procedures included the following:

•  We reviewed management’s impairment assessment, based on our knowledge of the group’s 

business, performance to date and from discussions with management.

•  We have considered whether the methodology applied to value the recoverable amount of the 

investment is appropriate.

•  We reviewed and challenge of the assumptions underpinning the forecasts and the other inputs into 

the value in use model. This included a recalculation of the discount rate applied.

•  We checked that the forecast figures included within the model had been approved by the Board and 

the base case scenario was consistent with information obtained in other audit procedures.

•  We have also reviewed the different scenarios used to determine the recoverability of goodwill.

•  We assessed the adequacy of the related accounting policies and disclosures in the financial 

statements. 

Key observations:
Based on the procedures performed, we noted no instances of material misstatements in the year 
under audit. 

71

 
 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT continued
TO THE MEMBERS OF TUNGSTEN CORPORATION PLC

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Our Application of Materiality
We apply the concept of materiality both in planning and performing our audit, and in evaluating the effect of misstatements. At the planning 
stage we set an overall level of materiality for the financial statements as a whole based on our understanding of the elements of the 
financial statements that are likely to be of greatest significance to users. In order to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that 
any misstatements exceed materiality, we use a lower materiality level, performance materiality, to determine the extent of testing needed. 
Importantly, misstatements below these levels will not necessarily be evaluated as immaterial as we also take account of the nature of identified 
misstatements, and the particular circumstances of their occurrence, when evaluating their effect on the financial statements as a whole.

Level of materiality applied and rationale
We determined materiality for the group financial statements as a whole to be £353,000 which represents 1% of revenue. We used revenue as 
a benchmark as this is the primary KPI which is used to address the performance of the business by the board, and is consistently referenced 
within the RNS announcements released by the group, in addition to transaction volume, both of which feed into the revenue figure.

Materiality for the parent company was set at 35% of group materiality paying due consideration to aggregation risk in relation to group 
materiality, being £120,000. Individual component audits were carried out using component materialities of between 35 - 70% of overall financial 
statement materiality.

Performance materiality was set at 75%. In setting the level of performance materiality we considered a number of factors including the expected 
total value of known and likely misstatements and management’s attitude towards proposed adjustments. 

We agreed with the audit committee that we would report to all individual audit differences in excess of £17,650 as well as differences below that 
threshold that, in our view, warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

An Overview of the Scope of Our Audit
Our group audit was scoped by obtaining an understanding of the group and its environment and assessing the risks of material misstatement 
at the group level. The group consists of ten trading entities based in Europe, North America and Asia. There are four entities based in the UK, 
one being the holding company. Further to this there are two trading entities incorporated in Europe based in Germany and Bulgaria, two trading 
entities is incorporated in Asia based in Malaysia and India with the remaining two trading entities incorporated in North America. 

Based on our assessment of the group, we focused our group audit scope primarily over the significant components, being Tungsten Corporation 
plc, Tungsten Network Limited, Tungsten Network Inc and Tungsten Network Finance Limited. For these significant components BDO LLP 
completed detailed audit testing, and performed desktop reviews for the remaining group entities.

At the parent entity level we also tested the consolidation process including consolidation adjustments and journals, performed our work 
on all key judgements areas and carried out analytical procedures to confirm our conclusion that there were no significant risks of material 
misstatement of the aggregated financial information of the remaining components not subject to audit. 

The graphs below demonstrate the coverage of our audit work over the components within the group. Revenue has been tested in detail 
across each entity within the group, regardless of the level of review performed in relation to that entity. The full scope audit work performed 
has therefore provided coverage over 90% of the group from a revenue perspective, and also covers 97% of the total assets of the group. The 
elements of the group that were not covered by full scope work were reviewed to group materiality.

Revenue 

Net/Assets liabilities

  Full scope: 90.4%
  Covered at  

group level: 9.6%

  Full scope: 97%
  Covered at  

group level: 3%

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

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether 
the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears 
to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine 
whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the 
work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.  
We have nothing to report in this regard.

72

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Opinions on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

•  the information given in the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is 

consistent with the financial statements; and

•  the strategic report and the directors’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on Which We are Required to Report by Exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and 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.

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

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

branches not visited by us; or

•  the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

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

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

Responsibilities of Directors
As explained more fully in the statement of directors’ responsibilities statement in respect of the financial statements set out on page 65, 
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.

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

Iain Henderson (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of BDO LLP, Statutory Auditor
London
United Kingdom

6 September 2020

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (with registered number OC305127)

73

 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

  Year ended  
30 April 
2020 
£’000 

   Year ended
30 April
2019
(restated)2
£’000

Note 

Revenue 
Operating expenses 

Operating loss 

EBITDA1 
Depreciation and amortisation  
Loss on disposal of intangible assets 
Impairment of goodwill 
Foreign exchange gain 
Share-based payment expense 
Exceptional items 

Operating loss 

Finance income 
Finance costs 

Net finance costs 

Loss before taxation 
Taxation (charge)/credit 

Loss for the year  

Loss per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent during the year 
(expressed in pence per share):
Basic and diluted 

4 
5 

36,812 
(62,356) 

36,045
(41,256)

(25,544) 

(5,211)

5 
5 
5,12 
5 
6,17 
7 

9 
9 

9 

10 

3,743 
(4,451) 
(612) 
(23,040) 
869 
(534) 
(1,519) 

607
 (4,103)
(2,216)
–
1,738
(244)
(993)

(25,544) 

(5,211)

1,910 
(2,321) 

(411) 

1,576
(1,650)

 (74)

(25,955) 
(47) 

(5,285)
1,358

(26,002) 

(3,927)

11 

(20.62) 

(3.11)

1  EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net finance cost, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment of intangibles assets, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss, 

share-based payment expense and exceptional items.

2  The 2019 income statement has been restated to amend the recognition of deferred tax (see Note 26).

The above consolidated income statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

74

 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 

Loss for the year 
Other comprehensive expense: 
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss 
Currency translation differences 

Total comprehensive loss for the year 

Items in the statement above are disclosed net of tax.

 Year ended  
 30 April 
2020 
 £’000  

 Year ended 
30 April
 2019
(restated)
 £’000 

(26,002) 

 (3,927)

(1,115) 

 (1,872)

(27,117) 

(5,799)

The above consolidated statement of comprehensive income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

75

  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Assets 
Non-current assets 
Goodwill 
Intangible assets 
Property, plant and equipment 
Right-of-use assets 
Trade and other receivables 

Total non-current assets 

Current assets 
Trade and other receivables 
Cash and cash equivalents 

Total current assets 

Total assets 

Non-current liabilities 
Provisions 
Lease liabilities 
Other payables 

Total non-current liabilities 

Current liabilities 
Trade and other payables 
Provisions 
Lease liabilities 
Borrowings 
Contract liabilities 

Total current liabilities 

Total liabilities 

As at  
30 April 
2020 
£’000 

As at 
30 April 
2019 
(restated)1 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2018
(restated)1
£’000

76,088 
17,666 
1,578 
5,518 
755 

98,997  
18,733  
 2,506  
– 
 775  

98,788
21,549 
 2,646 
–
 1,052 

101,605 

121,011  

124,035

 Note 

12 
12 
13 
13, 19 
 14  

14 
15 

6,199 
5,208 

 6,876  
 3,810  

 7,626 
 6,418 

11,407 

 10,686  

 14,044 

113,012 

131,697 

138,079

18 
19 
20 

20 
18 
19 
21 
22 

1,160 
5,471 
– 

6,631 

7,822 
96 
776 
2,006 
8,868 

1,568 
– 
250 

 1,818 

 7,717  
158 
– 
1,000 
 7,095  

1,459
–
250

1,709

 9,235 
759
–
–
 6,772 

19,568 

 15,970  

 16,766 

26,199 

17,788 

18,475

Capital and reserves attributable to the equity shareholders of the parent 
Share capital 
Share premium 
Merger reserve 
Shares to be issued 
Share-based payment reserve 
Other reserve 
Currency translation reserve 
Accumulated losses 

16 
16 

17 

Total equity  

Total equity and liabilities 

553 
188,802 
28,035 
3,760 
7,184 
(5,450) 
(5,078) 
(130,993) 

 553  
188,802  
 28,035  
 3,760  
 6,538  
(5,450) 
(3,963) 
(104,366) 

 553 
188,794 
 28,035 
 3,760 
 6,442 
(5,450)
(2,091)
(100,439)

86,813 

113,909 

119,604

113,012 

131,697 

138,079

1  2019 and 2018 statements of financial position have been restated to amend the recognition of deferred tax and deferred income, include a holiday accrual and include an additional 

indirect tax accrual (see Note 26).

The above consolidated statement of financial position should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

The consolidated financial statements on pages 74 to 107 were authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 6 September 2020 and were 
signed on its behalf:

Chris Allen
Chief Financial Officer 

76

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Year ended 30 April 2020

Share  
capital 
£’000 

Share 
premium 
£’000 

Merger 
reserve 
£’000 

Shares 
to be 
issued 
£’000 

Share-
based 
payment 
reserve 
£’000 

Currency

Other 
reserve 
£’000 

translation  Accumulated 
losses 
£’000 

reserve 
£’000 

Total
equity
£’000

Balance as at 30 April 2019  
as previously stated 
Adoption of IFRS 16 (see Note 2) 

 553   188,802  
– 

– 

 28,035  
– 

 3,760  
– 

6,538  
– 

 (5,450) 
– 

(3,963) 
– 

 (104,366) 
(625) 

113,909
(625)

Balance as at 1 May 2019 as restated  553  

188,802  

28,035  

3,760  

6,538  

(5,450) 

(3,963) 

(104,991) 

113,285

Loss for the year 
Other comprehensive expense  

Total comprehensive expense  
for the year 

Transaction with owners in their  
capacity as owners:
Share-based payment expense 

Transactions with owners 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

646 

646 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
(1,115) 

(26,002) 
– 

(26,002)
(1,115)

(1,115) 

(26,002) 

(27,117)

– 

– 

– 

– 

646

646

Balance as at 30 April 2020 

553  188,802 

28,035 

3,760 

7,184 

(5,450) 

(5,078) 

(130,993) 

86,813

Year ended 30 April 2019

Share  
capital 
£’000 

Share 
premium 
£’000 

Merger 
reserve 
£’000 

Shares 
to be 
issued 
£’000 

Share-
based 
payment 
reserve 
£’000 

Currency

Other 
reserve 
£’000 

translation  Accumulated 
losses 
£’000 

reserve 
£’000 

Total
equity
£’000

Balance as at 30 April 2018  
as previously stated 
Prior year adjustment (Note 26) 

553   188,794  
– 

– 

28,035  
– 

3,760  
– 

6,442  
– 

(5,450) 
– 

(2,091) 
– 

(98,582) 
(1,857) 

121,461 
(1,857)

Balance as at 1 May 2018 restated 

 553  

 188,794  

 28,035  

 3,760  

 6,442  

 (5,450) 

(2,091) 

 (100,439) 

 119,604

Loss for the year 
Other comprehensive expense  

Total comprehensive expense  
for the year 

Transaction with owners in their  
capacity as owners:
Issue of treasury shares to employees 
Share-based payment expense 

Transactions with owners 

–  
–  

–  

–  
–  

–  

– 
–  

–  

8  
–  

8  

–  
–  

–  

–  
–  

–  

–  
–  

–  

–  
–  

–  

–  
–  

–  

–  
96  

96  

–  
 – 

– 
(1,872) 

 (3,927) 
–  

(3,927)
(1,872)

– 

(1,872) 

(3,927) 

(5,799)

–  
–  

–  

– 
– 

– 

–  
–  

–  

8
96

104

Balance as at 30 April 2019 

553   188,802  

28,035  

 3,760  

 6,538  

(5,450) 

(3,963) 

 (104,366) 

113,909 

The above consolidated statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

77

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Note 

Year ended
30 April
2019 
£’000

(25,955) 

 (5,285)

5 

14 
9 
9 
4 
17 

12 
12 
13 

19 
19 
21 

4,451 
23,040 
609 
(840) 
2,321 
(1,910) 
(869) 
534 

746 
2,112 
(108) 

4,131 

(311) 
751 

4,571 

4,103 
–
2,216
(522)
1,650
 (1,576)
(1,738)
244 

2,421 
 (1,346)
(520)

(353)

(430)
473 

 (310)

(2,758) 
(5) 
(199) 

 (2,940)
 (9)
(322)

(2,962) 

 (3,271) 

(743) 
(331) 
1,000 
– 

–
–
1,000
8

(74) 

1,008 

1,535 
3,810 
(137) 

 (2,573) 
6,418 
 (35) 

15 

5,208 

3,810

Cash flows from operating activities 
Loss before taxation 

Adjustments for: 
Depreciation and amortisation 
Impairment of goodwill 
Loss on disposal of intangible assets 
(Decrease) in provision for trade receivables 
Finance costs 
Finance income 
Foreign exchange (gain) 
Share-based payment expense 

Changes in working capital: 
Decrease in trade and other receivables 
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables and contract liabilities 
(Decrease) in provisions 

Cash generated from/(used in) operations 

Net interest paid 
Net tax refunded 

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities 
Software development costs 
Purchases of other intangibles 
Purchases of property, plant and equipment 

Net cash outflow from investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities 
Lease payments – payments of principal 
Lease payments – payments of interest 
Increase in borrowings 
Proceeds from issues of shares 

Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities 

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the year 
Exchange adjustments 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 

The above consolidated statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

78

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. General information
Tungsten Corporation plc (the Company) and its subsidiaries (together, the Group) is a global e-invoicing network that offers trade finance  
and spend analytics.

The Company is a public limited company, which is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of its registered office is  
Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence Pountney Hill, London EC4R 0BL, UK.

These consolidated financial statements were authorised for issue by the Directors on 6 September 2020. All press releases, financial reports 
and other information are available on the investor relations page of our website: www.tungsten-network.com.

These financial statements are for the Group, consisting of the Company and its subsidiaries. 

2. Accounting policies
(a) Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements of Tungsten Corporation plc have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union, interpretations issued by the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) and the 
Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, 
unless otherwise stated. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. The assumptions 
applied are subjective and management applies judgement in estimating the probability, timing and value of underlying cash flows as 
disclosed in Note 3.

These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented with the exception of the adoption of IFRS 16 (see Note 2(e)).

(b) Going concern
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The ability of the Company to continue as a going 
concern is contingent on the ongoing viability of the Group. The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through its cash 
balances and also has a bank facility that it can use. The current economic conditions continue to create uncertainty, particularly over (a) 
foreign exchange rates; and (b) the level of new sales to new customers. The Group’s forecasts and projections, taking account of reasonably 
possible changes in trading performance, show that the Group expects to be able to operate within the level of its current cash resources 
and bank facilities. Having assessed the principal risks and the other matters discussed in connection with the going concern statement, the 
Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing its consolidated financial statements. Further 
information on the Group’s borrowings and available facilities is given in Note 21 to these consolidated financial statements. 

Various sensitivity analyses have been performed to reflect a variety of possible cash flow scenarios, taking into account the Covid-19 
pandemic, where the Group achieves significantly reduced revenues for the 12 months following the date of this Annual Report. Overall, the 
Directors have prepared cash flow forecasts covering a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, 
which foresee that the Group will be able to operate within its existing facilities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far had limited impact on our business and the Board believes that the business is able to navigate through 
the impact of Covid-19 due to the strength of its customer proposition, its balance sheet and the net cash position of the Group. 

However, the rapid emergence of the coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption to many businesses where the implementation 
of social distancing measures is not practical or is deemed ineffective and this has implications for the wider global economy and specifically 
to the supply chain within which we reside – be it our customers’ willingness to use our services in the volumes planned prior to the pandemic 
or where customers will have the ability to settle their debts to the value of sales already recorded and to the originally agreed settlement 
terms. The move to remote working has increased the importance of e-invoicing to our customers and potential customers. There is however 
a risk that the Group will be impacted by reductions in the number of invoices our customers process and by prospective customers delaying 
implementation projects. If sales and settlement of existing debts are not in line with cash flow forecasts, the Directors have identified cost 
savings associated with the reduction in revenues and have the ability to identify further cost savings if necessary.

While the Directors have no reason to believe that customer revenues and receipts will decline to the point that the Group no longer has 
sufficient resources to fund its operations, should this occur, the Group may need to seek additional funding beyond the facilities that are 
currently available to it, as well as making significant reductions in its fixed cost expenses.

(c) Adjusted measure of performance
The Group considers EBITDA, which is defined as operating profit or loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment  
of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss from operations, share-based payment expense and exceptional items, as the most appropriate 
measure of the Group’s underlying performance. 

79

 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(d) New standards, amendments and interpretations adopted
The Group adopted the following new or amended IFRSs and IFRIC interpretations from 1 May 2019:

•  IFRS 16, Leases

•  Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2015-2017 Cycle

•  IAS 19, Plan Amendments, Curtailment or Settlement (Amendments to IAS 19)

•  IFRIC 23, Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments.

Other than IFRS 16 which is discussed below, these new standards have not had a material impact on the Group’s consolidated  
financial statements.

(e) IFRS 16 Leases
The Group adopted IFRS 16, Leases from 1 May 2019. IFRS 16 introduces significant changes to lessee accounting by removing the distinction 
between operating and finance leases and requiring the recognition of a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at commencement for all 
leases, except for short-term leases and leases of low value assets when such recognition exemptions are adopted. In contrast to lessee 
accounting, the requirements for lessor accounting have remained largely unchanged. The impact of the adoption of IFRS 16 on the Group’s 
consolidation financial statements is described below.

The Group has applied IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach and comparative information has not been restated. The Group has:

•  Recognised the lease liabilities as the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the borrowing rate at the date  

of initial application; 

•  Elected to measure its right-of-use assets using the approach set out in IFRS 16.C8(b)(i) calculating the carrying value as if IFRS 16 had 

applied at the lease commencement date but discounted using the borrowing rate at the date of initial application; and

•  Recognised the cumulative effect of initially applying IFRS 16 as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the date  

of initial application. 

The weighted average incremental borrowing rate applied to lease liabilities as at 1 May 2019 is 5.0%.

The Group has applied the following practical expedients available on transition to IFRS 16:

•  The use of a single discount rate to a portfolio of leases with reasonably similar characteristics.

•  The Group has adjusted the right-of-use asset at the date of initial application by the amount of provision for onerous leases recognised 
under IAS 37 in the statement of financial position immediately before the date of initial application as an alternative to performing an 
impairment review. 

•  Accounting for operating leases with a remaining lease term of less than 12 months as at 1 May 2019 as short-term leases.

•  The exclusion of initial direct costs from the measurement of the right-of-use assets at the date of initial application.

•  The use of hindsight in determining the lease term where the contract contains options to extend or terminate the lease.

The Group has also elected to apply the recognition exemptions to all:

•   Leases with a term of 12 months or less and containing no purchase options (“short-term leases”); and

•  Leases where the underlying asset has a value of less than $5,000 (“low-value leases”).

No finance leases were recognised immediately prior to the transition. The table below presents a reconciliation from the operating lease 
commitments disclosed at 30 April 2019 to the lease liabilities recognised at 1 May 2019.

Operating lease commitments disclosed as at 30 April 2019 
Less commitments on short-term and low value leases 
Less discounting using the incremental borrowing rate at 1 May 2019 

Lease liabilities recognised at 1 May 2019 

£’000

7,477
(16)
(500)

6,961

80

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

The following table sets out the impact of adopting IFRS 16 on the statement financial position as at 1 May 2019:

Assets 
Property, plant and equipment1 
Right-of-use assets2 
Other non-current assets 

Total non-current assets 
Total current assets 

Total assets 

Liabilities 
Provisions3 
Lease liabilities4 
Other liabilities5 

Total liabilities 

Total equity6 

Total equity and liabilities 

As at 
30 April  
2019 
(restated) 
£’000 

2,506 
– 
117,917 

120,423 
11,274 

Impact 
of IFRS 16 
£’000 

(771) 
6,365 
– 

5,594 
9 

As at
1 May
2019
£’000

1,735
6,365
117,917

126,017
11,283

131,697 

5,603 

137,300

1,726 
– 
16,062 

17,788 

(361) 
6,961 
(372) 

6,228 

1,365
6,961
15,690

24,016

113,909 

(625) 

113,284

131,697 

5,603 

137,300

1  Property, plant and equipment was adjusted to reclassify dilapidations to right-of-use assets.
2  The adjustment to right-of-use asset is related to all operating type lease assets and the dilapidations reclassification noted in (1).
3  The adjustment to provisions relates to an onerous lease provision reclassified to the right-of-use asset on the adoption of IFRS 16.
4  The table above reconciles the minimum lease commitments disclosed in the Group’s 30 April 2019 annual financial statements to the amount of lease liabilities recognised on 1 May 2019. 
5  The adjustment was to reclassify rent-free accrual previously recognised. 
6  Retained earnings were adjusted to record the net effect of all other adjustments noted.

Lease policies applicable from 1 May 2019 
The Group assesses whether a contract is or contains a lease, at inception of the contract. The Group recognises a right-of-use asset  
and a corresponding lease liability with respect to all lease arrangements in which it is the lessee, except for short-term leases (defined as 
leases with a lease term of 12 months or less) and leases of low value assets (where the underlying asset has a value of less than $5,000).  
For these leases, the Group recognises the lease payments as an operating expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. 

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the future lease payments, discounted using the rate implicit in the lease. If this 
rate cannot be readily determined, the Group uses its incremental borrowing rate. The lease liability is subsequently measured by increasing 
the carrying amount to reflect interest on the lease liability (using the effective interest method) and by reducing the carrying amount to 
reflect the lease payments made. 

The right-of-use assets comprise the initial measurement of the corresponding lease liability, lease payments made at or before the 
commencement day, less any lease incentives received and any initial direct costs. They are subsequently measured at cost less 
accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. 

Whenever the Group incurs an obligation for costs to dismantle and remove a leased asset, restore the site on which it is located or restore 
the underlying asset to the condition required by the terms and conditions of the lease, a provision is recognised and measured under IAS 37. 
To the extent that the costs relate to a right-of-use asset, the costs are included in the related right-of-use asset. 

Right-of-use assets are depreciated over the shorter of the lease term and the useful life of the underlying asset. 

Leases for which the Group is a lessor are classified as finance or operating leases. Whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially 
all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee, the contract is classified as a finance lease. All other leases are classified as operating 
leases. 

When the Group is an intermediate lessor, it accounts for the head lease and the sublease as two separate contracts. The sublease is 
classified as a finance or operating lease by reference to the right-of-use asset arising from the head lease. The Group has classified all of its 
subleases as operating leases and the rental income is recognised in the income statement in operating expenses on a straight-line basis 
over the lease term.

Lease policy applied to periods up to 30 April 2019
Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

81

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(f) New standards, amendments and interpretations issued but not yet effective:
There are no new standards that are not yet effective and that would be expected to have a material impact on the entity in the current  
or future reporting periods. 

(g) Basis of consolidation
Where the Company has control over an investee, it is classified as a subsidiary. The Company controls an investee if all three of the following 
elements are present: power over the investee, exposure to variable returns from the investee, and the ability of the investor to use its power 
to affect those variable returns. Control is reassessed whenever facts and circumstances indicate that there may be a change in any of these 
elements of control. 

De-facto control exists in situations where the Company has the practical ability to direct the relevant activities of the investee without 
holding the majority of the voting rights. In determining whether de-facto control exists the Company considers all relevant facts and 
circumstances, including: 

•  The size of the Company’s voting rights relative to both the size and dispersion of other parties who hold voting rights 

•  Substantive potential voting rights held by the Company and by other parties 

•  Other contractual arrangements 

•  Historic patterns in voting attendance. 

The consolidated financial statements present the results of the Company and its subsidiaries (“the Group”) as if they formed a single entity. 
Intercompany transactions and balances between Group companies are therefore eliminated in full. 

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of business combinations using the acquisition method. In the statement 
of financial position, the acquiree’s identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities are initially recognised at their fair values at the 
acquisition date. The results of acquired operations are included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income from the date  
on which control is obtained. They are deconsolidated from the date on which control ceases. 

(h) Revenue
The Group derives revenue from the following sources:

•  Initial set up fees;

•  Annual subscription fees, which includes the right to use the Tungsten platform, including ongoing customer support and relevant upgrades 

to the platform as required;

•  Transaction fees which are based on the number of transactions the customer undertakes; and

•  Fees for providing supply chain finance.

The Group’s contractual arrangements contain multiple deliverables or services such as implementation or initial set up services, which 
generally do not involve customisation of the Tungsten Network platform, support services which includes call centre assistance, 
maintenance services and transaction fees. 

The Group assesses whether there are distinct performance obligations at the start of each contract. The Group has identified the following 
separate performance obligations:

•  Initial set up services – The initial set up services do not require additional development or customisation to the Tungsten Network platform 
and could be performed by an external third party. The transaction price is allocated based on the stand-alone selling price, derived from 
list prices and recognised over time, based on the effort incurred, but limited to the amount to which the Group has a right to payment. 
Estimates of revenues, costs or extent of progress towards completion are revised if circumstances change. Any resulting increases or 
decreases are reflected in the income statement in the period in which the change of assumptions arise. 

•  Periodic right to use the Tungsten Network platform – In the event that the annual subscription fees contain a right to use the platform, 
there is a right to use element. If there is a right of clawback on the annual right to use, such amounts are recognised throughout the 
period. Where there is no right of clawback, the annual right to use is recognised in full when there is a right of collection and collection  
is relatively assured.

•  Support services – This represents the stand-alone selling price of the ongoing support and maintenance, which is recognised throughout 

the period as services are delivered.

•  Transaction fees – This represents the stand-alone selling price of the individual transaction at the point in time the customer transacts.  

If there is evidence that transactions sold, and invoiced, will not be delivered, the revenue is recognised immediately in the income statement. 

•  Supply chain finance – Fees are recognised when the supplier settles the amount financed.

Revenue related to contract liabilities
Revenue related to contract liabilities is revenue invoiced to customers where the relevant performance obligation has not been delivered. 

82

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

(i) Employee benefits
Defined contribution plans
The Group pays contributions to publicly or privately administered pension plans. The Group has no further payment obligations once the 
contributions have been paid. Contributions are recognised in the income statement as an employee benefit expense in the period in which they 
are due. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the future payments is available.

Share-based payments
Where share options are awarded to employees, the fair value of the options at the date of grant is charged to the income statement over the 
vesting period. Non-market performance conditions are taken into account by adjusting the number of equity instruments expected to vest 
at each statement of financial position date so that, ultimately, the cumulative amount recognised over the vesting period is based on the 
number of options that eventually vest. Market performance conditions are factored into the fair value of the options granted. The cumulative 
expense is not adjusted for failure to achieve a market performance condition. 

The fair value of the award also takes into account non-vesting conditions. These are either factors beyond the control of either party (such as 
a target based on an index) or factors which are within the control of one or other of the parties (such as the Group keeping the scheme open 
or the employee maintaining any contributions required by the scheme). 

Where the terms and conditions of options are modified before they vest, the increase in the fair value of the options, measured immediately 
before and after the modification, is also charged to the statement of comprehensive income over the remaining vesting period.

The value of share-based payments is taken directly to reserves and the charge for the period is recorded in the income statement. 

Tungsten’s scheme, which awards shares in the parent entity, includes recipients who are employees in all subsidiaries. In the consolidated 
financial statements, the transaction is treated as an equity-settled share-based payment, as the subsidiary has received services in 
consideration for Tungsten’s equity instruments. An expense is recognised in the Group income statement for the fair value of share-based 
payments over the vesting year, with a credit recognised in equity. 

In the subsidiaries’ financial statements, the awards, in proportion to the recipients who are employees in said subsidiary, are treated as an 
equity-settled share-based payment, as the subsidiaries do not have an obligation to settle the award. An expense for the grant date fair 
value of the award is recognised over the vesting period, with a credit recognised in equity. The credit is treated as a capital contribution, 
as the parent company is compensating the subsidiaries’ employees with no cost to the subsidiaries as there is no expectation to recharge 
the cost. In the parent company’s financial statements, there is no share-based payment charge where the recipients are employed by a 
subsidiary, with the parent company recognising an increase in the investment in the subsidiaries as a capital contribution from the parent 
and a credit to equity.

Cash-settled share-based payments are recognised as an expense in the income statement with a corresponding credit to liabilities.

(j) Foreign currency translation
The functional currency of the Company is pounds sterling as that is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the 
Company operates. The Group’s presentation currency is pounds sterling.

Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the date of transaction. Foreign 
exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the translation at year-end exchange rates of 
monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the consolidated income statement.

Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings and cash and cash equivalents are presented in the consolidated income 
statement within finance income or costs. All other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented in the consolidated income statement 
within ‘operating expenses’.

Group companies
The results and financial position of Group entities that have a functional currency other than sterling are translated into sterling as follows:

•  Assets and liabilities are translated at the closing rate at the balance sheet date.

•  Income and expenses are translated at the exchange rate prevailing on the transaction date.

All resulting exchange differences are recognised in other comprehensive income.

83

 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(j) Foreign currency translation continued
Group companies continued
The following exchange rates were applied: 

Closing rates: 
United States Dollar 
Euro 
Mexican Peso 
Bulgarian Lev 
Malaysian Ringgit 
Swiss Franc 
Indian Rupee 

Average rates: 
United States Dollar 
Euro 
Mexican Peso 
Bulgarian Lev 
Malaysian Ringgit 
Swiss Franc 
Indian Rupee 

As at  
30 April 
2020 

As at
30 April
2019

1.244 
1.1479 
30.2115 
2.2450 
5.4239 
1.2109 
94.877 

1.2690 
1.1437 
25.0773 
2.2378 
5.3049 
1.2480 
90.7460 

1.292
1.1587
24.4774
2.2663
5.3397
1.3171
90.269

1.3007
1.1354
25.1965
2.2207
5.3407
1.2923
91.7431

(k) Finance income and costs
Finance costs comprise interest payable on borrowings and foreign exchange loss on the revaluation of intercompany loans. Finance income 
comprises interest receivable on funds invested, and foreign exchange gains on the revaluation of intercompany loans. Interest income and 
expenses are recognised on a time apportioned basis, using the effective interest method.

(l) Exceptional items 
Items which are both material and considered by the Directors to be unusual in nature are separately disclosed on the face of the 
consolidated income statement.

(m) Current and deferred income tax
Income tax comprises current and deferred tax. Income tax is recognised in the income statement except to the extent that it relates to items 
recognised directly in equity, in which case it is recognised in equity.

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

Deferred tax is provided using the liability method on temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the financial statements.

The following temporary differences are not provided for: the initial recognition of goodwill; the initial recognition of other assets or  
liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit; and differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that the  
timing of the reversal of the temporary difference is controlled by the Group and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse 
in the foreseeable future. The amount of deferred tax provided is calculated using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance 
sheet date.

A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the asset  
can be utilised. Deferred tax assets are not recognised to the extent that it is no longer probable that the related tax benefit will be realised.

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against current tax 
liabilities and when the deferred income tax assets and liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority on either the 
same taxable entity or different taxable entities where there is an intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

(n) Research and development tax credit
The Group as a whole (and companies, individually, within the Group) may be entitled to claim special tax allowances in relation to qualifying 
research and development expenditure (e.g. R&D tax credits). The Group and Company accounts for such allowances as tax credits, and 
they are recognised when it is probable that benefit will flow to the Group and that benefit can be reliably measured. R&D tax credits reduce 
current tax expense and, to the extent the amounts due in respect to them are not settled by the balance sheet date, reduce current tax 
payable. 

84

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

(o) Business combinations
The Group applies the acquisition method to account for business combinations. The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a 
subsidiary is the fair value of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred to the former owners of the acquiree and the equity interests issued 
by the Group. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially  
at their fair values at the acquisition date. 

Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred.

(p) Property, plant and equipment
Owned assets
Items of property, plant and equipment are stated at cost or deemed cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Cost 
includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use. 
When parts of an item of property, plant and equipment have different useful lives, those components are accounted for as separate items  
of property, plant and equipment.

Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable  
that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably.

Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in the income 
statement.

Dilapidations
The estimated cost of dilapidations is recognised in the right-of-use asset and provisions when the obligation arises and the liability can be 
reliably estimated.

Depreciation
Depreciation is charged to the consolidated income statement on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of each item of 
property, plant and equipment. The estimated useful lives are as follows:

•  Leasehold improvements: depreciated over term of lease

•  Furniture and fittings: 3 to 5 years

•  Computer equipment: 2 to 5 years

The residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at each balance sheet date.

(q) Intangible assets 
Goodwill
Goodwill is initially measured as the excess of the aggregate of the consideration transferred and the fair value of the non-controlling interest 
over the net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. If this consideration is lower than the fair value of the net assets of the 
subsidiary acquired, the difference is recognised immediately in the income statement.

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

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination
Acquired intangible assets include customer relationships and an IT platform acquired in a business combination. Acquired intangible assets 
are recognised at fair value at the acquisition date and are amortised on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives as follows:

•  Customer relationships: 20 years

•  IT platform: 5 to 7 years

Software
Costs associated with maintaining software programmes are recognised as an expense as incurred. Development costs that are directly 
attributable to the design and testing of identifiable and unique software products controlled by the Group are recognised as intangible assets 
when the following criteria are met:

•  It is technically feasible to complete the software product so that it will be available for use

•  Management intends to complete the software product and use or sell it

•  There is an ability to use or sell the software product

•  It can be demonstrated how the software product will generate probable future economic benefits

•  Adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the software product are available

•  The expenditure attributable to the software product during its development can be reliably measured.

85

 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(q) Intangible assets continued
Software continued
Other development expenditures that do not meet these criteria are recognised as an expense as incurred.

Development costs for incomplete software are recognised as software development under construction in the balance sheet and are not 
amortised as these assets are not yet available for use.

Development costs for completed software are recognised as software in the balance sheet and are amortised over their estimated useful 
lives of between three to five years.

Acquired software licences are capitalised at the costs incurred to acquire and bring into use the specific software. Software licence costs are 
amortised over their estimated useful lives, which do not exceed five years.

(r) Financial assets and financial liabilities
Non-derivative financial instruments
Non-derivative financial instruments comprise trade and other receivables, cash and cash equivalents, loans and borrowings, and trade and 
other payables.

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest method, less any impairment losses.

Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits. Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral part 
of the Group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the cash flow statement.

Interest-bearing borrowings are recognised initially at fair value less attributable transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition,  
interest-bearing borrowings are stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment losses.

(s) Impairment of non-financial assets
Assets that have an indefinite useful life are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually for impairment. Assets that are subject 
to amortisation are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be 
recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The 
recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets 
are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash-generating units). Non-financial assets other than 
goodwill that suffered impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at each reporting date.

(t) Trade and other receivables
Trade receivables are amounts due from customers for goods sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business and are generally 
classified as current. Non-current receivables relate to loan receivables from employees.

Trade receivables are recognised initially at the amount of consideration that is unconditional, unless they contain significant financing 
components, in which case they are recognised at fair value. Due to their short-term nature, the carrying value of current receivables is 
considered to be same as the fair value.

The Group applies IFRS 9’s simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime expected loss approach for all trade 
receivables. To measure the expected credit losses, trade receivables have been analysed based on the days past due and those balances in 
query. The expected loss rates are based on management expectation derived from intelligence gathered by the credit control function and 
taking into account collection actions and forward-looking information on economic factors affecting future expected settlement.

(u) Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are initially stated at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.

(v) Provisions
A provision is recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the 
obligation will have to be settled, and the amount of the obligation can be reliably estimated. Provisions are measured at the present value  
of the amount required to settle the obligation.

86

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

(w) Borrowings
Borrowings are presented as current liabilities unless the Group has an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least 12 months after the 
balance sheet date. 

Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred and carried subsequently at amortised cost.

(x) Share capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity.

(y) Reserves
The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity:

Reserve 

Description and purpose

Share premium 
Merger reserve 

Shares to be issued 
Share-based payment reserve 
Other reserve 

Currency translation reserve 
Accumulated losses 

 Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.
 Represents the difference between the fair value and the nominal value of shares issued on the 
acquisition of subsidiary companies where the Company has elected to take advantage of merger relief. 
 Shares for which consideration has been received but which are not yet issued.
 Accumulated share-based payment charges.
 The difference between the premium on the Tungsten Corporation plc ordinary shares issued in 
exchange for the Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited ordinary B shares.
Represents gains/losses arising on retranslating the net assets of overseas operations into sterling.
 All other net gains and losses and transactions with owners not recognised elsewhere.

3. Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with IFRS as adopted by the EU, requires management to make judgements, estimates 
and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported value of assets and liabilities, income and expense. Actual 
results may differ from these estimates or judgements of likely outcome. Management have identified the following judgements and key 
sources of estimation uncertainty that could potentially result in a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within 
the next financial year. 

Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets 
The Group has carried out an impairment review of the Tungsten Network cash-generating unit (“CGU”) and recognised an impairment loss on 
goodwill in the year. The recoverable amount of the CGU is based on estimates of future cash flows discounted using an appropriate discount 
rate. Estimates of future cash flows are inherently uncertain as the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the general economy is 
unclear. To take account of this uncertainty, management have used the “expected cash flow approach” which involves probability weighting 
several alternate scenarios.

It is possible that changes in economic conditions or deviations in actual performance from forecast could result in a material adjustment to 
the carrying value of the CGU within the next financial year. The key estimates made by management are set out in Note 12. The information in 
Note 12 given on each scenario also provides an indication of the amount of any further impairment for other reasonably possible outcomes.

Revenue recognition
The Group recognises revenue in respect of e-invoicing related services over the period the services are provided. Where buyer transactions 
are paid for but not processed, a contract liability is recorded according to contractual terms representing the anticipated period for 
transactions being processed. 

Management reviews the historical record of transactions used under each contract and adjusts the contract liability to reflect the delivery of 
obligations and the associated revenue to be recognised. This estimate affects contract liabilities (see Note 22). 

The key judgements are as follows:

Going concern
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. In reaching their assessment, the Directors have 
considered a period extending at least 12 months from the date of approval of this financial report. This assessment has included 
consideration of the forecast performance of the business for the foreseeable future, the cash and financing facilities available to the Group, 
and the repayment terms in respect of the Group’s borrowings.

Capitalisation of development costs
Projects under development are capitalised if management intend to complete the project, it is technically feasible to do so and the carrying 
value of the software is supported by expected future benefits. 

Exceptional items
The classification of exceptional items requires significant management judgement to determine the nature and intentions of a transaction. 
Details of exceptional items are shown in Note 7.

87

 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

4. Segment report 
The Executive Committee has been identified as the Chief Operating Decision-Maker (CODM), reviewing the Group’s internal reporting  
on a monthly basis in order to assess performance and allocate resources. 

The CODM reviews financial information for three segments: Tungsten Network (which includes the e-invoicing and spend analytics  
business of Tungsten Network), Tungsten Network Finance (which includes the supply chain finance business), and Tungsten Corporate 
(which includes Tungsten Corporation plc and Tungsten Corporation Guernsey’s overheads and general corporate costs). Intersegment 
revenue from management fees and other intersegment charges are eliminated below.

The CODM analyses the financial performance of the business on the basis of segment EBITDA which is an adjusted profit measure which 
reflects loss before finance income and costs, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gains and 
losses, share-based payment expense and exceptional items.

The most directly comparable IFRS measure to segment EBITDA is operating loss for the period. Management utilises EBITDA to monitor 
performance as it illustrates the underlying performance of the business by excluding items management consider to be not reflective  
of the underlying trading operations of the Group or adding items which are reflective of the overall trading operations, as applicable. 

Year ended 30 April 2020

Segment revenue 

EBITDA1 

Depreciation and amortisation 
Loss on disposal of assets 
Impairment of goodwill 
Foreign exchange gain 
Share-based payment (expense)/credit 
Exceptional items 
Finance income 
Finance costs 

(Loss) before taxation 
Income tax credit 

Loss for the year 

As at 30 April 2020 
Capital expenditure  
Total assets 

Total liabilities 

Tungsten  
Network 
£’000 

Tungsten
Network
Finance 
£’000 

Corporate 
£’000 

Total
£’000

36,288 

524 

– 

36,812

8,579 

(986) 

(3,853) 

3,740

(3,599) 
2 
(23,040) 
828 
(146) 
(479) 
1,195 
(1,555) 

(87) 
(611) 
– 
40 
7 
(233) 
– 
– 

(765) 
– 
– 
1 
(395) 
(807) 
715 
(766) 

(18,215) 

(1,870) 

(5,870) 

(4,451)
(609)
(23,040)
869
(534)
(1,519)
1,910
(2,321)

(25,955)
(47)

(26,002)

2,822 
105,255 

14,652 

– 
193 

732 

140 
7,564 

2,962
113,012

10,815 

26,199

1  EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net finance cost, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment of intangible assets, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss, 

share-based payment expense and exceptional items.

88

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Year ended 30 April 2019

Segment revenue 

EBITDA1 

Depreciation and amortisation 
Loss on disposal of assets 
Foreign exchange gain 
Share-based payment (expense)/credit 
Exceptional items 
Finance income 
Finance costs 

Profit/(loss) before taxation 
Income tax credit 

Loss for the year 

As at 30 April 2019 
Capital expenditure  
Total assets 
Total liabilities (restated) 

Tungsten  
Network 
£’000 

Tungsten
Network 
Finance 
£’000 

Corporate 
£’000 

Total
(restated)
£’000

35,371  

674 

 –  

 36,045 

 8,115 

 (1,885) 

 (5,623) 

 607

(3,668) 
(2,216) 
1,792 
(399) 
(285) 
938 
(1,186) 

(144) 
– 
(54) 
(381) 
14 
3 
(184) 

(291) 
– 
– 
536 
(722) 
635 
(280) 

3,091 

(2,631) 

(5,745) 

(4,103)
(2,216)
1,738
(244)
(993)
1,576
 (1,650)

(5,285)
1,358 

(3,927)

2,464  
127,470  
9,630 

836  
998 
909 

3 
3,229 
5,431 

3,303
131,697
15,970

1  EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net finance cost, tax, depreciation and amortisation, impairment of intangible assets, loss on disposal of assets, foreign exchange gain or loss, 

share-based payment expense and exceptional items.

Revenue by category
The Group’s revenue by category is detailed below.

Subscription  
Maintenance 
Transaction 
Archiving 
Implementation 
Professional services 
Tungsten Network Finance 

Total  

Revenue from  
external customers

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

18,163 
1,909 
11,559 
2,781 
793 
1,083 
524 

17,305
1,810
10,889
2,620
1,317
1,430
674  

36,812 

36,045

89

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

4. Segment report continued
Geographical information
The Group’s revenue from external customers and non-current assets by geographical location is detailed below. Revenue by geographical 
location is allocated based on the location in which the sale originated.

United Kingdom  
United States of America 
Rest of Europe 
Malaysia 

Total  

Revenue from  
external customers

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

18,538 
15,203 
1,674 
1,397 

 18,573
14,596
1,619
1,257 

36,812 

 36,045

Non-current assets are allocated based on the geographical location of those assets and exclude other financial assets, loans receivables  
and deferred tax.

Non-current assets

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

97,128 
4,255 
222 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

116,793
4,000
218 

101,605 

121,011

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Note 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

6 

7 
12 
13 
12 
12 

16,524 
8,153 
1,224 
4,081 
1,382 
915 
1,519 
3,233 
1,218 
23,040 
612 
(869) 
1,324 

16,774
7,003
2,333
4,165
1,962
966
993
3,600
503
–
2,216
(1,738)
2,479

62,356 

41,256

United Kingdom  
United States of America 
Malaysia 

Total  

5. Operating expenses 

Staff costs  
Professional support 
Office costs 
IT costs 
Marketing costs 
Travel and entertainment 
Exceptional items 
Amortisation 
Depreciation 
Impairment of goodwill 
Loss on disposal of intangible assets 
Foreign exchange gain 
Other operating expenses 

Total operating expenses 

90

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

6. Employee benefits expenses

Wages and salaries 
Social security costs  
Pension – defined contribution 
Share-based payment expense 

Total employee benefits expenses 

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Note 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

13,459 
1,479 
1,052 
534 

14,149
1,423
958
244 

16,524 

16,774

17 

The total share-based payment charge to equity is £646,000 (2019: £96,000). The total charge above reflects movements in employment taxes 
connected with the share-based payment.

Number of employees 
The yearly average number of people employed: 
Tungsten Network  
Tungsten Network Finance 
Corporate 

Total average headcount  

Refer to Note 25 for details of remuneration in respect of key management.

7. Exceptional items

Restructuring costs1 
Board operating review2 
Professional advice3 
Covid-19 related staff costs 
Provision for onerous contracts4  
Shareholder action costs5 

Total exceptional items 

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 

Year ended
30 April
2019

267 
13 
9 

289 

284
16
10 

310

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

916 
434 
135 
34 
– 
– 

1,519 

238
– 
–
–
222
533

993

1  Restructuring costs consist of contract terminations and other redundancy costs and recruitment costs. Restructuring is expected to be complete by the end of FY21 with an additional 

spend of around £0.2 million. 

2  An Operating Review Committee was initiated by the Board. This covers a comprehensive review of Tungsten’s market, products, operation and cost base. This committee has appointed 

consultants to perform parts of the review. The programme is expected to be complete by the end of FY21 at additional costs of around £0.4 million. 

3  Professional advice consists of professional fees in respect of the divestment of TNF.
4  Provision for onerous contracts in 2019 consisted of a final settlement for technology contract termination costs and a discontinued contract. 
5  Shareholder action costs in 2019 consisted of professional adviser costs incurred in respect of the requisition request for a General Meeting and other corporate finance matters.

91

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

8. Auditors’ remuneration
During the year the Group (including overseas subsidiaries) obtained the following services from its auditors and their associates:

Audit of the Parent Company and the consolidated accounts 
Audit of subsidiary financial statements 
Audit-related assurance services  
Taxation compliance services  
E-invoicing product support 
All other non-audit services 

Total auditors’ remuneration 

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

70 
76 
24 
– 
– 
– 

93
103
40
51
212
65 

170 

564

The amounts disclosed for the year ended 30 April 2020 are payable to BDO LLP. Fees disclosed for the year ended 30 April 2019 were 
payable to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

9. Finance income and costs

Finance income  
Interest income on short-term deposits 
Foreign exchange gains on financing activities 

Total finance income 

Finance costs 
Interest expense and bank charges 
Interest expense on lease liabilities (Note 19) 
Foreign exchange losses on financing activities 

Total finance costs 

Net finance costs 

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

3 
1,907 

1,910 

29
1,547

1,576

(320) 
(331) 
(1,670) 

(460) 
–
 (1,190)

(2,321) 

 (1,650)

(411) 

 (74)

92

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

10. Taxation
The tax charge/(credit) for the year comprises:

Current tax 
UK current tax 
UK adjustment in respect of prior periods 
Foreign current tax 

Deferred tax  
Deferred tax – current year 

Total tax charge/(credit) 

Tax reconciliation 
Loss before tax 
Loss before tax at the standard rate of UK corporation tax 19% (2019: 19%)   
Differences in overseas tax rates 
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 
Research and development tax credits 
Overseas tax 
Origination and reversal of temporary differences 
Tax losses for which no deferred tax asset was recognised 

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

– 
(1) 
50 

(2) 

47 

(25,955) 
(4,931) 
(100) 
4,654 
– 
– 
– 
424 

(1,513)
–
169

(14)

 (1,358)

(5,285) 
(1,004)
–
826
(1,513)
169
(14)
178

Total tax charge/(credit) 

47 

 (1,358)

The standard rate of Corporation Tax in the UK is 19%. The UK current tax credit in 2019 is a research and development tax credit relating to 
FY18 (£0.6 million) and FY19 (£0.9 million).

Deferred tax
Deferred tax assets are recognised for tax losses carried forward to the extent that the realisation of the related tax benefit through future 
taxable profits is considered more likely than not. The Group has unrecognised deferred tax assets of £19.9 million (2019: £19.5 million) in 
respect of losses that can be carried forward against future taxable income for the period between one year and an indefinite period of time. 

No deferred tax related to components of other comprehensive income.

11. Loss per share
Basic and diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to the ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number  
of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

Loss per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent during the year: 

Year ended 30 April 2020 

Year ended 30 April 2019

Loss 
£’000 

Shares 
'000 

Loss 
per share 
p 

Loss 
£’000 

Shares 
'000 

Loss
per share
p

Basic and diluted 

(26,002) 

126,088 

(20.62) 

(3,927) 

126,088  

(3.11)

The Group has made a loss in the current and previous years and therefore the share options are anti-dilutive. As a result, diluted earnings  
per share is presented on the same basis for both periods shown.

93

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

12. Intangible assets
As at 30 April 2020

Cost
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Additions 
Reclassification 
Disposal 
Exchange differences 

Goodwill 
(restated 

Customer 
see Note 26)  relationships 
£’000 

£’000 

Software
  development
under 
Software  construction 
£’000 

£’000 

Total
restated
£’000

IT platform 
£’000 

98,997 
– 
– 
– 
131 

11,116  
– 
– 
– 
5 

7,194  
– 
– 
– 
113 

8,202 
5 
4,117 
(837) 
16 

3,624 
2,758 
(4,117) 
– 
(5) 

129,133
2,763
–
(837)
260

Balance at 30 April 2020 

99,128 

11,121 

7,307 

11,503 

2,260 

131,319

Accumulated amortisation and impairment
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Charge for the year 
Impairment charge (Note 5) 
Disposal 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2020 

Net book value
As at 1 May 2019 (restated) 

As at 30 April 2020 

As at 30 April 2019

Cost
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Additions 
Reclassification 
Disposal 
Exchange differences 

–  
– 
23,040 
– 
– 

23,040 

3,153 
560 
– 
– 
4 

3,717 

6,084 
834 
– 
– 
104 

7,022 

2,166 
1,837 
– 
(225) 
8 

3,786 

–  
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

11,403
3,231
23,040
(225)
116

37,565

98,997 

76,088 

7,963 

7,404 

1,110 

285 

6,036 

7,717 

3,624 

 117,730 

2,260 

93,754

Goodwill 
Customer 
restated  relationships 
£’000 

 £’000 

IT platform 
£’000 

Software
  development
under 
Software  construction 
£’000 

£’000 

Total
restated
£’000

98,788 
 –  
– 
– 
209  

11,109  
–  
– 
– 
7 

 7,014 
 –  
– 
– 
180 

 2,960 
 9 
7,872 
(2,650) 
11 

8,556  
2,940 
(7,872) 
– 
– 

 128,427
 2,949 
–
(2,650)
407

Balance at 30 April 2019 

98,997 

 11,116  

 7,194  

8,202 

3,624 

129,133

Accumulated amortisation
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Charge for the year 
Disposal 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2019 

Net book value
As at 1 May 2018 (restated) 

 –  
 –  
– 
 –  

 –  

 2,575  
 573  
– 
 5 

 4,760  
1,189 
– 
135 

 755  
1,838 
(434) 
7 

3,153 

6,084 

2,166 

 –  
 –  
– 
 –  

 –  

 8,090 
3,600
(434)
147

11,403

98,788 

8,534  

 2,254  

2,205  

 8,556  

 120,337 

As at 30 April 2019 (restated) 

98,997 

7,963 

1,110 

6,036 

3,624 

117,730 

94

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Impairment testing is carried out at cash-generating unit (CGU) level on an annual basis. The following is a summary of the goodwill allocation 
for each reporting segment:

Tungsten Network 

Total goodwill 

As at  
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

76,088 

 98,997

76,088 

 98,997

During the year the Group’s share price declined and management are now projecting lower revenue growth than that used in last year’s 
impairment assessment. The Group has reassessed the recoverability of goodwill on the Tungsten Network CGU and this resulted in an 
impairment of goodwill of £23,040,000.

The Group has estimated the recoverable amount of the Tungsten Network CGU at £101.1 million using a value-in-use model by projecting 
cash flows for the next five years together with a terminal value using a growth rate. The five-year projections used in the model are based on 
the Board approved budget which took into account the anticipated impact of Covid-19 on FY21 performance. Given the uncertainty involved 
in predicting the longer-term effect of the pandemic on the general economy, management developed expectations of future performance 
under a range of scenarios with different levels of future revenue growth. The value in use was estimated by probability weighting the value in 
use under each scenario as summarised below:

Scenario 

Upside 
Base case 
Downside 
Severe downside 

Probability weighted average 

Annual
revenue 
Annual
growth   cost growth  Headroom/
  FY22 to FY25  FY22 to FY25  Value in use 
£ million 

% 

% 

(impairment) 
£ million 

Probability
%

10% 
8% 
5% 
0% to 3% 

4% to 6% 
4% to 6% 
2% 
2% 

131.7 
106.0 
92.6 
63.3 

101.1 

7.7 
(18.0) 
(31.5) 
(60.8) 

12%
50%
28%
10%

(23.0) 

100%

The single most likely scenario assumed revenue growth of 8% per annum over the period (2019: 14.5%). The other key assumptions used were:

•  Post-tax discount rate of 11% (2019: 12%) equivalent to a pre-tax discount rate of 13.2%. An increase of 1% in the post-tax discount rate would 

result in a £10.9 million increase in the impairment recognised.

•  Long-term growth rate of 2.0% (2019: 2.0%). An increase of 1% in the long-term growth rate would result in a £10.8 million reduction in the 

impairment recognised.

•  Cost growth of 4% pa (2019: 2.6%).

95

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Right-of- 

Leasehold 
use assets  improvements 
£’000 

£’000 

Fixtures 
and fittings 
£’000 

Computer
equipment 
£’000 

–  
9,824 
– 
– 
29 

 3,409  
(1,205) 
140 
– 
(2) 

278 
– 
17 
(1) 
4 

750 
– 
42 
(3) 
6 

Total
£’000

4,437
8,619
199
(4)
37

9,853 

2,342 

298 

795 

13,288

–  
3,459 
860 
– 
16 

4,335 

 1,199  
(434) 
195 
– 
(2) 

958 

183 
– 
49 
(1) 
3 

549 
– 
114 
(3) 
6 

1,931
3,025
1,218
(4)
23

234 

666 

6,193

–  

 2,210  

5,518 

1,384 

95  

65 

201  

129 

 2,506 

7,096

Leasehold 
 improvements 
£’000 

Fixtures 
and fittings 
£’000 

Computer
equipment 
£’000 

 3,194  
 210  
– 
 5  

 3,409  

 914  
 284  
– 
 1  

 1,199  

 264  
 7  
– 
7 

278 

 126  
53 
– 
4 

183 

599  
 137  
(1) 
15 

750 

 371  
166 
(1) 
13 

549 

Total
£’000

 4,057 
 354 
(1)
27

4,437

 1,411 
503
(1)
18

1,931

 2,280  
 2,210  

138 
 95  

228 
 201  

2,646
 2,506 

13. Property, plant and equipment
As at 30 April 2020

Cost 
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Impact of IFRS 16 
Additions 
Disposals 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2020 

Accumulated depreciation 
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Impact of IFRS 16 
Charge for the year 
Disposals 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2020 

Net book value 
At 1 May 2019 

At 30 April 2020 

As at 30 April 2019

Cost 
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Additions 
Disposals 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2019 

Accumulated depreciation
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Charge for the year 
Disposals 
Exchange differences 

Balance at 30 April 2019 

Net book value 
At 1 May 2018 
At 30 April 2019 

96

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

14. Trade and other receivables

Non-current assets
Loans to employees under EMSS scheme 
Rent deposit 

Other receivables 

Current assets
Trade receivables 
Less: loss allowance 

Net trade receivables 
Prepayments 
VAT receivables 
Contract assets 
Corporate tax receivables 
Other receivables 

Trade and other receivables 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

167 
588 

755 

187
588

775

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

3,847 
(102) 

3,745 
1,547 
123 
393 
104 
287 

6,199 

4,569
(941)

3,628
1,619
123
361
904
241

6,876

Contract assets represents income earned during the year but not yet invoiced at the reporting date. Amounts are settled within 12 months.

Furthermore, in the year to 30 April 2019, the rent deposit was presented within current assets; it has been reclassified to non-current assets.

Movements in the trade receivables loss allowance
At the beginning of the period 
Credit to income statement 
Credit to contract liabilities 
Utilisation of provision 
Foreign exchange 

At the end of the period 

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

(941) 
173 
453 
231 
(18) 

(102) 

(1,463)
276
–
247
(1)

(941)

The Group has adopted the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses using a lifetime expected credit loss provision for 
trade receivables and contract assets. As further detailed in Note 23, the Group’s customers almost exclusively comprise major international 
corporations of good credit standing mostly based in the USA and the EU, and the group’s historical credit loss experience is negligible. 
Accordingly, the trade receivables and contract assets are assessed as homogenous for the purposes of grouping for credit risk, and the 
expected loss rate is expected to be low, leading to a small provision for impairment being recorded.

97

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

14. Trade and other receivables continued

Currency of trade receivables
GBP 
USD 
EUR 
Other 

Net trade receivables 

15. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank 

Currency of cash and cash equivalents
GBP 
USD 
EUR 
Other 

Cash and cash equivalents 

16. Share capital and share premium

Issued and fully paid 

Balance as at 1 May 2018 
Shares issued during the year 

Balance as at 30 April 2019 
Shares issued during the year 

Balance as at 30 April 2020 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

2,188 
1,254 
139 
164 

3,745 

1,935
1,320
147
226

3,628

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

5,208 

3,810

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

1,925 
1,069 
1,716 
498 

5,208 

338
2,554
603
315

3,810

Ordinary  
shares 
Number 

Nominal 
Value 
p 

Share 
capital 
£’000 

Share
Premium
£’000

  126,069,397  
18,750  

  126,088,147  
– 

0.438 
0.438 

0.438 
– 

553  
–  

553  
– 

188,794 
8 

188,802 
–

 126,088,147 

0.438 

553 

188,802

17. Share-based payments
The Group’s share-based payment plans with effect from FY20 are as follows:

Long Term Incentive Plan (‘LTIP’)
The LTIP provides awards to Executive Directors and senior management from FY20. The awards are in the form of options with a nominal 
exercise price which vest after three years. Vesting is subject to a mix of revenue, EBITDA and share price performance conditions and 
remaining employed up to the vesting date.

Deferred Share Bonus Plan (‘DSBP’)
The DSBP provides for the grant of share awards to Executive Directors and Executive Committee members to defer 50% of the participant’s 
bonus. Awards are in the form of options with a nominal exercise price. They vest 12 months after grant date subject only to remaining 
employed up to the vesting date. Deferred shares were also granted in FY20 to the new Chief Executive Officer which vest over a two-year 
period (50% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remaining 50% on the second anniversary). 

98

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Share awards were also previously granted under the following older plans:

UK Scheme and US Plan
Options at market value vesting over one to four years subject only to remaining employed up to the vesting date.

Share Appreciation Rights (SARs)
“Phantom options” settled in cash and designed to provide the same economic benefit as the UK Scheme and US Plan for employees based 
outside of the UK and US, notably in Malaysia and continental Europe.

Employee Matched Share Scheme (EMSS)
Options were granted in August 2014 to match shares acquired by participating employees in the market. The vesting period was 54 months 
and all had lapsed or expired by 30 April 2020.

Founder Securities Scheme
In May 2012, the Group established the Founder Securities Scheme. The Founder Securities were designed to encourage the subscribers to 
use their best efforts to grow the Company within five to ten years following admission to AIM by entitling the founders to 15% of the increase 
in the Company’s share price once a hurdle TSR rate of 8.25% has been achieved. The Founder Securities have been treated as equity-settled 
share-based payments and are considered to have vested at time of grant as there are no service conditions attaching to them.

Awards outstanding
The movements in the number of shares and share-option awards and the weighted average exercise price of share options are detailed below:

Year ended 30 April 2020 

Year ended 30 April 2019

Weighted 
average 
exercise 
price 
options  £ per share 

Number of  

Weighted
average
exercise
price
£ per share

Number of 
options 

Outstanding at 1 May 
Granted 
Lapsed 
Expired 

Exercised 

Outstanding at 30 April 

Exercisable at 30 April 

  10,717,428 
  2,742,162 
(1,163,725) 
(146,055) 

– 

0.48 
0.02 
0.31 
3.36 

– 

11,286,013 
1,667,243 
(2,781,828) 
- 

– 

  11,603,810 

0.35 

10,171,428 

7,322,267 

0.29 

7,202,466 

Weighted average fair value of awards granted (£ per share) 

– 

0.37 

– 

The average share price over the year was £0.41 (2019: £0.43). The share price of the Company at 30 April 2020 was £0.35.

The range of exercise prices and the weighted average remaining contractual life of options outstanding at 30 April were as follows:

0.50
0.53
0.60
-

–

0.48

0.45

0.27

Range of exercise prices 

Nil 
30p to 40p 
40p to 50p 
50p to 60p 
60p to 70p 
70p and above 

Total 

Weighted average remaining contractual life 

As at  
30 April  
2020 
Number of  
options 

As at
30 April
2019
Number of
options

  3,760,000 
75,000 
  2,566,275 
  2,490,860 
  2,271,675 
440,000 

3,760,000
75,000
647,309
2,938,639
2,164,425
586,055

  11,603,810 

10,171,428

6.1 years 

6.4 years

99

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

17. Share-based payments continued
Valuation assumptions
Grants in the year ended 30 April 2020 of deferred shares and LTIP awards with no market performance conditions were valued directly by 
reference to the share price at date of grant. LTIP awards with a share price performance condition were valued with reference to a Black 
Scholes valuation of a basket of options which give a similar return.

Grants in the year ended 30 April 2019 of options under the UK Scheme and US Plan and of Share Appreciation Rights were valued using  
the Black Scholes model.

The principal assumptions used in these valuations were:

Share price at date of grant 
Exercise price 
Expected life 
Expected volatility 
Risk free rate 
Dividend yield 
Fair value 

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
LTIP with  
  share condition 

Year ended
30 April
2019
Options and
SARs

£0.43 
– 
3 years 
50% 
1% 
nil 

£0.54
£0.53
various
87%
1.3%
nil
£0.18  £0.26 to £0.34

The total share-based payment charge to equity is £646,000 (2019: £96,000). The charge in the income statement of £534,000 (2019: £244,000) 
includes movements in employment taxes connected with the share-based payment charge.

18. Provisions

As at 1 May 2019 
Impact of IFRS 16 
Additions  
Utilised during the year 
Exchange difference 

As at 30 April 2020 

Leasehold 
property  
  dilapidations 
£’000 

Onerous
contracts 
£’000 

1,237 
– 
– 
– 
(1) 

1,236 

489 
(361) 
– 
(108) 
– 

20 

Total
£’000

1,726
(361)
–
(108)
(1)

1,256

On adoption of IFRS 16, the estimated loss on the sub-lease of a US office is subsumed in the IFRS 16 right-of-use asset.

Analysis of total provisions: 
Non-current 
Current 

Total 

As at  
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

1,160 
96 

1,256 

1,568
158

1,726

The provisions for dilapidations include the estimated costs of removal of installed assets under lease contracts, which includes a provision 
for the London office of £1,160,000 which is expected to be utilised in FY29 and for the Malaysia office of £76,000 expected to be utilised  
in FY21. 

100

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

19. Leases
The right-of-use assets relate to leased properties. The movements in the right-of-use assets were as follows:

As at 1 May 2019 
Depreciation 
Exchange differences 

As at 30 April 2020 

The movements in the lease liability were as follows:

As at 1 May 2019 
Interest charge 
Payments made on lease liabilities 
Exchange differences 

As at 30 April 2020 

The lease liabilities at 30 April 2020 were as follows:

Analysis of total lease liabilities: 
Non-current 
Current 

Total 

Maturity analysis 
Year 1 
Year 2-5 
Year 5 onwards 

Total future lease payments 
Total future interest payments 

Total lease liabilities 

The Group recognised the following amounts in the consolidated income statement in relation to leases under IFRS 16:

Depreciation 
Interest expense 
Short-term lease expense 
Low-value lease expense 
Income from subleasing right-of-use assets 

£’000

6,365
(860)
13

5,518

£’000

6,961
331
(1,074)
29

6,247

As at 
30 April 
2020
£’000

5,471
776

6,247

As at 
30 April 
2020
£’000

1,081
3,345
3,004

7,430
(1,183)

6,247

£’000

860
331
16
11
(110)

1,108

101

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

20. Trade and other payables

Non-current liabilities
Other payables 

Current liabilities
Trade payables 
Other taxation and social security 
Accrued expenses 
Other payables 

Trade and other payables 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

– 

250

As at  
30 April 
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
(restated)
£’000

2,255 
976 
4,140 
451 

7,822 

2,593
709
4,385
30

7,717

The other payables include three-year convertible loan notes worth £250,000 issued to settle disputes in FY18 between the Company, 
Disruptive Capital Advisory Limited and the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer Edmund Truell. During the year the liability was 
reclassified from non-current to current.

21. Borrowings

Drawn under revolving credit facility 

Borrowings 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

2,006 

2,006 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

1,000

1,000 

At 30 April 2020, the Group had a £4 million revolving credit facility expiring in July 2021. Interest is payable at a rate of LIBOR +3.5%. At 
30 April 2020 the amount undrawn was £2 million (30 April 2019: £3 million). In August 2020, this facility was renewed and now expires in 
December 2023 (see Note 27). 

The movements in borrowings were as follows:

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
 £’000  

Year ended
30 April
2019
 £’000 

1,000 
1,000 
6 

2,006 

–
1,000
–

1,000 

Borrowings at 1 May 
Cash flows – proceeds of new borrowings 
Non-cash changes – accrued interest 

Borrowings at 30 April 

102

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

22. Contract liabilities

As at 1 May  
Invoiced during the year  
Released to revenue 
Amounts invoiced in advance but not yet due 
Loss allowance 
Exchange differences 

As at 30 April 

As at  
30 April 
2020 
£’000 

7,095 
41,468 
(37,577) 
(2,374) 
(25) 
281 

As at
30 April
2019
(restated)
£’000

6,772
39,730
(36,045)
(2,723)
(534)
(105)

8,868 

7,095

The Group’s remaining performance obligations are for the delivery of services within the next 12 months for which the practical expedient in 
paragraph 121(a) of IFRS 15 applies.

23. Financial instruments, risk management and exposure
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks, including credit, liquidity and foreign currency risk. Risk management is carried 
out by the Board of Directors. 

(a) Credit risk
Credit risk arises principally from cash held at financial institutions and trade and other receivables. The following carrying values of financial 
assets represent the Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk:

Cash and cash equivalents 
Net trade receivables 
Other receivables 

Total  

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

5,208 
3,745 
1,042 

9,995 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

3,810
3,628
1,016

8,454

Cash and cash equivalents are held with reputable financial institutions. 

The fair value of trade and other receivables (financial assets) approximates their carrying value. As at 30 April 2020, total trade and other 
receivables of £1.2 million (2019: £1.2 million) were past due but not impaired. With respect to these receivables that are neither impaired nor 
past due, there are no indications as at the reporting date that the counterparties will not meet their payment obligations. 

The overdue analysis of trade receivables is as follows:

Current and not impaired 

Less than 1 month overdue 
Between 2-3 months overdue 
Over 3 months overdue 

Total past due but not impaired 

Individually determined to be impaired 

Trade receivables 

Less: loss allowance 

Net trade receivables 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

2,495 

2,455

 689 
236 
325 

1,250 

 102 

3,847 

(102) 

613
339
221

1,173

941

4,569

(941)

3,745 

3,628

103

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

23. Financial instruments, risk management and exposure continued
(b) Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. The Group manages liquidity risk 
through cash flow forecasts and by seeking to align the maturity profiles of its financial assets with its financial liabilities.

Financial assets and liabilities at amortised cost

As at 30 April 2020 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Net trade receivables 
Other receivables 
Trade payables 
Other payables 
Lease liabilities 
Borrowings 

Net position 

As at 30 April 2019 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Net trade receivables 
Other receivables 
Trade payables 
Other payables 
Borrowings 

Net position 

Total
Carrying   contractual 
cash flows 
amount  
£’000 
£’000 

Less than 
1 year 
£’000 

5,208 
3,745 
1,042 
(2,255) 
(451) 
(6,247) 
(2,006) 

5,208 
3,745 
1,042 
(2,255) 
(451) 
(7,430) 
(2,006) 

5,208 
3,745 
875 
(2,255) 
(451) 
(1,081) 
(2,006) 

1 to 5 
years 
£’000 

– 
– 
167 
– 
– 
(3,345) 
– 

Over 5
years
£’000

–
–
–
–
–
(3,004)
–

964 

(2,147) 

4,035 

(3,178) 

(3,004)

Total
Carrying   contractual 
cash flows 
amount  
£’000 
£’000 

Less than 
1 year 
£’000 

1 to 5 
years 
£’000 

Over 5
years
£’000

3,810 
3,628 
1,016 
(2,593) 
(280) 
(1,000) 

3,810 
3,628 
1,016 
(2,593) 
(280) 
(1,000) 

3,810 
3,628 
829 
(2,593) 
(30) 
(1,000) 

4,581 

4,581 

4,644 

– 
– 
187 
– 
(250) 
– 

(63) 

–
–
–
–
–
–

–

(c) Foreign currency risk
The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign currency risk on sales and purchases that are denominated in a currency other 
than Sterling. The currencies giving rise to this risk are primarily the US dollar and the Euro. Where possible the exposure is mitigated by a 
natural hedge. For example, US dollar revenues are partially matched by US dollar costs in the US subsidiary. The Group does not currently 
use forward foreign exchange contracts or currency options to hedge currency risk.

The split of trade receivables by currency is set out in Note 14 and cash by currency in Note 15.

A 10% strengthening of the US dollar against Sterling would increase revenue by £1.6 million and increase operating profit by £0.3 million.

(d) Capital risk management
The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, to provide returns for 
shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital structure.

The Group’s sources of funding currently comprise cash flows generated from operations, equity contributed by shareholders and borrowings 
under the Group’s revolving credit facility. The revolving credit facility contains a financial covenant limiting the ratio of borrowings to EBITDA 
to 2.5:1.

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may increase or decrease the amount drawn under the revolving credit facility, 
issue new shares or sell assets.

104

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

24. Commitments
Operating leases
The Group adopted IFRS 16, Leases for the current year using the modified retrospective approach as set out in Note 2. The comparatives for 
the prior year have not been restated and are presented under IAS 17. The amounts disclosed below relate only to those comparatives.

The table below sets out the future minimum lease rental commitments under IAS 17 at 30 April 2019:

Current rental liabilities 
Rental liabilities maturing in 1-5 years 
Rental liabilities maturing over 5 years 

Total  

25. Related-party transactions 
The Group entered into the following transactions with related parties in the ordinary course of business:

Purchase of services 

As at
30 April 
2019
£’000

1,024
3,474
2,979

7,477

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

80 

34

Anne Hill, the wife of Andrew Lemonofides who was appointed CEO in September 2019, provided consultancy services to the Group totalling 
£80,000 in the year ended 30 April 2020.

Richard Hurwitz who was CEO up to February 2019 also held the position of director of The Witz Company (USA). During the year ended 
30 April 2019, The Witz Company (USA) provided services to the Group totalling £30,000. Other related-party transactions in 2019 totalled 
£4,000.

Key management personnel 
Key management includes Executive Directors – who are responsible for controlling and directing the activities of the Group.  
The compensation paid or payable to key management for employee services is shown below:

Salaries, bonuses and other short-term employee benefits  
Post-employment benefits 
Termination benefits 
Share-based payment expense 

Total 

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

1,037 
49 
259 
288 

1,633 

1,254
–
–
(32)

1,222

With the departure of Rick Hurwitz as the Group CEO in February 2019, all the unvested share options of 1,051,250 shares were lapsed and the 
share-based payment expense recognised previously was unwound in the income statement.

For further details with respect to Directors' remuneration, please refer to the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 54 to 59.

105

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

26. Prior year adjustments
In 2013 a deferred tax liability was recorded as part of the acquisition accounting relating to the purchase of OB10 Ltd. This liability should 
have been offset immediately by an equal and opposite deferred tax asset because it was considered likely that the intangible assets 
recorded at the acquisition date would give rise to taxable profits such that the accumulated tax losses held by OB10 at the time of acquisition 
would have been utilised. In 2014 a deferred tax liability was recorded as part of the acquisition accounting relating to the purchase of 
DocuSphere, Inc. In subsequent years, this liability should have been offset by an equal and opposite deferred tax asset because of the tax 
losses the company had incurred post acquisition for which the Group had a right of offset against the deferred tax liability.

Consequently, the prior year income statement has been restated as if the deferred tax liabilities had been offset by deferred tax assets.  
The following table summarises the impact of the prior year adjustment on the income statement and loss per share.

For the year ended 30 April 2019 

Loss for 

Basic and  
undiluted  
the period  loss per share 
pence

£’000 

As reported 
Increase in tax charge from amortisation of deferred tax asset 

As restated 

(3,350) 
(577) 

(3,927) 

(2.65)
(0.46)

(3.11)

As at 30 April 2018 the effect in the statement of financial position is to reduce the carrying value of goodwill by £3,060,000 and reduce the 
deferred tax liability by £2,110,000 and increase accumulated losses at 1 May 2018 by £950,000. 

As at 30 April 2019 the effect in the statement of financial position is to reduce the carrying value of goodwill by £3,060,000 and reduce the 
deferred tax liability by £1,533,000 and increase accumulated losses at 1 May 2019 by £1,527,000.

In 2020 it was identified that in previous years a compensated absence accrual had not been made for holiday pay that could be carried 
forward and used in future periods. The comparative figures for 2019 have therefore been restated to correct accrued expenses. The effect  
is to increase accrued expenses at 30 April 2019 and 30 April 2018 by £297,000 (included in Current liabilities – Trade and other payables on 
the statement of financial position) and increase accumulated losses at 1 May 2018 by £297,000. 

An amendment was also made in the recognition of deferred revenue in previous years from Webform suppliers, to ensure revenue is 
recognised only when the supplier has used the transaction or after 12 months if the transaction has not been used. Historically only the cost 
to deliver the transaction had been deferred when a transaction had not been used. The comparative figures for 2019 have therefore been 
restated to correct contract liabilities. The effect is to increase contract liabilities at 30 April 2019 and 30 April 2018 by £279,000 (included in 
Current liabilities on the statement of financial position) and increase accumulated losses at 1 May 2018 by £279,000.

Management has also identified an under accrual of indirect tax exposure relating to the global activities of the Group, of which an amount of 
£331,000 arose in previous years. The comparative figures for 2019 have therefore been restated to correct other taxation and social security. 
The effect is to increase other taxation and social security at 30 April 2019 and 30 April 2018 by £331,000 (included in Current liabilities - 
Trade and other payables on the statement of financial position) and increase accumulated losses at 1 May 2018 by £331,000.

In the above three cases the effect on the 2019 income statement is not material. These adjustments therefore have no effect on the 2019 
loss for the year or on the 2019 basic and diluted loss per share. A restated statement of financial position as at 30 April 2018 has also been 
presented.

27. Post-balance sheet event
The Covid-19 pandemic and the initial lockdown measures introduced by governments in response were conditions in existence at the year-
end date and have therefore been treated as adjusting post-balance sheet events. The disruption has had material implications for the wider 
global economy, although the Group has been less impacted than many companies. The Directors continue to monitor the ongoing implications 
of Covid-19. Further information is given in the Directors’ report.

On 14 August 2020, the Group renewed its £4.0 million revolving credit facility with HSBC. The new facility expires in December 2023.

106

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

28. Subsidiary undertakings of the Group 
The full listing of subsidiary companies in the Group is shown below. 

Subsidiary

Nature of business

Registered office

Country of 
incorporation

% of ordinary 
shares held

Tungsten Corporation Guernsey 
Limited1

Intermediate holding 
company

PO Box 186 Royal Chambers St Julian’s 
Avenue St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 4HP

Tungsten Network Limited1

Electronic invoice delivery

Tungsten Network Inc.1

Electronic invoice delivery

Tungsten Network Sdn Bhd1

Electronic invoice delivery 
& shared services office

Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence  
Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BL

1040 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 330, 
Atlanta GA 30338

Level 8 Symphony House, Block D13  
Pusat Dagangan Dana 1, Jalan PJU1A/46, 
47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Guernsey

UK

USA

Malaysia

Tungsten Network GmbH1

Electronic invoice delivery

Roggenkamp 21, 21266 Jesteburg, Hamburg

Germany

Tungsten Network (Schweiz) GmbH1

Shared services office 

Tungsten Network S.A.P.I de CV1 

Electronic invoice delivery

Confidas Treuhand AG, Gubelstrasse 5,  
6301 Zug

Bosque de Ciruelos 180, Piso Principal, 
Bosques de las Lomas, 11700 Mexico, D.F.

Switzerland

Mexico

Tungsten Network EOOD1

Shared services office

38, Damyan Gruev Str., 1606 Sofia, Bulgaria 

Bulgaria

Tungsten Network Private Limited1

Electronic invoice delivery

Image Integration Systems, Inc.1

Software

Tungsten Network Finance Limited2

Intermediate holding 
company and trade 
finance solutions

Tungsten Purchaser UK Limited2

Invoice acquisition

Tungsten Account Trustee Limited2

Trustee services

Tungsten Investment  
Management Limited2
Tungsten Purchaser (US), Inc.2

Investment management

Invoice acquisition

Tungsten Purchaser (Canada) Ltd2

Invoice acquisition

Unit No.216, 2nd Flr. Sq., One,C-2,  
Dist. Ctr. Saket, New Delhi, South Delhi,  
Delhi, India, 110017

885 Commerce Drive, Suite B, Perrysburg, 
Ohio 43551

Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence  
Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BL

Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence  
Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BL
Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence  
Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BL
Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence  
Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BL
1040 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 330, 
Atlanta GA 30338
855-2 Street SW, Suite 3500, Calgary, 
Alberta, T2P 4J8, Canada

India

USA

UK

UK

UK

UK

USA

Canada

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

1   Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited is directly held by Tungsten Corporation plc, other subsidiaries listed above are indirectly held through Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited.
2   Tungsten Network Finance Limited is directly held by Tungsten Corporation plc, other subsidiaries listed above are indirectly held through Tungsten Network Finance Limited.

107

 
 
 
 
PARENT COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
Registered number: 07934335

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Assets 
Non-current assets 
Investments in subsidiaries 
Property, plant and equipment 
Right-of-use assets 
Other receivables 

Total non-current assets 

Current assets 
Trade and other receivables 
Cash and cash equivalents 

Total current assets 

Total assets 

Capital and reserves attributable to the equity shareholders 
Non-current liabilities 
Provisions 
Lease liabilities 
Other payables 

Total non-current liabilities 

Current liabilities 
Lease liabilities 
Trade and other payables 

Total current liabilities 

Total liabilities 

Share capital 
Share premium 
Shares to be issued 
Share-based payment reserve 
Other reserves 
Accumulated losses 

Total equity  

Total liabilities and equity 

As at  
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

Note 

5 
6 
6 
7 

 7 

8 
9 
10 

9 
10 

 100,947  
 1,292  
 5,113  
 769  

127,040
2,033
–
789

 108,121  

129,862

 53,335  
 24  

53,466
36

 53,359  

53,502

 161,480  

183,364

1,160 
 4,974  
– 

6,134 

1,160
–
250

1,410

482 
88,540 

 89,022  

–
87,327

87,327

 95,156  

88,737

 553  
 188,802  
 3,760  
 2,144 
(5,450)  
(123,485)  

553
188,802
3,760
1,497
 (5,450)
(94,535)

 66,324  

94,627

161,480 

183,364

The loss attributable to shareholders dealt with in the financial statements of the Company was £28.4 million (FY19: £58.9 million).

The above balance sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

The financial statements on pages 108 to 119 were authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 6 September 2020 and were signed  
on its behalf:

Chris Allen 
Chief Financial Officer 

108

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

PARENT COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Year ended 30 April 2020

Balance as at 30 April 2019 as previously stated 
Adoption of IFRS 16 

Balance as at 1 May 2019 as restated 

Loss for the year 
Share-based payment expense 

Share 
capital 
£’000 

553 
– 

553 

– 
– 

Share 
premium 
£’000 

188,802 
– 

188,802 

– 
– 

Shares 
to be 
issued 
£’000 

3,760 
– 

3,760 

– 
– 

Share-
based
payment 
reserve 
£’000 

1,497 
– 

1,497 

– 
647 

Other  Accumulated 
losses 
£’000 

reserves 
£’000 

Total
equity
£’000

(5,450) 
– 

(94,535) 
(537) 

94,627
(537)

(5,450) 

(95,072) 

94,090

– 
– 

 (28,413) 
– 

 (28,413)
647

Balance as at 30 April 2020 

553 

188,802 

3,760 

2,144 

(5,450) 

(123,485) 

66,324

Year ended 30 April 2019

Balance as at 1 May 2018 
Loss for the year 
Issue of treasury shares to employees 
Share-based payment expense 

Share 
capital 
£’000 

Share 
premium 
£’000 

553 
– 
– 
– 

188,794 
– 
8 
– 

Shares 
to be 
issued 
£’000 

3,760 
– 
– 
– 

Share-
based
payment 
reserve 
£’000 

1,401 
– 
– 
96 

Other  Accumulated 
losses 
£’000 

reserves 
£’000 

(5,450) 
– 
– 
– 

(35,627) 
(58,908) 
– 
– 

Total
equity
£’000

153,431
(58,908)
8
96

Balance as at 30 April 2019 

553 

188,802 

3,760 

1,497 

(5,450) 

(94,535) 

94,627

The above statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.  

109

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PARENT COMPANY STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

Cash flows from operating activities 
Loss before taxation 

Adjustments for: 
Depreciation 
Share-based payment (income)/expense 
Impairment in investment in subsidiary 
Increase in loss allowance  
Finance costs 

Changes in working capital: 
Increase in trade and other receivables 
Increase in trade and other payables 
Net interest paid 

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities 
Purchases of property, plant and equipment 
Investment in subsidiary 

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities 
Lease payments 
Proceeds from issues of shares 

Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the year 
Exchange adjustments 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 

The above statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.  

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Notes 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

6 
4 
5 
7 

6 
5 

(28,413)  

(58,908)

 765  
394  
27,000 
707 
1,647 

(544)  
 1,375  
(1,361)  

 1,570  

290
(536)
35,000
22,909
1,358

(1,832)
2,688
(1,358)

(389)

(140) 
(694) 

(834) 

(748) 
– 

(748) 

(12) 
36 
– 

24 

(163)
–

(163)

–
8

8

(544)
580
–

36

110

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2020

1. General information
Tungsten Corporation plc (the Company) is a holding company and provider of central and management functions. The Company  
is a public company limited by shares, which is incorporated in the UK and registered in England. The address of its registered office  
is Pountney Hill House, 6 Laurence Pountney Hill, London EC4R OBL, UK.

The Company financial statements were authorised for issue by the Directors on 6 September 2020. All press releases, financial reports  
and other information are available on the investor relations page of our website: www.tungsten-network.com

2. Accounting policies
(a) Basis of preparation
The Company financial statements of Tungsten Corporation plc have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs as adopted by the EU), the Companies Act 2006 that applies to companies reporting 
under IFRS, and IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC). The Company financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost 
convention.

(b) New standards, amendments and interpretations adopted:
The Company has applied the following standard for the first time for their annual reporting period commencing 1 May 2019:

IFRS 16 Leases
The Company also adopted IFRS 16 from 1 May 2019, the accounting policy for IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ is the same as that for the Group and is set out 
in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

No finance leases were recognised immediately prior to the transition. The table below presents a reconciliation from the operating lease 
commitments disclosed at 30 April 2019 to the lease liabilities recognised at 1 May 2019.

Operating lease commitments disclosed as at 30 April 2019 
Less commitments on short-term and low value leases 
Less discounting using the incremental borrowing rate at 1 May 2019 

Lease liabilities recognised at 1 May 2019 

The following table sets out the impact of adopting IFRS 16 on the statement financial position as at 1 May 2019:

£’000

7,468
-
(1,562)

5,906

Assets 
Property, plant and equipment (a) 
Right-of-use assets (b) 
Other non-current assets 

Total non-current assets 
Total current assets 

Total assets 

Liabilities 
Provisions (c)  
Lease liabilities (d) 
Other liabilities (e) 

Total liabilities 

Total equity (f) 

Total equity and liabilities 

As at 30 
April 2019 
£’000 

Impact of  
IFRS 16 
£’000 

As at 1
May 2019
£’000

2,033 
– 
127,829 

129,862 
53,502 

(743) 
5,740 
– 

4,997 
- 

1,290
5,740
127,829

134,859
53,502

183,364 

4,997 

188,361

1,160 
- 
87,577 

88,737 

94,627 

- 
5,906 
(372) 

5,534 

1,160
5,906
87,205

94,271

(537) 

94,090

183,364 

4,997 

188,361

(a) Property, plant and equipment was adjusted to reclassify dilapidations to right-of-use assets.
(b) The adjustment to right-of-use asset is related to all operating type lease assets and the dilapidations reclassification noted in (a).
(c) The adjustment to provisions relates to an onerous lease provision reclassified to the right-of-use asset on the adoption of IFRS 16.
(d) The table above reconciles the minimum lease commitments disclosed in the Company’s 30 April 2019 annual consolidated financial statements to the amount of lease liabilities recognised 

on 1 May 2019. 

(e) The adjustment was to reclassify rent-free accrual previously recognised.
(f)  Retained earnings were adjusted to record the net effect of all other adjustments noted.

111

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2020

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(c) New standards, amendments and interpretations issued but not yet effective:
Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been published that are not mandatory for 1 May 2019 reporting periods and have 
not been early adopted by the Company. These standards are not expected to have a material impact on the entity in the current or future 
reporting periods and on foreseeable future transactions.

(d) Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements and estimates that affect the application of policies 
and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses.

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of 
future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

The Company makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will by definition seldom equal 
the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant impact on the financial statements are highlighted below.

Going concern
The Company going concern assessment is based on forecasts and projections of anticipated trading performance. The assumptions applied 
are subjective and management applies judgement in estimating the probability, timing and value of underlying cash flows. 

Impairment in investments in subsidiaries 
Investments are reviewed for impairment whenever events indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. 

The Company performs the assessment of the recoverable amount of the investment by comparing the cash-generating-unit’s (CGU) value in 
use to the carrying amount of the investments in subsidiaries. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the carrying amount 
exceeds the recoverable amount.

The recoverable amount of the CGU is based on estimates of future cash flows discounted using an appropriate discount rate. Estimates 
of future cash flows are inherently uncertain as the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the general economy is unclear. To take 
account of this uncertainty, management have used the “expected cash flow approach” which involves probability weighting several alternate 
scenarios.

It is possible that changes in economic conditions or deviations in actual performance from forecast could result in a material adjustment 
to the carrying value of the CGU within the next financial year. The key estimates made by management are set out in Note 12 of the 
consolidated financial statements. The information in Note 12 of the consolidated financial statements given on each scenario also provides 
an indication of the amount of any further impairment for other reasonably possible outcomes.

(e) Significant accounting policies 
The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the previous financial year.

Share-based payments
The Company issues equity-settled and cash-settled share-based awards to certain employees. The fair value of share-based awards is 
determined based on the Black Scholes model at the date of grant and expensed based on the Group’s estimate of the shares that will 
eventually vest, over the vesting period with a corresponding increase in equity. At each balance sheet date, the Group revises its estimates 
of the number of options that are expected to vest based on service and other non-market performance conditions. The amount expensed is 
adjusted over the vesting period for changes in the estimate of the number of shares that will eventually vest, save for changes resulting from 
any market-related performance conditions.

The value of share-based payments is taken directly to reserves and the charge for the period is recorded in the income statement. 

112

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

Tungsten’s scheme, which awards shares in the parent entity, includes recipients who are employees in all subsidiaries. In the consolidated 
financial statements, the transaction is treated as an equity-settled share-based payment, as the subsidiary has received services in 
consideration for Tungsten’s equity instruments. An expense is recognised in the Group income statement for the fair value of share-based 
payments over the vesting year, with a credit recognised in equity. 

In the subsidiaries’ financial statements, the awards, in proportion to the recipients who are employees in said subsidiary, are treated as an 
equity-settled share-based payment, as the subsidiaries do not have an obligation to settle the award. An expense for the grant date fair 
value of the award is recognised over the vesting period, with a credit recognised in equity. The credit is treated as a capital contribution, 
as the parent company is compensating the subsidiaries’ employees with no cost to the subsidiaries as there is no expectation to recharge 
the cost. In the parent company’s financial statements, there is no share-based payment charge where the recipients are employed by a 
subsidiary, with the parent company recognising an increase in the investment in the subsidiaries as a capital contribution from the parent 
and a credit to equity. Cash-settled share-based awards are recognised as an expense in the income statement with a corresponding credit 
to liabilities.

Further details on the share-based payments can be found in Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report and 
financial statements.

(f) Property, plant and equipment
Tangible assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis 
of the estimated useful lives of each item of tangible asset. Depreciation commences when an asset is brought into use over the following 
estimated useful lives:

•  Leasehold improvement: depreciated over the term of lease

•  Fixture and fittings: 3 to 5 years

•  Computer equipment: 2 to 5 years

Dilapidations
The estimated cost of dilapidations is recognised in the right-of-use asset and provisions when the obligation arises and the liability can be 
reliably estimated. 

(g) Provisions
A provision is recognised when the Company has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the 
obligation will have to be settled, and the amount of the obligation can be reliably estimated. Provisions are measured at the present value 
required in order to cover the obligation. The present value factor used in the calculation of the present value is selected so that it represents 
the market insight into the time value of money and liability-related risks at the time of the assessment.

(h) Trade and other receivables
Trade receivables are amounts due from customers for goods sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business. They are 
generally due for settlement within 30 days and are therefore are classified as current. Non-current receivables relate to loan receivables from 
employees.

Trade receivables are recognised initially at the amount of consideration that is unconditional, unless they contain significant financing 
components, in which case they are recognised at fair value. Due to their short-term nature, the carrying value of current receivables is 
considered to be same as the fair value. 

The Company applies IFRS 9’s simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime expected loss approach for all 
trade receivables.

To measure the expected credit losses, trade receivables have been analysed based on the days past due. The expected loss rates are 
based on the payment profiles of sales over a period of 12 months before the relevant balance sheet date and the corresponding historical 
credit losses experienced within this period. The historical loss rates are adjusted to reflect current and forward-looking information on 
macroeconomic factors affecting the ability of the customers to settle the receivables. 

(i) Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are initially stated at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.

(j) Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits. Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral 
part of the Group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the cash flow 
statement.

(k) Employee benefits defined contribution plans
The Company pays contributions to publicly or privately administered pension plans. The Company has no further payment obligations once 
the contributions have been paid. Contributions are recognised in the income statement as an employee benefit expense in the period when 
they are due. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the future payments is 
available.

113

 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2020

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

2. Accounting policies continued
(l) Reserves
The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity:

Reserve 

Description and purpose

Share capital 
Share premium 
Shares to be issued 
Share-based payment reserve 
Other reserve 

Accumulated losses 

Ordinary shares are classified as equity.
Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.
Shares for which consideration has been received but which are not yet issued.
Accumulated share-based payment charges.
The difference between the premium on the Tungsten Corporation plc ordinary shares issued in  
exchange for the Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited ordinary B shares.
All other net gains and losses and transactions with owners not recognised elsewhere.

(m) Investments in subsidiary undertakings
In the Company’s financial statements, investments in subsidiaries are stated at cost less provision for impairment in value.

Investments are reviewed for impairment whenever events indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is 
recognised to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the higher of the investment’s fair value less cost of disposal and its value-in-use. 
An asset’s value-in-use is calculated by discounting an estimate of future cash flows by the post-tax weighted average cost of capital. Any 
impairment is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.

(n) Foreign currency translation
The accounting policy for foreign currency translation is the same as that for the Group and is set out on pages 83 and 84. 

3. Loss for the year
As permitted by the exemption in Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the income statement of the Company is not presented as part 
of these financial statements. The loss attributable to shareholders dealt with in the financial statements of the Company was £28.4 million 
(FY19: loss of £58.9 million).

4. Employee benefits expenses

Wages and salaries 
Social security costs 
Pension-defined contributions 
Share-based payment expense/(income) 

Total employee benefits expenses 

Number of employees 
The yearly average number of people (including Executive Directors) employed: 
Corporate 

Total average headcount 

  Year ended 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

Year ended
30 April
2019
£’000

 1,423  
 246  
 133  
 394  

 2,196  

1,922
185
110
(536)

1,681

   Year ended 
30 April  
2020 

Year ended
30 April
2019

10 

10 

10

10

Refer to Note 25 in the consolidated financial statements for details of remuneration in respect of key management.

114

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

5. Investments in subsidiaries

Balance as at 1 May 
Additions 
Impairment  
Disposal 

Balance as at 30 April 

2020 
£’000 

2019
 £’000 

127,040 
 907  
(27,000) 
 –  

162,040
–
(35,000)
–

 100,947  

127,040

The Company’s subsidiaries are the same as those for the Group and are set out in Note 28 to the consolidated financial statements.

The carrying value represents the Company’s investment in Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited through which the Company indirectly 
holds the Tungsten Network sub-group and a £1 investment in Tungsten Network Finance Limited. An impairment charge of £27 million 
has been booked to write down the carrying value to £101.1 million being the value in use of the Tungsten Network CGU. See Note 12 to the 
consolidated financial statements for further information on the value in use.

6. Property, plant and equipment
As at 30 April 2020

Cost 
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Impact of IFRS 16 
Additions 

At 30 April 2020 

Accumulated depreciation 
Balance at 1 May 2019 
Impact of IFRS 16 
Charge for the year 

At 30 April 2020 

Net book value 
At 1 May 2019 

At 30 April 2020 

As at 30 April 2019

Cost 
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Additions 

At 30 April 2019 

Accumulated depreciation 
Balance at 1 May 2018 
Charge for the year 

At 30 April 2019 

Net book value 
At 1 May 2018 
At 30 April 2019 

Right-of-  
Leasehold 
use asset improvements 
£’000 

£’000 

Fixtures
and fittings 
£’000 

– 
8,563 
– 

3,085 
(1,160) 
140 

8,563 

2,065 

– 
2,823 
627 

3,450 

1,069 
(417) 
124 

776 

– 

5,113 

2,016 

1,289 

90 
– 
– 

90 

73 
– 
14 

87 

17 

3 

Leasehold  
 improvements 
£’000 

Fixtures
and fittings 
£’000 

2,922 
163 

3,085 

797 
272 

1,069 

2,125 
2,016 

90 
– 

90 

55 
18 

73 

35 
17 

Total
£’000

3,175
7,403
140

10,718

1,142
2,406
765

4,313

2,033

6,405

Total
£’000

3,012
163

3,175

852
290

1,142

2,160
2,033

115

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2020

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

7. Trade and other receivables

Non-current assets
Loans to employees under EMSS scheme 
Deposit 

Other receivables 

Current assets
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 
Less: Loss allowance 

Net amounts owed by Group undertakings 
VAT 
Other receivables 
Prepayments 

Trade and other receivables 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

181 
588 

769 

201
588

789

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
£’000

 76,612  
(23,616)  

76,002
(22,909)

 52,996  
 79  
 25  
 235  

53,093
97
–
276

 53,335  

53,466

The amounts owed by Group undertakings are due from Tungsten Network Limited, Tungsten Network Sdn Bhd and Tungsten Network Finance 
Limited. These are non-interest bearing and are repayable on demand. To the extent the counterparties, are unable to do so, it does not intend 
to recall the amounts due, within one year. The amount due from Tungsten Network Finance Limited has been fully provided for since 30 April 
2019. The Company has the ability to settle amounts receivable against amounts owed to Group undertakings, in the absence of an individual 
party having their own liquidity to make their individual settlement.

8. Provisions

At 1 May 2019 
Addition 

At 30 April 2020 

Analysis of total provision:

Non-current 

Leasehold 
property 
dilapidation
 £’000 

1,160
–

1,160

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
 £’000 

1,160 

1,160

The provision for dilapidations includes the estimated costs of removal of installed assets under the lease contract for the London office, 
which is expected to be utilised in FY29. 

116

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

9. Lease liabilities

Analysis of total lease liabilities: 
Non-current 
Current 

Total 

Maturity analysis: 
Year 1 
Year 2 – 5 
Year 5 onwards 

Total future lease payments 
Total future interest payments 

Total lease liabilities 

10. Trade and other payables

Non-current liabilities
Other payables 

As at
30 April 
2020
 £’000 

 4,974 
 482 

 5,456 

As at
30 April 
2020
 £’000 

743 
 2,971 
 2,564

6,278
(822) 

5,456

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
 £’000 

– 

250

The other payables represent the issuance of convertible loan notes worth £0.25 million being the settlement of disputes in FY18 between the 
Company, Disruptive Capital Advisory Limited and the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer Edmund Truell. The liability was reclassified 
from non-current to current.

Current liabilities 
Trade and other payables 
Taxation and social security 
Accrued expenses  
Loan payable to Group undertakings 
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 

Trade and other payables 

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
 £’000 

 450  
 78  
 1,008 
 44,621  
 42,383  

214
225
1,329
43,260
42,299

 88,540  

87,327

The loan payable to Group undertakings is bearing an interest based on monthly GBP LIBOR. The amounts owed to Group undertakings are 
non-interest bearing and are repayable on demand. The Company has the ability to settle amounts owed to Group undertakings against 
amounts receivable from Group undertakings, in the absence of it having working capital to settle the amount directly itself. 

117

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2020

Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

11. Commitments
Operating leases
The Company adopted IFRS 16, Leases for the current year using the modified retrospective approach as set out in Note 2. The comparatives 
for the prior year have not been restated and are presented under IAS 17. The amounts disclosed below relate only to those comparatives.

The table below sets out the future minimum lease rental commitments under IAS 17 at 30 April 2019:

Current rental liabilities  
Rental liabilities maturing in 1-5 years 
Rental liabilities maturing over 5 years 

Total 

As at
30 April 
2019
 £’000 

650
2,600
2,979

6,229

12. Related-party transactions
During the year the Company invoiced and/or incurred management charges from specific Group companies. Furthermore at 30 April 2020:

•  Owed to the Company

•  Tungsten Network Limited - £51,354,000 (FY19: £51,354,000)

•  Tungsten Network Sdn Bhd - £1,642,000 (FY19: £1,739,000)

•  Owed by the Company

•  Tungsten Corporation Guernsey Limited - £84,712,000 (FY19: £83,267,000)

•  Tungsten Network Inc - £2,267,000 (FY19:£2,267,000)

•  Tungsten Network GmbH - £25,000 (FY19: £25,000)

Key management personnel
Key management includes Executive Directors. There were no key management personnel in the Company apart from the Directors.  
The compensation paid or payable to key management for employee services is set out in Note 25 to the consolidated financial statements. 

13. Capital management
The aim of the Company is to maintain sufficient funds to enable it to meet working capital requirements, make suitable investments and 
incremental acquisitions while minimising recourse to external funders and/or shareholders. Capital managed by the Company at 30 April 
2020 consists of cash and cash equivalents and equity attributable to equity holders of the parent. The capital structure is reviewed by 
management through regular internal financial reporting and forecasting.

The Company considers the following balances as a part of its capital management:

Share capital and premium 
Accumulated deficit1 
Cash and cash equivalents 

Total 

1  Deficit includes shares to be issued, share-based payments reserve, other reserves and accumulated net losses.

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

As at
30 April
2019
 £’000 

 189,355  
(123,403)  
 24  

189,355
(94,728)
36

 65,976  

94,663

118

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

14. Financial instruments, risk management and exposure
The Company’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks, including credit, liquidity and foreign currency risk. Management is carried out 
by the Board of Directors. 

(a) Credit risk
Credit risk arises principally from cash held at financial institutions and trade and other receivables. The following carrying values of financial 
assets represent the Company’s maximum exposure to credit risk:

Cash and cash equivalents 
Trade and other receivables 
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 

Total  

As at 
30 April  
2020 
£’000 

24 
780 
52,996 

As at
30 April
2019
 £’000 

36
773
53,093

53,800 

53,902

Cash and cash equivalents are held with reputable financial institutions. 

Impairment provisions for amounts owed by Group undertakings are calculated using an expected credit loss model. Under this model, 
impairment provisions are recognised to reflect expected credit losses based on a combination of historic and forward-looking information, 
the amount of such a provision being the difference between the net carrying amount and the present value of the future expected cash 
flows associated with the impaired receivable.

(b) Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. The Company manages liquidity risk 
through cash flow forecasts and by seeking to align the maturity profiles of its financial assets with its financial liabilities.

Financial assets and liabilities at amortised cost

 As at 30 April 2020 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Trade and other receivables1  
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 
Trade and other payables 
Lease liabilities 
Loan payable to Group undertakings 
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 

Net position 

 As at 30 April 2019 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Trade and other receivables1 
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 
Trade and other payables 
Loan payable to Group undertakings 
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 

Net position 

1   Excludes prepayments.

Carrying 
amount 
£’000 

Total 
contractual 
cash flows 
£’000 

24 
780 
52,996 
(464) 
(5,456) 
(44,621) 
(42,383) 

24 
780 
52,996 
(464) 
(6,229) 
(44,621) 
(42,383) 

Less than 
1 year 
£’000 

24 
780 
52,996 
(464) 
(650) 
(44,621) 
(42,383) 

1 to 5 
years 
£’000 

More than
5 years
 £’000 

- 
- 
- 
- 
(2,600) 
- 
- 

-
-
-
-
(2,979)
-
-

(39,124) 

(39,897) 

(34,318) 

(2,600) 

(2,979)

Total 
contractual 
cash flows 
£’000 

Less than 
1 year 
£’000 

1 to 5 
years 
£’000 

More than
5 years
 £’000 

Carrying 
amount 
£’000 

36 
773 
53,093 
(450) 
(43,260) 
(42,299) 

36 
773 
53,093 
(450) 
(43,260) 
(42,299) 

36 
773 
53,093 
(450) 
(43,260) 
(42,299) 

(32,107) 

(32,107) 

(32,107) 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

– 

-
-
-
-
-
-

–

(c) Foreign currency risk
Tungsten Corporation plc has amounts owed to and from Group undertakings with its US and Malaysian subsidiaries which are denominated 
in US Dollar and Malaysian Ringgt. The Company is therefore exposed to fluctuations in these currencies. No sensitivity analysis has been 
presented for changes in exchange rates as these do not have a material impact on the loss before tax.

119

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Broker and nominated adviser
Canaccord Genuity Limited
88 Wood Street
London
EC2V 7QR
UK

Registrar
Equiniti
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
West Sussex
BN99 6DA
UK

0371 384 2030*
Overseas helpline +44 (0)121 415 7047

*  Lines open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Registered office
Tungsten Corporation plc
Pountney Hill House
6 Laurence Pountney Hill
London
EC4R 0BL
UK

Tungsten Corporation plc is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in the UK, with registered number 07934335.

120

 
 
 
Tungsten Corporation PLC // Annual Report & Accounts 2020 

Financial Statements 

NOTES

121

 
 
 
 
Design and Production
www.carrkamasa.co.uk

Tungsten Corporation plc

Pountney Hill House  
6 Laurence Pountney Hill 
London EC4R 0BL 
UK

E:  Info@tungsten-network.com 
T:  +44 20 7280 7807

www.tungsten-network.com