CBP.L Regulatory News (CBP)

Curtis Banks Group plc

("Curtis Banks", the "Group")

Interim results for the 6 months to 30 June 2019

Continued profitable growth and high quality recurring earnings

Curtis Banks Group PLC, one of the UK's leading SIPP providers, is pleased to announce its interim results for the 6 months to 30 June 2019.

Highlights

·; Profit before tax increased by 14.0% to £5.4m (2018: £4.8m)

·; Operating Revenue increased by 6.7% to £24.5m (2018: £23.0m)

·; Adjusted profit before tax increased by 6.9% to £6.2m (2018: £5.8m)

·; Adjusted operating margin 26.3% (2018: 26.2%)

·; Adjusted diluted EPS increased by 10.1% to 9.17p (2018: 8.33p)

·; Assets under administration increased by 9.6% to £27.5bn (2018: £25.1bn)

·; IT strategy to simplify solutions across the Group and drive material cost savings

·; Interim dividend of 2.5p per share (2018: 2.0p)

 Highlights and key performance indicators for the period include:

Commenting on the results and prospects, Will Self, CEO of Curtis Banks, said:

 "This is a solid set of results for the first six months of 2019 with the period under review showing an increase in our key financial metrics. Once again, the Group has continued to grow profitably and maintains a high proportion of quality recurring earnings which demonstrates the resilience of our business against some current headwinds in the SIPP industry and wider marketplace.

Through initiatives to stimulate both organic and inorganic growth, as well as successfully diversifying revenues by broadening our capability to commercial property clients, we have navigated the first half of 2019 extremely well. I am confident and excited about our prospects for further growth".

Analyst Presentation:

There will be a presentation on Thursday 5 September 2019 at 9.30am for institutional investors and analysts at Peel Hunt LLP, Moor House, 120 London Wall, London EC2Y 5ET. Those wishing to attend should contact jake.thomas@camarco.co.uk.

The interim results for Curtis Banks Group for the six month period ended 30 June 2019 have showed continued profitable growth during a period in which we have been extremely active in the launch of our new SIPP proposition against a back drop of testing market sentiment.

As has been previously announced Paul Tarran will be retiring from the board as CFO. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Paul, who has had a hugely significant role in the business for a number of years, helping the business grow from a start-up to one of the UK's largest independent SIPP operators. We wish Paul the very best for the future.

Our new CFO is Dan Cowland who brings considerable experience, having previously worked at WH Ireland Group Plc and Shore Capital Stockbrokers. I would like to warmly welcome him to Curtis Banks and wish him every success in his new role at this exciting time in the Group's evolution.

The period under review has shown an increase in our key financial metrics. Operating revenue has increased by 6.7% to £24.5m compared to the same period last year, adjusted profit before tax increased by 6.9% to £6.2m and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 10% to 9.17p.

We have also started to see the benefits of the investment in our enhanced sales structure, with over 100 new adviser relationships delivering new business in the period. We believe our new product, combined with the new national sales team, will enable the business to continue to grow organically.

Operationally, the launch of 'Your Future SIPP' in February was a big step for the Group. This new product combines the best options of the Curtis Banks and Suffolk Life SIPPs into one industry leading proposition. The target capability of our new SIPP product was achieved at the end of the period and is now accessible to all new business customers and over 50% of our existing business clients. We continue to make developments to the product, including the successful launch of the client portal, enabling clients to access their relevant data at all times, and introducing access to the in-demand Prudential Trustee Investment Plan.

During the period we have also finalised our IT and operational strategy, which will deliver a simplified single operating platform from which to build a target operating model for pension administration. This will meet the needs of our customers in the years ahead and provide a platform for enhanced service as well as realise efficiencies.

Despite our profitable growth, we have been operating in a market where the muted activity in the pension transfer market that we highlighted in our last full year results has continued. In addition client and adviser sentiment has remained weak with concerns over Brexit and the general political uncertainties. Consequently, the total number of SIPPs administered by the Group is 77,175, reflecting a slight decrease from the same period last year. We remain confident that the Group is well placed to take advantage of its position when the wider market recovers.

Dividends

Your Board has agreed an interim dividend of 2.5p per share (2018: 2p) to be paid on 14 November 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 11 October 2019. This represents an increase of 25% over the prior year period and reflects our strong performance and continued belief in the improved performance of the Group. The shares will be marked ex-dividend on 10 October 2019.

Summary and Outlook

Against a relatively muted market backdrop for organic growth in the short term, we have a strong position in the market as one of the UK's largest independent SIPP and SSAS providers and we have entered the second half of 2019 with good momentum. Our investment in both our digital offering and sales functions, as well as significant progress of our legacy review, puts us in a clear position of strength.

Alongside our new SIPP proposition, we continue to actively seek acquisition opportunities and build on the diversification of our revenue streams via our Legal and Property Services offerings.

The investments we have made over the period continue to put the Group in a strong position to ensure we deliver for our customers, advisers, staff and shareholders.

Chris Macdonald

Chairman

4 September 2019

Summary

I am pleased to report a solid set of results for the first six months of 2019. Once again the Group has continued to grow profitably and maintains a high proportion of quality recurring earnings which demonstrates the resilience of our business against some current headwinds in the SIPP industry and wider marketplace.

This resilient financial performance has arisen as a result of a 3% increase in fee income from our SIPP book to £18.3m and further increased interest income. Total revenue has increased 6.7% and adjusted profit before tax has increased 6.9% on the comparable period last year.

Our adjusted operating margin has also increased slightly to 26.3% (2018: 26.2%) for the first six months of the year, and there are more operational measures designed to improved efficiency still to come. Actions taken so far this year include a close alignment of key operational teams which has delivered greater visibility and effective management of legacy issues. Further improvements will be put in place later this year and will ultimately culminate in a single operating system across the Group as our system strategy is further implemented.

Operationally, we have passed a number of key milestones in the period. In February we launched our new product, Your Future SIPP and introduced consistent fees and services across the entire product portfolio meaning that rather than multiple different fee layers across the Group, we now just have one. We are now in the final phases of enhancing the digital experience with our new website and portal. The reception has been encouraging, with almost 60% of new Your Future SIPP applications now made online and attracting positive feedback from customers and advisers both existing and new. 

Our legacy review has been completed, identifying elements of our product portfolio to cleanse and informing our Target Operating Model. Ongoing proactive management of our product portfolio will also continue to rationalise unproductive plans going forwards and our Target Operating Model will deliver an improved customer experience and ensure risk mitigation. This will have minimal impact on our revenue and will enhance our average revenue per SIPP. The commercial property data cleanse initiative is on track for completion by end of 2019 with no further provision anticipated (£0.5m 2018).

Despite this we are not immune to industry challenges and, through a combination of a slowdown in the pension transfer market, with the wider retail savings sector remaining subdued, and the evolution of our new product and sales function, our total number of new SIPPs has decreased slightly. As a result, the total number of SIPPs administered for the first six months of 2019 is down by 0.5% to 77,175 (H1 2018: 77,552) however the total own SIPPs in the period is up to 69,642 (H1 2018: 69,035). We remain confident that the Group is well placed to take advantage of its position when the wider market recovers and the investment in both our digital offering and sales functions put us in a strong position moving forward. I am pleased to report the numbers of properties administered is up to 6,336 (H1 2018: 6,110) and on all fronts we continue to perform well against our peers in the sector.

In June, we announced the proposed appointment of Dan Cowland to the Board as the Group Chief Financial Officer and we are pleased to say that he is formally appointed to the Board, effective 5 September. Dan brings to the role a wealth of experience having held senior finance roles at WH Ireland, Shore Capital, Macquarie Bank and Lehman Brothers as well as having successfully grown listed businesses in our sector, making him a great addition to our management team. The Board transition is now complete, and we have a strong core team from which to continue to grow the business. I would like to extend my thanks to Paul Tarran for his leadership over many years.

Strategy for growth

Our growth strategy remains simple and is focused on three key pillars; acquisitions, organic growth and diversification.

Acquisitions remain firmly part of our strategy and as one of the UK's leading SIPP providers we are well positioned to continue to consolidate the SIPP market. The acquisition of the Hargreave Hale book of SIPPs is now integrated into the Group. This has contributed to circa 600 new SIPPs for the Group. We continue to explore acquisition opportunities and have developed a flexible approach to transactions ensuring that we can target customer outcomes whilst also working alongside firms with their strategic reviews. We will only acquire assets that are a genuine value proposition and are value and earnings accretive.

We also have a new proposition and refreshed sales resource in place to grow organically. Your Future SIPP combines the best of the Curtis Banks and Suffolk Life SIPPs into one industry leading proposition. It is more efficient and has increased functionality for both advisers and their clients. Your Future SIPP accesses the high-quality administration platforms and teams of Curtis Banks and is competitively priced. As one of the UK's leading SIPP providers, creating a new product was a necessary step for the future of the Group and was constructed based on detailed feedback from advisers on what would appeal. This proposition is now supported by a nationwide adviser support network which has already introduced 102 new productive adviser relationships.

A platform to deliver complementary revenue growth from existing business is also in place. Building on our core capabilities of complex administration and commercial property and expanding our service into Legal and Property Services offerings, we have initiated the process of diversifying our revenue streams. Demand has been proven for the expert legal and complementary property services, especially where the customer journey is greatly improved. As start-up enterprises, our growth ambitions have been constrained by a number of short term factors. We are committed to these service businesses and will consider the various options available to accelerate their growth.

Digital innovation - a simplified solution

A new online portal was launched in early 2019 and further services and functionality were released during H1, all online capability is designed to enhance Your Future SIPP and reduce the time that advisers spend on administration, enabling them to spend more time with their clients. It was created in consultation with advisers and gives both them and their client's access to relevant data, anytime, anywhere and on any device. Each user's portal experience is automatically customised to suit their plan arrangements and allows access to up to date information about their SIPP. This is now accessible to all new business customers and to over 50% of existing customers, with over 60% of new business applications completed online.

I am pleased to report that we have also confirmed our wider IT strategy, committing to simplify our Group wide infrastructure, maximise value creation from historic investment and enhance our administration capabilities. In H1 2019 we transitioned to a new MS Dynamics development partner, providing a foundation to enable us to move to the latest version of MS Dynamics (Navision). Over the course of the next 4 years, we will implement this upgrade and migrate all books of business onto this technology estate.

Our IT strategy remains to consolidate and leverage our infrastructure to achieve maximum return on these assets, whilst investing in front-end automation to drive down the cost of administration across the book. In formulating this strategy we have appraised all suitable technology and concluded a Group wide feasibility assessment. This activity will incur, over the 5 year duration, a £4m cost to upgrade Navision, achieve a migration from the other incumbent system and complete the infrastructure consolidation. Once complete, this will deliver up to £1.2m of recurring annual overhead reductions. We anticipate capitalising the relevant aspects of this investment in accordance with our existing policy.

The SIPP market and regulatory change

The SIPP market is continuing to evolve; a number of SIPP providers face an uncertain future as they clean up legacy books which contain illiquid investments resulting in the reduction of product innovation. Our fair and transparent fee structure combined with our simple business model and our route to market through regulated financial advisers has a clear, proven, track record. We continue to carry out robust due diligence on non-standard investments and our new product has a clear Schedule of Allowable Investments. As a result we believe that our business is largely immune from many of these industry pressures and we do not consider them to be a material ongoing risk.

As highlighted at the Full Year results we have been operating within a slowing pension transfer market and this environment has continued into this reporting period. However, with 83% of our fee revenue being recurring and a clear plan in place to improve efficiencies through our Target Operating Model we feel largely protected. The Group remains confident it is well placed to take advantage of its position when the wider market recovers and that the investment in both our digital offering and sales functions puts us in a clear position of strength.

Brexit

The method by which the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU is currently unknown which creates uncertainty within the economy, for clients and for the Group. The Group has carried out a full review of the impact of Brexit on the Group and the potential implications of a no deal scenario. Curtis Banks is a UK based business and we consider the Group to be largely isolated from many of the issues which other financial institutions face, such as tariffs, passporting and currency risks.

Action has been taken to mitigate, to the extent possible, the risks arising from Brexit and the Group has concluded, based on the current understanding of the Brexit legislation, provisions and intentions, that the risks have been mitigated to the extent reasonably possible.

We do not consider there to be an overall adverse material impact of Brexit on the Group, even in the event of a "no deal" Brexit.

Our People and Culture

Following Dan Cowland's formal appointment the Board transition will be complete and we will have a strong platform from which to continue to grow the business. We are aiming for a 'one team' approach across the Group, which means all locations will act together servicing all clients. This should reduce staff turnover and attract high calibre employees as well as drive improved productivity and service levels.

To support this 'one team' notion we have started to bring recruitment in-house, reducing our reliance on agencies and realising recruitment savings. We continue to focus on corporate social responsibility activities, promoting our presence in our local communities and increasing our support for our people's personal fundraising activities.

We value our people and the positive contribution they make to our culture and the performance of our business. I am extremely proud of the incredible contribution made by all our employees to the business and thank them for their loyalty to the Group.

Through initiatives to stimulate both organic and inorganic growth, as well as successfully diversifying revenues through broadening our capability to commercial property clients, we have navigated the first half of 2019 extremely well. I am confident and excited about our prospects for further growth.

Will Self

Chief Executive Officer

4 September 2019

Results

Group financial performance for the six month period to 30 June 2019 resulted in an adjusted profit before tax of £6.2m (2018: £5.8m), an increase of 6.9% over the previous interim period. Profit before tax, which is stated after amortisation and non-recurring costs increased by 14% to £5.4m. Adjusted diluted EPS increased by 10.1% to 9.17p, while diluted EPS on a statutory basis increased by 12.1% to 7.9p.

This performance was achieved despite challenging economic conditions overshadowing organic growth and incurring additional costs above the same period last year for the enhanced sales team recruited for future revenue generation through the new single Group wide product.

Revenues

Operational revenues of £24.5m in the six months ended 30 June 2019 have increased by 6.7% over the comparable period.

Fee revenue from SIPPs and SSASs remains the predominant source of income for the Group with a strong emphasis on recurring annual fee income. In the six months ended 30 June 2019 fee income represented 75% of the total income and 83% of this fee income is recurring. 

SIPP fees are based on a recurring fixed monetary annual fee and a menu of additional fixed fees depending on the services provided to the SIPP. All these fees are subject to contractual annual inflationary rises.

Fees are not dependent on movements in the value of underlying assets within SIPPs and as a result the recurring fee income of the Group is not directly affected by movements in financial markets. This is a key differential that sets us apart from most of our competitors and provides an attractive product in terms of fees to higher value SIPPs. As the value of a SIPP increases our product becomes increasingly affordable.

Expenses

The period ended 30 June 2019 saw administrative expenses increase by 6.6% to £18.1m from £16.9m.

Staff costs for the period increased by 6.8% to £11.7m (2018: £10.9m). A significant proportion of this increase was as a result of the recruitment towards the latter part of the second half of last year of an expanded national sales team coinciding with the launch early in 2019 of our new Group product, Your Future SIPP, consistent with our strategy of investing for future organic growth.

Expenses (continued)

Staff costs in the period were also impacted by further share based payment awards under the Group's Long Term Incentive Plan and Save As You Earn option schemes, the annual pay review and increase to contributions in respect of auto enrolment of staff pension schemes. These measures however continue to contribute to improved levels of key staff retention and morale and provide the service levels to clients required from our introducers of business.

Overall full time equivalent staff numbers stood at 567 as at 30 June 2019 compared to 523 as at 30 June 2018 and 558 as at 31 December 2018.

The Group continues to take steps to improve its adjusted operating margin through a combination of revenue enhancements, cost saving measures and operational improvements. We remain confident that an improved operating margin is achievable given our planned activities.

Non-recurring costs

Non-recurring costs for the six months ended 30 June 2019 of £0.2m comprise principally of internal restructuring costs and further costs following acquisitions of businesses in prior years.

As noted in the last annual financial statements, management had initiated a review of data records relating to properties held within SIPPs administered by the Group. Based on a detailed review of a sample of properties and extrapolation of the initial findings across the full population of relevant properties, the directors recognised that additional direct costs may be incurred in completing this data cleansing exercise, including from any potential remediation. The data cleansing exercise is continuing and expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year with any remedial follow up actions completed by the end of 2020. The provision of £0.5m made for this matter in the year ended 31 December 2018 has started to be utilised and is still considered to be adequate to cover any such costs.

Accounting Standards

The Group adopted the provisions of IFRS 16, accounting for leases from 1 January 2019. The effect of this on our balance sheet has been to increase our Non-Current assets by £5.3m and increase our liabilities by a similar amount. The effect on financial performance on an annualised basis is not material and all costs associated with properties used by Group companies continue to be treated as operating costs.

We have had confirmation from our principal lenders that the provisions of IFRS 16 do not need to be taken into account when calculating our banking covenants. We have also received confirmation from the FCA that at this point in time the provisions of IFRS 16 do not need to be taken into account in calculating our regulatory capital levels.

Cash flows

Shareholder cash balances at period end were £25.7m compared to £22.0m at the end of the previous interim period to 30 June 2018.

Net cash flows from operating activities for the period increased to £4m (2018: £1.6m), the improvement resulting from the higher profit before tax and improved working capital management over the period.

Suffolk Life Annuities Limited

Part of the Group, Suffolk Life Annuities Limited, is an insurance company that writes SIPP Products as insurance contracts. These are all non-participating insurance policy contracts and so the Group does not bear any insurance risk. As the policies are non-participating contracts, the client related assets and liabilities in Suffolk Life Annuities Limited match. In addition the revenues, expenses and investment returns of the non-participating insurance policy contracts are shown in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income. Again, these income, expense items and investment returns due to the policy holders are completely matched. An illustrative balance sheet as at 30 June 2019 showing the financial position of the Group excluding the policy holder assets and liabilities is included as supplementary information after the notes to the financial statements. An illustrative cash flow on the same basis has also been provided.

Systems Development

As noted in the Chief Executive's Report, after a full review of our IT Infrastructure, the decision has been taken both to upgrade the existing operating systems at Curtis Banks and move all the back office systems onto one of our incumbent systems.

Costs associated with these upgrades and operating system changes where appropriate will be capitalised and amortised in accordance with their useful economic life. Amortisation will commence once the upgrades are completed and fully operational.

Employee Benefit Trust

The Group operates an independent Employee Benefit Trust ("EBT") administered by Saffery Champness Registered Fiduciaries to acquire shares in the Company in the market to satisfy future option and long term incentive awards. The financial statements of the EBT are consolidated within the overall Group financial statements and these shares are shown on the balance sheet of the Group as Treasury Shares and are included within total equity.

Capital requirements

The Group's regulated subsidiary companies submit regular returns to the FCA and the PRA relating to their capital resources. At 30 June 2019 the total regulatory capital requirement across the Group was £12.6m and the Group had an aggregate surplus above this of £10.3m across all regulated entities. In addition to this it is Group internal policy for regulated companies within the Group to hold at least 130% of their required regulatory capital and this has been maintained throughout the period. 

Two of the principal trading subsidiaries of the Group are regulated by the FCA and the capital adequacy rules of that organisation do not allow current year profits to contribute towards solvency requirements until such profits are audited or externally verified. If the interim profits were taken into account the regulatory capital surplus at 30 June 2019 increases to £14.8m.

Financial Position

The statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2019 shows a strong position with shareholder net assets increasing from £46.2m at 30 June 2018 to £51.6m as at 30 June 2019.

 As at the 30 June 2019 the Group had net shareholder cash (after debt) of £12.8m (2018: £5.9m).

New Chief Financial Officer

As announced in January of this year it was my intention to step down as Chief Financial Officer of the Group at such time as a suitable replacement had been identified and recruited. In June we announced the successful recruitment of my successor, Dan Cowland, and he joined us on 6 July 2019. An orderly handover of responsibilities is currently taking place and it is my intention to stand down formally from the Board on 30 September 2019.

I have hugely enjoyed my 10 years with Curtis Banks and I am immensely proud in having been part of the growth of the Company from formation into one of the UK's market leading pension administrators during that period. The time is now right for me to take a step back from the business as the Board continues to focus on the opportunities ahead and I have every confidence in the future of the Group.

Paul Tarran

Chief Financial Officer

4 September 2019

Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity

Condensed consolidated statement of financial position

Approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 4 September 2019

Paul Tarran - Chief Financial Officer

Condensed consolidated statement of cash flows

Notes to the financial statements

1 Corporate information

Curtis Banks Group PLC ("the Company") is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales, whose shares are publicly traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange PLC. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements were authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of the Directors on 5 September 2019.

The principal activity of the Group is that of the provision of pension administration services principally for Self Invested Personal Pension schemes ("SIPPs") and Small Self-Administered Pension schemes ("SSASs"). The Group is staffed by experienced professionals who all have proven track records in this sector.

2 Basis of preparation and accounting policies

2.1 Basis of preparation

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements comprise the Company and its subsidiaries ("the Group") and have been prepared on a historical cost basis modified by revaluation of financial assets and financial liabilities through profit and loss where held at fair value, and are presented in pounds sterling, with all values rounded to the nearest thousand pounds except when otherwise indicated.

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting except for certain requirements in relation to financial instrument disclosure. The board has considered the requirements of IAS 34 in relation to policyholder assets and liabilities and, given the unit-linked nature of these assets and liabilities, has concluded that revaluing certain policyholder financial instruments for the purposes of these interim financial statements would incur expense which is disproportionate to any potential benefits of doing so. Further, the board considers that the omission of updated valuations for these certain policyholder financial instruments will not influence the economic decisions of users of these financial statements.

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all the information and disclosures required in the annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Group's financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018, which were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and interpretations issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee ("IFRIC") of the IASB (together "IFRS") as adopted by the European Union, and in accordance with the requirements of The Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.

The information relating to the six months ended 30 June 2019 and the six months ended 30 June 2018 is unaudited and does not constitute statutory financial statements within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The Group's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018 have been reported on by its auditor and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor was unmodified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of The Companies Act 2006.

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been reviewed by the auditor and their report to the Board of Curtis Banks Group PLC is included within this interim report.

2 Basis of preparation and accounting policies - continued

2.2 Basis of consolidation

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements consolidate the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries up to 30 June each year.

Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date of acquisition, being the date on which the Group obtains control, and continue to be consolidated until the date that such control ceases. The financial statements of subsidiaries are prepared for the same reporting period as the parent company, using consistent accounting policies. All inter-Group balances, income and expenses and unrealised gains and losses resulting from intra-Group transactions are eliminated in full.

The trading subsidiaries of Curtis Banks Group PLC as at 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018 were Curtis Banks Limited, Curtis Banks Investment Management Limited, Suffolk Life Annuities Limited, Suffolk Life Pensions Limited, Rivergate Legal Limited and Templemead Property Solutions Limited.

Certain trading subsidiaries of Curtis Banks Group PLC hold the entire issued share capital of a number of non-trading trustee companies. All of these companies are nominee companies for the pension products administered by the trading subsidiaries of Curtis Banks Group PLC and have been dormant or non-trading throughout the period and are expected to remain dormant or non-trading.

2.3 Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements are consistent with those followed in the preparation of the Group's annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018 other than the adoption of the provisions of IFRS 16 Leases.

IFRS 16 Leases

The Group has adopted IFRS 16 Leases, which became effective 1 January 2019, in presenting its results for the six month period ended 30 June 2019. The Group has applied the modified retrospective method in doing so which requires recognition from the date of 1 January 2019 without the need to restate comparative amounts prior to this date. Right-of-use assets for property leases have been measured on transition as if the new rules have always been applied.

The new standard eliminates the classification of leases by lessees as either operating or finance leases. Instead, applying IFRS 16, each company within the Group is required to recognise both an asset and a liability on the balance sheet where a right-of-use asset exists. For the current reporting period, property leases are the only leases within the Group that fall under the definition of IFRS 16 as right-of-use assets.

The right-of-use asset represents the lessee's right to use the underlying lease for the duration of the lease term. The liability reflects the lessee's contractual obligation to make payments to the lessor throughout the lease term, using a discounted cash flow model. The Group recognises a depreciation charge and a lease interest charge in the profit and loss account throughout the lease term.

2 Basis of preparation and accounting policies - continued

IFRS 16 Leases - continued

As a result of leases held for the Group's offices, the following changes are reflected in the Group financial statements on adoption of IFRS 16 at 1 January 2019:

·; Group right-of-use assets: increase by £5.3m

·; Group liabilities: increase by £5.3m

The Group has updated its accounting policies for the introduction of IFRS 16 as follows:

Property, plant and equipment

This accounting policy now includes a statement clarifying how right of use assets are treated in the Group's financial statements. Right of use assets are treated in a consistent manner to other asset types within property, plant and equipment, and depreciated on a straight line basis over their useful economic lives which are linked at an individual asset level to the expected underlying lease length.

Leases

This accounting policy has been updated to clarify that following introduction of IFRS 16, leases of property, plant and equipment are no longer classified as finance leases. Instead, the Group assesses whether a right-of-use relationship exists and classifies a lease as property, plant and equipment when this criteria is satisfied.

Financial liabilities - Trade and other payables

Additional wording has been added to this accounting policy to further describe treatment of other payables arising from lease liabilities on right of use assets. These are held at amortised cost, discounted by an effective interest rate over the expected term of the lease. The effective interest rate is calculated at an individual right of use asset level on creation of the right of use asset by reference to market rate borrowings available for similar assets.

New standards issued but not yet effective

The IASB and IFRIC have issued standards and interpretations with an effective date for periods starting on or after the date on which these financial statements start. There are no newly issued standards expected to potentially have a material impact on the condensed consolidated interim financial statements and the consolidated financial statements to the Group.

Financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2019

The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements will be consistent with those to be followed in the preparation of the Group's annual financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2019.

2 Basis of preparation and accounting policies - continued

2.4 Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

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.

In preparing the financial statements the Group has selected and applied various accounting policies which are described in the notes to the financial statements. In order to apply these accounting policies the Group has made estimates and judgements concerning the future.

There are no critical judgements in the application of accounting policies.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty are disclosed below:

IFRS 9 impairment

Trade and other receivables are impaired based on the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measure expected credit losses using a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables. The loss allowances for trade and other receivables are based on assumptions about risk of default and expected loss rates. The Group uses judgement in making these assumptions and selecting the inputs to the impairment calculation, based on the Group's past history of shared credit risk characteristics, days past due, existing market conditions as well as forward looking estimates at the end of each reporting period.

The loss rates are considered the key source of estimation uncertainty because the impact of a change in these could result in a material change in the expected credit loss. The Group determines its loss rates by reference to the underlying level of liquidity in each of the Group's clients' SIPPs because clients' fees are normally settled directly from their SIPP cash holdings. A lower level of liquidity in the SIPP, or indeed illiquidity, indicates reduced credit quality in the related trade receivable balance.

Changes in macroeconomic factors may impact the Group's clients' use of the SIPP and cause the level of liquidity in the SIPP to increase or decrease. A 10% increase or decrease in loss rates estimated at the year end would have the following impact:

The Group charges fixed fees for its services reducing its exposure to changes in macroeconomic factors which may otherwise impact a percentage basis point fee charging model.

The Group continually assesses historical recovery data to help determine how the underlying level of liquidity in the SIPPs fits into each of the credit quality ratings. Future historical data available may lead to changes in the estimated categorisation of trade receivables gross carrying amounts and associated loss allowance.

Where trade and other receivables have been outstanding for more than six years, amounts are deemed to have no reasonable expectation of recovery and are written off.

2 Basis of preparation and accounting policies - continued

2.4 Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty - continued 

Client portfolios

Client portfolios acquired are amortised over their useful economic life ("UEL") which management estimate to be 20 years. This estimated UEL is based upon management's historical experience of similar portfolios and expectation of the future persistency of the portfolio. The reasonableness of this estimated is assessed annually by comparison to actual lapse rates and consideration of factors that may affect it in the future, for example, changes to products.

Additionally, the Group reviews and judges whether acquired client portfolios show any indicators of impairment at least on an annual basis by considering actual versus forecast lapse rates and comparing the carrying value and recoverable amount. An impairment would exist where the recoverable amount determined is less than the carrying value of the asset.

Assessing recoverable amount through value in use comprises an estimation of future cash flows expected to arise from each client portfolio, discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to that asset, together with an estimated rate of attrition for each portfolio. The estimation of future cash flows is derived by taking the current earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation ("EBITDA") margin of the Group and applying this against forecast revenue from the relevant client portfolio. The key source of estimation uncertainty arises from the attrition rates used because the recoverable amount is most sensitive to this assumption. A 20% increase to the attrition rate assumption would result in a cumulative £15,000 decrease in the carrying value of the book. A 40% increase to the attrition rate assumption would result in a cumulative £47,000 decrease in the carrying value of client portfolios.

Provisions

As part of the consolidation and integration exercise undertaken in 2018 management initiated a review of data records relating to properties held within SIPPs administered by the Group.

Based on a detailed review of a sample of properties and extrapolation of the initial findings across the full population of relevant properties, the directors recognise that additional direct costs will be incurred in completing this data cleansing exercise. These costs include incremental costs of completing the review, as well as some potential costs of remediation. A provision of £500,000 was recognised for this matter, being the directors' best estimate of the direct costs the Group may have to bear. As at 30 June 2019, £50,000 of this provision had been utilised and there were no material variances to the estimate of future direct costs the Group may have to bear.

In estimating the amount provided, the main areas of uncertainty include:

·; The number of properties within the population that may require remediation; and

·; The nature and financial impact of the remediation required

If the number of properties requiring remediation were to increase by 10% the potential cost of the exercise would increase by £32,000.

3 Non-recurring costs

Non-recurring costs comprise the following items:

Data cleansing provision

As part of the consolidation and integration exercise undertaken during the year ended 31 December 2018 management initiated a review of data records relating to properties held within SIPPs administered by the Group.

Based on a detailed review of a sample of properties and extrapolation of the initial findings across the full population of relevant properties, the directors recognised that additional direct costs would be incurred in completing this data cleansing exercise. These costs included incremental costs of completing the review, as well as some potential costs of remediation. A provision of £500,000 was recognised for this matter, being the directors' best estimate of the direct costs the Group may have to bear.

In estimating the amount provided, the main areas of uncertainty include:

- The number of properties within the population that may require remediation; and

- The nature and financial impact of the remediation required.

4 Earnings per ordinary share

Basic earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing net profit for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

Diluted earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing the net profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period plus the weighted average number of ordinary shares that would be issued on the conversion of all the dilutive potential ordinary shares into ordinary shares.

Changes in income or expense that would result from the conversion of the dilutive potential ordinary shares are deemed to be trivial, and therefore no separate diluted net profit is presented. The following reflects the income and share data used in the basic and diluted earnings per share computations:

\* The effective tax rate used is the current tax rate applicable to the accounting year. The current tax rate applicable for the year ending 31 December 2019 is 19.00% (2018: 19.00%).

5 Intangible assets

6 Dividends paid

A final dividend of 4.75p per ordinary share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2017 was paid on 18 May 2018.

An interim dividend of 2.00p per ordinary share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2018 was paid on 15 November 2018.

A final dividend of 6.00p per ordinary share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2018 was paid on 23 May 2019.

7 Income tax

Tax is charged at 19% for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (30 June 2018: 19%) representing the best estimate of the average annual effective tax rate expected to apply for the full year, applied to the pre-tax income of the six month period.

Current tax for current and prior periods is classified as a current liability to the extent that it is unpaid. Any amounts paid in excess of amounts owed are classified as a current asset.

8 Contingent liabilities

In-specie contributions

The Group has been in correspondence with HMRC regarding processes and documentation in respect of in specie contributions. HMRC have alleged that incorrect procedures were followed and is seeking to reclaim tax reliefs granted and interest thereon. This is an industry wide issue affecting other SIPP operators and is being challenged by the industry as a whole. It is not possible to determine when this matter will be resolved and the outcome and impact are not known at this stage. We do not believe that the net exposure arising from this will be material to the Group.

8 Contingent liabilities - continued

Data cleansing

As reported in note 3, during the year ended 31 December 2018 management initiated a review of data records related to properties held within SIPPs administered by the Group. 

This review requires a case by case assessment of each of the properties within the population in order to assess whether any remedial action is required by the Group in respect of that property or the associated SIPP.

In addition to the remaining provision of £450,000 for the estimated direct costs that the Group may incur in respect of this exercise, the directors consider that it is possible that the Group may also be exposed to indirect costs in the future, depending on the outcome of the case by case reviews.

The directors' best estimate of this contingent liability is £1.5m, however there are inherent uncertainties in this estimate including due to the sampling and extrapolation approach adopted so far, the quality of data and potential significant variations in the assumed liabilities payable to rectify individual SIPP positions.

This estimate will be reviewed regularly, and any changes or refinements will be reported as appropriate. The directors currently expect that the review will be completed by the end of 2019 with any potential material follow up actions completed by 2020.

9 Illustrative condensed consolidated statement of financial position as at 30 June 2019 split between insurance policyholders and the Group's shareholders

10 Illustrative condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the six month period ended 30 June 2019 split between insurance policyholders and the Group's shareholders