Interim Results

RNS Number : 8285C
Lok'n Store Group PLC
22 April 2013
 



22nd April 2013

LOK'NSTORE GROUP PLC

("Lok'nStore" or "the Group" or "the Company")

Interim Results for the six months to 31 January 2013

 

Financial Highlights

Revenue £6.55 million up 2.2% (six months to 31.01.2012: £6.41 million)

EBITDA* £2.1 million up 9.2% (six months to 31.01.2012: £1.93 million)

Operating profit £1.34 million up 36.2% (six months to 31.01.2012: £0.99 million)

Profit before tax £0.77 million up 64.2% (six months to 31.01.2012: £0.47 million)

Interim dividend 1.67 pence per share up 67% (Interim 2012: 1 penny per share)

 

*EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, share based payments and one-off professional costs

 

Operational Highlights

Self-storage revenue £5.62 million up 3.6% (six months to 31.01.2012: £5.42 million) 

Self-storage unit occupancy up 8.4%

Self-storage unit occupancy 60.4% of current lettable area (31.1.2012: 55.9%)

Store EBITDA £2.69 million up 7.8% (six months to 31.01.2012: £2.48 million)

Store EBITDA profit margins up to 48.3% (six months to 31.01.2012: 46.2%)

Significant benefits being seen from recent harmonisation of VAT across the sector

 

Property Highlights

New managed store in Crawley commenced trading in November 2012

Sale and manage back of Ashford store for 99% of valuation at £2.9 million in March 2013

Construction started at state of the art Maidenhead store - scheduled to open in late 2013

Aldershot store due to be opened in 2014

 

Key Metrics

Loan to value ratio 32.7%1(31.01.2012: 31.9%)

Funds from operations2 £1.73 million = 13.9 pence per share up 3% (31.01.2012: 13.5 pence per share)

Adjusted net asset value £2.30 per share up 2 pence since July 20123 (31.01.2012: £2.30 per share)

 

1 Calculation based on net debt of £26.2 million (31.01.12: £25.4 million) and total property value of £80.0 million (31.01.12: £79.5 million) as set out on page 5

2 Funds from Operations ('FFO') calculated as EBITDA minus Net Finance Cost on operating assets

3 31.1.2013 Adjusted NAV £2.31 per share on a like for like basis (after adjusting for 'fair value' liability of Interest rate swaps taken out during the year)

 

 

Commenting on the Group's results, Andrew Jacobs CEO of Lok'nStore Group said,

 

"Lok'nStore has traded very well during the period and the harmonisation of VAT across the UK self-storage sector has supported this growth. Activity levels across the portfolio have been excellent, reflected by our strong self-storage unit occupancy growth of 8.4% year-on-year. We expect this momentum to continue into the second half.

 

Revenue and occupancy growth from our existing stores, combined with the opening of the new Crawley, Maidenhead and Aldershot stores take us to 25 stores, and will provide continued impetus for our sales growth.

 

Lok'nStore is a low-risk, stable, income producing asset with built-in growth and the Board's confidence in the outlook for the Group is reflected in the increase in the interim dividend by 67%."

 

-Ends-

For further information:

 

Lok'nStore

Tel: 01252 521010

Andrew Jacobs, CEO


Ray Davies, Finance Director


FTI Consulting

Tel: 020 7831 3113

Billy Clegg/ Oliver Winters/ Latika Shah


Panmure Gordon & Co

Tel: 020 7459 3600

Dominic Morley/Fred Walsh




Chairman's Review

 

Strong Performance

We are pleased to report another set of strong results for Lok'nStore Group for the six months ended 31 January 2013. Self-storage revenues are up 3.6%, self-storage unit occupancy is up 8.4% and Group EBITDA is up 9.2% on the same period last year. With tight control over capital expenditure and operating costs, the Group's margins, operating profits and cash flow have all increased to record levels.

 

The new store in Crawley opened in November 2012. The development of the new Maidenhead store is now moving forward with its opening scheduled later in 2013.  With the new managed Aldershot store also opening in 2014 we have secured good momentum for our sales and earnings from a low-geared and secure balance sheet.

 

Sales Earnings and Occupancy Up

Revenue for the period was £6.55 million, up 2.2% year on year (31.1.2012: £6.41 million). Self-storage revenue for the period was £5.62 million up 3.6% (31.1.2012: £5.42 million). During the year overall occupancy increased by 6.1% while pricing decreased 1.9%, as a result of our well positioned offer and the harmonisation of VAT across the UK self-storage market.

 

The occupancy of the self-storage units increased 8.4% to 60.4% (31.1.2012: 55.9%) of current lettable area. 

 

We again managed to lower our operating costs, and thus increased the overall EBITDA margin across all stores from 46.2% to 48.3%. The EBITDA margins of the freehold stores increased to 60.6% (31.1.2012: 58.1%) and the leasehold store margins increased to 33.2% (31.1.2012: 30.7%).

 

Total store EBITDA in the self-storage business, a key performance indicator of profitability and cash flow, increased 7.8% to £2.69 million (31.1.2012: £2.50 million). Group operating profit for the year is up 36.2% to £1.34 million (31.1.2012: £0.99 million).

 

Basic earnings per share were 1.96 pence, up 72% (31.1.2012: 1.14 pence per share). Diluted earnings per share were 1.95 pence (31.1.2012: 1.13 pence per share).

 

Ancillary Sales

Ancillary sales which consist of boxes and packaging materials, insurance and other sales, increased 2.7% over the period accounting for 10.3% of self-storage revenues (31.1.2012: 10.3%). These ancillary sales are increasingly focused on insurance which increases the overall profit margin of these sales.

 

We continue to strongly promote our insurance to new customers with the result that over 89% of new customers purchased our insurance over the period.  This compares with 72% (31.1.2012: 69%) of our total customer base who take our insurance, and this difference provides us with an opportunity for built-in growth as our customer base turns over.

 

Sale and manage-back of Ashford store

After the period end on 28 March 2013, Lok'nStore completed the sale of its store in Ashford, Kent for £2.9 million in cash.

 

Lok'nStore will continue to manage the store as a branded Lok'nStore operation on behalf of the investor, and will receive a management fee, as well as an additional performance fee should the store beat certain targets or is ultimately sold. The sale and manage-back contract of the Ashford store will increase the number of Lok'nStore managed stores to four on behalf of three different clients.

 

We achieved a sale price equivalent to 99.3% of our latest Cushman & Wakefield valuation and the structure of the deal allows us to raise capital and grow our operating footprint without stretching our balance sheet or diluting our equity.

 

Dividend

Increasing cash flow, positive news on operational developments and security of funding prompted a re-evaluation of the dividend policy during 2012. Over past years we have maintained a steady dividend pay-out of one penny per share which was increased to 3 pence per share in 2011 and then to 5 pence per share last year. The interim dividend this year is to be increased by 67% to 1.67 pence and we will adopt a progressive forward looking dividend policy following this step change. It is intended that the Company's future dividend payments will reflect the growth in the underlying cash generated by the business and will be declared at the interim and final stage, the interim dividend representing approximately one-third of the total for the year.

 

The total estimated interim dividend in respect of the current financial period is £417,394 (31.1.2012: £249,936) based on the number of shares currently in issue as adjusted for shares held in the Employee Benefit Trust and for shares held on treasury.

 

VAT

From 1 October 2012 all UK self-storage facilities had to charge VAT on their services.

 

Unlike many operators in the self-storage industry who had disapplied VAT, Lok'nStore had always operated within the VAT regime and 'opted to tax' VAT on its storage services. Therefore this change had no direct impact on the Group or its customers.

 

However, most of our larger competitors were de-registered and are responding to this change either by increasing prices to help them absorb the tax or by reducing margins.  This clearly has and will continue to have a positive effect on Lok'nStore's competitive position as evidenced by the 8.4% increase in occupancy compared to the same period last year.

 

Appointment of Director

On 19 December 2012, Lok'nStore announced the appointment of Douglas Hampson as a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Douglas (66) joins the Board following his recent investment in the Company. He has spent over 30 years in the self-storage industry, having set up the first self-storage facility in Europe in 1980. Over the last 30 years Douglas has founded and sold a number of self-storage businesses and his extensive knowledge of founding, running and selling self-storage businesses will be a valuable addition to our Board. I am pleased to welcome Douglas to our Board.

 

During the period Ian Wright of Laxey Partners stood down from the Board following the sale of all of Laxey Partners holding in the Company.

 

Marketing

During the period our marketing efforts continued to focus on the internet which accounts for an increasing proportion of our enquiries. For this period, internet enquiries were up 96% year on year and total enquiries up 59% year on year. 

 

Internet marketing is a very dynamic area and we are committed to developing our presence in this market. We believe it provides a strong competitive advantage for the major operators with many stores like us over those with smaller operations. This is particularly important for our third party store management service as we are able to generate more enquiries from the website at a manageable cost than an individual operator can.

 

Despite the inexorable rise of internet marketing, around 35% (31.1.2012: 41%) of our customers still come from passing traffic and signage, so work on the visibility of our stores is also very important in our marketing effort. With their prominent positions, distinctive design and bright orange elevations, our stores raise the profile of the whole Lok'nStore brand.

 

Document storage business

Following the purchase of Saracen, a serviced document storage company, in 2011, Lok'nStore has now completed the integration of the back office systems as well as the marketing and HR functions. There are further property cost savings to be achieved in 2013 as the Saracen business consolidates its warehouse capacity. After this consolidation we will still have the capacity to double the number of boxes stored.

 

In line with our overall Company and Group values we have adopted a more customer friendly strategy by simplifying our billing structure and pre-agreeing price increases to give our customers more certainty. This investment has resulted in excellent customer feedback and puts us in a good position to win new business, but has resulted in a 5.5% dip in sales in the period. We believe this focus on a customer facing strategy will create long term value for customers and shareholders as our customer base grows.

 

Property and leases

At the period end we operated 21 of our own stores with capacity of around 1.1 million sq. ft. of storage space when fully fitted. 12 stores were held freehold or long leasehold and 9 were leasehold. Two further sites at Woking and Crawley are run under management contracts. With the managed store in Aldershot and the owned store in Maidenhead opening in the coming financial year, the stores under Lok'nStore's management will increase to 25.

 

At the period end the average length of the seven leases which were been valued at July 2012 is 14 years (31.1.2012: 14 years and 8 months).  Eight out of the nine of our leasehold stores are inside the Landlord and Tenant Act providing us with a strong security of tenure. The leasehold sites produced 31% of the store EBITDA in the period (31.01.2012: 30%).

 

Management Contracts:

Aldershot: In June 2012 Lok'nStore signed an agreement to develop and manage a new self-storage centre in Aldershot, Hampshire. Lok'nStore will contribute approximately £2.5 million of development funds of the estimated £4.5 million total cost of development of this brand new purpose-built store, and will manage the building and operation of the store. The other investors, including the original land owner, have invested the remaining £2 million. The property already has the benefit of a planning permission for a self-storage facility and we are currently working to improve and enhance the existing planning permission prior to commencement of construction works.  Lok'nStore will generate a return by receiving a return on its capital and by charging a management fee for the construction, operation and branding of the store

The store will be located in a prominent location on the main Aldershot roundabout above the A331 with significant levels of passing traffic, and is expected to commence trading in the first half of 2014.

 

Crawley: In July 2012, the Group signed an agreement to manage a new self-storage centre in Crawley, Sussex on behalf of an investor. The store opened in November 2012 and is located in a prominent location facing on to a busy roundabout on Gatwick Road in the centre of the Manor Royal business area. Lok'nStore is generating a return by charging a management fee with performance incentives.

 

Development Sites

Lok'nStore owns four development sites all with relevant planning permissions, two of which are for replacement stores at Reading and Southampton, and two are new locations in Maidenhead and Portsmouth North Harbour. We are now building the Maidenhead store and closely examining plans for moving forward at Reading. The Group has no immediate plans to progress development works at Portsmouth North Harbour and Southampton.

 

Maidenhead: This is a long leasehold site (the lease term runs until April 2076) of 1.6 acres. Lok'nStore is now building a new state of the art self-storage centre which provides space on the ground floor for a Lidl food store which is anticipated to increase the traffic by an estimated 1,000 cars a day. The new self-storage centre will have around 60,000 sq. ft. of self-storage space and is due to open in late 2013.

 

It is a highly visible site close to Maidenhead town centre and railway station and is very prominent to the retail park on the main road joining the town centre with the M4 motorway. The innovative financing of the scheme will require only a modest capital outlay from Lok'nStore and again allows us to continue to expand the Group's operating footprint without stretching the balance sheet. We believe Maidenhead is an excellent trading location, an affluent town right in the middle of our geographic coverage with little local competition. The town is also set to benefit from its position as the western terminal of Crossrail.

 

Reading: Lok'nStore has a planning permission for high-density residential development on the freehold site of its existing Reading store. This permission for 112 flats on the 0.66 hectare site was renewed on 4 October 2011 providing a further 3 years to execute on the project. 

 

The Group also has planning permission for a new 53,500 sq. ft. self-storage centre on its site opposite the existing store, an increase in space of 29%. On 16 November 2011 this planning permission was also renewed providing a further 3 years to execute on this project.  The existing business will be transferred to the new store when it is complete. The prominence and modern look of the new store with its distinctive orange livery will position Lok'nStore in a highly visible and easily accessible location adjacent to the A33 at the gateway to Reading.

 

Portfolio

These projects are part of our strategy of actively managing our operating portfolio to ensure we are maximising its value for shareholders. This includes strengthening our distinctive brand, increasing or decreasing the size and number of our stores, buying or selling our own freeholds, and moving or selling stores or sites when it will increase shareholder value. Our property team will continue to pursue further value creating asset management opportunities to secure our trading operations, to improve cash flow and to contain our property costs.

 

Property Assets and Net Asset Value

Lok'nStore's freehold and operating leasehold properties were independently valued by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) at £67.9 million as of 31 July 2012 and this valuation has been adopted at the period-end. At 31 January 2013, adding our development sites and stores under development our total property portfolio valuation is £80.0 million (31.1.2012: £79.5 million).  This translates into an adjusted net asset value of £2.30 per share (31.1.2012: £2.30 per share). This rises to £2.31 per share on a like for like basis (after adjusting for the 'fair value' liability of interest rate swaps).

 

In due course the site of the existing Reading store is likely to be sold with the benefit of its permission for residential development and the proceeds will be reinvested in our new store. It is not the intention of the Directors to make any other significant disposals of operational self-storage centres, although individual disposals such as the sale of our Ashford store after the period-end may be considered where it is clear that added value can be created by recycling the capital into other opportunities.

 

Under IFRS the valuations of our freehold property assets are included in the Statement of Financial Position at their fair value, but the IFRS rules do not permit the inclusion of any valuation in respect of our leasehold stores to the extent that they are classified as operating leases. The value of our operating leases totals £11.8 million (31.1.2012: £12.3 million). Instead we have reported by way of a note the underlying value of these leasehold stores and adjusted our Net Asset Value ('NAV') calculation accordingly to include their value. This will ensure comparable NAV calculations.

 

 

Analysis of Total Property Value


No of stores/sites

31 Jan 2013

£'000

No of stores/sites

31 Jan 2012

£'000

No of

Stores/sites

31 July 2012 

£'000

Freehold stores at valuation

12*

56,050

11**

55,670

 

12*

56,050

Leasehold at valuation

7

11,830

7

12,310

7

11,830

Subtotal

19

67,880

18

67,980

19

67,880

Sites in development at cost

4

12,133

4

11,605

4

11,850

Total

23***

80,013

22***

79,585

23

79,730

 

 

*               Includes the Swindon store previously held as leasehold (not previously valued by C&W) and now owned as a freehold

 

**             Includes the current Reading store at its trading store valuation. The Reading site with planning permission for a new store is stated at cost and is included in sites in development at cost

 

***            2 Leasehold stores were not valued (2012: two) as their remaining unexpired terms were insufficient to yield a value under the Cushman & Wakefield valuation methodology 

 

The Board will continue to commission independent valuations on its trading stores annually to coincide with its year-end reporting.



 

Adjusted Net Asset Value per Share

The adjusted net assets per share are the net assets of the Group's business adjusted for the valuation of leasehold stores and deferred tax, divided by the number of shares at the year-end. The shares currently held in the Group's employee benefits trust (own shares held) and in treasury are excluded from the number of shares.

 

 

 

Analysis of net asset value (NAV)

31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

 

Total non-current assets

Adjustment to include leasehold stores at valuation

Add: C & W leasehold valuation*

Deduct: leasehold properties and their fixtures and fittings at NBV

 

76,921

 

11,830

(3,795)

 

76,568

 

12,310

(4,147)

 

76,903

 

11,830

(3,910)


84,956

84,731

84,823





Add: current assets

Less: current liabilities

Less: borrowings

Less: derivative financial instruments

5,888

(3,849)

(29,259)

(302)

5,077

(4,090)

(28,159)

-

5,956

(4,106)

(29,223)

(496)


(27,522)

(27,172)

(27,869)

 

Adjusted net assets before deferred tax provision

Deferred tax

Deferred tax arising on revaluation of leasehold properties**

 

57,434

(10,469)

(1,848)

 

57,559

(10,759)

(2,041)

 

56,954

(10,073)

(1,822)

 

Adjusted net assets

 

45,117

 

44,759

 

45,059

 

Shares in issue

 

Number

'000

 

Number

'000

 

Number

'000

Opening shares

Shares issued for the exercise of options

26,759

-

26,759

-

26,759

-

Closing shares in issue

Shares held in treasury

Shares held in EBT

26,759

(1,142)

(623)

26,759

(1,142)

(623)

26,759

(1,142)

(623)

 

Closing shares for NAV purposes

 

24,994

 

24,994

 

24,994

 

Adjusted net asset value per share after deferred tax provision

 

£1.81

 

£1.78

 

£1.80

 

Adjusted net asset value per share before deferred tax provision

 

£2.30

 

£2.30

 

£2.28

 

* The seven leaseholds valued by Cushman & Wakefield are all within the terms of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1954) giving a high degree of security of tenure. The average length of the leases on the leasehold stores valued was 14 years at the period-end (31.01.2012 valuation: 14 years and 8 months).

 

** A deferred tax adjustment in respect of the uplift in the value of the leasehold properties has been included in the NAV calculation. Although this is a memorandum adjustment as leasehold properties are included in the Group's financial statements at cost and not at valuation, this deferred tax adjustment is included in the adjusted net asset value calculation in order to maintain a consistency of tax treatment between freehold and leasehold properties. 

 

 

Cash Flow and Financing

At 31 January 2013 the Group had cash balances of £3.5 million (31.1.2012: £3.2 million).

 

There was £29.7 million of gross borrowings (31.1.2012: £28.5million) representing gearing of 67.2% (31.1.2012: 65.8%) on net debt of £26.2 million (31.1.2012: £25.4 million). After adjusting for the uplift in value of leaseholds which are stated at depreciated historic cost in the statement of financial position, gearing is 55.7% (31.1.2012: 54.3%). After adjusting for the deferred tax liability carried at period-end of £10.5 million (31.01.2012: £10.8 million) gearing drops to 45.5% (31.1.2012: 44.2%).

 

Cash inflow from operating activities before investing and financing activities was £1.5 million up 25% on the comparative period last year (31.1.2012: £1.1 million). As well as using cash generated from operations to fund some capital expenditure, the Group has a five year revolving credit facility. This provides sufficient liquidity for the Group's current needs.  Undrawn committed facilities at the period-end amounted to £10.3 million (31.1.2012: £11.5 million).

 

Capital expenditure during the period totalled only £0.12 million with some modest expenditure at existing stores and in maximising the potential of the existing planning permissions. The Group has no further capital commitments beyond its £2.5 million development commitment at Aldershot and some minor works to existing properties.

 

Management of Interest Rate Risk

At 31 January 2013 Lok'nStore had £29.7 million drawn against its £40 million revolving credit facility. Of this facility £20 million is now at a fixed interest rate, with £10 million fixed at a 1 month sterling LIBOR rate of 1.2% plus margin and £10 million fixed at a 1 month sterling LIBOR rate of 1.15% plus margin. With 1 month LIBOR around 0.5%, this leaves a balance of £9.7 million floating at a current all-in rate of around 2.85% and results in an overall weighted average rate of 3.3%. No arrangement fees were incurred when fixing the rates. The hedging arrangements are treated as an effective cash flow hedge and the fair value of the interest rate swaps is stated as a derivative financial instrument liability.

 

Operating Costs

For the fifth year in a row we have again reduced our group operating costs for the period, (excluding cost of sales of retail products) down to £4.32 million for the period from the £4.35 million in the six months to 31.01.12. For the self-storage business operating costs amounted to £3.60 million for the period, a small decrease from the £3.62 million in the same period last year. We also reduced operating costs at Saracen by 1.5% compared to the same period last year. This highly disciplined approach to costs ensures that turnover growth we have achieved drops down to the bottom line.

 

As part of the development of the accounting and reporting systems we now report separately on the distribution costs specific to the Saracen business.

 

 

Group

Increase /

decrease in costs %


Six months

31 January

2013

£'000


Six months

31 January

2012

£'000


Year

31 July

2012

£'000

Property costs

(1.5)


1,924


1,954


3,895

Staff costs

2.7


1,759


1,706


3,432

Overheads

(2.6)


552


602


1,048

Distribution costs

0.2


88


85


165

Total

(0.6)


4,323


4,347


8,540

 

 

Outlook

Lok'nStore is a strong business with a record of consistent profit growth and increasing cash generation. Revenue continues to grow against tightly controlled costs, and this together with the strong occupancy growth during the period provides continued momentum to EBITDA. Our innovative approach to financing new stores will enable us to grow our operating footprint to 25 stores by next year with limited capital expenditure, and the sale of our Ashford store at close to its recent valuation underlines the strength of the asset base.

 

The Board's confidence in the outlook for the business is demonstrated by the increase in the interim dividend by 67%.

 

 

 

Simon G Thomas

Chairman

19 April 2013

 



Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the six months ended 31 January 2013

 


Notes

Six months ended

31 January 2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months ended

31 January 2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July 2012

Audited

£'000

Revenue

1

6,550

 

6,407

12,765






Cost of sales of retail products


(124)

(133)

(251)

Property and premises costs


(1,924)

(1,954)

(3,895)

Staff costs


(1,759)

(1,706)

(3,432)

General overheads


(552)

(602)

(1,048)

Distribution


(88)

(85)

(165)

Total costs


(4,447)

(4,480)

(8,791)

 

EBITDA*


2,103

 

1,927

3,974

 

Amortisation of intangible assets


(83)

 

(83)

(165)

Depreciation based on historic cost


(477)

(679)

(1,304)

Additional depreciation based on revalued assets


(142)

(130)

(273)



(702)

(892)

(1,742)

Loss on sale of motor vehicles


(14)

(3)

(4)

Equity settled share based payments


(46)

(46)

(92)



(762)

(941)

(1,838,382)






Operating profit*


1,341

986

2,136

 

Professional fees **


-

 

(149)

 

(196)

Profit before interest


1,341

837

1,940






Finance income


16

8

15

Finance cost

3

(586)

(375)

(1,029)






Profit before taxation


771

470

926

Income tax expense

4

(270)

(175)

(155)






Profit for the financial period/year


501

295

771






Profit attributable to:





Owners of the parent


491

285

753

Non-controlling interest


10

10

18








501

295

771






Other Comprehensive Income










Increase in property valuation


354

183

48

Deferred tax relating to decrease in property valuation


(81)

 

(46)

523

Change in fair value of cash flow hedges


194

-

(496)

Deferred tax relating to cash flow hedges


(45)

-

114

Other comprehensive income


422

137

189

Total comprehensive income for the period/year

 

Attributable to:


 

 

923

 

 

 

 

432

 

 

 

 

960

 

 

Owners of the parent


913

422

942

Non-controlling interest


10

10

18



923

432

960






Earnings per share





Basic

6

1.96p

1.14p

3.01p

Diluted

6

1.95p

1.13p

2.99p

 

* EBITDA and operating profit are defined in the accounting policies section of the notes to the interim financial statements.

 

** Professional fees are in respect of management contract set-up and bank loan refinancing

.

 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the six months ended 31 January 2013

 


Share

capital

£'000

Share

premium

£'000

Other

reserves

£'000

Revaluation

reserve

£'000

Retained

earnings

£'000

Attributable

to owners

of

the parent

£'000

Non

controlling

interest

£'000

Total

equity

£'000

1 August 2011

268

698

12,858

20,161

4,587

38,572

254

38,826

Profit for the period

-

-

-

-

285

285

10

295

Other comprehensive income:









Increase in asset valuation

-

-

-

183

-

183

-

183

Deferred tax relating to increase in asset valuation

-

-

-

(46)

-

(46)

-

(46)


-

-

-

137

-

137

-

137










Total comprehensive income

-

-

-

137

285

422

10

432










Transactions with owners:









Dividend paid

-

-

(667)

-

-

(667)

-

(667)

Transfer additional dep'n on revaluation net of deferred tax

-

-

-

(97)

97

-

-

-

Equity share based payments

-

-

46

-

-

46

-

46










31 January 2012

268

698

12,237

20,201

4,969

38,373

264

38,637

Profit for the period

-

-

-

-

469

469

8

477

Other comprehensive income:









Decrease in property valuation

-

-

-

(135)

-

(135)

-

(135)

Deferred tax relating to Decrease in asset valuation

-

-

-

568

-

568

-

568

Decrease in fair value of cash flow hedges

-

-

(496)

-

-

(496)

-

(496)

Deferred tax relating to cash flow hedges

-

-

114

-

-

114

-

114


-

-

(382)

433

-

51

-

51










Total comprehensive income

-

-

(382)

433

469

520

8

528










Transactions with owners:









Dividend paid

-

-

(250)

-

-

(250)

-

(250)

Transfer additional dep'n on revaluation net of deferred tax

-

-

-

(107)

107

-

-

-

Equity share based payments

-

-

46

-

-

46

-

46










1 August 2012

268

698

11,651

20,527

5,545

38,689

272

38,961

Profit for the period

-

-

-

-

491

491

10

501

Other comprehensive income:









Increase in property valuation

-

-

-

354

-

354

-

354

Deferred tax relating to increase in asset valuation

-

-

-

(81)

-

(81)

-

(81)

Decrease in fair value of cash flow hedges

-

-

194

-

-

194

-

194

Deferred tax relating to cash flow hedges

-

-

(45)

-

-

(45)

-

(45)


-

-

149

273

-

422

-

422










Total comprehensive income

-

-

149

273

491

913

10

923










Transactions with owners:









Dividend paid

-

-

(1,000)

-

-

(1,000)

-

(1,000)

Transfer additional dep'n on revaluation net of deferred tax

-

-

-

(109)

109

-

-

-

Equity share based payments

-

-

46

-

-

46

-

46










31 January 2013

268

698

10,846

20,691

6,145

38,648

282

38,930

 



 

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

At 31 January 2013

Company Registration No. 4007169

 


Notes

31 January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

31 January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

Assets





Non-current assets





Intangible assets


4,170

4,336

4,253

Property, plant and equipment

7

69,289

69,261

69,470

Property lease premiums

8

3,462

2,971

3,180



76,921

76,568

76,903

Current assets





Inventories


158

126

140

Trade and other receivables

9

2,194

1,788

1,855

Cash and cash equivalents


3,536

3,163

3,961








5,888

5,077

5,956

Total assets


82,809

81,645

82,859






Liabilities





Current liabilities





Trade and other payables

10

(3,840)

(3,978)

(4,084)

Current tax liabilities


-

(73)

-

Borrowings

12a

(9)

(39)

(22)








(3,849)

(4,090)

(4,106)






Non-current liabilities





Borrowings

Derivative financial instruments

Deferred tax

12a

12b

13

(29,259)

(302)

(10,469)

(28,159)

-

(10,759)

(29,223)

(496)

(10,073)








(40,030)

(38,918)

(39,792)






Total liabilities


(43,879)

(43,008)

(43,898)

Net assets


38,930

38,637

38,961



 

 








Equity





Equity attributable to owners of the parent





Called up share capital

14

268

268

268

Share premium


698

698

698

Other reserves


10,846

12,237

11,651

Retained earnings


6,145

4,969

5,545

Revaluation reserve


20,691

20,201

20,527

Total equity attributable to owners of the parent


 

38,648

38,373

38,689

Non-controlling interests


282

264

272






Total equity


38,930

38,637

38,961

Approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 19 April 2013 and signed on its behalf by:

 

 

Andrew Jacobs

Ray Davies

Chief Executive Officer

Finance Director

 

 



Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the six months ended 31 January 2013

 


Notes

Six months

ended January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

Ended

January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

 £'000

Operating activities





Cash generated from operations

15a

1,485

1,119

3,143






Net cash from operating activities


1,485

1,119

3,143

 

Investing activities





Purchase of property, plant and equipment and property lease premiums


(404)

 

(754)

(2,074)

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment


23

10

10

Interest received


16

8

15

Net cash used in investing activities


(365)

(736)

(2,049)

 

Financing activities

Proceeds from new borrowings

Repayment of borrowings

Arrangement fees - refinancing of group revolving credit facility


-

-

-

 

 

28,527

(28,089)

(407)

29,681

(28,195)

(555)

Finance costs paid


(545)

(362)

(926)

Equity dividends paid


(1,000)

(667)

(917)

Net cash used in financing activities


(1,545)

(999)

(912)






Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents in the period/year


(425)

 

(616)

182

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period/year


3,961

 

3,779

3,779

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period/year


3,536

 

3,163

3,961



Accounting Policies

 

General Information

Lok'nStore plc is an AIM listed company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is One London Wall, London EC2Y 5AB, UK. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts may be obtained from the Company's head office at 112 Hawley Lane, Farnborough, Hants, GU14 8JE, or the investor section of the Company's website at http://www.loknstore.com.

 

Basis of preparation

The interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2013 have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies expected to be used in the 2013 Lok'nStore Group plc Annual Report and Accounts and in accordance with the recognition and measurement principles of International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union ('EU') ('IFRS').

 

The same accounting policies, presentation and methods of computation are followed in these interim condensed set of financial statements as have been applied in the Group's latest annual audited financial statements.

 

The interim results, which were approved by the Directors on 20 April 2013, are unaudited.  The interim results do not constitute statutory financial statements within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.

 

Comparative figures for the year ended 31 July 2012 have been extracted from the statutory accounts for the Group for that period, which carried an unqualified audit report, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis of matter, did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006 and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

 

Going concern

The Directors can report that, based on the Group's budgets and financial projections, they have satisfied themselves that the business is a going concern. The Board has a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources and facilities to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future based on Group cash balances and cash equivalents of £3.5 million (31.1.2012: £3.2 million), and undrawn committed bank facilities at 31 January 2013 of £10.3 million (31.1.2012: £11.5 million), and cash generated from operations in the period to 31 January 2013 of £1.5 million (31.1.2012: £1.1 million). The Group has a five year £40 million revolving credit facility with Lloyds TSB plc.  The facility has been in place since 20 October 2011 and runs until 19 October 2016. The Group is not obliged to make any repayments prior to expiration. The financial statements are therefore prepared on a going concern basis.

 

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ('EBITDA'), is defined as profits from operations before all depreciation and amortisation charges, losses or profits on disposal, share-based payments, significant non-recurring professional fees, finance income, finance costs and taxation.

 

Store EBITDA

Store EBITDA is defined as EBITDA (see above) but before central and head office costs.

 

Operating profit

Operating profit is defined as profit after all costs except significant non-recurring professional fees, finance income, finance costs and taxation.

 

Critical accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of consolidated financial statements under IFRS requires management to make estimates and assumptions that may affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. Actual outcomes may differ from these estimates and assumptions. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

 

a) Estimate of fair value of trading properties

The Group values its self-storage stores using a discounted cash flow methodology which is based on current and projected net operating income. Principal assumptions underlying management's estimation of the fair value are those relating to stabilised occupancy levels; expected future growth in storage rents and operating costs, maintenance requirements, capitalisation rates and discount rates. The carrying value of freehold properties held at valuation at the reporting date was £56.1 million (31.1.2012: £55.7 million).

 

b) Assets in the course of construction and land held for pipeline store development ('Development property assets')

The Group's development property assets are held in the statement of financial position at historic cost and are not valued externally. In acquiring sites for redevelopment into self-storage facilities, the Group estimates and makes judgements on the potential net lettable storage space that it can achieve in its planning negotiations, together with the time it will take to achieve maturity occupancy level. In addition, assumptions are made on the storage rent that can be achieved at the store by comparison with other stores within the portfolio and within the local area. These judgements, taken together with estimates of operating costs and the projected construction cost, allow the Group to calculate the potential net operating income at maturity, projected returns on capital invested and hence to support the purchase price of the site at acquisition. Following the acquisition, regular reviews are carried out taking into account the status of the planning negotiations, and revised construction costs or capacity of the new facility, for example, to make an assessment of the recoverable amount of the development property. The Group reviews all development property assets for impairment at each reporting date in the light of the results of these reviews.  Once a store is opened, it is valued as a trading store.

 

The carrying value of development property assets at the reporting date was £12.1 million (31.1.2012: £11.6 million) of which £3.5 million (31.1.2012: £3.0 million) relating to the long lease at Maidenhead is classified as a property lease premium and is shown separately in the statement of financial position. 

 

c) Estimate of fair value of intangible assets acquired in business combination

The relative size of the Group's intangible assets makes the judgements surrounding the estimated useful lives important to the Group's financial position and performance. At 31 January 2013, the carrying value of intangible assets, including goodwill, is £4.1 million (31.1.2012: £4.3 million).

 

The useful life used to amortise contractual customer relationship assets relates to the expected future performance of the assets acquired and management's judgement of the period over which economic benefit will be derived from the asset.  The estimated useful life of customer relationships of 20 years principally reflects management's view of the average economic life of the customer base and is assessed by reference to customer churn rates. Typically, the customer base for a serviced archive business is relatively inert. Corporate customers do not tend to switch service providers and indeed they incur box withdrawal charges should they do so. An increase in churn rates may lead to a reduction in the estimated useful life and an increase in the amortisation charge.



 

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the six months ended 31 January 2013

 

1              Revenue

 

Analysis of the Group's revenue is shown below:

 


Six months ended

31 January

2013

Unaudited

Six months ended

31 January

2013

Unaudited

 Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

Stores trading

£'000

£'000

£'000

 

Self-storage revenue

 

4,814

9,550

Other storage related revenue

572

553

1,116

Management fees

40

10

20

Sub-total

5,379

10,686

Stores under development




Non-storage income

43

45

88

Sub-total

5,618

5,424

10,774

Serviced archive and records management revenue

932

983

1,991

Total revenue per statement of comprehensive income

6,550

6,407

12,765

 

 

2          Segmental information

 

IFRS 8 Operating Segments requires operating segments to be identified on the basis of internal reports about components of the Group that are regularly reviewed by the Board to allocate resources to the segments and to assess their performance.

 

The Group has two operating segments, being the provision of self-storage accommodation and related services and the provision of serviced archive and record management services.

 

All of the Group's activities occur in the United Kingdom.

 

Financial information is reported to the Board with revenue and profit analysed between self-storage activity and serviced archive and records management activity.

 

Segment revenue comprises of sales to external customers and excludes gains arising on the disposal of assets and finance income. Segment profit reported to the Board represents the profit earned by each segment before acquisition costs and other non-recurring set-up costs, finance income, finance costs and tax.  For the purposes of assessing segment performance and for determining the allocation of resources between segments, the Board uses a measure of adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the accounting policies) and reviews the non-current assets attributable to each segment as well as the financial resources available. All assets are allocated to reportable segments.  Assets that are used jointly by segments are allocated to the individual segments on a basis of revenues earned.  All liabilities are allocated to individual segments other than borrowings and associated derivative financial instruments. Information is reported to the Board of Directors on a product basis as management believe that the activity of self-storage and the activity of serviced archive and records management expose the Group to differing levels of risk and rewards due to the length, nature, seasonality and  customer base  of their respective operating cycles.



 

The segment information for the period ended 31 January 2013 is as follows:

 

2012/2013

Self-storage

Six months

ended 31

January

2013

£'000

 

Serviced

archive

and records

management

Six months

ended 31

January

2013

£'000

Total

Six months

ended 31

January 2013

£'000

Self-storage

Year ended

31 July

2012

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Year ended

31 July 2012

£'000

Total

Year ended

31 July

2012

£'000

Revenue from external customers

5,618

932

6,550

10,774

1,991

12,765








EBITDA

Management charges

1,935

50

 

 

168

(50)

 

 

2,103

-

3,500

185

 

 

474

(185)

 

 

3,974

-

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

1,985

118

2,103

3,685

289

3,974

Depreciation

Amortisation of intangible assets

Loss on disposal - motor vehicles

(568)

-

(7)

(51)

(83)

(7)

(619)

(83)

(14)

(1,498)

-

(4)

(79)

(165)

-

(1,577)

(165)

(4)

Equity settled share based payments

(46)

 -

(46)

(92)

 -

(92)

Segment profit/(loss)

1,364

(23)

1,341

2,091

45

2,136

 

Central costs not allocated to segments:







Professional fees - management contract set-up



-



(196)

Finance income



16



15

Finance costs



(586)



(1,029)

Profit before taxation



771



926

Income tax expense



(270)



(155)








Consolidated profit for the financial period/year



501



771

 

 

2011/2012

Self-storage

Six months

ended 31

January

2012

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Six months

ended 31

January 2012

£'000

Total

 Six months

ended 31

January

2012

£'000

Self-storage

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Total

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Revenue from external customers

5,424

983

6,407

10,702

144

10,846

 

EBITDA

1,721

206

1,927

3,325

(44)

3,281

Depreciation

Amortisation

Loss on sale - motor vehicle

(741)

-

(3)

(68)

(83)

-

(809)

(83)

(3)

(1,609)

-

(7)

-

(1,616)

-

 

Equity share based payments

(46)

-

(46)

(100)

-

(100)

Segment profit/(loss)

931

55

986

1,616

(51)

1,565

Central costs not allocated to segments:







Acquisition costs

Professional costs - bank loan refinancing



-

(149)



(129)

-

Finance income



8



24

Finance costs



(375)



(522)

Profit before taxation



470



938

Income tax expense

 



(175)



(52)

Consolidated profit for the financial period /year



 

295



 

886

 

Corporate transactions and the treasury function are managed centrally and therefore are not allocated to segments. Sales between segments are carried out at arm's length.



 

2012/2013

Self-storage

Six months

ended 31

January

 2013

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Six months

ended 31

January 2013

£'000

Total

Six months

ended 31

January

2013

£'000

Self-storage

Year ended

31 July

2012

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Year ended

31 July

2012

£'000

Total

Year ended

 31 July

2012

£'000

Total assets

77,160

5,649

82,809

77,065

5,794

82,859








Segment liabilities

(13,339)

(970)

(14,309)

(13,089)

(1,068)

(14,157)

Borrowings

(not allocated to segment liabilities)

Derivative financial instruments

(not allocated to segment liabilities)

 

 

 

 

 

(29,268)

 

(302)

 

 

 

 

 

(29,245)

 

(496)

Total liabilities



(43,879)



(43,898)








Capital expenditure

91

30

121

1,465

374

1,839

 

 

 

2011/2012

Self-storage

Six months

ended 31

January

 2012

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Six months

ended 31

January 2012

£'000

Total

Six months

ended 31

January

2012

£'000

Self-storage

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Serviced

archive &

records

management

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Total

Year ended

31 July

2011

£'000

Total assets

76,013

5,632

81,645

77,153

5,094

82,247








Segment liabilities

(13,923)

(887)

(14,810)

(14,504)

(767)

(15,271)

Borrowings

(not allocated to segment liabilities)

 

 

 

 

 

(28,198)

 

 

 

 

 

(28,150)

Total liabilities



(43,008)



(43,421)








Capital expenditure

404

323

727

674

29

703

 

 

The amounts presented to the Board with respect to total assets and total liabilities are measured in a manner consistent with the financial statements and are allocated based on the operations of the segment. Borrowings are managed centrally on a Group basis and are therefore not allocated to segments.

 

 

3              Finance cost

 


Six months

ended 31 January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

 ended 31 January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£ '000

 

Interest on bank borrowings

496

 

367

814

Non-utilisation fees and amortisation of bank loan arrangement fees

86

 

-

201

Finance leases and other interest

4

8

14


586

375

1,029



 

4              Taxation


Six months

ended 31

January 2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

ended 31

January 2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

Current tax:




UK corporation tax at 23% (2012: 25%)

-

16

-

 

Deferred tax:




Origination and reversal of temporary differences

268

147

376

Impact of change in tax rate on closing balance

-

-

(351)

Adjustments in respect of prior periods

2

12

130

Total deferred tax

270

159

155

Income tax expense for the period/year

270

175

155

 

The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit for the year as follows:

 


Six months

ended 31

January 2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

ended 31

January 2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

 

Profit before tax

771

 

470

926

 

Tax on ordinary activities at the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 23% (2012: 25%)

177

 

 

122

232

Expenses not deductible for tax purposes

3

3

18

Depreciation of non-qualifying assets

66

36

103

Share based payment charges in excess of corresponding tax deduction

11

12

22

Impact of change in tax rate

-

(10)

(351)

Amounts not recognised in deferred tax

11

-

-

Utilisation of loss against pre-acquisition profits

-

-

-

Adjustments in respect of prior periods - deferred tax

Other

2

-

12

-

130

1

Income tax expense for the period/year

270

175

155

Effective tax rate

35%

37%

17%

 

 

5              Dividends


Six months

ended 31

January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

ended 31

January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:








Final dividend for the year ended 31 July 2011 (2.67 pence per share)

-

667

667

Interim dividend for the six months to 31 January 2012 (1.00 pence per share)

-

 

-

249

Final dividend for the year ended 31 July 2012 (4.0 pence per share)

1,000

-

-






1,000

667

917

 

 

In respect of the current year the Directors propose that a dividend of 1.67 pence per share will be paid to the shareholders. The total estimated dividend to be paid is £417,394 based on the number of shares currently in issue as adjusted for shares held in the Employee Benefits Trust and for shares held on treasury. This interim dividend is an on-account payment of a final annual dividend and is ultimately subject to approval by shareholders at the 2013 Annual General Meeting and has not been included as a liability in these financial statements. The ex-dividend date will be 1 May 2013; the record date 3 May 2013; with an intended payment date of 10 June 2013.



 

6              Earnings per share

 

The calculations of earnings per share are based on the following profits and numbers of shares.

 


Six months

ended 31

January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months

ended 31

January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

Profit for the financial period attributable to owners of the parent

491

285

753






 

No. of shares

 

No. of shares

 

No. of shares

Weighted average number of shares




For basic earnings per share

24,993,653

24,993,653

24,993,653

Dilutive effect of share options*

231,735

137,375

186,893

For diluted earnings per share

25,225,388

25,131,028

25,180,546

 

623,212 (31.01.2012: 623,212) shares held in the Employee Benefit Trust and 1,142,000 (31.01.2012: 1,142,000) treasury shares are excluded from the above.

 

*Further options that could potentially dilute EPS in the future are excluded from the above because they are not dilutive in the period presented.


Six months

ended

31 January

2013

Unaudited

 

Six months

ended

31 January

2012

Unaudited

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

 

Earnings per share




Basic

1.96p

1.14p

3.01p

Diluted

1.95p

1.13p

2.99p

 

7              Property, plant and equipment

 

Group

Development

Property

assets

at cost

£'000

Land and

buildings

at valuation

£'000

Short

leasehold

improvements

at cost

£'000

Fixtures,

fittings and

equipment

at cost

£'000

Motor

vehicles

at cost

£'000

Total

£'000

Net book value at 31 July 2011

8,587

51,030

1,130

8,271

156

69,174

Net book value at 31 Jan 2012

8,634

51,267

1,095

8,132

133

69,261

Net book value at 31 July 2012

8,671

51,868

1,094

7,719

118

69,470

 

Cost or valuation







1 August 2012

8,671

51,868

2,514

16,379

217

79,649

Additions

-

4

30

87

-

121

Reclassification

-

-

-

-

-

-

Disposals

-

-

-

-

(70)

(70)

Revaluations

-

92

-

-

-

92

31 January 2013

8,671

51,964

2,544

16,466

147

79,792








Depreciation







1 August 2012

-

-

1,420

8,659

100

10,179

Charge for the period

-

262

44

304

9

619

Disposals

-

-

-

-

(33)

(33)

Revaluations


(262)

-

-

-

(262)

31 January 2013

-

-

1,464

8,963

76

10,503

 

Net book value at 31 January 2013

 

8,671

 

51,964

 

1,080

 

7,503

 

71

 

69,289

If all property, plant and equipment were stated at historic cost the carrying value would be £45.2 million (31.1.2012: £45.3 million).

 

Property, plant and equipment (non-current assets) with a carrying value of £69.3 million (31.1.2012: £69.5 million) are pledged as security for bank loans. The Maidenhead property (see note 8) is also pledged as security for the bank loans.

 

Market Valuation of Freehold and Operating Leasehold Land and Buildings

Following the comprehensive external valuation at 31 July 2012 by Cushman and Wakefield (C&W), the freehold and leasehold properties have not been externally valued at 31 January 2013, although in accordance with the Group's established policy it is the intention to do so at the next year end at 31 July 2013.  Although the Board did not commission an external valuation at this interim it is mindful of the need to accord with the measurement principles of International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union. Accordingly after consultation with our external valuers, the Directors considered that there had not been a material movement in market yields and therefore no market yield shift assumption has been applied at 31 January 2013 to our properties externally valued at 31 July 2012.

 

 

8              Property lease premiums

 

£3.5 million of costs relating to the long lease at Maidenhead is classified as a non-current asset in the statement of financial position (31.1.2012: £3.2 million). This represents a lease premium paid on entering the lease and other related costs. The lease runs until 31 March 2076. A peppercorn rent is payable until 2027 and a market ground rent thereafter.

 

 

 Group

Six months ended

31 January

2013

Unaudited

£'000

Six months ended

31 January

2012

Unaudited

£'000

Year ended

31 July

2012

Audited

£'000

Balance at start of the period/year

3,180

2,944

2,944

Additions during the period/year

282

27

236

Balance at end of the period/year

3,462

2,971

3,180

 

 

9              Trade and other receivables

 


31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

Trade receivables

1,212

1,130

1,225

Other receivables

484

166

163

Prepayments and accrued income

498

492

467


2,194

1,788

1,855

 

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value.

 

 

10           Trade and other payables


31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

Trade payables

413

483

767

Taxation and social security costs

502

511

294

Other payables

921

888

911

Accruals and deferred income

2,004

2,096

2,112


3,840

3,978

4,084

 

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other payables and accruals and deferred income approximates fair value.

 

11           Capital management and gearing

 

The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to continue as going concerns while maximising the return to stakeholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance. The capital structure of the Group consists of debts, which includes the borrowings disclosed in note 15a, cash and cash equivalents and equity attributable to the owners of the parent, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity. The Group's banking facilities require that management give regular consideration to interest rate hedging strategy. The Group has complied with this during the period.

 

The Group's Board reviews the capital structure on an on-going basis. As part of this review, the Board considers the cost of capital and the risks associated with each class of capital. The Group seeks to have a conservative gearing ratio (the proportion of net debt to equity). The Board considers at each review the appropriateness of the current ratio in light of the above. The Board is currently satisfied with the Group's gearing ratio.

 

The gearing ratio at the year-end is as follows:

 


31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

Debt

(29,691)

(28,576)

(29,708)

Cash and cash equivalents

3,536

3,163

3,961

Net debt

(26,155)

(25,413)

(25,747)

Statement of financial position equity

38,930

38,637

38,961

Net debt to equity ratio

67.2%

65.8%

66.1%

 

The modest increase in the Group's gearing ratio compared to 31 January 2012, arises through the combined effect of an increase in net debt arising from the purchase of the Swindon East property, and the requirement to provide for the liability arising on the fair value of the two interest rate swaps executed during May 2012.  Cash generated from operations partially offset the effect.

 

12a         Borrowings

 


31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

Non-current




Bank loans repayable in more than two years




 but not more than five years




Gross

29,682

28,527

29,682

Deferred financing costs

(423)

(378)

(463)

Net bank borrowings

29,259

28,149

29,219

Finance lease liabilities

-

10

4

Non-current borrowings

29,259

28,159

29,223





Current




Bank loans repayable in less than one year

-

-

-

Finance lease liabilities

9

39

22

Current borrowings

9

39

22

Total borrowings

29,268

28,198

29,245

 

The £40 million revolving credit facility with Lloyds TSB plc is secured by legal charges and debentures over the freehold and leasehold properties and other assets of the business with a net book value of £82.8 million (31.1.2012 £81.6 million) together with cross-company guarantees from Group companies. The revolving credit facility is for a five-year term and expires on 19 October 2016. The Group is not obliged to make any repayments prior to expiration. The loans bear interest at the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR) plus 2.35%-2.65% Lloyds TSB plc margin based on a loan to value covenant test while the interest cover and loan to value covenants are broadly in line with the previous facility.

 

12b         Derivative financial instruments

 

The Group entered into a £10 million interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge with Lloyds TSB Bank plc effective from 31 May 2012 at a fixed 1 month sterling LIBOR rate of 1.2%. The Group entered into a second £10 million interest rate swap with Lloyds TSB Bank plc also effective from 31 May 2012 at a fixed one-month sterling LIBOR rate of 1.15%. Both swaps run up to the expiration of the current banking facility in October 2016. The balance of the drawn facility of £9.7 million remains at a floating rate.





Fair Value


Currency

Principal

£'000

Maturity date

 

31 Jan

2013

£'000

31 Jan

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

3032816LS   Interest rate swap

GBP

10,000

20/10/2016

(160)

-

(258)

3047549LS   Interest rate swap

GBP

10,000

20/10/2016

(142)

-

(238)



20,000


(302)

-

(496)

 

The movement in fair value of the interest rate swaps of £193,916 has been recognised in other comprehensive income in the period.

13           Deferred tax

 

Deferred tax liability

31 January

2013

£'000

31 January

2012

£'000

31 July

2012

£'000

 

Liability at start of period/year

 

10,073

 

10,555

 

10,555

Charge to income for the year

270

158

154

Tax credited directly to other comprehensive income

126

46

(636)

Liability at end of year

10,469

10,759

10,073

 

 

The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the Group and the movements during the year:

 

Accelerated

Capital

Allowances

£'000

Tax

losses

£'000

Intangible

assets

£'000

Other

temporary

differences

£'000

Revaluation of

properties

£'000

Rolled

over gain

on

disposal

£'000

Total

£'000

 

At 1 August 2011

1,307

(599)

827

24

6,721

2,275

10,555

Charge/ (credit) to income for the period

14

198

(21)

-

(33)

-

158

Charge / (credit) to other comprehensive income

-

-

-

-

46

-

46

At 31 January 2012

1,321

(401)

806

24

6,734

2,275

10,759

Charge/ (credit) to income for the period

113

169

(83)

(2)

(19)

(182)

(4)

Charge / (credit) to other comprehensive income

-

-

-

(114)

(568)

-

(682)

 At 31 July 2012

1,434

(232)

723

(92)

6,147

2,093

10,073

Charge/ (credit) to income for the period

167

97

(19)

-

25

-

270

Charge / (credit) to other comprehensive income

-

-

-

45

81

-

126

At 31 January 2013

1,601

(135)

704

(47)

6,253

2,093

10,469

 

At the reporting date, the Group has unused revenue tax losses of approximately £0.9 million (31.1.2012: £1.8 million) available to carry forward against future profits of the same trade. A deferred tax asset of £0.1 million (31.1.2012: £0.4 million) has been recognised in respect of such losses. This asset offsets against the deferred tax liability position in respect of accelerated capital allowances and other temporary differences. The losses can be carried forward indefinitely.

 

A potential deferred tax asset of £58,792 (31.1.2012: £39,195) arises in respect of the share options in existence at 31 January 2013 but has not been recognised in the accounts. No deferred tax asset arises in relation to the remainder of the share options as at 31 January 2013 as the share price at the year-end is below the exercise price of the options.

 

The UK's main rate of corporation tax is expected to reduce to 23% from 1 April 2014 with a further reduction to 22% from 1 April 2014. Due to the difficulty of predicting the amount of capital expenditure over this period, it is not possible to accurately quantify the effect of the rate change on the deferred tax position over this period.

 

 

14           Share capital

 




 

Called up,




allotted and




fully paid



Number

£'000

Ordinary shares of 1p each at 31 January 2012, 31 July 2012 and 31 January 2013


26,758,865

268

 

The Company has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income.



15           Cash flows

 

(a) Reconciliation of profit before tax to cash generated from operations




Unaudited

Six months

ended

31 January

2013

£'000

Unaudited

Six months

ended

31 January

2012

£'000

Audited

Year

ended

31 July

2012

£'000

 

Profit before tax



 

771

 

470

 

926

Depreciation



619

809

1,577

Amortisation of intangible assets



83

83

165

Professional costs - refinancing of bank loan facility



-

149

-

Equity settled share based payments



46

46

92

Loss on sale of motor vehicles



14

3

4

Interest receivable



(16)

(8)

(15)

Interest payable



586

375

1,029

Increase in inventories



(18)

(16)

(30)

Increase/(decrease) in receivables



(339)

33

(34)

Decrease in payables



(261)

(825)

(571)

Cash generated from operations



1,485

1,119

3,143

 

 

(b) Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt

Net debt is defined as non-current and current borrowings less cash and cash equivalents.

 




Unaudited

Six months

ended

31 January

2013

£'000

Unaudited

Six months

ended

31 January

2012

£'000

Audited

Year ended

31 July

2012

 

£'000

 

(Decrease)/ increase in cash in the period/year



 

(425)

 

(615)

 

182

Change in net debt resulting from cash flows



17

(409)

(1,540)

Movement in net debt in period



(408)

(1,024)

(1,358)

Net debt brought forward



(25,747)

(24,389)

(24,389)

Net debt carried forward



(26,155)

(25,413)

(25,747)

 

16           Commitments under operating leases

At 31 January 2013 the total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases were as follows:

 

The Group as a lessee:

The minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating lease rentals are in aggregate as follows:

 






Unaudited

Six months

ended

Unaudited

Six months

ended

Audited

Six months

ended






31 January

2012

31 January

2012

31 July

2012






£'000

£'000

£'000

 

Land and buildings








Amounts due:








 Within one year





1,544

1,590

1,618

 Between two and five years





5,735

5,920

6,090

 After five years





10,266

7,642

6,087






17,545

15,152

13,795

 

Operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the Group for certain of its properties.  Leases are negotiated for a typical term of 20 years and rentals are fixed for an average of five years.



 

17           Events after the reporting date

 

Sale and manage-back of Ashford store

 

On 28 March 2013, the Group completed the sale of its store in Ashford, Kent, to a fund run by Alpha Real Capital for £2.9 million in cash. The store was independently valued at £2.92 million at 31 July 2012 and made an EBITDA contribution of £221,724 in the last financial year.

 

Lok'nStore will continue to manage the store as a branded Lok'nStore operation on behalf of the investor, and will receive a monthly management fee, as well as an additional fee should the store outperform its targets or if the store is ultimately sold.

 

The proceeds of the sale will initially be used to reduce the Group's net debt but will be redrawn in due course as the capital is recycled into earnings enhancing projects, such as the new store in Aldershot due to open in Spring 2014.

 

 

18           Contingent Liability - Value added tax

As an ancillary activity, Lok'nStore acts as an intermediary in relation to supplies of exempt insurance to customers for which it receives a commission. In November 2007 Lok'nStore approached HMRC to request the implementation of a Partial Exemption Special Method (PESM).  Lok'nStore has maintained that the standard partial exemption method, i.e. one based on the values of the various different income streams, resulted in a wholly distortive restriction of input tax. Lok'nStore remains of the view that revenue is a poor proxy for the 'use' of the majority of the input tax incurred by Lok'nStore and, as a consequence, the standard method does not provide a fair result.

 

Current Dealings with HMRC

On 25 February 2008, HMRC determined that it was appropriate to raise an assessment in the amount of £140,903 in respect of Lok'nStore's partial exemption calculations, under the Standard Partial Exemption Method ("standard method") for the VAT periods April 2005 through April 2007. Lok'nStore rejected the basis of this assessment and has advanced a number of other proposals and arguments in a bid to resolve this dispute.  Following the formal rejection of the various proposals which were submitted for a PESM, a local review of the decision was requested which upheld the rejection of a PESM. This decision was appealed by Lok'nStore to the Tax Tribunal in September 2009. Counsel also confirmed that Lok'nStore should carry out a Standard Method Override Calculation ("SMO") and that this should be calculated on the same basis as the proposed mixed floor space and values based method.

 

Position at Period End  

The Tribunal Hearing took place in July 2012 to consider the matter and judgement was received in September in favour of Lok'nStore. The Judge found that while there was some link between overhead costs and the cost of insurance there was not a significant link and concluded that the standard method was not a fair proxy for use and went on to find that our proposed method gave a more accurate proxy for use and should be accepted.

 

HMRC will be allowed leave to appeal to the Upper Tribunal in respect of the First Tier Tribunal Judgement (FTT). It is appropriate, as in previous years, to update on the range of outcomes, on a worst case scenario, the overall liability in relation to input tax claimed up to the end of January 2013 which may become repayable to HMRC totals £435,749 (31.1.2012: £397,758) based on the standard method restriction. Of this £225,893 (31.1.2012: £208,579) relates to capital expenditure inputs and £209,856 (31.1.2012: £189,179) relates to income statement items. Interest would be added to both totals.  Alternatively, if our  floor-based special method is unchallenged by HMRC, this will give a restriction of less that 0.1%, in which case the total amount of VAT (plus interest) to be assessed by HMRC would on the figures above give a de minimus result.

 

It remains the Group's position to continue to report the position as a contingent liability until such time as HMRC's appeal is determined. However while that outcome at present remains uncertain it is not considered that any material provision is necessary.



 

Our Stores

 

Head office

Lok'nStore plc

112 Hawley Lane

Farnborough

Hampshire GU14 8JE

Tel   01252 521010

 

www.loknstore.co.uk

www.loknstore.com              

 

Central Enquiries

0800 587 3322

info@loknstore.co.uk

www.loknstore.co.uk

 

Ashford, Kent

Wotton Road

Ashford

Kent TN23 6LL

Tel   01233 645500

Fax 01233 646000

ashford@loknstore.co.uk

 

Basingstoke, Hampshire

Crockford Lane

Chineham

Basingstoke

Hampshire RG24 8NA

Tel   01256 474700

Fax  01256 477377

basingstoke@loknstore.co.uk 

 

Crayford, Kent

Block B

Optima Park

Thames Road

Crayford

Kent DA1 4QX

Tel   01322 525292

Fax 01322 521333

crayford@loknstore.co.uk     

 

Eastbourne, East Sussex

Unit 4, Hawthorn Road

Eastbourne

East Sussex BN23 6QA

Tel   01323 749222

Fax  01323 648555

eastbourne@loknstore.co.uk 

 

Fareham, Hampshire

26 + 27 Standard Way

Fareham Industrial Park

Fareham

Hampshire PO16 8XJ

Tel   01329 283300

Fax  01329 284400

fareham@loknstore.co.uk      

       

Farnborough, Hampshire

112 Hawley Lane

Farnborough

Hampshire GU14 8JE

Tel   01252 511112

Fax 01252 744475

farnborough@loknstore.co.uk               



 

Harlow, Essex

Unit 1 Dukes Park

Edinburgh Way

Harlow

Essex CM20 2GF

Tel   01279 454238

Fax 01279 443750

harlow@loknstore.co.uk

 

Horsham, West Sussex

Blatchford Road

Redkiln Estate

Horsham

West Sussex RH13 5QR

Tel   01403 272001

Fax  01403 274001

horsham@loknstore.co.uk

 

Luton, Bedfordshire

27 Brunswick Street

Luton

Bedfordshire LU2 0HG

Tel   01582 721177

Fax  01582 721188

luton@loknstore.co.uk

 

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Etheridge Avenue

Brinklow

Milton Keynes

Buckinghamshire MK10 0BB

Tel   01908 281900

Fax  01908 281700

miltonkeynes@loknstore.co.uk

 

Northampton Central

16 Quorn Way

Grafton Street Industrial Estate

Northampton NN1 2PN

Tel   01604 629928

Fax 01604 627531

nncentral@loknstore.co.uk

 

Northampton Riverside

Units 1-4

Carousel Way

Northampton

Northamptonshire NN3 9HG

Tel   01604 785522

Fax  01604 785511

northampton@loknstore.co.uk               

 

Poole, Dorset

50 Willis Way

Fleetsbridge

Poole

Dorset BH15 3SY

Tel   01202 666160

Fax  01202 666806

poole@loknstore.co.uk          

 

Portsmouth, Hampshire

Rudmore Square

Portsmouth PO2 8RT

Tel   02392 876783

Fax  02392 821941

portsmouth@loknstore.co.uk 



 

Reading, Berkshire

5-9 Berkeley Avenue

Reading

Berkshire RG1 6EL

Tel   0118 958 8999

Fax  0118 958 7500

reading@loknstore.co.uk       

 

Southampton, Hampshire

Manor House Avenue

Millbrook

Southampton

Hampshire SO15 0LF

Tel   02380 783388

Fax  02380 783383

southampton@loknstore.co.uk

 

Staines, Middlesex

The Causeway

Staines

Middlesex TW18 3AY

Tel   01784 464611

Fax  01784 464608

staines@loknstore.co.uk

 

Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex

Unit C, The Sunbury Centre

Hanworth Road

Sunbury

Middlesex TW16 5DA

Tel   01932 761100

Fax  01932 781188

sunbury@loknstore.co.uk

 

Swindon Kembrey Park, Wiltshire

Kembrey Street

Elgin Industrial Estate

Swindon

Wiltshire SN2 8UY

Tel   01793 421234

Fax  01793 422888

swindoneast@loknstore.co.uk              

 

Swindon (West), Wiltshire

16-18 Caen View

Rushy Platt Industrial Estate

Swindon

Wiltshire SN5 8WQ

Tel   01793 878222

Fax  01793 878333

swindonwest@loknstore.co.uk             

 

Tonbridge, Kent

Unit 6 Deacon Trading Estate

Vale Road

Tonbridge

Kent TN9 1SW

Tel   01732 771007

Fax  01732 773350

tonbridge@loknstore.co.uk    



 

Development locations

 

Southampton, Hampshire

Third Avenue

Millbrook

Southampton

SO15 0JX

 

North Harbour, Port Solent, Hampshire

Southampton Road

Portsmouth

PO6 4RH

 

Maidenhead, Berkshire

Stafferton Way

Maidenhead

Berkshire

SL6 1AY

 

Reading, Berkshire

A33 Reading Relief Road

Reading

Berkshire

RG1 6EL

 

Managed stores

 

Aldershot, Hampshire

(Opening 2014)

251, Ash Road

Aldershot

GU12 4DD

Tel  0845 4856415

aldershot@loknstore.co.uk

 

Ashford, Kent (from 28 March 2013)

Wotton Road

Ashford

Kent TN23 6LL

Tel   01233 645500

Fax 01233 646000

ashford@loknstore.co.uk

 

Crawley, West Sussex

Sussex Manor Business Park

Gatwick Road

Crawley

RH10 9NH

Tel  01293 738530

crawley@loknstore.co.uk      

 

Woking

Marlborough Road

Woking

GU21 5JG

Tel   01483 378323

Fax  01483 722444

woking@loknstore.co.uk

 

 


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
IR NKCDBPBKDPQD
UK 100