The Accounts · daily brief
24 June 2026
Auditor disclaimer at Clinphone, board pay jumps at Gates
The takeaways
- UHY Hacker Young disclaimed an audit opinion on Clinphone Development's accounts
- Directors' remuneration at Gates Industrial jumped 41% to £14.3m while headcount fell
- Hewlett-Packard Limited added £403m to its top line, but gross profit barely moved
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Event Merchandising Limited 31 → 65 staff ▲ +110% staff cost +53%
- Rheon Labs Ltd 29 → 35 staff ▲ +21%
Cutting
- Upland Software Uk Limited 157 → 64 staff ▼ −59% staff cost −24%
- Playwing Ltd 37 → 25 staff ▼ −32% staff cost −36%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Clinphone Development Limited
Operating as a subsidiary of the global clinical research organisation Parexel International, the company develops eClinical platforms and data capture technology for managing pharmaceutical clinical trials.
Auditor disclaimed an opinion.
| Line | FY24 | FY23 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £5,000 | £54,000 | ▼ −91% |
| Admin expenses | £20.3m | £8.4m | ▲ +142% |
| Operating profit | −£20.3m | −£8.4m | ▼ −143% |
| Finance costs | £74,000 | £79,000 | ▼ −6% |
| Profit before tax | −£4.7m | £12.4m | ▼ −138% |
| Net profit | −£4.7m | £12.3m | ▼ −139% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £44,000 | £37,000 | ▲ +19% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 143 | 191 | ▼ −25% |
| Staff cost | £12.1m | £15.1m | ▼ −20% |
The day's most unusual filing carries a disclaimer of opinion from auditor UHY Hacker Young. The clinical research subsidiary recorded virtually zero turnover but booked a £20.3m operating loss, weighed down by £20.3m in administrative expenses and a further £11.7m in exceptional items. Average headcount fell by 25% to 143, and the accounts rely upon a letter of support from its parent to maintain going-concern status.
Relx Plc [1]
Formerly known as Reed Elsevier, this FTSE 100-listed multinational holding company provides information-based analytics and decision tools across the scientific, medical, legal, and risk sectors through major brands such as Elsevier and LexisNexis.
Steady state
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £9.6bn | £9.4bn | ▲ +2% |
| Gross profit | £6.2bn | £6.0bn | ▲ +3% |
| Admin expenses | £2.8bn | £2.8bn | ▲ −0% |
| Operating profit | £3.0bn | £3.0bn | ▲ −0% |
| Finance costs | −£295m | −£304m | ▲ +3% |
| Profit before tax | £3.7bn | £3.7bn | ▲ −0% |
| Net profit | £3.0bn | £3.0bn | ▼ −0% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £119m | £119m | ▲ −0% |
| Net assets | £2.4bn | £2.4bn | ▲ −0% |
| Dividends paid | −£1.2bn | −£1.2bn | ▲ −0% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 37,600 | 37,600 | ▲ −0% |
| Staff cost | £3.1bn | £3.1bn | ▲ −0% |
| Director pay | £17.6m | £17.6m | ▲ −0% |
A FTSE 100 giant reporting with remarkable consistency. Operating profit landed at exactly £3.02bn for the second year running, while turnover nudged up a modest 2% to £9.59bn. The sort of steady-state ledger you can set your watch by.
Gates Industrial Corporation Plc [2]
Trading as Gates Corporation, this publicly listed, US-headquartered manufacturer produces power transmission belts and fluid power solutions for industrial and automotive applications.
Board pay jumps
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £2.6bn | £2.6bn | ▲ +1% |
| Gross profit | £1.1bn | £1.0bn | ▲ +1% |
| Admin expenses | £440m | £424.4m | ▲ +4% |
| Operating profit | £369.7m | £374.4m | ▼ −1% |
| Finance costs | £126m | £105.5m | ▲ +19% |
| Profit before tax | £238.8m | £274m | ▼ −13% |
| Net profit | £196m | £181.5m | ▲ +8% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £614m | £515.6m | ▲ +19% |
| Net assets | £2.9bn | £2.6bn | ▲ +10% |
| Dividends paid | £0 | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Staff cost | £636.1m | £634.2m | ▲ +0% |
| Director pay | £14.4m | £10.1m | ▲ +42% |
| Highest-paid director | £3.8m | £2.8m | ▲ +35% |
Turnover held broadly flat at £2.60bn, but directors' remuneration saw a rather more dynamic year. Total board pay jumped 41% to £14.3m, with the highest-paid director taking home £3.78m. This came as period-end headcount across the manufacturing group contracted by 6% to 13,171.
Hewlett-Packard Limited [3]
Hewlett-Packard Limited is a legacy UK information technology services subsidiary operating within the global, US-listed HP technology group.
Margin squeeze
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.2bn | £805.3m | ▲ +50% |
| Gross profit | £228m | £219.2m | ▲ +4% |
| Admin expenses | £40.1m | £44.7m | ▼ −10% |
The UK services arm of the US technology group saw turnover surge 50% to £1.20bn. However, the extra £403m in revenue barely registered at the gross profit line, which ticked up just 4% to £228m. A classic low-margin passthrough operation.
Hornsea 1 Limited [4]
The company operates the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the North Sea, functioning as a joint venture between Orsted, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Greencoat UK Wind.
Heavy leverage
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £605.4m | £564.6m | ▲ +7% |
| Gross profit | £192.3m | £139.2m | ▲ +38% |
| Admin expenses | £111.9m | £104.4m | ▲ +7% |
| Operating profit | £80.3m | £26.8m | ▲ +200% |
| Finance costs | £121.1m | £135.2m | ▼ −10% |
| Profit before tax | £35.6m | £102.2m | ▼ −65% |
| Net profit | £74.7m | £149.2m | ▼ −50% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £9.5m | £31.5m | ▼ −70% |
| Net assets | −£363.5m | −£438.2m | ▲ +17% |
The offshore wind farm operator saw operating profit triple to £80.3m as turnover rose 7% to £605m. Below the line, however, a hefty £121m finance cost brought profit before tax down to £35.6m. A reminder of the heavy debt loads required to keep the turbines turning in the North Sea.
Blackrock Fund Managers Limited [5]
Operating as a subsidiary of the US-listed asset management group BlackRock Inc., the entity acts as an FCA-authorised manager for UK UCITS collective investment funds.
Lean passthrough
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £599.6m | £737.7m | ▼ −19% |
| Gross profit | £37.9m | £42.8m | ▼ −11% |
| Admin expenses | £3.2m | £896k | ▲ +253% |
| Operating profit | £34.7m | £41.9m | ▼ −17% |
| Finance costs | £0 | £17,000 | ▼ −100% |
| Profit before tax | £38.3m | £44.8m | ▼ −15% |
| Net profit | £38.3m | £51.2m | ▼ −25% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Dividends paid | £50m | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Staff cost | £0 | £0 | |
| Director pay | £868k | £838k | ▲ +4% |
A capital-light entity with zero employees acting as a manager for UK funds. Turnover dropped 18% to £599m, with operating profit falling alongside it to £34.7m. That slight contraction during the period was accompanied by a £50m dividend paid to its parent.
Nothing quite like a disclaimed audit to make a flat £3 billion operating profit look appealing.
Sources
- Relx Plc
- Gates Industrial Corporation Plc
- Hewlett-Packard Limited
- Hornsea 1 Limited
- Blackrock Fund Managers Limited