The right team... generating sustainable value
for shareholders, employees and clients
Christie Group plc
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7227 0707
Fax +44 (0) 20 7227 0708
www.christiegroup.com
Christie Group plc
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Christie Group plc ANNUAL REPORT 2009 1 Highlights of the year
2 Our divisions, sectors and
core capabilities
3 Our brands
4 Chairman’s statement
6 Chief Executive’s statement
9 Professional Business Services
15 Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
20 Financial review
22 Board of directors
22 Company information
23 Directors’ report
24 Corporate governance
27 Remuneration report
29 Statement of directors’ responsibilities
30 Independent auditor’s report
31 Consolidated statement of
comprehensive income
32 Consolidated statement of changes 
in shareholders’ equity
33 Consolidated statement of
financial position
34 Consolidated statement of cash flows
35 Company statement of changes in
shareholders’ equity
36 Company statement of financial position
37 Company statement of cash flows
38 Notes to the consolidated
financial statements
76 Five-year record
77 Shareholder information
79 Directory
Christie Group offers a portfolio of professional business
services for the leisure, retail and care sectors.
These include surveying, valuation, agency, consultancy,
finance, insurance, stock control and business software
solutions. Our focus on a limited number of sectors gives us
an unrivalled market awareness in each of these areas.
The results: a greater understanding of our clients’
operations and a heightened ability to help them improve
efficiency, enhance trading profits and increase the value of
their businesses. In these ways, and through our innovative
use of technology, we have built a reputation for making a
significant contribution to our clients’ commercial success.
About us Contents
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• Improved trading environment.
• Agency business seeing stabilisation of asset prices and
re-engagement of purchasers.
• Resilient care business reflecting attraction of long-term
Government revenue stream.
• Stock & Inventory Systems & Services increasingly called
on to aid cash flow management through minimising
cash tied up in stock.
REVENUE BY DIVISION 2009
REVENUE BY SECTOR 2009
2009 2008
Leisure
£20.5m £27.8m
42%
44% 44%
Retail
£20.0m £22.8m
42%
44%
36%
Care
£6.6m £12.8m 
14%
14%
 20%
2009 2008
Professional £23.3m £36.9m 
Business Services 49%
49%
58%
Stock & Inventory
 
£23.8m
 
£26.5m
 
Systems & Services
 
51%
51%
 42%
Highlights of the year
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:27  Page 1 UNITED KINGDOM
BELGIUM
GERMANY
FRANCE
SPAIN
FINLAND
BARCELONA
RENNES
LYON
PARIS
BERLIN
MUNICH
FRANKFURT
HELSINKI
BRUSSELS
MARSEILLES
Professional Business Services
The expertise offered by Christie + Co,
Christie Finance and Christie Insurance
covers all aspects of valuing, buying, selling,
developing, ﬁnancing and insuring a wide
variety of businesses. Its scope is
complemented by the comprehensive
appraisal and project management services
available from Pinders.
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
Orridge and Venners are the leading
specialists in stock control and inventory
management services. Orridge specialises
in all ﬁelds of retail, Venners focuses on the
hospitality sector and Vennersys provides
software and systems to the leisure and
hospitality sectors. Employing up-to-date
technologies, the division operates in
Europe and North America. 
TORONTO
CANADA
WINCHESTER
ENFIELD
EXETER
HARLOW
MILTON KEYNES 
MAIDSTONE
LONDON
BRISTOL
NOTTINGHAM
IPSWICH
BIRMINGHAM
ALDRIDGE
MANCHESTER
NEWCASTLE
UPON TYNE
LEEDS
EDINBURGH
GLASGOW
OFFICES
31 offices across the UK, Continental
Europe and Canada.
EMPLOYEES
Employing up to 1,200 professional 
and specialist staff.
Our core capabilities Our divisions
Our sectors
The Group provides over 40 individual services across it two divisions. These are the main ones:
Christie Christie 
Christie + Co Finance Insurance Pinders Venners Orridge Vennersys
Agency
•
Funding
•
Appraisal
•
Building Services
•
Software and Support
•
Valuation
••
Insurance
•
Consultancy
•••
Stock Audit
••
Inventory 
•
Health & Safety
•
2 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 3
Professional Business Services
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
Christie + Co      www.christie.com www.christiecorporate.com
Christie + Co is the leading specialist firm providing business intelligence 
in the hospitality, leisure, care and retail sectors. With offices across the UK,
it focuses on agency, valuation services, investment and consultancy activity
in its key sectors. Internationally, it operates from offices in the UK, Finland,
France, Germany and Spain.
Christie Finance      www.christiefinance.com
Christie Finance has over 30 years’ experience in financing businesses in 
the hospitality, leisure, care and retail sectors. Its excellent relationships 
with the clearing banks, centralised lenders, finance houses and building
societies make it the market leader in providing finance solutions for
purchase or refinancing in its specialist sectors.
Christie Insurance      www.christieinsurance.com
With over 30 years’ experience arranging business insurance in the hospitality,
leisure, care and retail sectors, Christie Insurance is a leading company in 
its markets. Its excellent contacts with the UK’s leading insurers enable it 
to provide a premier service including tailored insurance schemes.
Pinders      www.pinders.co.uk www.pinderpack.com
Pinders is the UK's leading specialist business appraisal, valuation and
consultancy company, providing professional services to the licensed leisure,
retail and care sectors, and also the commercial and corporate business
sectors. Its Building Consultancy Division offers a full range of project
management, building monitoring and building surveying services. 
15,000 UK businesses
inspected in 2009
Offices across Europe.
Over30years’experience
Providing independent business
mortgage advice.
90% client retention
Strong customer relationships.
Property database built up over
40 years
Detailed analyses of over
180,000 businesses.
400 million
household items counted in 2009
Pan-European reach with major
international clients.
24 hours a day, seven days a week
VENPoS Online e-commerce platform
always at work, selling for its clients.
Orridge      www.orridge.co.uk www.orridge.eu
Europe’s longest established stocktaking business specialising in all fields of
retail stocktaking including high street, warehousing and factory operations.
It also has a specialised pharmacy division providing valuation and stocktaking
services. A full range of stocktaking and inventory management solutions is
provided for a wide range of clients in the UK and Europe.
Vennersys      www.vennersys.com
Vennersys operates in the UK and North America and delivers turnkey EPoS
and ticketing systems to visitor attractions such as historic houses and
estates, museums, zoos, safari parks, aquaria and cinemas.
Venners      www.venners.com
The leading supplier of stocktaking, inventory, consultancy services and
related stock management systems to the hospitality sector . Consultancy
services include control audits, ‘live’ event stocktaking and Health & Safety
implementation and control. Bespoke software and systems enable real-time
management reporting to customers using the best available technologies.
The largest and longest
established stock audit
company in the hospitality
sector in the UK and growing
in mainland Europe.
Priding itself on the speed
with which it supplies
high-quality management
information to clients.
Over 20 years’ experience of
delivering purpose-designed
solutions for clients’ ticketing,
admissions, EPoS and food and
beverage sales requirements.
100 visits per day in 2009
Counting over four million stock lines
for clients.
Our brands
Market leaders in its sectors,
employing the largest teams
of sector specialists in the UK
providing professional agency
and advisory services.
Prides itself on its speed of
response to client opportunities
and its strong relationships
with finance providers.
Delivering and exceeding
clients’ expectations in terms
of the cost of their insurance
and the breath of its cover .
Looking at the detail of
businesses to arrive at
accurate assessments of their
trading potential and value
through business analysis
and surveying skills.
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:27  Page 3 4 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
Chairman’s statement
Recovery in sight
I am pleased to present our full year
results to 31 December 2009 against
the backdrop of an economic outlook
that is undoubtedly more buoyant than
when I posted our interim results in
August 2009. The first quarter of 2010
has started positively and we expect 
to see that momentum building
throughout the year .
As a result of prompt management action and cost
management measures put in place by the Board, the
operating loss for our second half to 31 December 2009
has reduced to £0.9m against a first half loss of £2.7m.
This makes a post tax loss for the year of £1.9m on
turnover of £47.1m (2008: £63.4m for continuing
businesses). The losses were funded from our own
cash resources, as a result of which, we finished the
year with no net borrowings and cash of £1.7m.
Our operating costs for the year amounted to £50.7m,
(prior year £68.1m). Of this reduction, £15.1m was
saved by our Professional Business Services Division,
which reduced costs by 35.7% over the prior year . Of the
operating costs, £0.9m of the 2009 costs relate to
depreciation (net of capital expenditure), amortisation,
share schemes and other non-cash charges.
An achievement for which I think we can be justifiably
proud is to have traded through the recession while
incurring no net debt. There has been no requirement
therefore for fund raising or other measures.
There are certain benefits to be gained from a
recession, one of which is that other firms go back to
their areas of traditional competence. Ours is the only
firm with 24 offices specialising in business sales
(hospitality, retail, care) and we now find that from a
competitive viewpoint we are trading in a less crowded
marketplace. Our valuations benefit from an in-depth
knowledge of market and price trends achieved through
combining our extensive transaction data on completed
sales with our visibility of current offers and
acceptances in our transaction pipeline.
We believe that, for us, a year of recession bottomed 
in May 2009, since which point we have seen stable
income. It is rare for transactions to be fully cash
funded and therefore the availability of credit on
commercial terms is a crucial driver for many of the
transactions that we are engaged with. Initiatives are in
place through a number of the commercial lenders to
bolster the supply of credit to smaller businesses
through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
and by providing access to European Investment
Bank funding.
2010 has started positively. Activity levels have been
good, since we emerged from the snow and ice early 
in the New Year, and margins have held up well. Our
market position is strong as are our relationships with
the banks and business introducers. 
I believe that once the general election is behind us, we
will experience a continuing recovery supported by an
improved broader economic sentiment. Reflecting our
confidence in the future it is our intention to resume
dividend payments assuming a sustained recovery.
I extend my thanks particularly to our Finance Director,
Robert Zenker, who has been our capable financial
steward for the past 16 years. We wish him well for the
future. I would like to thank all our staff who have risen
magnificently to a challenging market.
Philip Gwyn
26 March 2010
Nick Holland-Brown
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of 
Nick Holland-Brown, former Chairman of Orridge. 
Nick joined the family business at the age of 22 and
developed the Orridge pharmaceutical stocktaking
practice into the UK's premier retail stocktaking
business, which Nick afforded us the opportunity to
acquire as he felt we were the right home. Nick
retained ownership of Orridge Business Sales,
specialising in pharmacy sales, which is still operated
by his son, Simon. Nick was a charming bon viveur,
raconteur and gentleman whom we shall miss.
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:27  Page 4 Brand 
strength and
endurance 
International
development
Financial
stability
Flexible
approach
Focused
and clear
direction
Operational
efficiency
Our strategy for resilience Key drivers
Focusing rigorously 
on our core sectors 
We maintain a rigorous focus on
strengthening our capabilities within our
core sectors. This disciplined approach
aligns our activities with clients’ interests
and creates more opportunities to extend
our services and broaden our client base.
Developing in Europe
Our divisions provide portfolios of
interconnected services to facilitate our
clients’ business activities in the UK 
and Continental Europe. Our risks and
opportunities are increasingly diversified
across economies, industry sectors and
the services we offer .
Maximising our synergies
Individually, our companies acquire 
in-depth understanding in their chosen
markets. Together, they have the
resources to deliver services and skills
which are highly complementary. They 
add more value when they combine their
strengths on behalf of our clients.
Flexible approach
We aim for flexibility in the way we meet 
our clients’ needs. In these changing and
challenging times, we consider one of our
“core competencies” to be the ability to flex
our resources to meet the varying levels of
demand in the marketplace.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 5
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 5 6 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
Chief Executive’s statement
We entered 2010 in good shape with
the upturn in activity maintained 
and with the full benefit of the cost
reductions implemented during the
first half of 2009. Time will tell
whether the momentum of recovery
will be sustained, but the outlook
today is certainly a good deal more
positive than at this time last year . 
We are well positioned to take full
advantage of the recovery.
Our markets
Our client base is largely the same across each of our
sectors – leisure, retail and care – and our ability to take
advantage of the synergy benefits of cross-selling more
than one Group service to each of our businesses'
clients has a marked positive effect on revenues and
profitability. There are approximately a quarter of a
million businesses in Christie Group’s specialist sectors
in the UK. Our aim is to create value for shareholders
from each stage in the cycle of small and medium-sized
enterprise (SME) ownership; represented by acquisition,
funding, business development, stock control, insurance
and disposal. The services offered by the Group touch
each of these vital business disciplines and our 
success over the years is demonstrated by both the
overall size of our client base and the substantial
proportion of repeat business from entrepreneurs,
funders and advisers.
We own perhaps the best known brands in our chosen
sectors for the size of the businesses we target. This
means that we are almost always considered for
appointment when a suitable business requires one of
the services we provide. The resulting active client base
is diversified by geography, sector, stage of development
and thus by risk.
Our businesses
Against the economic background outlined above, the
Group's financial performance in 2009 represented a
creditable achievement. Costs were contained or
reduced across the board and a renewed emphasis on
gaining new and realistic mandates instilled. Two of our
three core sectors – leisure and retail – were hit hard by
the downturn in consumer spending and it was only in
the last quarter of the year that prices of businesses 
in these areas reduced sufficiently to tempt in
opportunistic buyers. Our third sector, care, stood up
much better in terms of prices as a result of its longer
term revenues from government but even here,
transaction levels reduced substantially, largely as 
a result of the restricted availability of bank financing, 
a factor which continues to affect SMEs in the 
UK economy.
Professional Business Services 
This division had to cope with a precipitous fall in
transaction prices. Depending on the sector, we
calculate this to have been between 16% and 34%
(average of 27% across our sectors) from peak to trough
in early 2009 and an almost complete cessation of
voluntary transactions; that is now beginning to recover .
The first signs of this recovery became apparent at the
end of 2009 when the first distressed sales of assets and
businesses by corporates came on to the market. The
response was surprisingly quick. Buyers with cash or
access to cash took advantage of low prices and began
to compete for assets, having apparently waited on the
sidelines for purchases to become available at prices
they considered reasonable.
The absence of pre-credit crunch levels of debt
availability has led to a much stronger equity base –
some 60% – behind property-based business
acquisitions. We believe funding will remain in short
supply as the heavy schedule of loan maturities for
banks begins to bite. There are, however, new lenders
beginning to take up some of the demand and this,
together with an increase in the number of enquiries
from potential buyers, is a positive sign.
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services 
The trading environment has presented opportunities as
well as issues for the businesses in this division. With
working capital facilities under pressure, tight control of
stock has become vital. Retailers now operate seven
days a week on an efficient staff headcount. As a result,
more and more functions are outsourced and our
businesses in this area have benefited accordingly.
Lower consumer spend, leading to pressure on margins,
has also focused retailers' attention on 'just-in-time'
availability counts to reduce stock levels and on the
services we offer to control fraud, theft and shrinkage.
Consequently, we plan to raise capital expenditure in
this division in 2010 to take advantage of these trends
and to capitalise on the increased operating margins
now available to us. We currently have a significant
pipeline of new work and, given the current economic
environment, a ready supply of potential staff.
With key software developments completed in 2009,
including on-line ticketing, Vennersys now offers the
leading system for visitor attractions in the UK.
Well positioned for the future
During what proved to be a difficult 2009, the business
demonstrated both its resilience and financial strength.
Resilience because of our volume of customers and
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 6 Our specialist market sectors
Hotels
Public Houses
Bars
Restaurants
Takeaways
Sports Centres
Fitness Centres
Cinemas
Entertainment Venues
Nightclubs
Gaming and Betting Businesses
Visitor Attractions
Destination Resorts
Serviced Accommodation
Caravan Parks
Holiday Parks
Guesthouses
Railways
Currency Bureaux
Event Caterers
Bowling Alleys and Greens
Care
Supermarkets
Convenience Stores
Newsagents
Booksellers
Off-licences
Post Offices
Warehouses
Supply Chain Premises
Professional Practices
Forecourt Businesses
Specialist Shops
Pharmacies
Retail
Leisure
Residential Care Homes
Nursing Homes
Hospitals
Surgeries
Daycare Centres
Childcare Centres
Schools
Colleges
Close Care/Assisted Living Centres
Secure Units
Dental Practices and Doctors’ Surgeries
Domiciliary Care Businesses
Animal Businesses
clients across our markets and strength by the fact that
we are one of the very few companies in the property
services sector that has not had to call on its
shareholders to provide additional equity funds.
The breadth, depth and longevity of the Group
demonstrates to clients and potential clients that we
represent a skilled and experienced practitioner that
can be trusted to help them realise value from their
businesses at every stage of the business cycle. We have
reduced costs, improved efficiency and focused on our
cross-selling activity during the last year . Clients enjoy
access to senior, experienced practitioners, which
provides us with both a competitive advantage and
client loyalty.
Distressed businesses are providing much of our
current pipeline of activity and are creating almost
unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs. We
believe the normal cycle is restarting – but this time
from a more financially sound base after business
owners have deleveraged. We are confident that 2010
will mark a return to growth for the Group.
David Rugg
26 March 2010
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 7
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 7 Brand strength and endurance...
the result of long experience and
market leadership. 
8 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 8 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 9
CHRISTIE + CO
Christie + Co is Europe’s largest specialist business
broker, focusing on the hospitality, leisure, care,
education and retail sectors with offices throughout the
UK and across Continental Europe – four in France,
three in Germany and one each in Spain and Finland.
We are market leaders in our sectors, employing
around 230 skilled and experienced specialists to
provide professional agency and advisory services.
In 2009, we inspected almost 15,000 businesses for
sale or valuation purposes.
All businesses continued to take a critical look at
overheads and efficiency during 2009 as they sought to
minimise the effects of the downturn and position
themselves for a return to growth. We were no
exception. We consolidated our operations but maintained
our geographical network and expanded our sector
coverage and range of services. Operationally, we focused
on growing our business where possible and committed
additional resource to our Bank Support and Business
Recovery Unit, which during the year handled more than
350 distressed cases, involving over 1,600 assets.
Transaction volumes in our markets bottomed out in the
first half of 2009 and finally began to pick up during the
second half. This upturn has been maintained during the
first few months of 2010, driven principally by asset and
business disposals from distressed owners, both
corporate and individual. Prices reduced significantly
during 2009 across all our sectors and, with corporate
buyers largely absent, individual entrepreneurs took, and
are taking, advantage of lower prices to acquire what
they believe to be good value businesses and assets.
Our published average price indices for business
property in our sectors in 2009 (based on businesses
sold by Christie + Co) illustrate this decline, with falls of
around 20% being recorded for hotels, restaurants and
pubs and around 10% for the care and retail sectors.
Putting this in the context of recent economic and
market performance, hotel prices have fallen by some
34% from their pre-credit crunch peaks with pubs and
restaurants down by 30% and 29% respectively. Care
assets fared slightly better with a decline of 26% whilst
retail did better still with a 16% fall in property prices
from the peaks seen in late 2007 and early 2008. Against
this background, it is easy to see why value-conscious
individual buyers have returned to the market.
Individuals with high levels of available equity have
replaced corporate buyers, many of which in the run-up
to the credit crunch were highly leveraged. This
over-leverage resulted in a number of basically sound
businesses being put into administration as their
revenues fell and they were unable to comply with
lending covenants. The sale of these distressed
businesses and assets is currently the principal driver
of volumes and we expect this to remain so for the
balance of 2010.
At one point, new bank funding was limited within our
sectors to the extent that, amongst other things, many
corporate buyers withdrew from the market, with many
of them becoming sellers paying down debt and
repairing balance sheets. There are signs emerging,
however, that new-to-sector lenders, without legacy
loan books, are beginning to target our markets. If this
trend is confirmed, we may see transaction volumes
benefiting from the return of corporate buyers. Any
pick-up in activity levels will produce a materially
positive effect on our bottom line results as we have
reduced both our fixed and variable costs. We are with
good reason cautiously optimistic about the outlook for
Christie + Co in 2010.
First Quench Retailing
Christie + Co was appointed by the Joint
Administrators of First Quench Retailing (FQR)
Limited to advise on the disposal of approximately
750 former FQR stores, after it was placed in
administration. After marketing the properties for
just one week, Christie + Co received over 1,000
offers and was later instructed to market a further
500-plus stores from the former FQR estate.
Park Inn London
Acting on behalf of Administrators Ernst & Young,
Christie + Co sold the Park Inn London, Russell
Square, to Crimson Hotels Group, the privately-owned,
UK-based company, for an undisclosed sum. More
than 50 accompanied formal tours of the hotel in just
over a month culminated in a multi-stage competitive
bidding process, which attracted a combined 
£1 billion-worth of funded offers.
Divisional review
Professional Business Services
Chris Day MD Christie+ Co and a Christie Group Director Simon Hughes MD Christie + Co UK
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 9 Operational efficiency...
vital in difficult economic
circumstances.
10 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 10 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 11
CHRISTIE FINANCE
Christie Finance is an independent business mortgage
broker specialising in the provision of funding for
hospitality, leisure, care, education and retail assets.
Through our relationship with Christie + Co, we 
offer a nationwide service in the UK and have built 
up over 30 years’ experience in our specialist sectors. 
We pride ourselves on the speed of our response 
to client opportunities.
During 2009, there were new sources of funds available
and we were also able to take advantage of the
Government-supported Enterprise Finance Guarantee
Scheme to mitigate the effect of reduced property values
on small businesses. As a result, activity levels and,
more importantly, deal completions increased markedly
during the second half of the year . 
We are particularly proud of our track record in bringing
together the services provided by our sister companies 
in Christie Group, to benefit our clients. We worked on 
a number of transactions in the care and hospitality
sectors where the asset, funding, professional valuation
and insurance services were provided by Christie 
Group companies.
Our highlight of the year was successfully arranging
funding facilities for Moorfield Group for the
refurbishment of four hotels operated by Shearings, the
coach tour company. We successfully negotiated these
funds in competition with some much larger corporate
banking teams in the City of London. 
Now, more than ever before, borrowers need professional
help arranging loans. Experienced input ensures not 
only the best price but also that the funding suits the
individual’s requirements and includes, for example,
balanced terms and conditions that allow for changing
circumstances throughout the loan term.
In the remainder of 2010, we anticipate making progress
and very much hope that this can be accelerated by
increased activity levels and easier availability of debt.
CHRISTIE INSURANCE
Christie Insurance is an independent intermediary, not
tied to any insurer, with an absolute priority to deliver
the best option for its customers. We are specialists 
in the hospitality, leisure, care, education and retail
sectors and have built up a comprehensive knowledge
in these areas, understanding in detail the insurance
needs of our clients.
The combination of competition between insurers and 
the excess capacity within the overall insurance market
continued to drive premiums downwards in 2009. We
operated in a challenging environment with many
premiums either remaining the same or reducing on the
previous year . Despite this, we ended 2009 in a profitable
position, having met our goal to deliver and exceed our
clients’ expectations in terms of the cost of their insurance
and the breath of the cover we arrange for them.
Whilst we are both pleased and equipped to deal with 
our clients electronically, we firmly believe that insuring
trading businesses is better conducted in person. This
allows us to discuss and understand our customers’
specific needs and to ensure that the cover we provide is
the best fit available. Similarly, to achieve a successful
outcome to a claim entails us knowing both our clients’
cover and rights, and bringing this understanding to bear
for their benefit.
During 2009, there was significant growth in our Business
Protection Division and a continuing strong performance
from our Existing Business Team, with a retention rate 
of over 90%. 
We continue to enjoy excellent working relationships
within the Group. Christie + Co and Christie Finance
remain the main source of our lead generation for new
business but we continue to actively broaden our 
referral network.
Divisional review
Professional Business Services
The Grand Union Group
The Grand Union Group is an independent chain of
bar-grill venues and a pub-restaurant situated in
London and the Home Counties. Historically, each
venue had been insured separately with the
insurance arrangements spread across several
different insurers and handled by more than one
broker . Christie Insurance established a group policy
covering all the venues, resulting in both a premium
reduction of about 40% and significant administrative
efficiencies. The group has subsequently added two
venues to the policy and hopes to add three more,
bringing the total to twelve.
Arlington House
Christie Finance provided refinancing on two learning
disability homes in Brighton for a local couple who
planned to expand their portfolio, and then
introduced them to Arlington House, a residential
care home in Hove. Christie Finance commissioned
an independent valuation on Arlington House from
Pinders and subsequently provided a further loan for
its purchase. Christie + Co sold the business to the
couple and was also asked by Christie Finance and
Abbey to revalue the two original homes for loan
security purposes. Christie Insurance provided
business insurance for Arlington House and life
assurance for its new owners.
David Grant Head of Business Mortgages Christie Finance Walter Murray MD Christie Insurance
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 11 Flexible approach...
key to providing end-to-end
solutions that add real value.
12 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 12 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 13
Divisional review
Professional Business Services
PINDERS
Pinders is a leading business valuation provider that
looks at the detail of businesses to arrive at accurate
assessments of their trading potential and value using
a combination of business analysis and surveying
skills. Our work is a mix of transactional and
consultancy assignments. We have national coverage
throughout the UK and a database, built up over 
40 years, containing detailed analyses of over 
180,000 businesses.
Our valuers are all RICS qualified and their commercially
sensitive and often confidential work is provided across
five sectors – healthcare & education, licensed trade,
retail & catering, leisure & hospitality and service &
manufacturing. Services provided to these sectors fall
into six broad categories – appraisal & valuation,
consultancy, dispute resolution, building surveying,
project management and business recovery. 
We continued to make progress in 2009 towards our
strategic goals of broadening our client base and
increasing the proportion of consultancy (as against
transactional) work undertaken by the company. In 2009,
transactional work in our markets reduced on an
absolute basis as the economic environment remained
resolutely negative. However, we believe that we grew
market share as a result of the successful outcome of a
programme to increase our presence on the provider
panels organised by almost all of the lending banks and
by most local authorities.
In common with almost all service providers, we took
the opportunity in 2009 to streamline our operational
systems to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Central costs were reduced by combining roles and by
transferring, where possible, support staff to fee-earning
positions. We also took initiatives to increase our visibility
with clients and potential clients. These included the
appointment of Regional Marketing Managers in order 
to maximise our profile with local lenders, the increased
use of e-mail marketing to maintain profile with existing
clients and develop links with new ones and the
introduction of internet-based marketing materials 
to save money on print and production. All marketing
expenditure was carefully monitored and controlled
throughout the year to derive the maximum benefit from
the minimum cost.
Changes in marketing activity largely reflected the
changing market conditions. For example, we focused 
on developing stronger relationships with insolvency
practitioners as well as the lending, debt and debt
recovery teams at our business providers in banking. 
We also developed an increasing revenue stream from
services supplied to not-for-profit organisations as they
sought to raise funds or save money from strategic
disposals, partnering arrangements, acquisitions and
turn-arounds. 
A number of new consultancy services were launched in
2009, including a Business Support & Recovery Service,
as a specific response to the economic downturn. Other
new services were a Sequential Site Appraisal Report
launched in association with our Planning Consultancy
Service and a ‘Property Healthcheck’ Report – effectively
a reduced Building Survey and Fire Risk Assessment.
The first quarter of 2010 has seen a continuation of the
recovery in transaction volumes. We are holding our
increased market share of transactional business and
building our consultancy offering with new clients being
won on both sides. Our increased operational efficiency,
client focus and reduced cost base stands us in good
stead to benefit financially from the increased flow of
business we are seeing in the current year .
Justin Cain MD Pinders
Isle of Wight care home
A care home was bought with the benefit of planning
permission resulting from plans drawn up by local
architects. The owner intended to develop the building
with funding from Abbey (Pinders’ client) before the
permission lapsed. Fortunately, the Pinders’ valuer
noticed that the plans did not meet the national CQC
standards, thereby giving the owner the opportunity
to reconfigure the plans to ensure full compliance. As
a result, Pinders’ specialist knowledge of the sector
prevented the bank's customer from proceeding with
a costly development that was flawed.
Airline catering
A Pinders valuation was required regarding a
proposed share purchase of a business supplying
food to the airline industry. The factors considered
were: whether any personal goodwill rested with the
MD; the sustainability of the business considering
the pressures faced by the airline industry and the
pressures placed on its suppliers; the fact that there
were no formal contracts; the specialist nature of
the business and the fact that demand would be
limited if the business were brought to the market.
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 13 Financial stability...
planning a balanced approach
for the long-term.
14 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 14 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 15
VENNERS
Venners is the largest and longest established stock
audit company in the hospitality sector, with full
nationwide coverage in the UK and a growing presence
across Europe. As well as stock audit services, we also
offer food safety consultancy through our Health &
Safety Division. We use only our own full-time auditors,
all of whom are trained to a BII accredited standard. 
With up to 100 visits per day, we completed over 22,000
stock audits and over 575 compliance audits in 2009,
counting over four million stock lines for our clients and
monitoring the consumption of over 16 million gallons of
draught beer and more than one and a quarter million
bottles of spirits.
2009 was an extremely difficult year in the hospitality
sector . Despite this, we made real progress in terms of
efficiency gains from the roll-out of new bespoke 
IT systems and the adoption of new working practices. 
We also instituted a renewed emphasis on client
recruitment, retention and development.
We have taken a number of initiatives to improve
operational efficiency and financial performance. 
The stock audit side of the business has successfully
completed the migration to our latest bespoke software,
VenComm. In the Health & Safety Division, we have
revised and updated all our documentation for both 
our own and our clients’ benefit. In addition, we have
streamlined the management reporting functions 
and improved our training with the introduction for the
first time of CAM Studio DVDs. The introduction of
discounted fuel cards (fuel for our auditors and
consultants represents a significant cost for us) and
an on-line payments system for clients will together
improve cash flow and reduce costs.
Our focus on clients has resulted in work from new
sectors for us, including the tenancy and leased markets,
and from sectors which have been quiet for us until this
point in the cycle, such as administration and distressed
businesses. 
The addition of new clients has been supported by very
active marketing campaigns, which have included the
introduction of a tele-sales function, the provision of
training in selling skills and a new platform for our
marketing database. We have increased our visibility with
a programme to improve networking – one of our best
sources of referral remains satisfied clients talking to
potential clients – and improvements to our website to
attract more traffic.
For Stock Audit, new clients included Autogrill Catering
UK and von Essen hotels (one of the market leaders in
the country house hotel market). For Health & Safety, new
clients included Orange Sun Services (a predominantly
London-based pub group operating 30 leased premises),
Sphere Leisure (which operates the catering outlets for
South Gloucestershire Council) and BrewKitchen (an
award-winning group of restaurants operated by well-
known chef, Robert Smith, in the Sheffield/Yorkshire area).
In 2010, we should reap the full benefits of the work
undertaken to increase efficiency and reduce costs as
well as the momentum established by our marketing
campaigns. Our new dedicated business unit, Venners
Event Consultancy, which was established in 2009,
should continue to add clients but has already started
well with the provision of ‘live stocktaking’ at Wembley
Stadium and at Twickenham. Drawing on the experience
of our new Non-executive Chairman, Pommy Sarwal, we
will continue to build on cross-selling our services with
other Group companies. This will follow a good year in
2009 in this respect, with joint work being undertaken for
Real Hotels, The Crown Estate and Brentwood Hotels.
We look forward to the rest of 2010 with a degree of
confidence.
Divisional review
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
Make your ‘Score on the Door’ work for you
A small struggling West Midlands’ inn had a 
zero ‘Scores on the Doors’ rating before Venners
became involved. After much hard work, training
and dedication, the business was later awarded 
5 stars. This excellent result is now used in all 
the inn’s marketing and public relations such as
adverts, menus, business cards and website, 
etc. Business is now booming and the sensible,
proactive and cost-controlled investment in
Venners is paying dividends.
InterContinental Hotels Group
Since May 2008, IHG has been working with
Venners across its European managed estate. 
The service offering provided by Venners includes
inventory counting, potential variance analysis,
stock control and an advisory service for procedure
reviews. All the services delivered by Venners 
have proved to be effective and, as a result of 
this successful partnership, IHG has developed 
a preferred supplier relationship with Venners.
Trevor Heyburn MD Venners
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:28  Page 15 International development...
bringing our skills to a wider
marketplace.
16 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 16 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 17
Divisional review
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
ORRIDGE
Orridge is a leading retail stocktaking services provider
with a pan-European reach and the ability to provide 
a cost effective and consistent service to our major
international clients throughout Europe. Our client
base is large and diversified. We pride ourselves on
operational excellence, flexibility and the speed with
which we can supply high-quality management
information to our clients.
In difficult business environments, accurate stocktaking
becomes even more important as businesses seek to
preserve margins in the face of lower consumer
spending. This means even more attention is focused on
supply chains, leakage and fraud. Our long experience
and scale makes us a trusted supplier of the vital
information retailers need to run their operations
efficiently. On an average working day, we carry out more
than 100 stocktakes.
During 2009, we counted:
• In excess of 400 million items that are used in 
the home, including groceries, stationery and
household products.
• More than 90 million items of clothing – more than
one for every man, woman and child in the UK.
• Dispensary stock in excess of £300 million.
• More than 40 million books and magazines.
Our continuing adoption of the latest technology has
enabled us to grow gross contribution as a result of
de-skilling operations and thus reducing our costs. 
In addition, we restructured our European operations
during 2009 to instil more focus on retaining and growing
the work we do for clients as well as winning new
accounts. Examples of this are the increasing use of
web-based delivery – with Dutch and French websites 
up and running – and further increased use of Denso
handheld technology, particularly in the pharmacy sector .
Our focus on clients is paying off. We added 23 new
clients during 2009 and we now operate in 18 countries
throughout Europe. We are proud to be able to provide
English, French, Dutch, Spanish, German and Flemish
speakers as part of our strategy to provide complete
stocktaking solutions to meet our clients’ requirements. 
We are promoting our leading position in our field to 
both clients and potential clients through our
sponsorship of the Taking Stock Forum. Driven by
contributions from major UK retailers, the Retail Loss
Prevention Forum allows retail professionals to come
together and share best practices and experiences
on-line with industry colleagues. 
Winning new business together with other Group
companies remains a priority. In 2009, we worked 
with Christie + Co on some 20 business transfers. 
In conjunction with Venners, we are beginning work for
Compass Group, one of the UK's leading outsourced
hospitality groups with over 50,000 staff in more than
7,000 locations. Our colleagues at Venners will carry out
liquor counts at a substantial number of Compass
operations including racecourses, while we at Orridge
are carrying out counts at its convenience stores within
hospital sites. 
Looking forward to the rest of 2010, we expect to
maintain our momentum, both in terms of winning new
clients and doing more work for existing clients. For
example, following the acquisition of the Somerfield
supermarket chain by the Co-op, we are expecting a
substantial increase in business from the combined
entity during the course of this year . 
Orridge is in good shape for the future with a leaner cost
base and the systems and technology in place to grow
profitably in 2010.
Paul Harding MD Orridge
Calvin Klein reduces shrinkage through
outsourced stocktakes
Calvin Klein Jeans/Calvin Klein Underwear
provides a multi-channel distribution platform 
to over 900 Calvin Klein retail stores. Orridge 
has been the iconic brand’s partner for 4 years –
a long term relationship based on success.
Orridge provides a flexible service and efficient
planning to relieve operational pressure and
identify true shrinkage rates, enabling CK to
determine the worst affected stores. These 
factors ensure a smooth audit process, product
file maintenance and system reporting reliability
during the retailer’s continued growth.
Boots and Orridge teams work as one
Alliance Boots is a leading international
pharmacy-led group providing a range of products
and services to customers. Boots has around 2,600
stores in the UK ranging from local pharmacies to
large health and beauty retail outlets. Orridge has
been Boots’ chosen partner for six years, completing
in excess of 1,250 store counts per annum. Cost and
value for money are key objectives for Boots and, 
by building strong working relationships over time,
Orridge both understands Boots’ core business
needs and succeeds in delivering the customer’s
requirements year on year .
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 17 Focused and clear direction...
high quality businesses working with
each other for our stakeholders.
18 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 18 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 19
Divisional review
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
VENNERSYS
Vennersys is a market leader in the supply of
multi-functional trading systems and on-line ticketing
services to the leisure and visitor attraction sectors 
in the UK and in Canada. We have a strong presence 
in the cinema market in both territories and deliver
end-to-end maintenance and support services,
following sale and installation, to some of the 
leading chains – generating a high quality repeat
revenue stream.
We have over 20 years’ experience of delivering
purpose-designed solutions for ticketing and admissions,
EPoS and catering to customers in the following sectors:
• Visitor attractions.
• Museums.
• Historic houses and estates.
• Theme parks.
• Aquariums.
• Zoos and botanical gardens.
• Cinemas.
Our proprietary software platform, VENPoS, has been
developed in-house as an integrated solution set
specifically designed for the leisure and visitor attractions
industry. We are continually adding functionality and
features to the system.
VENPoS can provide real-time, precision management of
all the client’s trading activities, including ticketing and
admissions, general merchandise and food and beverage
sales. The application suite includes VENPoS Online,
a powerful e-commerce platform which enables our
customers to sell tickets, merchandise and experiences
on-line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The VENPoS solution is complemented by exceptional
professional services which have been honed during our
20 years’ experience in delivering turnkey systems to our
target industries. During 2009, Vennersys processed over
45,000 online transactions with an aggregate value of
over £2.6 million.
Our focus in 2009 was firmly on two priorities: refining
our service offering to clients and repositioning the
company. The effective relaunch of Vennersys as a
stand-alone business, centred on VENPoS, involved the
rebranding and updating of all communications
materials, including our website. In Canada, we relocated
our office into a new high-tech office complex in the
heart of Toronto in order to increase our visibility with
clients and potential clients. Refining our solutions-based
offering led to the delivery of a raft of new functionality
and features for VENPoS and this was rewarded with 
a number of major implementations for new clients
including Bristol Aquarium and Oakwood Theme Park.
Oakwood is Wales’ premier theme park, one of the UK’s
top 10, and is owned and operated by Aspro Ocio S.A., 
one of Europe’s leading operators of theme parks and
aquaria with 38 attractions throughout Europe.
In 2010, we are benefiting from our higher profile, the
increased functionality of VENPoS and the larger
installed base to which we provide services and support.
Our target markets are forecast to continue to grow and
operators are focused more than ever on improving
efficiency, reducing costs and enhancing the visitor
experience. We are very well placed to help them deliver
on all of these goals and a growing customer base will
lead to a materially better financial performance.
Kerry Lee Executive Director Vennersys
Wales’ premier theme park 
chooses Vennersys
Vennersys installed the VENPoS ticketing and
admissions system at Pembrokeshire’s Oakwood
Theme Park, which attracts hundreds of thousands
of visitors each year . Vennersys managed all
aspects of the complex project, including the
hardware, software installation, user training and
go-live support. The new system has cut queue
times and has improved the overall visitor
experience. The whole project was delivered in
record time, ensuring that the park was ready for
the start of the new season and the Easter holidays.
VENPoS Online e-commerce solution
After consultation with its customers, Vennersys has
launched VENPoS Online to replace its e-ticketing
module. A comprehensive e-commerce platform,
VENPoS Online is quick and easy to implement and
adopts the style of the client’s own website to provide
a seamless end-user experience when buying tickets,
merchandise and experiences over the web. VENPoS
Online is an integral part of the VENPoS application
suite and uses the same back-end database, which
enables comprehensive reporting across all sales
channels and ensures data integrity and accuracy.
Blenheim Palace is the first customer to implement
VENPoS Online and further developments and
enhancements will be delivered during 2010.
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 19 20 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
Financial review
Following on from an extremely challenging end to
2008, we saw revenues from our Professional Business
Services division (“PBS”) continue to decline for the first
part of 2009 before evening out in the second half.
Revenues in PBS fell 37% in the year as market
conditions made it extremely difficult to sustain income
levels. In this environment, cost reduction has been key
and the actions taken across the division were swift to
ensure that the revenue reductions were largely offset
by cost savings, while at the same time ensuring that
the infrastructure remains in place so that we may
continue to invest in new products and services and
are able to drive growth in the future.
By contrast, though not immune to the effects of the
recession, our Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
division (“SISS”), with its non-transactional basis and
high percentage of contract-backed revenues, held up
well and further increased the proportion of our total
income derived from the division.
% of total £’000
Revenue 2009 2008 2009 2008
Professional 
Business Services 49% 58% 23,266 36,907
Stock & Inventory
Systems & Services 51% 42% 23,801 26,515
All figures apply to continuing operations only
With revenue levels down significantly on previous
years, the cost saving initiatives that have been applied
across the Group have mitigated the effects of the
downturn and enabled us to restrict our operating loss
for the year to £3.7m (2008: £4.7m). Of the £3.7m loss
reported in 2009, the second half loss of £0.9m was a
significant reduction on the first half as we began to
benefit from the effect of the cost saving strategies
adopted earlier in the year . 
Cash management
The tax effect of our 2008 losses was a £1.4m tax
refund received in 2009. Combined with losses recorded
in 2009, this has given rise to a total current year tax
credit of £1.8m, significantly reducing the post-tax loss
for the year .
Non-cash items in the year (depreciation, amortisation,
share option charges and non-cash pension
adjustments) amounted to £0.9m which, combined with
working capital movements and the tax refunds noted
above, meant that our net cash outflow for the year,
after accounting for exchange losses, was £0.6m. 
In the current climate, viable credit insurance has become
limited and so we have taken the decision to bear our
credit risk ourselves and have implemented appropriate
measures to ensure that this risk is mitigated, reviewing
credit terms and improving invoicing procedures.
Key performance indicators
In accordance with the enhanced Directors’ Report, 
we have included our main KPIs for the Group and 
the individual operating divisions in the table opposite. 
As a group we have a number of key areas that 
these indicators measure:
• Revenue growth – an important part of our strategy 
is growing our businesses and this is best measured
by revenue growth
• Productivity – being in the service sector, employee
costs are our largest single cost. It is important 
to remain competitive and continue to improve our
productivity . This KPI looks at the total cost of
employees (including benefits, the cost of company
cars, company pension contributions and local
employer taxes) required to produce £1,000 of
revenue. For this KPI a reducing figure reflects 
an improvement.
• Operating profit % – this is measured as operating
profit (before any charge for impairment) as a
percentage of revenue
The reductions in all aspects of our cost structure
across the Group enabled us to control operating losses
despite total revenues being down by 25.8% year on
year . Productivity has also fallen in comparison to 2008
due primarily to the reductions in revenue which were
not wholly offset by staff cost savings. 
This impacted on operating profit margins, which
themselves fell from those recorded in 2008. By the
second half of 2009, operating losses had been reduced
as a percentage of revenue to 3.9% compared to 10.8%
in the first half of 2009, and 4.2% for 2008. Our lower
level of operating costs in absolute terms means that
we are well positioned to optimise earnings once we
see a return to growth.
A brighter outlook
Despite the challenges of 2009, we have commenced
2010 with no net debt, strong banking relationships and
a level of operational gearing that provides us with a
platform to take advantage of the opportunities that
recovery will bring. We are optimistic that the year
ahead will be a positive one. 
Dan Prickett
26 March 2010
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 20 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 21
KPIs
Stock & 
Professional Inventory 
Business Systems
Group Services & Services
Revenue growth
2009 on 2008 (25.8%) (37.0%) (10.2%)
2008 on 2007 (16.7%) (27.8%) 6.3%
2007 on 2006 (0.7%) 2.9% (7.5%)
Productivity – staff costs
(before reorganisation and redundancy costs) 
per £1,000 of revenue
2009 768 759 693
2008 698 666 665
2007 582 488 659
Operating profit/(loss)
before exceptional items as % of revenue
2009 (7.8%) (16.8%) 2.0%
2008 (4.2%) (9.2%) 2.1%
2007 14.3% 20.1% 3.3%
All figures apply to continuing operations only
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 21 22 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
Board of directors
Philip Gwyn
Chairman
Philip is a barrister and merchant
banker by training. He is responsible 
for Group strategy and planning. Philip
is a Non-executive Director of Alumasc
plc and a Director of a number of private
companies.
David Rugg
Chief Executive
David is responsible for the day-to-day
operation and development of the Group,
in which capacity he has been
responsible for the identification and
integration of its principal subsidiary
business acquisitions. David either
chairs or sits on the boards of Christie
Group trading companies.
Dan Prickett
Chief Financial Officer
Dan joined Christie Group in December
2007, prior to becoming Chief Financial
Officer in 2010. He has responsibility for
all financial and company accounting
matters, as well as financial public
relations. Since qualifying as a Chartered
Accountant, Dan has worked for
MacIntyre Hudson and Grant Thornton
before moving to Inchcape Retail, one 
of the largest franchised motor dealer
groups in the UK.
Tony Chambers
Senior Non-executive Director
Tony was previously Head of Banking and
Director of Robert Fleming, a Director of
Save and Prosper Group and Chairman
of Gartmore High Income. Tony chairs
the Remuneration Committee and is
also a member of both the Audit and
Nomination Committees.
Chris Day
Executive Director
Chris joined Christie + Co in 1985 and,
having worked in the Manchester,
Birmingham and London offices, was
appointed Managing Director in 1993. 
He has overall responsibility for all
Christie + Co's specialist transactional
and advisory activities. Chris has
overseen the successful expansion of
Christie + Co into a truly pan-European
firm, which currently has offices
throughout Europe.
Michael Likierman
Non-executive Director
Michael was the founding Chief Executive
of Habitat France. He later co-founded
GrandVision SA, the French-based
owner of Vision Express. He is Chairman
of Générale de Téléphone and other
private companies. In 2002, Michael was
made a Chevalier de la Légion
d’Honneur . He chairs the Nomination
Committee and is a member of the
Remuneration Committee. 
Pommy Sarwal
Non-executive Director
Pommy, a former corporate finance
partner at Deloitte, is currently a
Non-executive Director of Chatham
Historic Dockyard, Hyde Housing
Association, Shieldtech plc and
Infrastructure India plc, and a member 
of the board of both the Port of London
Authority and British Waterways. In
addition, he is a member of the Ports
Advisory Group of the Department for
Business Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform – Trade & Investment Division.
Pommy chairs the Audit Committee and
is a member of the Nomination and
Remuneration Committees. He is also
Chairman of Venners.
Company information
Secretary
Dan Prickett ACA
Registered office
65 Carter Lane
London EC4V 5HF
Registered number
1471939 
Nominated advisor and broker
Charles Stanley Securities
Principal solicitors
Royds
Denton Wilde Sapte
Auditors
Nexia Smith & Williamson Audit
Public relations
Winningtons
Registrars
Capita Registrars
Northern House
Woodsome Park
Fenay Bridge
Huddersfield HD8 0LA
Tel: +44 (0) 1484 600904
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 22 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 23
Directors’ report
The Directors present their report and the
audited financial statements for the year ended
31 December 2009.
Principal activities and business review
Christie Group plc is the parent undertaking of a
group of companies covering a range of related
activities. These fall into two divisions – Professional
Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems &
Services. Professional Business Services principally
covers business valuation, consultancy and agency,
mortgage and insurance services, and business
appraisal. Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
covers stock audit and counting, compliance and food
safety audits, inventory preparation and valuation,
hospitality and cinema software. A description of the
Group’s activities and a detailed business review of
the year and future developments are given in the
Chairman’s Statement and the Review of Operations.
In addition the Group’s main Key Performance
Indicators are explained in the Financial Review on
page 20 and the risks and uncertainties in the
Corporate Governance report on page 24.
Results and dividends
The results for the year are set out in the
consolidated statement of comprehensive income on
page 31. The Directors do not recommend the
payment of a final dividend (2008: nil). The interim
dividend of nil (2008: 0.5p) per share, makes a total of
nil (2008: 0.5p) per share totalling £nil (2008:
£123,000) for the year . The loss for the year before tax
and before other comprehensive income from
continuing activities was £3,701,000 (2008: £4,573,000
loss) and the loss attributable to equity holders of the
Company for the financial year, after taxation and
including other comprehensive income and
discontinued activities, was £2,058,000 (2008:
£12,461,000 loss). The loss from discontinued
operations after tax was £nil (2008: £10,163,000).
Directors
The Directors of the Company in office at the date of
this report, together with their biographical details,
are shown on page 22. All these Directors served
throughout the year . Philip Gwyn and Chris Day retire in
accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association.
Philip Gwyn and Chris Day being eligible, offer
themselves for re-election at the forthcoming Annual
General Meeting. Directors’ interests are shown in the
Remuneration Report. During the year under review
and as at the date of the Directors’ report, appropriate
directors’ and officers’ insurance was in place.
Employees
The Directors recognise the benefits which accrue
from keeping employees informed on the progress of
the business and involving them in the Group’s
performance. Each individual operating company
adopts employee consultation as appropriate.
The Company is committed to providing equality
of opportunity to all employees regardless of
nationality, ethnic origin, age, sex or sexual
orientation and continues to be supportive of the
employment and advancement of disabled persons.
Donations
The Group contributed £3,000 (2008: £8,000) to
charities during the year . It made no political
contributions. The Group also operates a Give As
You Earn (GAYE) scheme for employees.
Policy on payments to suppliers
It is a policy of the Group in respect of all its suppliers,
where reasonably practicable, to settle the terms of
payment with those suppliers when agreeing the terms
of each transaction, to ensure that those suppliers are
made aware of the terms of payment, and to abide by the
terms of payment. The Company (Christie Group plc) had
no trade payables at the year end, or the previous year
end. The Group’s average trade payable days during the
year was 53 (2008: 38).
Acquisition of own shares
During the year the Company funded the purchase
of none (2008: 72,000) of its own ordinary shares,
through an Employee Share Ownership Trust, for a
consideration of £nil (2008: £79,000), to enable it to
meet awards under its SAYE and other share
schemes. The total holding of the Employee Share
Ownership Trust as at 31 December 2009 was 533,000
shares (2008: 775,000 shares), which represents 2.11%
(2008: 3.07%) of the current issued share capital.
Health, safety and the environment
The Directors consider the health, safety and
environmental protection aspects of the business
to be of great importance, as the prevention of
personal injury, the avoidance of damage to health
and the protection of the environment are important
business and social responsibilities. Management
practices within the Group are designed to ensure so
far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and
welfare at work of employees, contractors and visitors
and the implementation of environmentally aware
and friendly policies.
Going concern
After making enquiries, the Directors consider that
the Group has adequate resources to continue in
operational existence for the foreseeable future.
For this reason they continue to adopt the going
concern basis in preparing the financial statements,
which appear on pages 31 to 76.
Auditors
In accordance with Section 489 of the Companies Act
2006, a resolution proposing that Nexia Smith
& Williamson be re-appointed as auditors of the
Company will be put to the Annual General Meeting.
Disclosure of information to auditors
Directors of the Company have confirmed that in
fulfilling their duties as a director:
•so far as they are each aware, there was no relevant
audit information of which the auditors were
unaware; and
•they have taken all reasonable steps that a director
ought to have taken to make himself or herself
aware of any relevant audit information and to
establish that the Company’ auditors were aware
of that information.
This information is given and should be interpreted
in accordance with the provision of s.418 of the
Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board on
26 March 2010.
D R Prickett
Company Secretary
65 Carter Lane
London EC4V 5HF
Registered No.1471939
2478 Christie Group 09AR_Rev_8  21/04/2010  17:29  Page 23  The Directors are committed to delivering high standards of corporate
governance to the Company’s shareholders and other stakeholders including
employees, suppliers and the wider community. The Board of Directors
operates within the framework described below.
The Board
The Board sets the Company’s strategic aims and ensures that necessary
resources are in place in order for the Company to meet its objectives. All
members of the Board take collective responsibility for the performance of the
Company and all decisions are taken in the interests of the Company.
Whilst the Board has delegated the normal operational management of the
Company to the Executive Directors and other senior management there are
detailed specific matters subject to decision by the Board of Directors.
These include acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures and investments and
projects of a capital nature. The Non-executive Directors have a particular
responsibility to challenge constructively the strategy proposed by the
Chairman and Executive Directors; to scrutinise and challenge performance;
to ensure appropriate remuneration and to ensure that succession planning
arrangements are in place in relation to Executive Directors and other senior
members of the management team. The Chairman holds informal meetings
with individual Non-executive Directors without the executives present. The
senior Non-executive Director also discusses matters with other Non-executive
Directors without the Chairman being present. The senior executives enjoy
open access to the Non-executive Directors with or without the Chairman
being present. In short the Directors talk to each other .
The Board is responsible for ensuring that a sound system of internal
control exists to safeguard shareholders’ interests and the Group’s assets.
It is responsible for the regular review of the effectiveness of the systems
of internal control. Internal controls are designed to manage rather than
eliminate risk and therefore even the most effective system cannot
provide assurance that each and every risk, present and future, has been
addressed. The key features of the system that operated during the year
are described below.
Organisational structure and control environment
The Board of Directors meets at least five times a year to review the
performance of the Group. It seeks to foster a strong ethical climate across
the Group. There are clearly defined lines of responsibility and delegation of
authority from the Board to the operating subsidiaries. The Directors of each
trading subsidiary meet on a monthly basis with normally at least two
members of the Group Board in attendance.
Internal control
The key procedures which the Directors have established with a view to
providing effective internal control are as follows:
•regular Board meetings to consider the schedule of matters reserved for
Directors’ consideration;
•a risk management process (see below);
•an established organisational structure with clearly defined lines of
responsibility and delegation of authority;
•appointment of staff of the necessary calibre to fulfil their allotted
responsibilities;
•comprehensive budgets, forecasts and business plans approved by the
Board, reviewed on a regular basis, with performance monitored against
them and explanations obtained for material variances (see page 25);
•an Audit Committee of the Board, comprising Non-executive Directors,
which considers significant financial control matters as appropriate; and
•documented whistle-blowing policies and procedures.
There is currently no internal audit function, although this is kept under
annual review.
Risk management
The Board has the primary responsibility for identifying the major risks facing
the Group. The Board has adopted a schedule of matters which are required
to be brought to it for decision, thus ensuring that it maintains full and
effective control over appropriate strategic, financial, organisational and
compliance issues. The Board has identified a number of key areas which are
subject to regular reporting to the Board. The policies include defined
procedures for seeking and obtaining approval for major transactions and
organisational changes.
Risk reviews carried out by each subsidiary are updated annually as part of
an ongoing risk assessment process. The focus of the reviews is to identify
the circumstances, both internally and externally, where risks might affect
the Group’s ability to achieve its business objectives. An overall risk
assessment for the Group is prepared. The management of each subsidiary
periodically reports to the Board any new risks. In addition to risk
assessment, the Board believes that the management structure within the
Group facilitates free and rapid communication across the subsidiaries and
between the Group Board and those subsidiaries and consequently allows
a consistent approach to managing risks. Certain key functions are
centralised, enabling the Group to address risks to the business present
in those functions quickly and efficiently.
Corporate governance
24 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Financial planning, budgeting and monitoring
The Group operates a planning and budgeting system with an annual Budget
approved by the Board. There is a financial reporting system which compares
results with the budget and the previous year on a monthly basis to identify
any variances from approved plans. Rolling cash flow forecasts form part of
the reporting system. The Group remains alert to react to other business
opportunities as they arise.
Non-executive Directors
The Non-executive Directors do not have service agreements and have no
automatic right of re-appointment. They are regarded by the Board as
bringing experience to the Board from their fields of business and finance,
and ensure that all matters of strategy, performance, progress and standards
are debated thoroughly. The senior Non-executive Director is Tony Chambers.
The table below shows the extent to which each of the Non-executive
Directors complies with objective tests on independence:
Tony Michael Pommy 
Question Chambers Likierman Sarwal
Has been an employee of the Company or
Group within the last five years? No No No
Has, or had within the last three years, a
material business relationship with the Company
either directly, or as a partner, shareholder,
Director or senior employee of a body that has
such a relationship with the Company? No No No
Has received or receives additional
remuneration from the Company apart
from Directors’ fees, participates in the
Company’s share option or performance-
related pay scheme, or is a member of
the Company’s pension scheme? No No No
Has close family ties with any of the Company’s
Directors, senior employees or advisers? No No No
Holds cross-directorships or has
significant links with other Directors
through involvement in other
companies or bodies? No Yes No
Represents or is a significant shareholder? No No No
Has served on the Board for more than
nine years from the date of their first election? No No No
The Non-executive Directors are considered by the Board to be independent in
character and judgement and have no relationships or any circumstances
that are likely to affect their judgement as Directors of the Company. Michael
Likierman sits on the board of Générale de Téléphone, a French company,
with Philip Gwyn. This is not considered to impair his judgement or character
in relation to his directorship of Christie Group plc. Pommy Sarwal sits on
the Board of Venners as non-executive Chairman, but the day-to-day
management of that company is conducted by its executive directors.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee meets no less than twice a year with the auditors in
attendance. It also assists the Board in observing its responsibility for
ensuring that the Group’s accounting systems provide accurate and timely
information and that the Group’s published financial statements represent a
true and fair reflection of the Group’s financial position and its performance in
the period under review. The committee also ensures that internal controls
and appropriate accounting policies are in place, reviews the scope and
results of the audits, the independence and objectivity of the auditors and
establishes that an effective system of internal financial control is maintained.
The Committee has primary responsibility for making a recommendation on
the appointment or re-appointment of the external auditors. In order to
maintain the independence of the external auditors, the Board has
determined guidelines as to what non-audit services can be provided by the
Company’s external auditors and the approval processes related to them.
Under those policies work of a consultancy nature will not be offered to the
external auditors unless there are clear efficiencies and value added benefits
to the Company. Additionally the auditors confirm their independence in
writing each year . The committee also monitors the level of non-audit fees
paid to the external auditors. The Audit Committee consists of Tony Chambers
with Pommy Sarwal as Chairman.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee meets no less than twice a year and is
responsible for determining main Board Directors and subsidiary company
managing directors’ remuneration together with the terms and conditions of
their service contracts. It has access to relevant comparable information in
respect of similar businesses. The committee is also responsible for the
allocation of options under the Company’s executive share option scheme.
The committee also maintains a watching brief over the general employment
terms and pay structures, existing or proposed, for the subsidiary trading
companies. The Remuneration Committee consists of the Non-executive
Directors with Tony Chambers as Chairman.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 25 Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee meets as required to select and propose suitable
candidates for the approval of the Board to fill vacancies or new positions and
to make recommendations to the Board on its composition. The Nomination
Committee consists of the Non-executive Directors with Michael Likierman
as Chairman.
Risks and uncertainties
We operate in a world with a heightened awareness of risk. In growing and
developing our businesses we have made a conscious decision to try and
minimise unrewarded risk. We have done this in the following ways:
1. We are growing a European business in order that we are less dependent
on the success or otherwise of one country’s economy.
2. We service three sectors; leisure, care and retail, so that we are not
dependent solely on the fortunes of one sector .
3. We offer a spread of services across our two divisions, for example,
transactional, advisory and support.
4. We have a spread of work which deliberately covers both corporate and
private clients.
That stated, whilst we have endeavoured to reduce risks, we are not immune
to movements in the global economy or changes in the economic or
legislative environments in the countries in which we do business. In addition,
such things as the psychological affect of terrorist attacks, banking crises and
changes in behaviour pattern due to environmental based legislation can all
impact our businesses in unexpected ways. All of our activities rely on the
recruitment and retention of skilled individuals. Each of our divisions, though,
face certain risks that are unique to the services they provide and they are
categorised under the divisional headings below:
The following can adversely affect our markets and businesses:
Professional Business Services
•changes in interest rates;
•lack of bank liquidity and more conservative lending criteria; and
•a slow down in the residential housing market.
Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
•changes in employee legislation, in particular the Working Time Directive;
•increase in transport costs;
•trends towards a cashless society; and
•economic slowdown affecting the retail and hospitality sectors.
The above list of risks is meant to highlight, in addition to any noted
elsewhere in this report, those we consider relevant today and is not intended
to be an exhaustive list of risks facing the businesses.
Dialogue with institutional shareholders
The Directors seek to build on a mutual understanding of objectives between
the Company and its institutional shareholders. This is done through
meetings following the publication of the year-end and interim results.
Shares and shareholdings
The interests of Directors are set out on page 28.
Corporate governance
Continued
26 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Part 1 of this report sets out the Company’s remuneration policies for the
Directors for the year ended 31 December 2009. These policies are likely to
continue to apply in future years, unless there are specific reasons for change,
in which case shareholders will be informed in future reports. Part 2 sets out
details of the remuneration received by Directors during the year ended
31 December 2009.
Part 1. Remuneration Committee (not subject to audit)
The Remuneration Committee, which consists solely of Non-executive
Directors, makes recommendations to the Board on the framework of
executive remuneration and determines specific remuneration packages on
their behalf. The Chairman and Chief Executive attend the Remuneration
Committee meetings. The Chairman and Chief Executive are not present
when their own remuneration is being considered by the Committee.
The Committee’s policy is to provide a remuneration package which will
attract and retain Directors with the ability and experience required to
manage the Company and to provide superior long term performance. It is
the aim of the Committee to reward Directors competitively and on the broad
principle that their remuneration should be in line with the remuneration paid
to senior management of comparable companies. There are four main
elements of the remuneration package for Executive Directors: base salary,
annual bonus, benefits and share options.
•Base salary is reviewed annually and in setting salary levels the
Remuneration Committee considers the experience and responsibilities of
the Executive Directors and their personal performance during the previous
year . The committee also takes account of external market data, as well as
the rates of increases for other employees within the Company. Base salary
going forward is the only element of the package to determine future
pensionable earnings.
•Annual bonuses are calculated as a percentage of pre-tax profits in excess of
a threshold. Bonuses are designed to contribute approximately 25% of total
earnings, but they are uncapped.
•Benefits are primarily the provision of cars and health insurance.
•Share options are granted having regard to an individual’s seniority within
the business and, together with the Group’s Save As You Earn scheme
(SAYE), are designed to give Executive Directors an interest in the increase in
the value of the Group.
•Reflecting the changes in market conditions, basic salaries across our
Professional Business Services division were reduced by 10% during the
year as the Remuneration Committee considered it necessary to align
remuneration costs with the more cautious outlook for the sector .
Service contracts and/or letters of appointment
Executive Directors
It is the Group’s policy to appoint Executive Directors under service
agreements terminable by either party giving 12 months’ notice. David Rugg
has a two year notice period that was agreed on flotation of the Company and
this is still considered appropriate.
There are no predetermined provisions for compensation on termination
within Executive Directors’ service agreements. However the Group believes
that severance arrangements should be restricted to base pay and
consequential payments such as bonus and pension accrual. Nevertheless,
the circumstances of the termination and the individual’s duty and opportunity
to mitigate loss would be taken into account.
Non-executive Directors
The Non-executive Directors have a letter of appointment, which specifies an
initial appointment of three years. Their appointment is subject to Board
approval and election by shareholders at the annual general meeting
following appointment and, thereafter, re-election by rotation. There are no
provisions for compensation payments on early termination in the Non-
executives’ letters of appointment.
The fees of the Non-executive Directors are determined by the Chairman and
the Chief Executive and are designed to reflect the time and experience which
these Directors bring to the Company.
Outside directorships
Other than the Chairman, none of the Executive Directors hold external Non-
executive directorship positions. The Chairman has no commitments that
impact adversely on his role as Chairman.
Remuneration report
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 27 Part 2. Directors’ emoluments
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Fees 101 117
Salaries 931 977
Benefits 67 65
Contributions to Company pension funds 47 42
Contributions to self-administered pension fund 21 21
1,167 1,222
Highest paid Director, amounts included above:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Salaries and benefits 330 350
Benefits 47 47
377 397
Defined benefit scheme:
Accrued pension at end of year 151 148
The highest paid Director did not exercise any share options during the year .
Directors’ pension entitlements
The Company contributed £21,000 (2008: £21,000) for Philip Gwyn to a self-
administered pension fund. David Rugg, Robert Zenker and Chris Day
are members of the Christie Group plc Pension & Assurance Scheme
managed by Hanover Pensions Limited.
Directors’ interests
Details of the Directors’ interests in the ordinary shares of the Company
are set below:
26 Mar 2010 31 Dec 2009 31 Dec 2008
Philip Gwyn 10,967,582 10,967,582 10,967,582
David Rugg 2,487,510 2,487,510 2,487,510
Chris Day 606,068 606,068 606,068
Robert Zenker 196,348 196,348 196,348
Michael Likierman 341,500 341,500 341,500
Tony Chambers 125,690 125,690 43,190
Pommy Sarwal – ––
Share options
During the year none of the Executive Directors received share options under
long term incentive schemes (2008: 50,000).
The market price of the shares at 31 December 2009 was 48.5p (31 December
2008: 30.6p) and the range during the year was 17p to 66.5p (year to
31 December 2008: 27.6p to 147.5p).
Remuneration report
Continued
28 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 The Directors are responsible for preparing the Directors’ Report and the
financial statements in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each
financial year . Under that law the Directors have elected to prepare the
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and,
as regards the parent company financial statements, as applied in accordance
with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006. Under company law the
Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied
that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of
the Group and of the profit or loss of the Group for that period. In preparing
these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
•select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
•make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
•state that the financial statements comply with IFRSs as adopted by the
European Union; and
•prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is
inappropriate to presume that the Group will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that
are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company
and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the
Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of
the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and
detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the
corporate and financial information included on the Company’s website.
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination
of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Statement of directors’ responsibilities
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 29 We have audited the financial statements of Christie Group plc for the year
ended 31 December 2009 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income, the Consolidated and Company Statement of Financial
Position, the Consolidated and Company Statement of Cash Flows, the
Consolidated and Company Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity,
and the related notes 1 to 33. The financial reporting framework that has been
applied in their preparation is applicable law and International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union and as regards
the parent company financial statements, as applied in accordance with the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006.
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body, in accordance
with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been
undertaken so that we might state to the Company’s members those matters
we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility
to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s members as a body,
for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities set
out on page 29, the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the
financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland).
Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s
(APB’s) Ethical Standards for Auditors.
Scope of the audit of the financial statements
A description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided
on the APB’s website at www.frc.org.uk/apb/scope/UKNP.
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion:
•the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s
and the parent company’s affairs as at 31 December 2009 and
of the Group’s loss for the year then ended;
•the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance
with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union; and
•the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in
accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union and as applied
in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006; and
•the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the
requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the Directors’ Report for the financial
year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the
financial statements. The information given in the Directors’ report includes
the specific information presented in the operating and financial reviews that
is cross referred to from the Business Review section of the Directors’ report.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the
Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
•adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company,
or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches
not visited by us; or
•the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the
accounting records and returns; or
•certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not
made; or
•we have not received all the information and explanations we require
for our audit.
Michael Bishop
Senior Statutory Auditor, for and on behalf of
Nexia Smith & Williamson
Statutory Auditor
Chartered Accountants
25 Moorgate
London
EC2R 6AY
26 March 2010
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Independent auditor’s report
To the members of Christie Group plc
30 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 2009 2008
Note £’000 £’000
Continuing operations
Revenue 5 47,067 63,422
Employee benefit expenses* 6 (36,676) (45,014)
10,391 18,408
Depreciation and amortisation 5 (707) (906)
Other operating expenses* (13,338) (22,140)
Operating loss (3,654) (4,638)
Finance costs 8 (148) (162)
Finance income 8 101 227
Total finance (costs)/credit 8 (47) 65
Loss before tax 9 (3,701) (4,573)
Taxation 10 1,752 1,173
Loss from continuing operations (1,949) (3,400)
Discontinued operations
– Loss from discontinued operations 11 – (10,163)
Loss for the year after tax (1,949) (13,563)
Other comprehensive (losses)/income:
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations (5) 1,102
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension plans (144) –
Income tax relating to components of other comprehensive income 40 –
Other comprehensive (losses)/income for the period, net of tax (109) 1,102
Total comprehensive losses for the year (2,058) (12,461)
Earnings per share – pence
Loss attributable to the equity holders of the Company
– Basic 13 (8.30) (55.39)
– Fully diluted 13 (8.30) (55.39)
Loss from continuing operations attributable to the equity holders of the Company
– Basic 13 (8.30) (13.88)
– Fully diluted 13 (8.30) (13.88)
* These include nil (2008: £1,964,000) of exceptional reorganisation costs.
The total loss for the year after tax and the total comprehensive loss for the year are entirely attributable to equity holders of the parent company.
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 December 2009
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 31 Attributable to the Equity Holders of the Company
Fair value and Cumulative 
Share other reserves translation Retained Total 
capital (Note 24) reserve earnings equity 
For the year ended 31 December 2008 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 January 2008 505 3,706 137 11,616 15,964
Exchange difference on repayment of foreign exchange loan –– (758) 758 –
Movement in respect of employee share scheme – 72 – (28) 44
Employee share option scheme:
– value of services provided – 98 –– 98
Dividends paid (794) (794)
Release of merger reserve – (945) – 945 –
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations 1,102 – 1,102
Loss for the year after tax ––– (13,563) (13,563)
Balance at 1 January 2009 505 2,931 481 (1,066) 2,851
Attributable to the Equity Holders of the Company
Fair value and Cumulative 
Share other reserves translation Retained Total 
capital (Note 24) reserve earnings equity 
For the year ended 31 December 2009 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 January 2009 505 2,931 481 (1,066) 2,851
Movement in respect of employee share scheme – 83 –– 83
Employee share option scheme:
– value of services provided – 92 –– 92
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations –– (5) – (5)
Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension plans ––– (144) (144)
Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income 40 40
Loss for the year after tax ––– (1,949) (1,949)
Balance at 31 December 2009 505 3,106 476 (3,119) 968
Consolidated statement of changes in shareholders’ equity
As at 31 December 2009
32 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 2009 2008
Note £’000 £’000
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets – Goodwill 14 1,011 1,011
Intangible assets – Other 15 138 60
Property, plant and equipment 16 749 1,409
Deferred tax assets 17 3,067 2,063
Available-for-sale financial assets 18a 300 300
Other receivables 19 1,192 1,108
6,457 5,951
Current assets
Inventories 20 1 –
Trade and other receivables 22 8,524 9,506
Current tax assets – 596
Cash and cash equivalents 21 3,536 2,328
12,061 12,430
Total assets 18,518 18,381
Equity
Capital and reserves attributable to the Company’s equity holders
Share capital 23 505 505
Fair value and other reserves 24 3,106 2,931
Cumulative translation reserve 476 481
Retained earnings 24 (3,119) (1,066)
Total equity 968 2,851
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligations 25 3,594 3,225
Provisions for other liabilities and charges 28 1,720 1,751
5,314 4,976
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 26 8,631 9,289
Borrowings 27 2,694 706
Provisions for other liabilities and charges 28 911 559
12,236 10,554
Total liabilities 17,550 15,530
Total equity and liabilities 18,518 18,381
These consolidated financial statements have been approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 26 March 2010.
D B Rugg D R Prickett
Chief Executive Chief Financial Officer
Consolidated statement of financial position
As at 31 December 2009
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 33 2009 2008
Note £’000 £’000
Cash flow from operating activities
Cash used in operations 29 (2,176) (5,254)
Interest paid (148) (163)
Tax paid 1,384 (21)
Net cash used in operating activities (940) (5,438)
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (PPE) (80) (1,103)
Proceeds from sale of PPE 5 204
Intangible asset expenditure (59) (1,590)
Proceeds from sale of Software businesses (net of costs) – 1,797
Cash included in disposal of Software businesses – (749)
Investment in an available-for-sale asset – (19)
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale financial asset 141 –
Interest received 101 227
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities 108 (1,233)
Cash flow from financing activities
Net payments to ESOP 201 (172)
Repayment of borrowings – (1,735)
Proceeds from invoice discounting 181 700
Payments of finance lease liabilities (6) (2)
Dividends paid – (794)
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities 376 (2,003)
Net decrease in net cash (456) (8,674)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 2,328 10,593
Exchange (losses)/gains on euro bank accounts (149) 409
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 1,723 2,328
Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 December 2009
34 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Attributable to the Equity Holders of the Company
Fair value and
Share other reserves Retained Total 
capital (Note 24) earnings equity 
For the year ended 31 December 2008 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 January 2008 505 3,467 10,970 14,942
Total comprehensive losses for the period –– (8,163) (8,163)
Release of merger reserve – (945) 945 –
Movement in respect of employee share scheme – 72 (28) 44
Employee share options scheme
– value of services provided –1– 1
Dividends paid –– (794) (794)
Balance at 1 January 2009 505 2,595 2,930 6,030
Attributable to the Equity Holders of the Company
Fair value and
Share other reserves Retained Total 
capital (Note 24) earnings equity 
For the year ended 31 December 2009 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 January 2009 505 2,595 2,930 6,030
Total comprehensive income for the period –– 1,569 1,569
Movement in respect of employee share scheme – 83 – 83
Employee share options scheme
– value of services provided –1– 1
Balance at 31 December 2009 505 2,679 4,499 7,683
Company statement of changes in shareholders’ equity
As at 31 December 2009
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 35 2009 2008
Note £’000 £’000
Assets
Non-current assets
Investments in subsidiaries 18 2,260 3,523
Deferred tax assets 17 327 316
Available-for-sale financial assets 18a 300 300
Other receivables 19 6,046 1,108
8,933 5,247
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 22 2,997 3,302
Cash and cash equivalents 21 150 1,151
3,147 4,453
Total assets 12,080 9,700
Equity
Capital and reserves attributable to the Company’s equity holders
Share capital 23 505 505
Fair value and other reserves 24 2,679 2,595
Retained earnings 24 4,499 2,930
Total equity 7,683 6,030
Liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligations 25 347 338
347 338
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 26 2,237 2,904
Current tax liabilities – 428
Borrowings 27 1,813 –
4,050 3,332
Total liabilities 4,397 3,670
Total equity and liabilities 12,080 9,700
These Company financial statements have been approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 26 March 2010.
D B Rugg D R Prickett
Chief Executive Chief Financial Officer
Company statement of financial position
As at 31 December 2009
36 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 2009 2008
Note £’000 £’000
Cash flow from operating activities
Cash used in operations 29 (4,281) (10,284)
Interest paid (117) (357)
Tax received 340 1,266
Net cash used in operating activities (4,058) (9,375)
Cash flow from investing activities
Investment in fixed asset investments (450) (150)
Investment income from fixed asset investments 1,181 6,441
Investment in available-for-sale financial asset – (19)
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale financial asset 141 –
Interest received 293 339
Net cash generated from investing activities 1,165 6,611
Cash flow from financing activities
Net receipts from/(payments to) ESOP 201 (172)
Repayment of borrowings – (1,600)
Dividends paid – (794)
Net cash generated from / (used in) financing activities 201 (2,566)
Net decrease in net cash (2,692) (5,330)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 1,151 6,129
Exchange (loss)/gain on euro bank account (122) 352
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year (1,663) 1,151
Company statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 December 2009
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 37 1. General information
2. Summary of significant accounting policies
Christie Group plc is the parent undertaking of a group of companies
covering a range of related activities. These fall into two divisions –
Professional Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services.
Professional Business Services principally covers business valuation,
consultancy and agency, mortgage and insurance services, and business
appraisal. Stock & Inventory Systems & Services covers stock audit and
counting, compliance and food safety audits and inventory preparation and
valuation, leisure and hospitality software.
Accounting policies for the year ended 31 December 2009
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these financial
statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied
to all years presented, unless otherwise stated.
2.1 Basis of preparation
The consolidated and Company financial statements of Christie Group plc
have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs as adopted by
the EU), IFRIC Interpretations and the Companies Act 2006 applicable to
Companies reporting under IFRS. The consolidated and Company financial
statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with the
exception of available for sale financial assets and defined benefit pension
scheme, and on a going concern basis.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS and
IFRIC interpretations issued and effective or issued and early adopted as at
the time of preparing these statements (March 2010).
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with IFRS requires the
use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to
exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s accounting
policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or
areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated
and parent company financial statements are disclosed in Note 4.
New and amended standards adopted by the group
The Group and Company has adopted the following new and amended IFRSs
as of 1 January 2009.
•IAS 1 (revised). ‘Presentation of financial statements’ – effective 1 January
2009. The revised standard requires ‘non-owner changes in equity’ to be
presented separately from owner changes in equity in a statement of
comprehensive income. As a result the Group presents in the consolidated
statement of changes in equity all owner changes in equity, whereas all
non-owner changes in equity are presented in the consolidated statement
of comprehensive income. Comparative information has been re-
presented so that it also is in conformity with the revised standard.
As the change in accounting policy is only presentational there is no
impact on earnings per share.
•IFRS 2 (amendment), ‘Share-based payment’ (effective 1 January 2009)
deals with vesting conditions and cancellations. It clarifies that vesting
conditions are service conditions and performance conditions only. Other
features of a share-based payment are not vesting conditions. These
features would need to be included in the grant date fair value for
transactions with employees and others providing similar services; they
would not impact the number of awards expected to vest or valuation
thereof subsequent to grant date. All cancellations, whether by the entity
or by other parties, should receive the same accounting treatment.
The amendment does not have a material impact on the Group or
Company’s financial statements.
Mandatory new standards or interpretations, effective for accounting periods
beginning on or after 1 January 2009, not covered specifically above have no
impact on the Group’s financial statements.
Standards, interpretations and amendments to published standards
that are not yet effective
Certain new standards, amendments and interpretations to existing standards
have been published that are mandatory for the Group or Company’s
accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010 or later periods and
have not been early adopted. It is anticipated that these new standards,
amendments and interpretations, currently in issue at the time of preparing
these financial statements (March 2010) will have no material impact on the
Group or Company’s financial statements.
2.2 Consolidation
The Group financial statements include the results of Christie Group plc and
all its subsidiary undertakings on the basis of their financial statements to
31 December 2009. The results of businesses acquired or disposed of are
included from or to the date of acquisition or disposal.
38 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
Notes to the consolidated financial statements 2. Summary of significant accounting policies continued
A subsidiary is an entity controlled, directly or indirectly, by Christie Group plc.
Control is regarded as the power to govern the financial and operating
policies of the entity so as to obtain the benefits from its activities.
2.3 Foreign currency translation
Functional and presentation currency
Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities are
measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which
the entity operates (‘the functional currency’). The consolidated financial
statements are presented in sterling, which is the Group’s and Company’s
functional and presentation currency.
Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency
using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Foreign
exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions
and from the translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and
liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the statement
of comprehensive income.
Group companies
The results and financial position of all the Group entities (none of which has
the currency of a hyperinflationary economy) that have a functional currency
different from the presentation currency are translated into the presentation
currency as follows:
a) assets and liabilities for each statement of financial position presented
are translated at the closing rate at the date of that statement of
financial position;
b) income and expenses for each statement of comprehensive income are
translated at average exchange rates; and
c) all resulting exchange differences are recognised as a separate component
of equity, the cumulative translation reserve.
On consolidation, exchange differences arising from the translation of the net
investment in foreign entities, are taken to shareholders’ equity. When a
foreign operation is sold, such exchange differences are recognised in the
statement of comprehensive income as part of the gain or loss on sale.
Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign
entity are treated as assets and liabilities of the foreign entity and translated
at the closing rate.
2.4 Revenue recognition
Revenue comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable
for the sale of goods and services provided in the ordinary course of the
Group’s activities. Revenue derived from the Group’s principal activities
(which is shown exclusive of applicable sales taxes or equivalents) is
recognised as follows:
Agency, consultancy and valuations
Net agency fees are recognised as income on exchange of contracts.
Consultancy income is recognised in the accounting period in which the
service is rendered, assessed on the basis of actual service provided as a
proportion of the total services provided. In respect of valuations, turnover is
recognised once the property or business has been inspected. Appraisal
income is recognised in the accounting period in which the service is
rendered, assessed on the basis of actual service provided as a proportion
of the total services to be provided.
Business mortgage broking
Fee income is taken either when a loan offer is secured or when the loan is
drawn down.
Insurance broking
Insurance brokerage is accounted for on an accruals basis when the
insurance policy commences.
Software
Hardware revenues are recognised on installation or as otherwise specified in
the terms of the contract. Software revenues are recognised on delivery or as
otherwise specified in the terms of the contract. Revenues on maintenance
contracts are recognised over the period of the contracts. Revenue in respect
of services, such as implementation, training and consultancy, are recognised
when the services are performed.
Stock & inventory services
Fees are recognised on completion of the visit to client’s premises.
Other income is recognised as follows:
Interest income
Interest income is recognised on a time-proportion basis using the effective
interest method.
Dividend income
Dividend income is recognised when the right to receive payment is established.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 39 Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
40 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2.5 Segmental reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal
reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker as required by IFRS
8 “Operating Segments”. The chief operating decision-maker, who is
responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the
operating segments, has been identified as the Board of Directors.
The adoption of IFRS 8 for the first time this year has not resulted in any
change to the basis of segmentation as under the previous standard (IAS 14
“Segmental Reporting”) the Group business segments were still defined as
Professional Business Services, Stock & Inventory Systems & Services, and
Other . Within these segments, the Board of Directors distinguish between
European-based operations and those operations based overseas on the basis
that the risks and returns may vary depending on the economic environment.
Segment assets and liabilities include items that are directly attributable to a
segment plus an allocation on a reasonable basis of shared items. Any
current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are not included in business
segments and are thus unallocated.
2.6 Intangible assets
Goodwill
On the acquisition of a business, fair values are attributed to the net assets
acquired. Goodwill arises on the acquisition of subsidiary undertakings,
representing any excess of the fair value of the consideration given over the
fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired. Goodwill arising on
acquisitions is capitalised and subject to impairment review, both annually
and when there are indications that the carrying value may not be
recoverable. Goodwill arising on acquisitions prior to the date of transition to
IFRS has been retained at previous UK GAAP amounts as permitted by IFRS 1
‘First time adoption of International Accounting Standards’. Prior to 1 January
2004, goodwill was amortised over its estimated useful lives. Such
amortisation ceased on 31 December 2003, subject to an impairment review
at the date of transition, in which no impairment was recognised. The Group’s
policy for the years up to 31 March 1998 was to eliminate goodwill arising on
acquisitions against reserves. As permitted by IFRS 1 and IFRS 3, such
goodwill remains eliminated against reserves.
Other
Intangible fixed assets such as software, trademarks and patent rights are
stated at cost, net of amortisation and any provision for impairment.
Amortisation is calculated to write down the cost of all intangible fixed assets
to their estimated residual value by equal annual instalments over their
expected useful economic lives. The expected useful lives are between one
and five years.
2.7 Property, plant and equipment
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost, net of depreciation and provision for
any impairment. Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost of all
tangible fixed assets to estimated residual value by equal annual instalments
over their expected useful lives as follows:
Leasehold property Lease term
Fixtures, fittings and equipment 5 – 10 years
Computer equipment 2 – 3 years
Motor vehicles 4 years
The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if
appropriate, at each statement of financial position date. An asset’s carrying
amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the asset’s
carrying amount is greater than its estimated recoverable amount.
Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the disposal
proceeds with the carrying amount and are included in the statement of
comprehensive income.
2.8 Leases
Leases where the lessor retains a significant portion of the risks and rewards
of ownership are classified as operating leases. Rentals under operating
leases (net of any incentives received) are charged to the statement of
comprehensive income on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.
Assets, held under finance leases, which confer rights and obligations similar
to those attached to owned assets, are capitalised as tangible fixed assets and
are depreciated over the shorter of the lease terms and their useful lives. The
capital elements of future lease obligations are recorded as liabilities, whilst
the interest elements are charged to the statement of comprehensive income
over the period of the leases at a constant rate.
2.9 Impairment of assets
Non-current assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes
in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An
impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying
value exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of
an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. Value in use is based on
the present value of the future cash flows relating to the asset, and is
determined over periods which are deemed to appropriately reflect the
minimum expected period that the cash generating unit will operate for . For
the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels
for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash generating units).
2. Summary of significant accounting policies continued Christie Group Annual Report 2009 41
Any assessment of impairment based on value in use takes account of the
time value of money and the uncertainty or risk inherent in the future cash
flows. The discount rates applied reflect current market assessments of the
time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the future
cash flow estimates have not been adjusted.
2.10 Investments
The Group classifies its investments depending on the purpose for which the
investments were acquired. Management determines the classification of its
investments on purchase and re-evaluates this designation at every reporting
date. Fixed asset investments in subsidiaries are shown at cost less any
provision for impairment.
Available-for-sale financial assets
Available-for-sale financial assets are non-derivatives that are either
designated in this category or not classified in any of the other categories.
They are included in non-current assets unless management intends to
dispose of the investment within 12 months of the balance sheet date.
Purchases and sales of investments are recognised on trade date, the date on
which the Group commits to purchase or sell the asset. Investments are
initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs for all financial assets
not carried at fair value through profit or loss.
The fair values of quoted investments are based on current bid prices. If the
market for a financial asset is not active (and for unlisted securities), the
Group establishes fair value by using valuation techniques. For investments in
equity instruments and unlisted securities that do not have a quoted market
price in an active market and whose fair value can not be reliably measured
these are valued at cost.
The Group assesses at each statement of financial position date whether
there is objective evidence that a financial asset or a group of financial assets
is impaired. In the case of equity securities classified as available-for-sale, a
significant or prolonged decline in the fair value of the security below its cost
is considered in determining whether the securities are impaired.
2.11 Inventories
Inventories held for resale is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
2.12 Trade receivables
Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less
provision for impairment. A provision for impairment of trade receivables is
established when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to
collect all amounts due according to the original terms of receivables. The
amount of the provision is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount
and the present value of estimated future cash flows. The amount of the
provision is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.
2.13 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents are recognised initially at fair value and
subsequently measured at amortised cost. Cash and cash equivalents
comprise cash in hand, deposits held on call with banks, other short-term,
highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and
bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are included within borrowings in current
liabilities on the statement of financial position.
2.14 Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value. Borrowings are subsequently
stated at amortised cost; any difference between proceeds and the
redemption value is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income
over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method.
Borrowings are classified as current liabilities unless the Group has an
unconditional right to defer settlement of the liability for at least 12 months
after the statement of financial position date.
2.15 Taxation including deferred tax
Tax on company profits is provided for at the current rate applicable in each of
the relevant territories.
Deferred tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary
differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their
carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements. However, if the
deferred tax arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a
transaction other than a business combination that at the time of the
transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss, it is not
accounted for . Deferred tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have
been enacted or substantially enacted by the statement of financial position
date and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised
or the deferred tax liability is settled.
Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future
taxable profit will be available against which the temporary differences can be
utilised. This is reviewed annually.
2.16 Share capital and share premium
Ordinary shares are classified as equity.
Where any Group company or the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP)
trust purchases the Company’s equity share capital (own shares), the
consideration paid, including any directly attributable incremental costs (net
of taxes), is deducted from equity attributable to the Company’s equity holders
2. Summary of significant accounting policies continued until the shares are cancelled, reissued or disposed of. Where such shares
are subsequently sold or reissued, any consideration received, net of any
directly attributable incremental transaction costs and the related tax effects,
is included in equity attributable to the Company’s equity holders.
2.17 Dividend distribution
Dividend distribution to the Company’s shareholders is recognised as a
liability in the Group’s financial statements in the period in which the
dividends are approved by the Company’s shareholders. In respect of interim
dividends, which are paid prior to approval by the Company’s shareholders
they are recognised on payment.
2.18 Employee benefits
Pension obligations
The Group has both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes.
A defined benefit scheme is a pension scheme that defines the amount of
pension benefit that an employee will receive on retirement, usually
dependent on one or more factors such as age, years of service and
remuneration. A defined contribution scheme is a pension scheme under
which the Group pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. The schemes
are generally funded through payments to insurance companies or trustee-
administered funds, determined by periodic actuarial calculations.
Pension obligations – Defined benefit schemes
The liability recognised in the statement of financial position in respect of
defined benefit pension schemes is the present value of the defined benefit
obligation at the statement of financial position date less the fair value of
scheme assets, together with adjustments for unrecognised actuarial gains
or losses and past service costs. The defined benefit obligation is calculated
annually by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. The
present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting
the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high-quality
corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits
will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of
the related pension liability.
Cumulative actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments
and changes in actuarial assumptions in excess of the greater of 10% of the
value of scheme assets or 10% of the defined benefit obligation are charged
or credited to the statement of comprehensive income over the employees’
expected average remaining period till the scheme retirement date.
Past-service costs are recognised immediately in the statement of
comprehensive income, unless the changes to the pension scheme are
conditional on the employees remaining in service for a specified period of
time (the vesting period). In this case, the past-service costs are amortised on
a straight-line basis over the vesting period.
Pension obligations – Personal pension scheme
Group companies contribute towards a personal pension scheme for their
participating employees. These employees are currently entitled to such
contributions after a qualifying period has elapsed. Payments to the scheme
are charged as an employee benefit expense as they fall due. The Group has
no further payment obligations once the contributions have been paid.
Share based compensation
The fair value of employee share option schemes, including Save As You Earn
(SAYE) schemes, is measured by a Black-Scholes pricing model. Further
details are set out in Note 23a. In accordance with IFRS 2 ‘Share-based
Payments’ the resulting cost is charged to the statement of comprehensive
income over the vesting period of the options. The value of the charge is
adjusted to reflect expected and actual levels of options vesting.
No expense was recognised in respect of share options granted before 7
November 2002 and those which had vested before 1 January 2005.
For share options granted after 7 November 2002 and vested after 1 January
2005 the Group operates an equity-settled, long term incentive plan designed
to align management interests with those of shareholders. The fair value of
the employee’s services received in exchange for the grant of the options is
recognised as an expense. The total amount to be expensed over the vesting
period is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted,
excluding the impact of any non-market vesting conditions (for example,
profitability and sales growth targets). Non-market vesting conditions are
included in assumptions about the number of options that are expected to
become exercisable. At each statement of financial position date, the entity
revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to become
exercisable. It recognises the impact of the revision of original estimates, if
any, in the statement of comprehensive income, and a corresponding
adjustment to equity.
Commissions and bonus plans
The Group recognises a liability and an expense for commissions and
bonuses, based on formula driven calculations. The Group recognises a
provision where contractually obliged or where there is a past practice that
has created a constructive obligation.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
42 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
2. Summary of significant accounting policies continued The Group uses a limited number of financial instruments, comprising cash,
short-term deposits, bank loans and overdrafts and various items such as
trade receivables and payables, which arise directly from operations.
The Group does not trade in financial instruments.
3.1 Financial risk factors
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risk
(including currency risk, and interest rate risk), credit risk, liquidity risk and
cash flow interest rate risk. The Group’s overall risk management
programme focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to
minimise potential adverse effects on the Group’s financial performance.
a) Market risk
Foreign exchange risk
The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk
arising from various currency exposures, primarily with respect to the
Euro. Foreign exchange risk arises from future commercial transactions,
recognised assets and liabilities and net investments in foreign operations.
The Group has certain investments in foreign operations, whose net assets
are exposed to foreign currency translation risk.
At 31 December 2009, if sterling had strengthened by 10% against the Euro,
with all other variables held constant, the post tax loss for the year would
have been £58,000 (2008: £173,000) higher mainly as a result of foreign
exchange gains/losses on translation of Euro denominated trade
receivables, cash and cash equivalents, and trade payables. Applying the
same variables to foreign exchange differences recognised directly in equity
the effect would be a reduction in equity of £45,000 (2008: £110,000).
b) Credit risk
The Group has no significant concentrations of credit risk and has policies
in place to ensure that sales are made to customers with an appropriate
credit history.
For the year ended 31 December 2009, total credit insurance costs incurred
by the Group amounted to £32,000 (2008: £68,000). During this period the
Group did not make any claims (2008: £Nil) in relation to disputed balances,
resulting in a net cost to the Group for the period of £32,000 (2008: £68,000)
for credit insurance facilities.
c) Liquidity risk
Prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining sufficient cash and
available funding through an adequate amount of committed credit
facilities. The Group ensures it has adequate cover through the availability
of bank overdraft and loan facilities.
At 31 December 2009 total borrowings by the Group amounted to
£2,694,000 (2008: £706,000), with additional available unutilised credit
facilities at 31 December 2009 of £2,486,000 (2008: £4,912,000).
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand, deposits held at call
with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original
maturities of three months or less. Total cash and cash equivalents held by
the Group at 31 December 2009 were £3,536,000 (2008: £2,328,000).
d) Cash flow and interest rate risk
The Group finances its operations through a mix of cash flow from current
operations together with cash on deposit and bank and other borrowings.
Borrowings are generally at floating rates of interest and no use of interest
rate swaps has been made.
The Group’s interest rate risk arises from cash balances and borrowings
subject to variable interest rates. For the year ended 31 December 2009,
assuming all other variables remained equal but interest rates were 1%
higher or lower throughout the year, the impact on post tax losses would be
a maximum increase or decrease of £68,000 (2008: £36,000).
3.2 Capital risk management
The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Group’s
ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide returns for
shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain a capital
structure appropriate for its growth plans.
In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the
amount of dividends paid to shareholders or alter debt levels.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 43
3. Financial risk management 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.
4.1 Critical accounting estimates and assumptions
The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The
resulting accounting estimates will by definition, seldom equal the related
actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of
causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and
liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.
a) Estimated impairment of goodwill
Goodwill is subject to an impairment review both annually and when there
are indications that the carrying value may not be recoverable, in accordance
with the accounting policy stated in Note 2.6. The recoverable amounts of
cash-generating units have been determined based on value-in-use
calculations. These calculations require the use of estimates (Note 14).
b) Retirement benefit obligations
The assumptions used to measure the expense and liabilities related to the
Group’s two defined benefit pension plans are reviewed annually by
professionally qualified, independent actuaries, trustees and management
as appropriate. The measurement of the expense for a period requires
judgement with respect to the following matters, among others:
•the probable long-term rate of increase in pensionable pay;
•the discount rate;
•the expected return on plan assets; and
•the estimated life expectancy of participating members.
The assumptions used by the Group, as stated in Note 25, may differ
materially from actual results, and these differences may result in a
significant impact on the amount of pension expense recorded in future
periods. In accordance with IAS 19, the Group amortises actuarial gains
and losses outside the 10% corridor, over the average future service lives
of employees. Under this method, major changes in assumptions, and
variances between assumptions and actual results, may affect retained
earnings over several future periods rather than one period, while more
minor variances and assumption changes may be offset by other changes
and have no direct effect on retained earnings.
c) Deferred taxation
Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that the Group believes it is
probable that future taxable profit will be available against which temporary
timing differences and losses from previous periods can be utilised.
Deferred tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been
enacted or substantially enacted by the statement of financial position date
and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
44 Christie Group Annual Report 2009
4. Critical accounting estimates and judgements 5. Segment information
The Group is organised into two main business segments: Professional Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services.
The segment results for the year ended 31 December 2009 are as follows:
Stock & Total 
Professional Inventory Systems continuing Discontinued
Business Services & Services Other operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Total gross segment sales 23,370 23,801 2,226 49,397 – 49,397
Inter-segment sales (104) – (2,226) (2,330) – (2,330)
Revenue 23,266 23,801 – 47,067 – 47,067
Operating (loss)/profit after exceptional items (3,906) 470 (218) (3,654) – (3,654)
Net finance (costs)/credit (154) (24) 131 (47) – (47)
Loss before tax (4,060) 446 (87) (3,701) – (3,701)
Taxation 1,752 – 1,752
Loss for the year after tax (1,949) – (1,949)
The segment results for the year ended 31 December 2008 are as follows:
Stock & Total 
Professional Inventory Systems continuing Discontinued
Business Services & Services Other operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Total gross segment sales 37,011 26,515 2,941 66,467 9,691 76,158
Inter-segment sales (104) – (2,941) (3,045) – (3,045)
Revenue 36,907 26,515 – 63,422 9,691 73,113
Operating (loss)/profit before exceptional items (3,396) 564 158 (2,674) (3,162) (5,836)
Exceptional items (1,964) –– (1,964) – (1,964)
Net loss on disposal of Retail Software business ––– – (6,193) (6,193)
Operating (loss)/profit after exceptional items (5,360) 564 158 (4,638) (9,355) (13,993)
Net finance credit/(costs) 127 (42) (20) 65 (1) 64
Loss before tax (5,233) 522 138 (4,573) (9,356) (13,929)
Taxation 1,173 (807) 366
Loss for the year after tax (3,400) (10,163) (13,563)
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 45 5. Segment information continued
Other segment items included in the statements of comprehensive income for the years ended 31 December 2009 and 2008 are as follows:
Stock & Total 
Professional Inventory Systems continuing Discontinued
Business Services & Services Other operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
31 December 2009
Depreciation and amortisation 313 365 29 707 – 707
Impairment of trade receivables (501) 69 – (432) – (432)
31 December 2008
Depreciation and amortisation 383 492 31 906 244 1,150
Impairment of trade receivables 856 36 – 892 43 935
The segment assets and liabilities at 31 December 2009 and capital expenditure for the year then ended are as follows:
Stock & Total 
Professional Inventory Systems continuing Discontinued
Business Services & Services Other operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Assets 6,886 4,906 3,659 15,451 – 15,451
Deferred tax assets 3,067 – 3,067
18,518 – 18,518
Liabilities 9,540 4,479 837 14,856 – 14,856
Borrowings (excluding finance leases) 2,694 – 2,694
17,550 – 17,550
Capital expenditure 4 135 – 139 – 139
The segment assets and liabilities at 31 December 2008 and capital expenditure for the year are as follows:
Stock & Total 
Professional Inventory Systems continuing Discontinued
Business Services & Services Other operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Assets 6,413 6,135 3,174 15,722 – 15,722
Deferred tax assets 2,063
Current tax assets 596
18,381
Liabilities 8,721 5,144 965 14,830 – 14,830
Borrowings (excluding finance leases) 700
15,530
Capital expenditure 532 363 8 903 1,790 2,693
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
46 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 5. Segment information continued
Segment assets consist primarily of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, inventories, receivables and operating cash. They exclude taxation.
Segment liabilities comprise operating liabilities. They exclude items such as taxation and corporate borrowings.
Capital expenditure comprises additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets.
The Group manages its business segments on a global basis. The UK is the home country of the parent. The Group’s revenue is mainly in Europe. Revenue is
allocated based on the country in which the customer is located.
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Continuing Discontinued Continuing Discontinued 
operations operations Group operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Revenue
Europe 46,577 – 46,577 62,508 9,691 72,199
Rest of the World 490 – 490 914 – 914
47,067 – 47,067 63,422 9,691 73,113
Total segment assets are allocated based on where the assets are located.
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Continuing Discontinued Continuing Discontinued 
operations operations Group operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Total segment assets
Europe 15,335 – 15,335 14,837 – 14,837
Rest of the World 116 – 116 885 – 885
15,451 – 15,451 15,722 – 15,722
Capital expenditure is allocated based on where the assets are located.
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Continuing Discontinued Continuing Discontinued 
operations operations Group operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Capital expenditure
Europe 139 – 139 903 1,790 2,693
Rest of World ––– ––
139 – 139 903 1,790 2,693
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 47 5. Segment information continued
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Continuing Discontinued Continuing Discontinued 
operations operations Group operations operations Group
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Analysis of revenue by category
Sale of goods 307 – 307 405 2,836 3,241
Revenue from services 46,760 – 46,760 63,017 6,855 69,872
47,067 – 47,067 63,422 9,691 73,113
6. Employee benefit expenses
2009 2008
Staff costs for the Group during the year £’000 £’000
Salaries and short term employee benefits 32,697 46,038
Other benefits 2,006 3,678
Post employment benefits 1,056 1,241
Other long-term benefits 825 1,129
Cost of employee share scheme 92 98
Exceptional reorganisation costs (Note 7) – 721
36,676 52,905
Continuing operations 36,676 45,045
Discontinued operations – 7,860
36,676 52,905
2009 2008
Average number of people (including executive directors) employed by the Group during the year was Number Number
Operational 783 1,026
Administration and support staff 244 306
1,027 1,332
Continuing operations 1,027 1,217
Discontinued operations – 115
1,027 1,332
7. Exceptional items
During the year the Group incurred £nil (2008: £1,964,000) of exceptional reorganisation costs.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
48 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 8. Finance costs/(credit)
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts 80 127
Other interest payable 68 34
Interest payable on finance leases – 1
Total finance costs 148 162
Bank interest receivable (9) (178)
Other interest receivable (92) (49)
Total finance credit (101) (227)
Net finance costs/(credit) – continuing operations 47 (65)
Discontinued operations interest payable – 1
Net finance costs/(credit) 47 (64)
9. Loss before tax
Group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Loss before tax is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
– owned assets 639 1,095
– under finance leases 2 6
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets 66 49
Loss/(profit) on sale of property, plant and equipment 5 (28)
Loss on sale of intangible fixed asset – 13
Profit on sale of available-for-sale investment (60) –
Operating lease charges
– buildings 1,395 2,046
– other 741 1,067
Impairment of available-for-sale financial assets – 19
Fair value adjustment of Retail Software business assets – 8,328
Impairment of trade receivables (501) 935
Vacant leasehold provisions (374) 889
Reorganisation costs 453 1,075
Repairs and maintenance expenditure on property, plant and equipment 378 337
Research and non-capitalised development costs – 1,528
Loss/(profit) on foreign exchange (including Company £159,000 (2008: £600,000)) 212 (141)
Inventories
– write down of inventories – 22
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 49 9. Loss before tax continued
Services provided by the Group’s auditor and network firms
During the year the Group (including its overseas subsidiaries) obtained the following services from the Group’s auditor or a network firm of the Group’s auditor as
detailed below:
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Audit services
– audit of the parent company and consolidated financial statements 14 18 14 18
– audit of the subsidiary company financial statements 75 84 – –
Total audit fees 89 102 14 18
Other services pursuant to legislation 11 11 – 5
Tax services 55 68 55 38
Other services 
– other services 7 34 – –
10. Taxation
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Current tax
UK Corporation tax at 28% (2008: 28%) 29 (981)
Foreign tax 15 –
Adjustment in respect of prior periods (832) –
Total current tax credit (788) (981)
Deferred tax
Origination and reversal of timing differences (1,004) (192)
Unutilised losses surrendered on disposal – 807
Total deferred tax (credit)/charge (1,004) 615
Tax credit on loss on ordinary activities (1,792) (366)
The tax (credit)/charge is split between continuing and discontinued activities as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Continuing operations (1,792) (1,173)
Discontinued operations – 807
(1,792) (366)
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
50 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 10. Taxation continued
The tax on the Group’s loss before tax differs from the theoretical amount that would arise using the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 28% as follows:
Tax on loss on ordinary activities
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Loss on ordinary activities before tax (3,845) (13,929)
Loss on ordinary activities at standard rate of UK corporation tax of 28% (2008: 28%) (1,077) (3,900)
Effects of:
– tax losses not yet utilised 747 648
– expenses not deductible for tax purposes 685 2,605
– taxable deductions (362) (393)
– utilisation of tax losses and other deductions (384) –
– adjustment to tax charge in respect of previous periods (833) –
– fixed asset timing differences (328) 6
– other timing differences (242) 119
- rate differential on certain tax losses 2 (66)
- origination and reversal of timing differences – (192)
– unutilised losses surrendered on disposal – 807
Total tax credit (1,792) (366)
11. Discontinued operations
The results of the discontinued operations are summarised below:
2008
£’000
Profit on disposal of Retail Software business 2,135
Fair value adjustment of Retail Software business assets (8,328)
Net loss on disposal of Retail Software business (6,193)
Loss for the period after tax of the Retail Software business (3,794)
Total loss of the Retail Software business (9,987)
Loss for the period after tax of Christie Corporate Finance (176)
(10,163)
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 51 11. Discontinued operations continued
11a. Retail software business
On 30 September 2008 the Group completed the disposal of its Retail Software business for consideration of €4,000,000 cash, translating to £3,164,000 on exchange.
Associated costs of disposal were £1,367,000, with net liabilities on disposal amounting to £338,000, resulting in a profit on disposal of £2,135,000 as set out below:
2008
£’000
Consideration received 3,164
Costs (1,367)
Net liabilities at 30 September 2008 338
Profit on disposal 2,135
Prior to the completion of the disposal of the Software business an adjustment to fair values was recognised of £8,328,000 as follows:
2008
£’000
Intangible assets – Goodwill 3,085
Intangible assets – Other 4,566
Current tax assets 677
8,328
The results for the Retail Software business are presented below:
2008
£’000
Revenue 9,671
Employee benefit expenses (7,692)
1,979
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (244)
Other operating expenses (4,722)
Operating loss (2,987)
Taxation (807)
Loss for the period after tax (3,794)
The net cash flows after tax of this discontinued operation are as follows:
2008
£’000
Operating activities (332)
Investing activities (742)
Net cash outflow (1,074)
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
52 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 11. Discontinued operations continued
11b. Christie Corporate Finance
On 1 August 2008 Christie Corporate Finance was closed. This was previously included in the Professional Business Services segment. From this date it has been
classified as a discontinued operation.
The results for Christie Corporate Finance are presented below:
2008
£’000
Revenue 20
Employee benefit expenses (168)
(148)
Other operating expenses (27)
Operating loss (175)
Total finance costs (1)
Loss for the period (176)
12. Dividends
2009 2008
Group and Company £’000 £’000
Interim
2008 interim, paid October 2008 (0.50p) – 123
Final
2007 final, paid June 2008 (2.75p) – 671
– 794
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 53 13. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in
issue during the year, which excludes the shares held in the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) trust.
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
£’000 £’000
Loss from continuing operations attributable to equity holders of the Company (2,053) (3,400)
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to equity holders of the Company – (10,163)
Loss from total operations attributable to equity holders of the Company (2,053) (13,563)
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Thousands Thousands
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 24,722 24,486
Adjustment for share options 1 74
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for diluted earnings per share 24,723 24,560
31 December 2009 31 December 2008
Pence Pence
Basic earnings per share
Continuing operations (8.30) (13.88)
Discontinued operations – (41.51)
Total operations (8.30) (55.39)
Fully diluted earnings per share
Continuing operations (8.30) (13.88)
Discontinued operations – (41.51)
Total operations (8.30) (55.39)
Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential
ordinary shares. The Company has only one category of dilutive potential ordinary shares: share options. The basic and diluted loss per share is the same, as the
exercise of share options would reduce the loss per share and is, therefore, anti-dilutive.
The calculation is performed for the share options to determine the number of shares that could have been acquired at fair value (determined as the average
annual market share price of the Company’s shares) based on the monetary value of the subscription rights attached to outstanding share options. The number of
shares calculated as above is compared with the number of shares that would have been issued assuming the exercise of the share options.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
54 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 14. Intangible assets – goodwill
Total
Group £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009 1,011
Total
Group £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2008 4,096
Disposal of Retail Software business (3,085)
At 31 December 2008 1,011
Impairment
At 1 January 2008 –
Impairment during the year 3,085
Disposal of Retail Software business (3,085)
At 31 December 2008 –
Net book value at 31 December 2008 1,011
Goodwill is allocated to the Group’s cash-generating units (CGUs) identified according to country of operation and business segment. The carrying amounts of
goodwill by segment as at 31 December 2009 are as follows:
Professional Stock & Inventory 
Business Services Systems & Services 
Goodwill £’000 £’000
UK 178 833
During the year, the acquired goodwill was tested for impairment in accordance with IAS 36 on the basis of the relevant CGUs. Following the impairment tests there
has been no change to the carrying values. The recoverable amount of a CGU is determined based on value-in-use calculations. These calculations use cash flow
projections based on current business plans. The key assumptions for the value-in-use calculations are those regarding revenue growth rates, discount rates and
long-term growth rates. Management determined budgeted revenue growth based on past performance and its expectations for the market development. Discount
rates were determined using post-tax rates that reflect current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the CGUs. Cash flows
beyond the five-year period are extrapolated using estimated long term growth rates obtained from HM Treasury for both the UK and Continental Europe.
The revenue growth rate does not exceed the long-term average growth rate for the businesses in which the CGUs operate.
Professional Stock & Inventory 
Business Services Systems & Services 
%%
Discount rates 10.0 10.0
Long-term growth rates 2.5 2.5
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 55 15. Intangible assets – other
Software
Group £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2009 112
Transfer from PPE 165
Additions 59
Disposals (40)
At 31 December 2009 296
Accumulated amortisation and impairment
At 1 January 2009 52
Transfer from PPE 80
Charge for the year 66
Disposals (40)
At 31 December 2009 158
Net book amount at 31 December 2009 138
Software
Software development Total
Group £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2008 334 5,710 6,044
Exchange adjustments 154 401 555
Transfer to PPE (38) – (38)
Additions 28 1,562 1,590
Disposals (28) – (28)
Retail Software business disposals (338) (7,673) (8,011)
At 31 December 2008 112 – 112
Accumulated amortisation and impairment
At 1 January 2008 160 1,329 1,489
Exchange adjustments 18 – 18
Transfer to PPE (9) – (9)
Charge for the year 49 – 49
Impairment during the year – 4,566 4,566
Disposals (15) – (15)
Retail Software business disposals (151) (5,895) (6,046)
At 31 December 2008 52 – 52
Net book amount at 31 December 2008 60 – 60
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
56 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 15. Intangible assets – other continued
The expected useful lives are as follows:
Software 1 – 5 years
Software development 5 – 10 years
The investment in software development related to development of retail products for resale in the Software Solutions division, prior to the sale of this division.
Prior to the disposal in 2008 of the Software Solutions division the recoverable amount of the software development asset was determined based on value-in-use
calculations. These calculations used cash flow projections based on current business plans over the next 5 years. The key assumptions for the value-in-use
calculations were those regarding revenue growth rates and discount rates. Management determined budgeted revenue growth based on past performance and its
expectations for the market development. The discount rate of 15% was determined using post-tax rates that reflected the current market assessments of the time
value of money and the risks specific to the Software Solutions division.
16. Property, plant and equipment
Fixtures, fittings,
Short leasehold computer equipment 
property and motor vehicles Total
Group £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2009 280 4,510 4,790
Transfer from/(to) Intangibles assets – other 23 (188) (165)
Additions – 80 80
Disposals – (1,272) (1,272)
At 31 December 2009 303 3,130 3,433
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2009 260 3,121 3,381
Transfer from/(to) Intangibles assets – other 23 (89) (66)
Charge for the year 20 621 641
Disposals – (1,272) (1,272)
At 31 December 2009 303 2,381 2,684
Net book amount at 31 December 2009 – 749 749
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 57 16. Property, plant and equipment continued
Fixtures, fittings,
Short leasehold computer equipment 
property and motor vehicles Total
Group £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost 
At 1 January 2008 374 5,744 6,118
Exchange adjustments 7 321 328
Transfer from Intangibles assets – other – 38 38
Additions – 1,103 1,103
Disposals (101) (1,224) (1,325)
Retail Software Division disposals – (1,472) (1,472)
At 31 December 2008 280 4,510 4,790
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2008 306 4,016 4,322
Exchange adjustments 7 208 215
Transfer from Intangibles assets – other –99
Charge for the year 48 1,053 1,101
Disposals (101) (1,048) (1,149)
Retail Software Division disposals – (1,117) (1,117)
At 31 December 2008 260 3,121 3,381
Net book amount at 31 December 2008 20 1,389 1,409
Depreciation in the year on fixtures, fittings, computer equipment and motor vehicles includes £2,000 (2008: £6,000) on assets held under finance lease or hire
purchase agreements which have a net book value at 31 December 2009 of £nil (2008: £2,000).
17. Deferred tax
Deferred tax assets have been recognised in respect of tax losses and other temporary differences giving rise to deferred tax assets where it is probable that these
assets will be recovered.
The movements in deferred tax assets (prior to the offsetting of balances within the same jurisdiction as permitted by IAS 12) during the year are shown below.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are only offset where there is a legally enforceable right of offset and there is an intention to settle the balances net.
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Deferred tax assets comprises:
Accelerated capital allowances 610 283 1 1
Short-term timing differences 1,451 877 229 221
Deferred tax asset 2,061 1,160 230 222
Deferred tax asset on pension 1,006 903 97 94
At 31 December 3,067 2,063 327 316
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
58 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 17. Deferred tax continued
Movements in the deferred tax asset:
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2,063 2,664 316 131
Credited to/(transfer from) statement of comprehensive income 1,004 (615) 11 185
Exchange adjustments – 14 – –
At 31 December 3,067 2,063 327 316
Deferred tax assets are recognised for tax losses carried forward to the extent that the realisation of the related tax benefit through future taxable profits is
probable. The Group did not recognise deferred tax assets of £337,000 (2008: £375,000) in respect of losses amounting to £1,202,000 (2008: £1,341,000) that can be
carried forward against future taxable income as the realisation of the benefit cannot be assessed as probable as at 31 December 2009.
UK deferred tax assets have been recognised at the UK corporation tax rate of 28% effective from 1 April 2008.
18. Investments in subsidiaries
Shares in subsidiary Loans to subsidiary
undertakings undertakings Total
Company £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2009 5,746 1,700 7,446
Transfer to long term receivables – (1,700) (1,700)
Additions 450 – 450
At 31 December 2009 6,196 – 6,196
Provision for impairment
At 1 January 2009 3,923 – 3,923
Charge in the year 13 – 13
At 31 December 2009 3,936 – 3,936
Net book amount at 31 December 2009 2,260 – 2,260
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 59 18. Investments in subsidiaries continued
Shares in subsidiary Loans to subsidiary
undertakings undertakings Total
Company £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 January 2008 5,596 6,301 11,897
Waiver of loans to subsidiaries – (4,601) (4,601)
Additions 150 – 150
At 31 December 2008 5,746 1,700 7,446
Provision for impairment
At 1 January 2008 610 – 610
Charge in the year 3,313 – 3,313
At 31 December 2008 3,923 – 3,923
Net book amount at 31 December 2008 1,823 1,700 3,523
Subsidiary undertakings
At 31 December 2009 the principal subsidiaries were as follows:
Company Country of incorporation Nature of business
Christie, Owen & Davies Ltd (trading as Christie + Co)* UK Business valuers, surveyors and agents
Christie + Co SARL* France Business valuers, surveyors and agents
Christie + Co GmbH* Germany Business valuers, surveyors and agents
Christie, Owen & Davies SL* Spain Business valuers, surveyors and agents
Christie + Co Oy* Finland Business valuers, surveyors and agents
Pinders Professional & Consultancy Services Ltd UK Business appraisers
RCC Business Mortgage Brokers Ltd (trading as Christie Finance) UK Business mortgage brokers
RCC Insurance Brokers Ltd* (trading as Christie Insurance) UK Insurance brokers
Orridge & Co Ltd UK Stocktaking and inventory management services
Orridge SA* Belgium Stocktaking and inventory management services (ceased trading)
Orridge BV Holland Stocktaking and inventory management services (ceased trading)
Ridgecop Limited UK Stocktaking and inventory management services
Venners Ltd UK Licensed stock and inventory auditors and valuers
Venners Systems & Services Ltd* (trading as Vennersys) UK EPoS, head office systems and merchandise control
Venners Systems & Services Corporation* (trading as Vennersys) Canada EPoS, head office systems and merchandise control
The Company directly or indirectly* owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of each of the above companies.
Orridge SA ceased trading on 31 December 2009. From 1 January 2010 all activities previously carried out by Orridge SA were transferred to Ridgecop Limited.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
60 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 18. Investments in subsidiaries continued
18a. Available-for-sale financial assets
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost
At 1 January 381 362 381 362
Additions – 19 – 19
Disposals (81) – (81) –
At 31 December 300 381 300 381
Provision for impairment
At 1 January 81 62 81 62
Charge for the year – 19 – 19
Release of provision (81) – (81) –
At 31 December – 81 – 81
Net book amount at 31 December 300 300 300 300
The available-for-sale financial assets are all denominated in sterling.
During the year the Group disposed of its entire shareholding in Capcon Holdings plc, an AIM listed business, for consideration of £141,000, realising a profit on
disposal of £60,000 after releasing all provisions against the carrying value of the shareholding. In 2008 the Group purchased 512,500 1p ordinary shares in the
same company but opted to provide in full at 31 December 2008 against the investment given the relative illiquidity of the shares. The market value of the shares
at 31 December 2008 was £135,000.
The other available-for-sale financial assets represent an unquoted investment held at cost which the Directors believe approximates to fair value.
19. Other receivables
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
Non-current assets £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Amounts due from Group undertakings – – 5,469 –
Less: provision for impairment of amounts due from Group undertakings – – (615) –
Other debtors 1,192 1,108 1,192 1,108
Other receivables 1,192 1,108 6,046 1,108
The Company’s non-current other receivables are denominated in sterling.
Amounts due from Group undertakings represent loans due from subsidiaries which are repayable after more than one year .
Other debtors represent loans in respect of the Group’s share schemes repayable after more than one year, none of which are impaired.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 61 20. Inventories
Group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Finished goods and goods for resale 1 –
A provision of £22,000 (2008: £22,000) is held against goods for resale to reduce the carrying value to reflect the net realisable value of the inventory.
21. Cash and cash equivalents
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash at bank and in hand 3,536 1,893 150 1,151
Short-term bank deposits – 435 – –
3,536 2,328 150 1,151
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts include the following for the purposes of the cashflow statement:
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cash and cash equivalents 3,536 2,328 150 1,151
Bank overdrafts (note 27) (1,813) – (1,813) –
1,723 2,328 (1,663) 1,151
The Group operates a centrally-controlled treasury function where the use of overdraft facilities is concentrated with the ultimate parent company. As a result at
31 December 2009 the ultimate parent undertaking had utilised bank overdrafts to the value of £1,813,000 (2008: £nil).
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
62 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 22. Trade and other receivables
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Trade receivables 7,362 9,179 – –
Less: Provision for impairment of receivables (1,837) (2,577) – –
Amounts owed by Group undertakings – – 2,040 2,752
Other debtors 1,163 604 282 424
Prepayments and accrued income 1,836 2,300 675 126
8,524 9,506 2,997 3,302
The fair values of trade and other receivables approximates to the carrying value as detailed above.
Movements on the Group’s provision for impairment of trade receivables are as follows:
Group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Provision at 1 January 2,577 2,290
Impairment of trade receivables during the year (300) 935
Amounts written off in the year (370) (409)
Disposal of Software Retail Software business – (492)
Foreign currency translation effects (70) 253
Provision at 31 December 1,837 2,577
The impairment of trade receivables in the year has been included in ‘Other operating expenses’ in the statement of comprehensive income. Amounts are written
off when there is no expectation of recovering additional cash.
The following summary details trade receivables that are not overdue (where payment terms have not been exceeded) as well as an analysis of overdue amounts
and related provisions.
Group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Not overdue 2,726 3,221
Amounts past due:
< 1 month 1,638 2,329
1 – 3 months 852 1,015
3 – 6 months 615 742
6 – 12 months 344 632
< 1 year 1,187 1,240
Provision for impairment of trade receivables (1,837) (2,577)
Amounts past due but not impaired 2,799 3,381
The carrying value of trade receivables that are not covered by credit insurance is £5,525,000 (2008: £4,808,000).
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 63 22. Trade and other receivables continued
The carrying value of trade receivables is reviewed and amounts not provided for are considered recoverable. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade
receivables are limited due to the Group’s customer base being large and diverse. Due to this, management believe there is no further credit risk provision required
in excess of the normal provision for doubtful receivables. The carrying amounts of trade and other receivables are denominated in the following currencies:
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Sterling 7,651 7,726 2,997 3,302
Euros 817 1,113 – –
Canadian Dollars 56 667 – –
8,524 9,506 2,997 3,302
23. Share capital
2009 2008
Ordinary shares of 2p each Number £’000 Number £’000
Allotted and fully paid:
At 1 January and 31 December 25,263,551 505 25,263,551 505
The Company has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income.
Investment in own shares
The Group has established an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) trust in order to meet its future contingent obligations under the Group’s share option
schemes. The ESOP purchases shares in the market for distribution at a later date in accordance with the terms of the Group’s share option schemes. The rights to
dividends on the shares held have been waived.
At 31 December 2009 the total payments by the Company to the ESOP to finance the purchase of ordinary shares was £1,869,000 (2008: £2,154,000). The market
value at 31 December 2009 of the ordinary shares held in the ESOP was £258,000 (2008: £237,000). The investment in own shares represents 533,000 shares
(2008: 775,000) with a nominal value of 2p each.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
64 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 23. Share capital continued
23a. Share based payments
Certain employees hold options to subscribe for shares in the Company at prices ranging from 39.5p to 251.5p under share option schemes for the period from
April 2001 – September 2009.
The remaining options outstanding under approved schemes (unapproved options marked *) at 31 December are shown below:
Number of Shares
2009 2008 Option exercise price Date granted Option exercise period
– 15,000 81.0p Sep 1999 Sep 2002 – Sep 2009
– 13,500 145.0p May 2000 May 2003 – May 2010
– 3,000 81.5p Oct 2000 Oct 2003 – Oct 2010
13,333 20,333 53.5p Apr 2001 Apr 2004 – Apr 2011
3,000 3,000 40.0p Oct 2001 Oct 2004 – Oct 2011
25,000 25,000 45.5p Sep 2002 Sep 2005 – Sep 2012
35,000 40,000 47.5p Apr 2003 Apr 2006 – Apr 2013
12,000 28,000 46.5p Jun 2003 Jun 2006 – Jun 2013
– 63,000 94.0p May 2004 May 2007 – May 2014
– 12,000 111.5p Jun 2004 Jun 2007 – Jun 2014
– 37,000 98.5p Oct 2004 Oct 2007 – Oct 2014
9,000 136,000 100.0p Apr 2005 Apr 2008 – Apr 2015
– 16,000 101.5p Oct 2005 Oct 2008 – Oct 2015
12,000 169,000 130.5p Apr 2006 Apr 2009 – Apr 2016
9,000 167,000 251.5p Mar 2007 Mar 2010 – Mar 2017
7,000 221,064 113.5p Apr 2008 Apr 2011 – Apr 2018
– 23,570* 113.5p Apr 2008 Apr 2011 – Apr 2018
– 26,000 53.5p Oct 2008 Oct 2011 – Oct 2018
23,000 – 39.5p May 2009 May 2012 – May 2019
824,134 – 45.0p May 2009 May 2012 – May 2019
16,000 – 45.0p Jun 2009 Jun 2012 – Jun 2019
130,000 – 57.5p Sep 2009 Sep 2012 – Sep 2019
1,118,467 1,018,467
Under the Share Option Scheme the Remuneration Committee can grant options over shares to employees of the Company. Options are granted with a fixed
exercise price equal to the market price of the shares under option at the date of grant. The contractual life of an option is 10 years. Awards under the Share Option
Scheme are generally reserved for employees at senior management level and 131 employees are currently participating in this Group. The Company has made
grants at least annually. Options granted under the Share Option Scheme will become exercisable on the third anniversary of the date of grant. Exercise of an option
is subject to continued employment and achievement of a performance target.
The Group also operates a Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme which was introduced in 2002. Under the SAYE scheme eligible employees can save up to £250 per
month over a three or five year period and use the savings to exercise options granted between 59.5p to 228.5p. There were 737,000 (2008: 839,000) remaining
options outstanding under the SAYE scheme at 31 December 2009.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 65 23. Share capital continued
23a. Share based payments continued
Share options (including SAYE schemes) were valued using the QCA share option valuer, which is based on Black-Scholes. No performance conditions were
included in the fair value calculations. The key assumptions used in the calculations are as follows:
2009 2008
Share price at grant date 39.5p – 251.5p 53.5p – 251.5p
Exercise price 39.5p – 251.5p 53.5p – 251.5p
Expected volatility 28.5% – 75.3% 28.5% – 51.4%
Expected life (years) 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years
Risk free rate 1.8% – 5.1% 2.2% – 5.1%
Dividend yield 0.0% – 3.7% 0.9% – 3.7%
Fair value per option 10.4p – 84.8p 10.4p – 84.8p
The expected volatility is based on historical volatility over the last 5 years. The expected life is the average expected period to exercise. The risk free rate of return is
the yield on zero-coupon UK government bonds of a term consistent with the assumed option life.
A reconciliation of share option movements (excluding SAYE schemes) over the year to 31 December is shown below:
2009 2008
Weighted average Weighted average
Number exercise price Number exercise price
Outstanding at 1 January 1,018,467 125.98p 840,452 130.61p
Granted 1,006,134 46.49p 289,634 108.11p
Forfeited or lapsed (53,000) 101.34p (90,952) 126.14p
Exercised – (14,000) 72.04p
Surrendered (853,134) 133.39p ––
Expired –– (6,667) 44,20p
Outstanding at 31 December 1,118,467 49.98p 1,018,467 125.98p
Exercisable at 31 December 97,333 52.31p 411,833 85.21p
No share options were exercised during the year . The weighted average share price for options exercised in 2008 was 87.30p. The total charge for the year relating to
employee share based payment plans was £92,000 (2008: £98,000), all of which related to equity-settled share based payment transactions. The weighted average
remaining contractual life of share options outstanding at 31 December 2009 was 8.8 years (2008: 7.0 years).
24. Reserves
Capital Fair value 
Share Merger Share based redemption and other Retained 
premium reserve payments Own shares reserve reserves earnings
Group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2009 4,073 – 429 (1,581) 10 2,931 (1,066)
Movement in respect of employee share scheme –– 92 83 – 175 –
Comprehensive losses for the period ––– ––– (2,053)
At 31 December 2009 4,073 – 521 (1,498) 10 3,106 (3,119)
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
66 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 24. Reserves continued
Capital Fair value 
Share Merger Share based redemption and other Retained 
premium reserve payments Own shares reserve reserves earnings
Group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2008 4,073 945 478 (1,800) 10 3,706 11,616
Movement in respect of employee share scheme –– (49) 219 – 170 (28)
Exchange difference on repayment of foreign exchange loan ––– - –– 758
Release of merger reserve – (945) ––– (945) 945
Comprehensive losses for the period ––– ––– (13,563)
Dividends paid ––– ––– (794)
At 31 December 2008 4,073 – 429 (1,581) 10 2,931 (1,066)
Capital Fair value
Share Merger Share based redemption Other and other Retained 
premium reserve payments Own shares reserve reserves reserves earnings
Company £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2009 4,073 –4 (1,581) 10 89 2,595 2,930
Movement in respect of employee share scheme ––1 83 –– 84 –
Comprehensive income for the period ––– –––– 1,569
At 31 December 2009 4,073 –5 (1,498) 10 89 2,679 4,499
Capital Fair value
Share Merger Share based redemption Other and other Retained 
premium reserve payments Own shares reserve reserves reserves earnings
Company £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2008 4,073 945 150 (1,800) 10 89 3,467 10,970
Movement in respect of employee share scheme –– (146) 219 –– 73 (28)
Release of merger reserve – (945) ––– – (945) 945
Comprehensive losses for the period ––– –––– (8,163)
Dividends paid ––– –––– (794)
At 31 December 2008 4,073 –4 (1,581) 10 89 2,595 2,930
Share premium – The balance on the share premium reserve represents the amounts received in excess of the nominal value of the ordinary shares.
Merger reserve – The balance on the merger reserve represented the fair value of the consideration given in excess of the nominal value of the ordinary shares
issued in an acquisition made by the issue of shares. This reserve was released on the sale of the retail software business.
Share based payments – The balance on the share based payments reserve represents the value of services provided in relation to employee share ownership schemes.
Own shares – Own shares represents Company shares held in the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) to meet the future requirements of employee share-
based payment arrangements.
Capital redemption reserve – The balance on the capital redemption reserve represents the aggregate nominal value of all the ordinary shares repurchased
and cancelled.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 67 25. Retirement benefit obligations
The amounts recognised in the statement of financial position are determined as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
United Kingdom 3,594 3,225
United Kingdom
The Group operates two defined benefit schemes (closed to new members) providing pensions based on final pensionable pay. The contributions are determined by
qualified actuaries on the basis of triennial valuations using the projected unit method.
When a member retires, the pension and any spouse’s pension is either secured by an annuity contract or paid from the managed fund. Assets of the schemes are
reduced by the purchase price of any annuity purchase and the benefits no longer regarded as liabilities of the scheme.
The amounts recognised in the statement of financial position are determined as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Present value of funded obligations 29,348 27,425
Fair value of plan assets (29,348) (25,463)
– 1,962
Present value of unfunded obligations 4,277 6,122
Unrecognised actuarial losses (683) (4,859)
Liability in the statement of financial position 3,594 3,225
The principal actuarial assumptions used were as follows:
2009 2008
% %
Discount rate 5.8 5.8
Inflation rate 3.5 3.5
Expected return on plan assets 6.2 – 7.6 6.2 – 7.6
Future salary increases 3.5 – 3.6 3.5 – 3.6
Future pension increases 3.0 – 3.5 3.0 – 3.3
Assumptions regarding future mortality experience are set based on advice from published statistics and experience. The average life expectancy in years of a
pensioner retiring at age 65 is as follows:
2009 2008
Years Years
Male 19.8 – 22.0 19.8 – 22.0
Female 22.7 – 24.0 22.7 – 24.0
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
68 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 25. Retirement benefit obligations continued
The movement in the defined benefit obligation is as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
At 1 January 33,547 30,998
Interest cost 1,958 1,803
Current service cost 795 781
Benefits paid (654) (1,217)
Actuarial (gains)/losses (2,021) 1,182
At 31 December 33,625 33,547
Attributable to:
Present value of funded obligations 29,348 27,425
Present value of unfunded obligations 4,277 6,122
33,625 33,547
The movement in the fair value of plan assets is as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
At 1 January 25,463 29,566
Expected return on plan assets 1,781 2,121
Contributions 749 1,501
Benefits paid (654) (1,217)
Actuarial gains/(losses) 2,009 (6,508)
At 31 December 29,348 25,463
The amounts recognised in the statement of comprehensive income are as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Current service cost/(credit) 795 (781)
Interest cost/(credit) 1,958 (1,803)
Expected (return)/loss on plan assets (1,781) 2,121
Net actuarial loss recognised in the year 144 31
1,116 (432)
The actual return on plan assets was £3,790,000 (2008: £4,387,000 loss).
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 69 25. Retirement benefit obligations continued
Plan assets are comprised as follows:
2009 2008
Expected return Expected return
£’000 % £’000 %
Equity 20,961 6.5 – 7.6 17,126 6.6 – 7.6
Debt 4,534 5.1 – 7.5 3,777 5.1 – 7.5
Other 3,853 5.0 – 5.3 4,560 5.0 – 5.3
29,348 6.2 – 7.6 25,463 6.2 – 7.6
The expected return on plan assets was determined by considering the expected returns available on the assets underlying the current investment policy.
Expected yields on fixed interest investments are based on gross redemption yields as at the statement of financial position date. Expected returns on equity and
property investments reflect long-term real rates of return experienced in the respective markets
Expected contributions to UK post retirement benefit schemes for the year ending 31 December 2010 are £1,073,000.
History of experience adjustments:
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
As at 31 December £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Present value of defined obligations 33,625 33,547 30,998 32,303 30,527
Fair value of plan assets (29,348) (25,463) (29,566) (25,679) (22,054)
Deficit 4,277 8,084 1,432 6,624 8,473
Experience adjustments on plan liabilities (2,021) – 218 364 183
Experience adjustments on plan assets 2,009 (6,508) (346) 915 1,449
Company
The statement of comprehensive income charge of £21,000 (2008: £22,000) and statement of financial position liability of £347,000 (2008: £338,000) recognised by
the Company in relation to the Christie Group defined benefit scheme has been allocated on the basis of contributions to the scheme. For the year ended 31
December 2009 contributions paid by the Company amounted to £24,000 (2008: £99,000).
Overseas
In accordance with French law, in prior years a retirement indemnity provision was held. Rights to these benefits accrued on the condition that the employee will be
with the employer at retirement date.
The movement in the liability recognised in the statement of financial position is as follows:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Beginning of the year – 50
Expenses included in statement of comprehensive income – 7
Exchange adjustments – 4
Disposal of Retail Software business – (61)
End of the year – –
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
70 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 26. Trade and other payables
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Trade payables 2,062 2,007 – –
Amounts owed to Group undertakings – – 1,930 2,412
Other taxes and social security 1,720 1,104 66 36
Other creditors 427 735 75 118
Accruals 3,804 4,127 166 338
Deferred income 618 1,316 – –
8,631 9,289 2,237 2,904
The carrying amounts of trade and other payables are denominated in the following currencies:
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Sterling 7,600 7,767 2,237 2,904
Euros 860 833 – –
Canadian Dollars 171 689 – –
8,631 9,289 2,237 2,904
27. Borrowings
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
Current £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Bank overdrafts 1,813 – 1,813 –
Invoice discounting 881 700 – –
Finance lease obligations – 6 – –
2,694 706 1,813 –
The Group is not subject to any contractual repricing.
The carrying amounts of current borrowings approximate to their fair value.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 71 28. Provisions for other liabilities and charges
Vacant leasehold Long-term benefits 
provisions due to employees Dilapidations Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2009 889 1,136 285 2,310
Charged/(credited) to the statement of comprehensive income
– Additional provision 212 1,173 144 1,529
– Released during the year (618) – (100) (718)
Utilised during the year (239) (251) – (490)
At 31 December 2009 244 2,058 329 2,631
Vacant leasehold Long-term benefits 
provisions due to employees Dilapidations Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
At 1 January 2008 – 253 196 449
Charged to the statement of comprehensive income
– Additional provision 889 1,129 89 2,107
Utilised during the year – (246) – (246)
At 31 December 2008 889 1,136 285 2,310
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Analysis of total provisions
Non-current 1,720 1,751
Current 911 559
2,631 2,310
a. Long-term benefits due to employees
Provisions for long-term benefits to employees comprise £1,261,000 for incentives in excess of one year’s duration. These are determined in line with the projected
unit credit method.
b. Dilapidations
Provision is held in respect of potential dilapidations arising on leasehold premises over the length of the lease in accordance with the lease terms.
The non-current liabilities are estimated to be payable over periods from one to seven years.
c. Vacant leasehold provisions
Provisions are held for rental costs and related premises charges on leasehold commitments for excess or unutilised space, net of expected income from
anticipated sub-lease arrangements. All provisions are carried at present value after applying an appropriate discount rate, and all non–current liabilities are
estimated to be payable over periods from one to seven years.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
72 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 29. Notes to the cash flow statement
Cash used in operations
Group Company
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Continuing operations
(Loss)/profit for the year (1,949) (3,400) 392 (8,163)
Adjustments for:
– Taxation (1,752) (1,173) (779) (189)
– Finance costs/(credit) 47 (65) (176) (7,626)
– Impairment of investments in subsidiaries – – 13 3,313
– Depreciation 641 890 – –
– Amortisation of intangible assets 66 16 – –
– Loss/(profit) on sale of property, plant and equipment 5 (28) – –
– Loss on sale of intangible assets – 13 – –
– Foreign currency translation 30 279 – (352)
– Increase in provision for other liabilities and charges 321 1,861 – –
– Movement in available-for-sale financial asset (141) 19 (141) 19
– Movement in share option charge 92 98 1 1
– Movement in retirement benefit obligation 225 (1,069) 9 (77)
– Increase in non-current other receivables (84) – – –
Changes in working capital (excluding the effects exchange differences on consolidation):
– Increase in inventories (1) – – –
– Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables 982 1,260 (2,933) 1,021
– (Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables (658) (3,473) (667) 1,769
Cash used in continuing operations (2,176) (4,772) (4,281) (10,284)
Discontinued operations
Loss for the year – (10,163) – –
Adjustments for:
– Taxation – 807 – –
– Finance costs – 1 – –
– Depreciation – 211 – –
– Amortisation and impairment of intangible assets – 33 – –
– Fair value adjustment of Retail Software business assets – 8,328 – –
– Profit on sale of Retail Software business – (2,135) – –
– Foreign currency translation – (529) – –
Changes in working capital (excluding the effects exchange differences on consolidation):
– Increase in inventories – (145) – –
– Increase in trade and other receivables – (837) – –
– Increase in trade and other payables – 3,947
–
–
Cash used in discontinued operations – (482) – –
Cash used in operations (2,176) (5,254) (4,281) (10,284)
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 73 30. Reconciliation of movement in net funds
As at As at
1 January 2009 Cash flow 31 December 2009
£’000 £’000 £’000
Cash and cash equivalents 2,328 1,208 3,536
Bank overdrafts – (1,813) (1,813)
Invoice discounting (700) (181) (881)
Finance leases due within one year (6) 6 –
1,622 (780) 842
31. Commitments
a. Operating lease commitments
At 31 December 2009 the Group has lease agreements in respect of properties, vehicles, plant and equipment, for which the payments extend over a number of years.
2009 2008
Vehicles and Vehicles and 
Property equipment Property equipment
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Commitments under non-cancellable operating leases due:
Within one year 1,578 553 1,681 804
Within two to five years 3,384 532 4,219 763
After five years 1,234 – 1,767 –
6,196 1,085 7,667 1,567
Operating lease payments represent:
•rentals payable by the Group for certain of its office properties. The leases have varying terms, break clauses and renewal rights.
•rentals for vehicles and equipment under non-cancellable operating lease agreements
The Group also sub-lets an element of office space in respect of certain property lease agreements.
b. Capital commitments
The Group has contracted but not provided for capital commitments for £nil (2008: £1,000) of capital expenditure.
32. Contingent liabilities
In the ordinary course of business, claims arise in Group companies. In the opinion of the Directors, appropriate amounts have been set aside in the individual
companies within the Group in respect of liabilities which they may suffer as a result of the resolution of these claims. As at 31 December 2009 no material
contingent liabilities existed (2008: £nil).
Notes to the consolidated financial statements
Continued
74 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 33. Related-party transactions
Group
There is no controlling interest in the Group’s shares.
The Group Executive Directors are considered to be the persons who have the authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the Group.
This information is included in the Director’s remuneration report for the Directors employed by the Company.
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Loans to Directors:
At 1 January and 31 December 136 136
The loan represents an amount advanced in respect of the Group’s share schemes repayable in April 2010.
Company
Transactions with Group undertakings:
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
Dividends received from subsidiaries 1,181 6,441
Provision of services 2,403 2,613
Purchase of services 1,410 582
Sales and purchases to Group undertakings were carried out on commercial terms and conditions.
Year end balances arising from sales and provision of services to Group undertakings are disclosed in Notes 19, 22 and 26.
See Note 19 for provisions against amounts due from Group undertakings.
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 75 Consolidated statements of comprehensive income
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Revenue 47,067 63,422 87,372 87,096 77,506
Operating (loss)/profit before exceptional items (3,654) (2,674) 7,001 6,079 4,409
Exceptional items – (1,964) –––
Finance credit/(costs) (47) 65 214 73 (28)
(Loss)/profit on ordinary activities before tax (3,701) (4,573) 7,215 6,152 4,381
Taxation 1,752 1,173 (2,567) (2,019) (1,694)
(Loss)/profit on ordinary activities after tax (1,949) (3,400) 4,648 4,133 2,687
Non-controlling interest – –– (2) (3)
(Loss)/profit for the year after tax (1,949) (3,400) 4,648 4,131 2,684
Earnings per share 
– basic (8.30p) (13.88p) 19.12p 16.90p 10.79p
– basic before exceptional finance credit (net of tax) (8.30p) (13.88p) 19.12p 16.90p 10.79p
Dividends per ordinary share (payable in respect of the year) 0.00p 0.50p 4.25p 4.00p 3.50p
The 2009 and 2008 results shown above are for continuing operations only.
Consolidated statement of financial position
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Non-current assets 6,457 5,951 14,499 11,952 11,205
Current assets 12,061 12,430 24,245 26,307 21,238
Non-current liabilities (1,720) (1,751) (432) (145) –
Current liabilities (12,236) (10,554) (16,730) (17,546) (13,618)
4,562 6,076 21,582 20,568 18,825
Non-current borrowings – – (1,275) (1,735) (2,221)
Retirement benefit obligations (3,594) (3,225) (4,343) (6,300) (6,790)
Net assets 968 2,851 15,964 12,533 9,814
Shareholders’ funds – equity interests 968 2,851 15,964 12,533 9,795
Minority interest – ––– 19
968 2,851 15,964 12,533 9,814
Five-year record
76 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Company information
Investor and shareholder-related information can 
be found on our website at: www.christiegroup.com
Financial calendar 
Annual General Meeting Wednesday 16 June 2010
2009 Final dividend payment July 2010
2010 Interim results announcement Sept 2010
Dates are correct at the time of printing, but are subject to change.
Registrars 
All administrative enquiries relating to shareholdings and requests to receive
corporate documents by e-mail should, in the first instance, be directed to:
Capita Registrars
Northern House
Woodsome Park
Fenay Bridge
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
HD8 0LA
0871 664 0300 (calls cost 10 pence per minute plus network extras.
Lines are open from 8:30am to 5:30pm Mon – Fri) from the UK and
+44 20 8639 3399 from overseas.
shareholder .services@capitaregistrars.com
Shareholders who receive duplicate sets of company mailings because they
have multiple accounts should write to Capita Registrars to have their
accounts amalgamated.
Shareholder portal
You will need your investor code, which can be found on your share
certificate(s) to register for the shareholder portal.
Once you have registered, you can immediately:
•Cast your proxy vote on-line.
•Elect to receive shareholder communication electronically.
And, after you have activated your account, you can benefit from a number of
other on-line services:
•View your holding balance and indicative share price and valuation.
•View transactions on your holding and dividend payments you have received.
•Update your address or register a bank mandate instruction to have
dividends paid directly to your bank account.
•Access a wide range of shareholder information including downloadable forms.
www.capitashareportal.com
ShareGift
ShareGift is a charity share donation scheme for shareholders who may
wish to dispose of a small number of shares where the market value makes
it uneconomic to sell them on a commission basis. The scheme is
administered by the Orr Mackintosh Foundation. For further information,
please contact the foundation: 020 7930 3737.
www.sharegift.org
Shareholder information
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 77 Unauthorised brokers (“boiler room” scams)
Shareholders are advised to be wary of any unsolicited advice, offers to buy
shares at a discount or offers of free company reports. These are typically
from overseas based “brokers” who target UK shareholders offering to sell
them what often turns out to be worthless or high risk shares in US or UK
investments. These are commonly known as “boiler rooms”. 
If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:
•Make sure you get the correct name of the person and organisation.
•Check that they are properly authorised by the FSA before getting involved.
You can check at: www.fsa.gov.uk/register
•Report the matter to the FSA either by calling 0845 606 1234 or visiting:
www.moneymadeclear .fsa.gov.uk
•If the calls persist, hang up.
Details of any share dealing facilities that Christie Group endorses will
only be included in company mailings.
More detailed information can be found on the FSA website:
www.moneymadeclear .fsa.gov.uk
Identity theft
Tips for protecting your shares in the Company:
•Ensure all your certificates are kept in a safe place or hold your shares
electronically in CREST via a nominee.
•Keep correspondence from us and Capita in a safe place and destroy any
unwanted correspondence by shredding.
•If you change address, inform Capita in writing or update your address on-
line via the shareholder portal. If you receive a letter from Capita regarding 
a change of address but have not moved, please contact them immediately.
•Consider having your dividend paid directly into your bank. This will reduce
the risk of the cheque being intercepted or lost in the post. If you change
your bank account, inform Capita of the details of your new account. You can
do this by post or on-line via the shareholder portal. 
•If you are buying or selling shares, only deal with brokers registered and
authorised to carry out that type of business.
•Be wary of phone calls or e-mails purporting to come from us or Capita
asking you to confirm personal details or details of your investment in
our shares. Neither we nor Capita will ever ask you to provide information
in this way.
Shareholder information
Continued
78 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 Christie Group plc
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
T: +44 (0) 20 7227 0707
E: executive@christiegroup.com
W: www.christiegroup.com
Christie + Co
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
T: +44 (0) 20 7227 0700
E: enquiries@christie.com
W: www.christie.com and 
www.christiecorporate.com
Finland – Helsinki
Tammasaarenlaituri 3
00180 Helsinki
T: +358 (0) 9 4137 8500
E: helsinki@christie.com 
France – Paris
25 rue d’Artois
75008 Paris
T: +33 (0) 1 53 96 72 72
E: paris@christie.com
France – Lyon
11 rue Pascal Tavernier
42000 Saint-Etienne
T: +33 (0) 4 77 25 11 47
E: lyon@christie.com
France – Marseilles
35 cours Pierre Puget
13006 Marseilles
T: +33 (0) 4 91 29 12 40
E: marseilles@christie.com
France – Rennes
Immeuble “Artemis”
Parc Monier
167 route de Lorient
35000 Rennes
T: +33 (0) 2 99 59 83 30
E: rennes@christie.com 
Germany – Berlin
Markgrafenstraße 32
10117 Berlin
T: +49 (0) 30/20 00 96-0
E: berlin@christie.com
Germany – Frankfurt
Bockenheimer Landstraße 93
60325 Frankfurt am Main
T: +49 (0) 69/90 74 57-0
E: frankfurt@christie.com
Germany – Munich
Platzl 3
80331 Munich
T: +49 (0) 89 / 2 00 00 07-0
E: munich@christie.com
Spain – Barcelona
Paseo de Gracia 11
Escalera B, 4° 3ª
08007 Barcelona
T: +34 93 34 361 61
E: barcelona@christie.com
OTHER UNITED 
KINGDOM OFFICES
Birmingham
Edgbaston House
3 Duchess Place
Hagley Road
Birmingham B16 8NH
T: +44 (0) 121 456 1222
E: birmingham@christie.com
Bristol
Embassy House
Queens Avenue
Clifton
Bristol BS8 1SB
T: +44 (0) 117 946 8500
E: bristol@christie.com
Edinburgh
5 Logie Mill
Beaverbank Office Park
Logie Green Road
Edinburgh EH7 4HG
T: +44 (0) 131 557 6666
E: edinburgh@christie.com
Enfield
Lough Point
2 Gladbeck Way
Enfield EN2 7JA
T: +44 (0) 20 8370 3100
E: enfield@christie.com
Exeter
Kings Wharf
The Quay
Exeter EX2 4AN
T: +44 (0) 1392 285600
E: exeter@christie.com
Glasgow
120 Bath Street
Glasgow G2 2EN
T: +44 (0) 141 352 7300
E: glasgow@christie.com
Ipswich
Wolsey House
16-18 Princes Street
Ipswich IP1 1QT
T: +44 (0) 1473 256588
E: ipswich@christie.com
Leeds
Aquis House
Greek Street
Leeds LS1 5RU
T: +44 (0) 113 389 2700
E: leeds@christie.com
London
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
T: +44 (0) 20 7227 0700
E: enquiries@christie.com
Maidstone
Vaughan Chambers
4 Tonbridge Road
Maidstone ME16 8RP
T: +44 (0) 1622 656000
E: maidstone@christie.com
Directory
Christie Group Annual Report 2009 79 Manchester
Acresfield
St Ann’s Square
Manchester M2 7HA
T: +44 (0) 161 833 3311
E: manchester@christie.com
Milton Keynes
Chancery House
199 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes MK9 1JL
T: +44 (0) 1908 300950
E: miltonkeynes@christie.com
Newcastle
Shakespeare House
18 Shakespeare Street
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6AQ
T: +44 (0) 191 222 1740
E: newcastle@christie.com
Nottingham
Alan House
Clumber Street
Nottingham NG1 3ED
T: +44 (0) 115 948 3100
E: nottingham@christie.com
Winchester
Star Lane House
Staple Gardens
Winchester SO23 8SR
T: +44 (0) 1962 844455
E: winchester@christie.com
Christie Finance
The postal addresses are
the same as Christie + Co
in each case:
Birmingham
T: +44 (0) 121 452 3717
E: birmingham@christiefinance.com
Bristol
T: +44 (0) 117 946 8502
E: bristol@christiefinance.com
Edinburgh
T: +44 (0) 131 524 3417
E: edinburgh@christiefinance.com
Enfield
T: +44 (0) 20 8370 3115
E: enfield@christiefinance.com
Exeter
T: +44 (0) 1392 285612
E: exeter@christiefinance.com
Glasgow
T: +44 (0) 141 352 7310
E: glasgow@christiefinance.com
Ipswich
T: +44 (0) 1473 234905/7
E: ipswich@christiefinance.com
Leeds
T: +44 (0) 113 389 2717
E: leeds@christiefinance.com
London
T: +44 (0) 20 7227 0780
E: london@christiefinance.com
Maidstone
T: +44 (0) 1622 656006
E: maidstone@christiefinance.com
Manchester
T: +44 (0) 161 833 6901
E: manchester@christiefinance.com
Milton Keynes
T: +44 (0) 1908 300959
E: miltonkeynes@christiefinance.com
Newcastle
T: +44 (0) 191 269 7025
E: newcastle@christiefinance.com
Nottingham
T: +44 (0) 115 945 471
E: nottingham@christiefinance.com
Winchester
T: +44 (0) 1962 833818
E: winchester@christiefinance.com
Christie Insurance
10 Finsbury Square
London EC2A 1AD
T: +44 (0) 844 4124924
E: enquiries@christieinsurance.com
W: www.christieinsurance.com
Orridge
Essex House
Astra Centre
Edinburgh Way
Harlow CM20 2BN
T: +44 (0) 1279 775600
E: contact@orridge.co.uk
W: www.orridge.co.uk
Belgium
Avenue de l’Hippodrome 60
B-1050 Brussels
T: +32 (0) 26 46 25 47
E: contact@orridge.eu
W: www.orridge.eu
OTHER UNITED 
KINGDOM OFFICE
Centre House
Court Parade
Aldridge WS9 8LT
T: +44 (0) 1922 472000
E: contact@orridge.co.uk
Pinders
Pinder House
249 Upper Third Street
Milton Keynes MK9 1DS
T: +44 (0) 1908 350500
E: info@pinders.co.uk
W: www.pinders.co.uk and
www.pinderpack.com
Venners
Essex House
Astra Centre
Edinburgh Way
Harlow CM20 2BN
T: +44 (0) 1279 620820
E: enquiries@venners.co.uk
W: www.venners.com
Vennersys
249 Upper Third Street
Milton Keynes MK9 1DS
T: +44 (0) 1908 350650
E: enquiries@vennersys.com
W: www.vennersys.com
North America
200 – 1920 Yonge Street
Toronto
Ontario
Canada M4S 3E2
T: +1 416 572 7784
E: enquiries@vennersys.ca
Directory
Continued
80 Christie Group Annual Report 2009 1 Highlights of the year
2 Our divisions, sectors and
core capabilities
3 Our brands
4 Chairman’s statement
6 Chief Executive’s statement
9 Professional Business Services
15 Stock & Inventory Systems & Services
20 Financial review
22 Board of directors
22 Company information
23 Directors’ report
24 Corporate governance
27 Remuneration report
29 Statement of directors’ responsibilities
30 Independent auditor’s report
31 Consolidated statement of
comprehensive income
32 Consolidated statement of changes 
in shareholders’ equity
33 Consolidated statement of
financial position
34 Consolidated statement of cash flows
35 Company statement of changes in
shareholders’ equity
36 Company statement of financial position
37 Company statement of cash flows
38 Notes to the consolidated
financial statements
76 Five-year record
77 Shareholder information
79 Directory
Christie Group offers a portfolio of professional business
services for the leisure, retail and care sectors.
These include surveying, valuation, agency, consultancy,
finance, insurance, stock control and business software
solutions. Our focus on a limited number of sectors gives us
an unrivalled market awareness in each of these areas.
The results: a greater understanding of our clients’
operations and a heightened ability to help them improve
efficiency, enhance trading profits and increase the value of
their businesses. In these ways, and through our innovative
use of technology, we have built a reputation for making a
significant contribution to our clients’ commercial success.
About us Contents
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Christie Group plc
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7227 0707
Fax +44 (0) 20 7227 0708
www.christiegroup.com
Christie Group plc
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Christie Group plc ANNUAL REPORT 2009