Ashley House plc
 The Priory
Stomp Road
Burnham
Buckinghamshire
SL1 7LW
Telephone: +44 (0)1628 600340
Fax: +44 (0)1628 600345
 www.ashleyhouseplc.com
Ashley House plc
Reports and 
accounts 2009
A strong foundation 
for continued growth  Ashley House is one of the UK’s leading health & social care 
infrastructure companies, with 18 years experience in 
delivering projects efficiently and cost effectively.
Our approach is based on building active partnerships 
with our clients and their communities. These relationships 
are the core of our success and our ability to sustain strong 
value growth for our stakeholders.
This has been a year of strong activity during which we 
have built our pipeline to record levels aided by a significant 
acquisition giving Ashley House a market leading position 
in NHS LIFT.
 
Contents
01 Highlights
02 Strength in depth
04 Delivering on our business model
05 Projects and pipeline
06 Chairman’s statement
08 Chief Executive’s statement
11 Board of directors
12 Report of the directors
14 Consolidated income statement
15 Consolidated balance sheet 
16 Consolidated statement of changes in equity
17 Consolidated cash ﬂ ow statement
18 Principal accounting policies 
24 Notes to the ﬁ nancial statements
37 Remuneration committee report
39 Statement of directors’ responsibilities
40 Report of the independent auditor
41 Company balance sheet
42 Company principal accounting policies
44 Notes to the company ﬁ nancial statements
48 Company information
 
 This report has been printed in the UK. It has been produced with the 
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for continual reduction arise from the use of solvents, energy consumption 
and waste generation. 
 
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pass it on to other interested readers, return it to Ashley House plc or dispose 
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Designed and produced by The College www.thecollege.uk.com  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 01
Highlights
>  Revenue up 20% to £23.83m (2008: £19.79m)
>  Pre-tax profit up 9% to £5.53m (2008: £5.07m)
>  Earnings per share down 22% to 10.0p (2008: 12.9p) as a result 
of the share issue for the acquisition in June 2008
>  Final dividend 4p per share (total 4p) with scrip alternative 
(2008: 3.7p final, 6p total)
>  Successful settlement of Babcock & Brown deferred £19m 
liability for £1m
>  Net assets £38.7m (2008: £13.4m)
>  Approved private sector partner for Express LIFT in 
Odyssey Healthcare joint venture
>  Strong forward pipeline of £245m of design & construction 
value over next 2 years
Revenue
(£m)
+20%
23.8 09
19.8 08
25.6 07
23.1 06
Net assets
(£m)
+288%
38.7 09
13.4 08
11.0 07
4.5 06
Pre-tax profit
(£m)
+9%
5.5 09
5.1 08
4.1 07
2.7 06
A year of 
progress 02 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Strength in depth
Building strength
through partnering
In June 2008 we completed the acquisition of
interests in 7 NHS LIFT companies. As a result
Ashley House is now the lead private sector partner
in 7 NHS LIFT companies and a market leader in
NHS LIFT.
Each NHS LIFT Company is owned
> 
 
60% by the private sector 
> 
 
20% by the local Primary Care Trust(s) (in some 
cases local authorities also have an interest) and 
> 
 
20% by Community Health Partnerships, itself 
part of the Department of Health. 
The NHS LIFT companies are public private 
partnerships with a 20 year exclusivity to develop 
the primary care estate in a given locality.
Ashley House’s relationship with the 14 PCTs in 
the 7 LIFT companies and with numerous other 
PCTs around the country ensure that Ashley House
is a key partner at the heart of the shift in care 
away from hospitals and into community
facilities closer to patients’ homes.
Extending and generating 
business streams
We were chosen in March 2009 as one of only 
7 approved private sector partners by the 
Department for Health to be able to bid for new 
LIFT Companies being established under the 
new Express LIFT programme. 
This success, as sponsor in a consortium 
called Odyssey Healthcare comprising Amber 
Infrastructure Group (investment partner) and GSL 
part of G4S (FM partner) was a vindication of our 
LIFT strategy and work. The Express LIFT programme 
aims to allow any of the approx. 70 Primary 
Care Trusts without a LIFT company to establish 
one much more quickly than original LIFT 
procurement allowed. We look forward to some 
success in these procurements in the 2 years ahead.
The new Express LIFT companies together with our 
existing ones have a key role to play in working with 
the NHS to facilitate the renewal of the primary and 
social care estate. This renewal is more urgent in 
times of restricted budgets as delivering care in 
non-hospital settings costs far less. Such change is 
always difﬁ cult but allowing the public and private 
sectors to undertake long term planning and work 
together means it has a far better chance of success.
Strengths Opportunities
This has been a year of great activity, during which we have 
continued to build on our market-leading positions in areas 
that also create strong opportunities for the future.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 03
Continually
raising standards
We were very pleased to achieve ISO 9001 
accreditation at year end, which validates our 
systems as we expand the business.
 
This Quality Standard followed our achievement of 
the Investors in People status in the previous year. 
Adoption within the business of best practice gives 
our clients and stakeholders conﬁ dence in Ashley 
House’s ability to deliver. 
 
We have a strong environmental agenda evidenced 
by technologies in recent projects and are reinforcing 
processes in line with high environmental standards. 
We recognise the impact and responsibility we have 
as an organisation to the environment and the ability 
we have working with our public sector partners to 
make a signiﬁ cant improvement to both our own 
and their estate’s environmental performance.
Broadening and deepening
experience and expertise
We have opened a new ofﬁ ce in Worcester 
which services our NHS LIFT interests in the 
Midlands. We now employ over 80 people across 
7 regional ofﬁ ces.
 
During the year we have increased our overhead 
by more than 30% as the volume of work on our 
pipeline of schemes has increased. We endeavour 
to be a people focused business allowing our staff 
to train, develop and grow with us. Staff turnover 
remains low and the difﬁ culties in other areas of 
the economy have allowed us to recruit high quality 
new people.
We have also strengthened our management during 
the year bringing in a Chief Operating Ofﬁ cer and a 
Head of Finance to support, enable and ensure our 
pipeline delivery in the year ahead.
People Qualities 04 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Delivering 
on our business model
We have developed a robust business model. This is at the 
core of our strategy and underpins our operational planning, 
and continues to support our delivery of positive results. Defined 
business 
model
Our areas of business:
Our activities:
Design & Construction Management Services
Our in house team of surveyors, architects and project 
managers deliver a complete service incorporating feasibility, 
site acquisition, planning and design & build. This is 
delivered for: 
>
 Primary Care Premises
>
 NHS LIFT Companies
>
 Health Parks
The management of assets and operations for primary 
care related activities comprises property portfolio asset 
management, whole estate management; operation of NHS 
LIFT companies, operation, back ofﬁ ce and bidding services 
for clinical service joint venture companies. The areas covered 
by these activities are: 
>
 NHS LIFT Companies
>
 Asset and Estate Management
>
 Health Parks
>
 Clinical Services
Primary Care Premises
With an in-house team of 
professionals, we have 
completed over 200 primary 
care projects.
>  The principal activity 
to date for Ashley House 
has been the supply of 
project management and 
consultancy services, in the 
design and construction of 
medical property facilities 
delivering NHS led 
Primary Care. 
>  Ashley House offers 
a complete ‘one stop’ 
professional design 
and construction service 
from site ﬁ nding through 
viability assessment, design, 
planning, and construction 
using a ﬁ xed price ‘Design 
and Build’ contract.
NHS LIFT 
Ashley House plc is the lead 
partner in 7 of the country’s 
47 NHS LIFT Companies. Each 
NHS LIFT company is a public 
private partnership comprising:
60% private sector partner
20% local Primary Care 
Trust(s) 20% Community 
Health Partnerships 
(Dept of Health)
>  Each contract is exclusive 
and has a further 16 years 
to run during which time 
the NHS LIFT company has 
the right and obligation to 
deliver primary care 
premises in that area;
>  NHS LIFT offers Ashley 
House plc the opportunity 
to pro-actively increase its 
pipeline and deliver new 
“Whole Estates” 
management opportunities;
>   Our Consortium Odyssey 
Healthcare is one of only 
7 selected as approved 
private sector partners for 
Express LIFT, which enables 
those Primary Care Trusts 
which currently don’t have 
a LIFT company (approx. 
70) to establish one with 
one of 7 approved partners.
Health Parks
Built on larger sites, Health 
Parks co-locate primary care 
and other related health and 
social care users, resulting 
in a mix of public and private 
sector occupiers. 
The ﬁ rst Health Park site in 
Scarborough was formed via
a joint venture and the next 
site is now secured which is a 
vertical health park (9 storeys 
high and 15,000sqm) in 
Bracknell, Berkshire. 
The health park concept 
was created in response 
to continual NHS reforms, 
sharing the vision for a 
fairer, community led, health 
service, placing an emphasis 
on preventative actions and 
simpler care pathways. Health 
Parks can help to; offer better 
use of resources; deliver more 
services at the heart of 
communities; and drive savings 
through crossover business 
opportunities, efﬁ ciency and 
economies of scale.
Asset Management
AH Medical Properties plc is a 
medical property investment 
company. To date the company 
has a £130m portfolio and 
pipeline of new purpose 
built primary care properties. 
The portfolio is managed by 
Ashley House and AH Medical 
Properties has an exclusive ﬁ rst 
right to acquire all new NHS 
led primary care properties 
delivered by Ashley House.
>  Major shareholder is 
Schroders (SEPUT) with 
29%, Ashley House plc 
owns 7%
>   94% of rents are paid by 
the NHS 
>   Long leases average 19yrs 
unexpired with no voids 
and no LTV covenants 
on debt.
Clinical Services 
The division was created in 
response to the recent NHS 
guidelines, on the continued 
devolvement of services to the 
primary care sector and the 
increasing involvement of the 
private sector. Our approach 
is to offer true partnering 
arrangements with clinicians 
wishing to provide a wide 
range of clinical services whilst 
Ashley House provides capital, 
business expertise, clinical 
modelling and infrastructure.
>   Creating joint ventures 
with GPs and Pharmacies
>  2 Equitable Access Centres 
in Salisbury and Portsmouth 
and a JV in Worthing, West 
Sussex which includes c. 
500,000 patients covered 
by c. 300 GPs.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 05
 Projects and pipeline
Our portfolio has expanded and now encompasses 
projects in NHS LIFT, Primary Care Premises, Health 
Parks and Clinical Services joint ventures. All of these 
are making a substantial contribution to the health and 
welfare of the local community.
National 
coverage
 NHS LIFT interests
1  Dudley Infracare LIFT 
Limited
  SHA area: West Midlands
PCTs covered: Dudley PCT
2  Healthcare Improvement 
Partnership (Wolverhampton 
City & Walsall) Limited
  SHA area: West Midlands
PCTs covered: Wolverhampton 
City PCT, Walsall Teaching PCT
 
3  Oxford Infracare 
LIFT Limited
  SHA area: South Central
PCTs covered: Oxfordshire PCT
 
4  Bristol Infracare LIFT Limited
  SHA area: South West
PCTs covered: Bristol PCT
5  BHH LIFT Company Limited
  SHA area: London
PCTs covered: Brent Teaching 
PCT, Harrow PCT, Hillingdon PCT
6  Bexley, Bromley and 
Greenwich LIFT 
Company Limited
  SHA Area: London
PCTs covered: Bromley PCT, 
Bexley Care Trust, Greenwich 
Teaching PCT
7  East London LIFT 
Company Limited
  SHA area: London
PCTs covered: City & Hackney 
Teaching PCT, Newham PCT, 
Tower Hamlets PCT
 
  Ashley House 
regional offices
  HQ: Bucks, Burnham
Essex, Colchester 
London, Waterloo
Sussex, Worthing
Tyneside, Newcastle
Wales, Monmouthshire
Worcestershire, Worcester
  Projects recently completed 
and in progress
  Avon, Bristol
Birmingham, Ley Hill
Birmingham, Soho Road
Essex, Blandford
Essex, Witham
Hampshire, Southsea
Hertfordshire, Watford 
N. London, Harrow
Sussex, Hartﬁ eld
Sussex, Wellsbourne
  Clinical Services Joint 
Ventures
  Hampshire, Portsmouth
Sussex, Worthing
 Wiltshire, Salisbury
 Health Parks
 Berkshire, Bracknell
  North Yorkshire, Scarborough
 
 06 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Chairman’s statement
With our revenues growing from a solid pipeline of 
opportunities, we look forward to the future with confidence.
Results and dividend
I am pleased to report that the company’s ﬁ nancial 
performance showed a marked improvement in the second 
half of the year compared to the ﬁ rst half. For the full year, 
revenue increased by 20% to £23.83m (2008: £19.79m) 
and pre-tax proﬁ t increased 9% to £5.53m (2008: £5.07m). 
In June 2008 the Company acquired the NHS LIFT Company 
interests of Babcock & Brown for cash and a signiﬁ cant share 
issue which largely funded the acquisition. As a consequence 
earnings per share were down 22% at 10.01p per share
(2008: 12.93p).
Subsequently Babcock & Brown went into administration 
and this provided the Company with the opportunity of 
arranging the placing of their shares and negotiating on 
the £19m deferred consideration liability which was ﬁ nally 
settled for £1m. As a result the balance sheet reﬂ ects the 
acquisition completed in June 2008 and the beneﬁ t of settling 
the deferred consideration liability for £1m in April 2009. The 
balance sheet shows net assets of £38.7m (2008: £13.4m), 
net cash and no signiﬁ cant liabilities.
Due to the Company’s improved trading position and because 
of the signiﬁ cant reduction in the deferred consideration 
liability the Board has decided to pay a ﬁ nal dividend of 
4.0p per share (2008: 3.7p ﬁ nal, 6p total) with a scrip 
alternative. The details of the scrip dividend and approval are 
set out in a separate shareholders circular. It is the Board’s 
intention to resume our progressive dividend policy in line 
with earnings growth.
Highlights of the financial year
As a result of the acquisition of Babcock & Brown’s NHS LIFT 
Companies interests we are now the private sector partner 
in 7 NHS LIFT Companies, making Ashley House one of the 
largest NHS LIFT Company operators. Following 12 months 
experience I am pleased to report that good progress is being 
made. The pipeline of projects has grown and our partners are 
seeing directly the impact of our team’s involvement and the 
experience they bring.
Earlier in the year, largely as a result of the Company’s 
signiﬁ cant and proactive presence in the NHS LIFT programme, 
we were chosen as one of only 7 private sector organisations 
approved as partners in Express LIFT, via Odyssey Healthcare 
(our joint venture with partners Amber Infrastructure and GSL). 
This gives us the opportunity to win more NHS LIFT mandates 
and re-enforces the strategic rationale for making the 
acquisition of the 7 NHS LIFT company interests.
As previously reported we were able to take the opportunity 
presented by Babcock & Brown’s problems to rationalise 
our relationship with them by placing their shareholding with 
Invesco Perpetual, who we welcome as a signiﬁ cant new 
shareholder. We continue to work with the former Babcock 
& Brown infrastructure team in their buyout entity Amber 
Infrastructure, who are partners in Odyssey Healthcare for 
Express LIFT.
During the period we have expanded the team to deal with the 
much increased pipeline of projects and as a consequence our 
overhead has increased. The beneﬁ t of increased operational 
gearing should start to ﬂ ow through in the new ﬁ nancial year.
Our market
The requirement for upgrading and reconﬁ guring the NHS 
primary and community care estate is on-going and our 
pipeline of projects reﬂ ects this need. The continuing shift of 
services from acute to primary care facilities is a key element 
of healthcare policy and has broad cross party support.
Outlook
With interests in NHS LIFT, a major opportunity in Express LIFT 
and with a strong third party developer pipeline of new work, 
we are well positioned for the future. The recurring revenues 
from asset management continue to increase and revenues 
from our clinical services management business are starting 
to ﬂ ow.
Whilst the prospects of the economy remain uncertain we 
remain well positioned to continue the growth of the business.
Sir William Wells
Chairman
3 July 2009
A year of 
consolidation  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 07
In March 2008 the Department of Health 
approved Harrow Council’s final business 
case PFI credits. With funding assured, 
BHH LIFT Co and Ashley House worked 
closely with Harrow Council to develop 
three neighbourhood resource centres.
Brief
To provide:
> 
 
Community based centres to respond to 
the individual needs of people with learning 
difﬁ culties and their families.
> 
 
Facilities for cultural and educational activities, 
meetings and other types of gatherings.
> 
 
Flexible day support services for adults with 
severe learning disabilities. 
Solution 
Three modern facilities that each retain 
their own individual identity relative to their 
local community and meet the needs and 
requirements of all stakeholders. 
Environmental features
> 
 
Air venting systems which negate the 
need for air conditioning.
> 
 
Solar panels which contribute to the hot 
water supply.
> 
 
Sun pipes which help to reduce dependency 
on artiﬁ cial lighting.
> 
 
Sun shading to reduce uncomfortable 
levels of heat entering the building from 
direct sunlight.
“ Over the next 25 years the LIFT 
project will strive to create an easily 
accessible, patient-centred service 
that is available to all in the 
community and will create a 
pleasant and supportive working 
environment for staff.”
Mark Grinonneau 
CEO Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon LIFTCo
Long-term 
solutions
Case study
NHS LIFT Harrow
Neighbourhood Resource 
Centres (NRCs) – providing 
specialist facilities benefitting 
service users and the wider 
community.
Neighbourhood Resource 
Centres (NRCs)
The NRCs help integrate people 
who use Learning Disability 
Services into the local 
community and encourage the 
local community to participate 
in the centres’ activities.
Christchurch NRC: 
Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone; 822.2sqm
Kenmore NRC: 
Kenmore Road, Kenton; 768.6sqm
Vaughan NRC: 
Wilson Gardens, West Harrow; 804.0sqm
In partnership with the local Health
and Social Care Community 08 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Chief Executive’s statement
Business review
This has been a year of signiﬁ cant progress for the business 
with the integration of the NHS LIFT interests acquired in June 
2008. An indication of the signiﬁ cance of this new business 
stream is that whilst our largest client to date has been AH 
Medical Properties, revenue derived from it represented only 
18% of this year’s total as against 55% last year and 72% two 
years prior. This statistic demonstrates the broader spread of 
the business since the acquisition. Selection of our consortium 
Odyssey Healthcare as an approved bidder for new LIFT 
Companies bodes well for this continued expansion of our 
revenue base.
Design & Construction
Revenues from Design & Construction increased over the 
previous year and the margin has been maintained. We have 
beneﬁ tted from falling construction costs from our sub-
contractors and been able to pass on some of this to our end 
users. Our cost driven focus aided by in-house design resource 
enables our team to drive costs hard wherever possible thereby 
helping to deliver value for money.
We were delighted to complete our ﬁ rst NHS LIFT project, one 
of 3 neighbourhood resource centres in Harrow for the Local 
Authority via the Brent Harrow and Hillingdon LIFT company. 
We will shortly be on site with 2 more NHS LIFT schemes in East 
London and Walsall. In the 3PD (third party developer) market 
we completed notable schemes in Portsmouth and Essex.
New design work made a signiﬁ cant contribution, in particular 
on NHS LIFT schemes in East London and Wolverhampton & 
Walsall LIFT areas. In Bracknell, Berkshire we are designing and 
building the Bracknell Healthspace which will accommodate a 
range of health and community services in a high rise urban 
scheme, including GP practices, community based services from 
the PCT and 2 acute NHS Trusts as well as some space for 
private sector operators. This once again demonstrates our 
ability to understand what our end users want and deliver 
appropriate affordable solutions.
At the time of our acquisition of the NHS LIFT interests in 
June 2008 we referred to a £300m NHS LIFT pipeline which 
represented projects identiﬁ ed as being required over a 3-5 year 
timeframe. We can now report that over the next 2 years alone 
the pipeline of schemes expected to contribute to our revenues 
has increased to £245m. This is a metric we intend to update in 
future reports.
Management Services
Management Services revenues grew materially during the year 
with management and development fees from the NHS LIFT 
companies making their ﬁ rst contributions. 
Asset Management revenues were slightly ahead, 
notwithstanding the fact that AH Medical Properties plc’s 
portfolio suffered a write down on its value at the half year 
in October 2008. The new assets and positive rent reviews 
achieved resulted in the portfolio performing markedly better 
than the wider commercial property market. AH Medical 
Properties remains well capitalised and able to continue 
acquiring new schemes.
Clinical Services Management made progress in winning its ﬁ rst 
Equitable Access contracts in joint ventures with GP groups. 
Our team is working with our partners to not only make these 
contracts successful but to expand the scope of the joint 
ventures from this platform and thus give the division suitable 
scale. This activity continues to support our ability to propose 
service led solutions to our clients across the whole business. 
Health Park activities have progressed with the Scarborough 
scheme nearing the construction phase and the new Bracknell 
scheme being a major new addition. With falling land prices 
and construction costs we are pursuing further schemes.
Key performance targets
We have achieved key performance targets of growing revenue 
and proﬁ t before tax, although not by as much as we had 
hoped at the start of the year. The pipeline growth is a material 
achievement as is our selection as a participant in the Express 
LIFT procurement. Following our achievement of Investor in 
People status last year we were pleased to achieve ISO 9001 
accreditation at Year End, which validates our systems as we 
expand the business.
Staff
We have expanded the team signiﬁ cantly during the year as
we deal with the increased pipeline. We have strengthened our 
management with experienced hires in the positions of Chief 
Operating Ofﬁ cer and Head of Finance, both of whom have 
settled in well. We have opened a new ofﬁ ce in Worcester 
which services our NHS LIFT interests in the Midlands. The 
headcount now stands at 80 people and the Board’s thanks 
go to all in a challenging yet ultimately progressive year.
Outlook
Current trading is on track so far in the new ﬁ nancial year 
and our teams are all focused on the year ahead.
Jonathan Holmes
Chief Executive
3 July 2009
Current trading is on track so far in the new financial year 
and our teams are all focused on the year ahead.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 09
Based in Salisbury, the health centre is 
operated by a consortium of local GPs 
(WilcoDoc) and co-owned and managed
by Ashley House Clinical Services. It is 
open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, 
including Bank Holidays. The Primary 
care services being offered are available 
to everyone, whether they are registered 
with doctors in Salisbury or not. 
NHS Walk-in Centres are in existence across 
the UK, providing free services, including health 
information, advice and treatment for a range 
of illnesses and minor injuries without having 
to make an appointment. They have been 
introduced to help people with busy lifestyles 
which need access to ﬂ exible and convenient 
health services.
Case study
WilcoDoc
Wiltshire’s first 
seven-day-a-week 
health centre. 
Strategic 
partnership
The Salisbury Walk-in Centre is run by 
experienced nurses and GPs. It will not replace 
local GP or hospital services but complement 
them by providing more patients with 
convenient access to a range of treatments 
for minor illnesses and injuries. 
>  A Joint Venture covering 60,000 patients, 
in existing practices.
>  A 5 year contract to run a 3,000 patient 
Health Centre
>  34,000 walk-in patients
>  Total contract value worth £2.5m+
Key statistics
Project status: Strategic Partnership
Location: Covering South Wiltshire and 
Salisbury District
Description: Wilcodoc is a limited company 
and owned by Wiltshire GPs
Service provision: Primary Care Services
“ WilcoDoc are delighted to have 
been selected to run this exciting 
new development in healthcare 
in South Wiltshire. This is an 
opportunity to create a new service 
that makes it easier for patients to 
see a healthcare professional at 
times that are convenient to them.”
Dr Hugh Bond
Director of WilcoDoc
Dr. Hugh Bond, WilcoDoc/WilcoPlus (Chair), Jo Broom, 
Practice Manager, Salisbury Walk-in Health Centre, Jo Cullen, 
Head of Primary Care, NHS Wiltshire PCT and Charles Mallo, 
Executive Director, Ashley House Clinical Services.
The Salisbury Walk in Health Centre (SWIC) 10 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Ashley House was selected by the Board of 
NHS Berkshire East as Preferred Partners.
The HealthSpace will bring a wide range of 
services closer to home for many people, one of 
the key themes to emerge from the local public 
consultation process, known as Right Care, Right 
Place, which ﬁ nished last year.
“ This is a very important and exciting project 
both for the NHS in their delivery of their 
Right Care, Right Place policy and as a catalyst 
for the regeneration programme of Bracknell 
town centre. We are grateful and delighted 
to have been selected and look forward to 
working with the NHS and various user groups 
in achieving a ﬂ agship building and a beacon 
for health and social care provision.”
Sir William Wells
Chairman Ashley House plc
Key statistics
Project status: Design stage
Location: Bracknell, Berkshire
Health care: GP, Dentists, Diagnostic services, 
Out-patient, Urgent care, Cancer care and 
Children’s service
Wellness: Fitness gym, Therapy classes and 
Holistic medicine
Retail: Pharmacy, Cafe and Convenience store
Extra Care: Care Home, Dementia and 
Assisted Living
“ This is a real milestone in our plans 
to offer an extended range of health 
services from 21st century facilities in 
the heart of Bracknell.”
Sally Kemp
NHS Berkshire East Chairman 
Case study
Bracknell 
Healthspace
A new health facility in the 
centre of Bracknell offering 
an extended range of health 
services.
Building 
relationships 
that last
Sally Kemp, NHS Berkshire East Chairman, Jonathan 
Holmes, Chief Executive, Ashley House plc and Councillor 
Dale Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health 
and Housing for Bracknell. 12 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
The directors present their report together with the audited ﬁ nancial statements for the year ended 30 April 2009.
Principal activity
The principal activity of the Group is the supply of project management and consultancy services, primarily allied to the provision 
of medical facilities delivering NHS-led primary care. 
Business review
The consolidated income statement for the year is set out on page 14. A review of developments affecting the Group during the year 
and of its prospects for the future appears in the Chairman’s statement and the Chief Executive’s statement.
The Group is required by Companies Act 2006 to set out in this report a fair review of the business of the Group during the ﬁ nancial 
year ended 30 April 2009 and the position of the Group at the end of the year along with principal risks and uncertainties facing the 
Group. This information is included within the Chairman and Chief Executive’s statements on pages 6-8. The principal risk for the Group 
remains the possibility of reduced commissioning of new Primary Care premises by the NHS. The Group’s ability to continue to deliver 
potential projects within cost parameters remains an ongoing operational risk in both NHS LIFT and third party developer (3PD) markets 
since failure to do this may result in the cancellation or delay of projects and the associated fees and revenues for the Group.
No interim dividend was paid (2.3 pence per share on 14 January 2008, £633,000). The directors propose a ﬁ nal dividend of 
4.0 pence per share amounting to £1,884,000 (3.7 pence per share on 15 September 2008, £1,607,000).
Directors
The membership of the board during the year is set out below. Except as noted, the directors served throughout the year.
Sir W Wells (Non-executive Chairman)
S G Minion
J Holmes
B L Walker
N K Croxford (Resigned 19 May 2008)
G Mosley (Resigned 19 May 2008)
R E L Warner (Resigned 19 May 2008)
J Arnold-Forster (Non-executive Director)
J Coghlan (Non-executive Director)
A C Cook (Non-executive Director)  (Appointed 12 June 2008) (Resigned 1 June 2009)
G J Frost (Non-executive Director)  (Appointed 12 June 2008) (Resigned 1 June 2009)
A Gibson (Non-executive Director)
A Gibson retires by rotation and being eligible offers himself for re-election.
Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance
The company has, as permitted by section 236 of the Companies Act 2006, maintained insurance cover on behalf of the directors and 
Company Secretary indemnifying them against certain liabilities which may be incurred by them in relation to the company.
Supplier payment policy
The Group’s policy is to settle terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction, to ensure that suppliers 
are made aware of the terms of payment, and to abide by the terms of payment. Trade payables at the year-end amount to 24 days 
(2008: 32) of average supplies for the year.
Employee involvement
The Group keeps its employees informed of matters affecting them as employees through regular brieﬁ ngs. Ashley House plc has been 
accredited Investors In People status.
Financial risk management objectives and policies
The Group is exposed to a variety of ﬁ nancial risks which result from both its operating and investing activities. The board is responsible 
for co-ordinating the Group’s risk management and focuses on actively securing the Group’s short to medium term cash ﬂ ows. Long 
term ﬁ nancial investments are managed to generate lasting returns.
The Group does not actively engage in the trading of ﬁ nancial assets and has no ﬁ nancial derivatives. The most signiﬁ cant ﬁ nancial risks 
to which the Group is exposed are described overleaf:
Report of the directors  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 13
Credit risk
The Group’s principal ﬁ nancial assets are cash, trade receivables and amounts recoverable on contracts. The amount of trade receivables 
presented in the balance sheet are net of any allowance for doubtful trade receivables, estimated by the directors. Amounts recoverable 
on contracts are presented net of provisions deemed necessary by the directors. The Group’s largest customers are AH Medical Properties 
plc’s subsidiary, Medical Properties Limited and the Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon LIFT.
The Group has adopted a strict credit vetting policy based on track record payment history and externally available credit data.
Interest rate risk
The Group ﬁ nances its operations through retained proﬁ ts and has minimal borrowings. The Group has net borrowings of £1,330,000 
relating to the debt held within the joint venture company AH Scarborough Health Park Limited (Scarborough) as at 30 April 2009.
This loan is variable at 2.75% over 3 month Libor and exposes the Group to any increase in the 3 month Libor. The Group’s share of 
loans and cash deposits in joint venture NHS LIFT companies means that any material rise in interest rates would be broadly neutral 
between interest charged and received. The Group’s strong cash inﬂ ows means that the borrowing could be repaid within a short 
timescale. The Group operates a policy of seeking to optimise deposit interest earned, paying due regard to credit risk and ensuring 
the business has sufﬁ cient available cash to operate effectively.
Liquidity risk
The Group seeks to manage risks to ensure sufﬁ cient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and to invest cash assets safely 
and proﬁ tably.
The use of instant access deposits ensures sufﬁ cient working capital is available at all times.
Going concern
After making enquiries and reviewing forecasts, the directors have, at the time of approving the ﬁ nancial statements, concluded that 
it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these ﬁ nancial statements.
The Group has minimal debt and since early settlement of the deferred consideration owed to Babcock & Brown, has no material other 
liabilities. Regular cash ﬂ ow is derived from construction and asset management as well as project speciﬁ c design and development fees. 
The pipeline of future projects is constantly monitored and necessary resource is matched to the requirements and with reference to the 
degree of progress and certainty of the individual projects.
Application of principles of good governance
Corporate governance
The board supports the principles of good governance. The Group is committed to high standards of corporate governance and has 
adopted procedures to institute good governance insofar as they are practical and appropriate for a business of this size at this stage in 
its development. The board has a remuneration committee, an audit committee and an appointments committee, in each case comprising 
a majority of non-executive directors and chaired by a non-executive director.
Board effectiveness
The Group supports the concept of an effective board, leading and controlling the Group. The board is responsible for approving Group 
policy and strategy. It meets regularly and has a schedule of matters speciﬁ cally reserved to it for decision. Management supplies the 
board with appropriate and timely information and the directors are free to seek any further information that they consider necessary.
All directors have access to advice from the Company Secretary and independent professionals at the Group’s expense. 
Auditor
Grant Thornton UK LLP, have expressed willingness to continue in ofﬁ ce. In accordance with section 489(4) of the Companies Act 2006 
a resolution to reappoint Grant Thornton UK LLP will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
On behalf of the Board
Jonathan Holmes
Chief Executive
3 July 2009 14 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Consolidated income statement
for the year ended 30 April 2009
      2009 2008
     Note £000 £000
Revenue     1 23,834 19,793
   
Cost of sales      (12,575) (10,533)
   
Gross proﬁ t      11,259 9,260
   
Administrative expenses      (5,726) (4,338)
Depreciation and impairment      (114) (176)
   
Operating expenses      (5,840) (4,514)
   
Operating proﬁ t     2 5,419 4,746
   
Investment income     4 107 326
Proﬁ t before taxation      5,526 5,072
   
Tax expense     5 (1,361) (1,510)
Proﬁ t for the ﬁ nancial year      4,165 3,562
   
Basic earnings per share      6 10.01p 12.93p
   
Diluted earnings per share      6 9.65p 11.56p
   
All of the activities of the Group are classed as continuing.
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁ nancial statements.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 15
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁ nancial statements.
      2009 2008
     Note £000 £000
Non-current assets   
Goodwill     7 270 270
Other intangible     8 24,800 –
Property, plant and equipment     10 213 291
Available for sale investments     11 738 1,321
Deferred tax asset     19 210 827
      26,231 2,709
Current assets   
Work in progress      1,361 1,259
Trade and other receivables     13 18,778 9,670
Cash and cash equivalents     14 3,314 6,869
      23,453 17,798
   
Total assets      49,684 20,507
   
Current liabilities   
Trade and other payables     15 (7,664) (4,478)
Bank borrowing     16 (2,127) (1,330)
Current income tax     17 (1,219) (1,253)
      (11,010) (7,061)
   
Net current assets      12,443 10,737
Net assets      38,674 13,446
   
Equity   
Share capital     20 470 275
Share premium      31,627 8,040
Share-based payments reserve      608 2,221
Retained earnings      5,969 2,910
Total equity      38,674 13,446
The ﬁ nancial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 3 July 2009.
They were signed on its behalf by:
Jonathan Holmes
Chief Executive
Consolidated balance sheet 
as at 30 April 2009 16 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
     Share-based
   Share Share  payment Retained 
   Capital premium reserve Earnings Total
   £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
At 1 May 2008   275 8,040 2,221 2,910 13,446
Fair value movement on available for sale investment   – – – (584) (584)
Income and expense recognised directly in equity      (584) (584)
     
Proﬁ t for the year   – – – 4,165 4,165
     
Total recognised income and expense   – – – 3,581 3,581
     
Issue of share capital   195 23,587 – – 23,782
Transfer between reserves on conversion of warrants   – – (1,085) 1,085 –
Movement on deferred tax   – – (617) – (617)
Dividends   – – – (1,607) (1,607)
Share-based payment charge   – – 89 – 89
At 30 April 2009   470 31,627 608 5,969 38,674
     Share-based
   Share Share  payment Retained 
   Capital premium reserve Earnings Total
   £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
At 1 May 2007   275 8,040 2,311 1,337 11,963
     
     
Fair value movement on available for sale investment   – – – (529) (529)
Income and expense recognised directly in equity   – – – (529) (529)
     
Proﬁ t for the year   – – – 3,562 3,562
Total recognised income and expense   – – – 3,033 3,033
     
Movement on deferred tax   – – (90) – (90)
Dividends paid   – – – (1,460) (1,460)
At 30 April 2008   275 8,040 2,221 2,910 13,446
 
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁ nancial statements.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 17
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁ nancial statements.
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Operating activities   
Proﬁ t for the year before taxation      5,526 5,072
Adjustments for:   
Depreciation and impairment      114 176
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment      – 23
Share-based payment charge      89 –
Dividend received      (44) (22)
Interest income      (63) (304)
Operating cash ﬂ ows before movements in working capital     5,622 4,945
(Increase) in work in progress      (102) (2,518)
(Increase) in trade and other receivables      (6,064) (2,349)
Increase in trade and other payables      920 603
Cash generated by operations      376 681
Income taxes paid      (1,395) (1,121)
Net cash used in operating activities      (1,019) (440)
Investing activities   
Purchase of property, plant and equipment      (19) (290)
Acquisition of interest in jointly controlled entities net of cash     (12,824) –
Dividend received      44 22
Interest received      63 304
Net cash (used in)/from investing activities      (12,736) 36
Financing activities   
Increase in bank loan      25 2,660
Issue of share capital      11,782 –
Dividends paid      (1,607) (1,460)
Net cash from ﬁ nancing activities      10,200 1,200
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents     (3,555) 796
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year     6,869 6,073
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year      3,314 6,869
Consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 30 April 2009 18 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Principal accounting policies
Basis of accounting
Ashley House plc is a company incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006. The address of the registered 
ofﬁ ce is given on the company Information page. The nature of the Group’s operations and its principal activities are set out in the
Chief Executive’s statement on page 8.
The Group’s ﬁ nancial statements consolidate those of the company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the Group).
The accounting policies set out below have, unless otherwise stated, been applied consistently to all periods presented in these 
Group ﬁ nancial statements.
Basis of preparation
The ﬁ nancial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis, under the historical cost convention, except for the revaluation 
of certain ﬁ nancial instruments, which are carried at fair value.
The board regularly reviews the Group’s resources to ensure they are sufﬁ cient to continue trading for the foreseeable future. It is 
therefore considered appropriate to use the going concern basis to compile these ﬁ nancial statements. The main requirement is for 
sufﬁ cient ﬁ nancial resources to maintain the overhead required to fulﬁ l the pipeline of business. The Group ﬁ nances itself from cash 
resources and has an overdraft facility in place from Lloyds Banking Group.
These ﬁ nancial statements are presented in pounds sterling because that is the functional currency of the parent company and the 
presentational currency of the Group.
Statement of compliance 
The signiﬁ cant accounting policies that have been applied in the preparation of these ﬁ nancial statements are summarised below. 
The consolidated ﬁ nancial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The accounting 
policies set out below have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these ﬁ nancial statements.
Accounting estimates and judgements 
The preparation of ﬁ nancial statements in conforming with adopted IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and 
assumptions that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income, expenses and contingent liabilities.
Information about the signiﬁ cant estimates, judgements and assumptions that have the most signiﬁ cant effect on the recognition and 
measurement of assets, liabilities, income and expenses are discussed below.
Estimates
Impairment
Impairment of goodwill and intangibles is based on managements expectation for the related asset to continue to be revenue generating 
in the future. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which an asset’s or cash generating unit’s carrying amount exceeds its 
recoverable amount. To determine the recoverable amount, management estimates expected future cash ﬂ ows from each asset or 
cash-generating unit and determines a suitable interest rate in order to calculate the present value of those cash ﬂ ows. 
In the process of measuring expected future cash ﬂ ows management makes assumptions about future gross proﬁ ts. These assumptions 
relate to future events and circumstances. The actual results may vary, and may cause signiﬁ cant adjustments to the Group’s assets within 
the next ﬁ nancial year. In most cases, determining the applicable discount rate involves estimating the appropriate adjustment to market risk.
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognised from construction and design and development contracts reﬂ ects management’s best estimate about each contract’s 
outcome and stage of completion. The Group’s management assesses the proﬁ tability of ongoing contracts at least monthly. For more 
complex contracts in particular, costs to complete and contract proﬁ tability are subject to signiﬁ cant estimation uncertainty. The Group’s 
revenue recognition policy is given below.
Taxation
To complete provisions for taxation, estimates have been applied. These estimates involve assessing the probability that deferred tax assets 
resulting from deductible temporary differences and the tax losses can be utilised to offset taxable income (notes 5 and 19).
Share-based payments
The fair values of share-based payments outstanding have been estimated using the basic Hull-White model and is based on an estimated 
expected turnover rate of employees as well as future share price volatility, dividend yield and risk free rate of return.
Judgements
Revenue recognition
The recognition of design and development revenue requires management to exercise its judgement in assessing how complete contracts 
are as the Group’s policy is not to recognise design and development revenue until the design or development element of the contract is 
at least 50% complete, at which stage the outcome of this milestone of the contract can be reliably determined.   Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 19
Joint ventures
Management have had to exercise their judgement in concluding that that the acquisition of interests in the LIFT Companies during 
the year are joint ventures and have therefore proportionately consolidated their share of the assets and liabilities the Group control.
Basis of consolidation
The consolidated ﬁ nancial statements incorporate the ﬁ nancial statements of the Company and entities controlled by the Company 
(its subsidiaries) made up to 30 April each year. 
Intra-group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated fully on consolidation. Intra-group losses are eliminated except 
to the extent that they provide evidence of impairment of the asset transferred.
Control is achieved where Ashley House plc has the power, to directly or indirectly govern the ﬁ nancial and operating policies of an 
investee entity so as to obtain beneﬁ ts from its activities.
The ﬁ nancial statements of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated ﬁ nancial statements from the date that control commences until 
the date that control ceases. Amounts reported in the ﬁ nancial statements of subsidiaries have been adjusted where necessary to ensure 
consistency with the accounting policies adopted by the Group.
Business combinations are dealt with by the purchase method. On acquisition, the assets and liabilities and contingent liabilities of a 
subsidiary are measured at the fair values at the date of acquisition. 
On initial recognition any excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair values of the identiﬁ able net assets acquired is recognised as goodwill.
Any deﬁ ciency of the cost of acquisition below the fair values of the identiﬁ able net assets acquired (i.e. discount on acquisition) is 
credited to proﬁ t or loss in the period of acquisition.
The results of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the consolidated income statement from the effective 
date of acquisition or up to the effective date of disposal, as appropriate.
Where necessary, adjustments are made to the ﬁ nancial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with 
those used by the Group.
Investment in joint ventures
Investments in joint ventures are carried in the consolidated balance sheet at the Group’s share of their net assets at the date of acquisition 
and of their post-acquisition retained proﬁ ts or losses using the proportionate consolidation method together with any goodwill arising on 
the acquisition, net of any impairments.
The income statement also shows the Group’s share of the joint venture’s revenue and the balance sheet shows the Group’s proportion 
of the gross assets and liabilities of the joint ventures.
Revenue recognition
Revenue comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for the sale of services in the ordinary course of the Group’s 
activities. Revenue is shown, net of value-added tax rebates and discounts and after elimination of sales within the Group. Revenue from 
long term contracts is detailed below.
Construction contracts
Where the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, revenue and costs are recognised by reference to the stage of 
completion of the contract activity at the balance sheet date.
This is normally assessed by Ashley House plc’s management by taking into consideration all the information at the balance sheet date. 
Ashley House plc’s construction contracts usually deﬁ ne milestone payments for the project work to be carried out. The maximum amount 
of revenue to be recognised for each milestone is determined by estimating relative contract fair values of each project phase. Variations in 
contract work, claims and incentive payments are included to the extent that they have been agreed with the customer.
Where the outcome of a construction contract cannot be estimated reliably, contract revenue is recognised to the extent of contract 
costs incurred and where it is probable that they will be recoverable. Contract costs are recognised as expenses in the period in which 
they are incurred. When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract revenue, the expected loss is recognised as an 
expense immediately.
Design fees and development fees
Where the outcome of a design and development contract can be estimated reliably and it is probable that the contract will be 
proﬁ table, revenue and cost are recognised over the period of the contract. The Group does not consider that the outcome of a design 
or development contract can be reliably determined until it is at least 50% complete. Where it is probable that total costs will exceed 
total contract revenue, the expected loss is recognised as an expense immediately.  20 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Principal accounting policies
continued
The Group uses the “percentage of completion method” for design and development contracts to determine the appropriate amount 
to recognise in a given period. The stage of completion is measured by reference to the actual contract costs incurred up to the balance 
sheet date as a percentage of the total estimated costs for each contract. Provision is made for losses incurred or foreseen in bringing 
the contract to completion as soon as they become apparent. 
Asset Management
Asset management fees relate to the provision of services to manage the property assets of AH Medical Properties plc and AH Scarborough 
Health Park Limited. Income is recognised evenly throughout the period based upon the value of the managed assets in accordance with the 
asset management agreement.
Goodwill
Goodwill arising on consolidation represents the excess of the cost of acquisition over the Group’s interest in the fair value of the 
identiﬁ able asset and liabilities of a subsidiary at the date of acquisition. 
Goodwill is recognised as an asset and reviewed for impairment on indication of impairment and at least annually. Any impairment is 
recognised immediately in the income statement and is not subsequently reversed.
Goodwill arising on acquisitions before the date of transition to IFRS has been retained at the previous UK GAAP carrying value, subject 
to being tested for impairment at that date and at least annually thereafter.
On disposal of a subsidiary, the attributable net book value of goodwill is included in the determination of the proﬁ t or loss on disposal.
Intangibles
The book value of intangible assets which relate to a future pipeline of contracts with regards to NHS LIFT companies is reviewed annually 
and estimates and judgements are reviewed every year with reference to anticipated future revenues, the length of contracts remaining in 
the case of holdings in NHS LIFT companies, appropriate discount rates for future revenue streams and also with reference to likely market 
values for such assets. If there is no impairment in the value calculated and in the Board’s view no likely impairment in the immediate 
future, there is no write off of the asset.
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.
Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all property, plant and equipment, other than freehold 
land, on the straight line basis over their expected useful economic lives.
The periods generally applicable are:
• ofﬁ ce equipment, furniture and ﬁ xtures 4 years
• motor vehicles 4 years
• mobile surgeries 4 years
The residual value and the useful life of each asset are reviewed at least at each ﬁ nancial year-end and, if expectations differ from previous 
estimates, the change(s) are accounted for as a change in an accounting estimate.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal or retirement of an asset is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds and the 
carrying amount of the asset and is recognised in income.
Leased assets
Leases where the third party lessor retains substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are classiﬁ ed as operating leases.
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease. 
Associated costs, such as maintenance and insurance are expensed as incurred.
Lease incentives received are recognised in the income statement on a straight-line basis as an integral part of the total lease expense.
Impairment
At each balance sheet date, the Group reviews the carrying amounts of its assets to determine whether there is any indication that those 
assets have suffered an impairment loss. 
If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). 
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash ﬂ ows 
are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reﬂ ects current market assessments of the time value of money 
and the risks speciﬁ c to the asset for which the estimates of future cash ﬂ ows have not been adjusted.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 21
Where the asset does not generate cash ﬂ ows that are independent from other assets, the Group estimates the recoverable amount 
of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount 
of the asset (cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised as an expense immediately.
Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised 
estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have 
been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (cash-generating unit) in prior years. 
A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised as income immediately, with the exception of goodwill where impairment of goodwill 
cannot be reversed.
Goodwill and intangible assets with an indeﬁ nite useful life are tested for impairment at least annually.
Work in progress
Work in progress is valued on the basis of direct costs plus attributable overheads based on normal levels of activity. 
Costs associated with long-term contracts are included in inventories to the extent that they cannot be matched with contract work 
recognised in revenue. 
Long-term contract balances included in inventories are stated at cost, after provision has been made for any foreseeable losses and the 
deduction of applicable payments on account. 
No element of proﬁ t is included in the carrying value of work in progress. Full provision is made for losses on all contracts in the year in 
which the loss is ﬁ rst foreseen.
Financial instruments
Financial assets and liabilities are recognised on the Group’s balance sheet when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions 
of the instrument.
Financial assets are recognised initially at fair value plus transaction costs. Financial liabilities are recorded initially at fair value net of 
transaction costs.
Trade receivables
Trade receivables do not carry any interest and are stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for 
impairment. Impairment of trade receivables are recorded when there are indicators that suggest that the debts are not fully recoverable, 
or the fair value is impaired at the balance sheet date.
Investments
Investments are recognised and derecognised on a trade date where a purchase or sale of an investment is under a contract whose terms 
require delivery of the investment within the timeframe established by the market concerned, and are initially measured at cost, including 
transaction costs.
Investments are classiﬁ ed as available-for-sale, and are measured at subsequent reporting dates at fair value. 
For available-for-sale investments, gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are recognised directly in equity, until the security is 
disposed of or is determined to be impaired, at which time the cumulative gain or loss previously recognised in equity is included in the 
net proﬁ t or loss for the period.
Financial liabilities and equity
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classiﬁ ed according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An 
equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the Group after deducting all of its liabilities.
Trade payables
Trade payables are not interest bearing and are recognised initially at fair value and thereafter at amortised cost using the effective interest 
method.
Equity instruments
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs.
Interest-bearing borrowings
Interest-bearing borrowings are initially recognised at fair value less attributable costs. In subsequent years, the carrying amount is stated 
at amortised cost obtained using the effective interest rate method. 22 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Principal accounting policies
continued
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits. Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral 
part of the Group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the statement 
of cash ﬂ ows.
Income taxes
The charge for current income tax is based on the results for the period as adjusted for items that are non-assessable or disallowed. 
It is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.
Deferred income tax is the income tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of assets 
and liabilities in the ﬁ nancial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable proﬁ t, and is accounted 
for using the balance sheet liability method. 
Deferred income tax is provided in full and is recognised on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities 
in the ﬁ nancial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable proﬁ t.
Deferred income tax liabilities are generally recognised on all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to 
the extent that it is probable that taxable proﬁ ts will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be utilised. 
Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from goodwill (or any discount on acquisition) or from
the initial recognition (other than in a business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax 
proﬁ t nor the accounting proﬁ t.
Deferred income tax is measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability 
is settled or the asset is realised, based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
Deferred income tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, 
in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity.
Deferred income tax liabilities are recognised on taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries, except where the 
Group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in the 
foreseeable future.
Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the 
Group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.
Dividends
Dividends are recognised as a liability in the period in which they are declared.
Segmental reporting
A segment is a distinguishable component of the Group that is engaged in generating income and expenses (business segment) which is 
subject to risks and rewards that are different from those of other segments. The Design & Construction business segment is considered 
to be the primary reporting segment. The secondary reporting segment is considered to be Management Services.
Equity and dividend payments
Share capital is determined using the nominal value of shares that have been issued. Share premium includes any premiums received on 
the initial issuing of share capital. Any transaction costs associated with the issuing of shares are deducted from additional paid-in capital, 
net of any related income tax beneﬁ ts.
Equity settled share-based employee remuneration is credited to the share-based payments reserve until related stock options are exercised.
The share-based payment reserve is the reserve for the cumulative IFRS 2 adjustments and related deferred tax. The share premium 
reserve is the surplus of the amount paid over the nominal value of new shares issued.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 23
Share-based payments
The Group issues share options to its employees. The Group has applied the requirements of IFRS 2 Share-based Payments. In accordance 
with the transitional provisions, IFRS 2 has been applied to all grants of equity instruments after 7 November 2002 that were unvested as 
of 1 May 2006.
The Group issues equity-settled share-based payments to employees. Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at fair value 
at the date of grant.
Options and warrants are valued using the basic Hull-White model.
The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled, share-based payments is expensed on a straight-line basis over the 
vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of shares that will eventually vest, updated at each balance sheet date.
Short-term employee benefit costs
The undiscounted amount of short-term beneﬁ ts attributable to services that have been rendered in the period are recognised as 
an expense, unless speciﬁ cally required or permitted within the scope of IFRS reporting to be included in the cost of an asset.
Any difference between the amount of cost recognised and cash payments made is treated as a liability or prepayment as appropriate.
Non-recurring costs
Non-recurring costs are disclosed separately in the income statement within the period in which they are incurred.
Standards and interpretations not yet applied
The following new standards and interpretations, which are yet to become mandatory, have not yet been applied to the Group’s 
ﬁ nancial statements.
•  IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (revised 2007) (effective 1 January 2009). The introduction of this standard will effect the 
presentation of the primary statements but not effect the measurement of any items
•  IAS 23 Borrowing Costs (revised 2007) (effective 1 January 2009)
•  IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements (revised 2008) (effective 1 July 2009)
•  Amendments to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment – Vesting Conditions and Cancellations (effective 1 January 2009)
•  IFRS 3 Business Combinations (revised 2008) (effective 1 July 2009)
•  Amendment to IAS32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and IAS1 Presentation of Financial Statements – Puttable Financial Instruments 
and Obligations arising on Liquidation (effective 1 July 2009)
•  Improvements to IFRSs (effective 1 January 2009 other than certain amendments effective 1 July 2009)
•  IFRS 8 Operating segments (effective 1 January 2009)
•  Amendment to IFRS 7 Financial instruments: Disclosures – Improved Disclosures About Financial Instruments (effective 1 January 2009)
•  Embedded Derivatives – Amendments to IAS 39 and IFRIC 9 (effective for annual periods ending on or after 30 June 2009)
• IFRIC 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate (effective 1 January 2009)
The introduction of these standards and interpretations is not expected to have a material effect on the ﬁ nancial statements. 24 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 30 April 2009
1 Revenue and business segments 
The Group operates entirely in design construction and management services in the United Kingdom. 
Business segments
These divisions are the basis on which the Group reports its primary segment information.
Principal activities are as follows:
• Design & Construction
• Management Services
Segment information about these businesses is presented below.
     Design &  Management
     Construction Services Consolidated
2009     £000 £000 £000
Revenue   
Total revenue     18,517 5,317 23,834
   
There are no inter-segment sales, so all revenue is from external customers.
Result
Segment result     7,125 4,134 11,259
   
Unallocated corporate expenses       (5,840)
   
Proﬁ t from operations       5,419
Investment income       107
Proﬁ t before tax expense       5,526
   
Tax expense       (1,361)
Proﬁ t after tax expense       4,165
     Design &  Management
     Construction Services Consolidated
Other information     £000 £000 £000
Balance sheet
Assets
Segment assets     11,623 2,795 14,418
Unallocated corporate assets       35,266
Consolidated total assets       49,684
Liabilities
Segment liabilities     (6,783) (185) (6,968)
Unallocated corporate liabilities       (4,042)
Consolidated total liabilities       (11,010)  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 25
1 Revenue and business segments (continued) 
     Design &  Management
     Construction Services Consolidated
2008     £000 £000 £000
Revenue
Total revenue     18,287 1,506 19,793
There are no inter-segment sales, so all revenue is from external customers.
Result
Segment result     6,485 1,004 7,489
   
Unallocated corporate expenses       (2,743)
   
Proﬁ t from operations       4,746
Investment income       326
   
Proﬁ t before tax expense       5,072
   
Tax expense       (1,510)
Proﬁ t after tax expense       3,562
     Design &  Management
     Construction Services Consolidated
Other information     £000 £000 £000
Balance sheet
Assets
Segment assets     9,210 30 9,240
Unallocated corporate assets       11,267
Consolidated total assets       20,507
Liabilities   
Segment liabilities     (3,311) (34) (3,345)
Unallocated corporate liabilities       (3,716)
Consolidated total liabilities       (7,061)
Ashley House plc’s main customers are AH Medical Properties plc group and Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon LIFT. During the 
year Ashley House plc made total sales to AH Medical Properties plc of £4,333,000 (2008: £10,826,000) with £3,000 due at the 
year end (2008: £1,768,000). During the year Ashley House plc made total sales to Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon LIFT of £5,162,000 
(2008: £658,000) with £478,000 due at the year end (2008: £773,000).
Supplies are made to AH Medical Properties plc group relating to the design and construction of medical centres. In every case, the rent 
for the building which drives the value of the scheme is set by the District Valuer acting for the Primary Care Trust (NHS). Transactions 
between Ashley House plc and AH Medical Properties plc are entered into on the basis of market equivalent pricing and are ratiﬁ ed by 
the independent non-executive directors of AH Medical Properties plc, who are not connected to Ashley House plc. Supplies are also 
made relating to the management of the property portfolio. 26 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
2 Operating profit
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Operating proﬁ t arrived at after charging:
Rental of premises – operating leases      267 104
Rental of motor vehicles – operating leases      28 18
Staff costs (see note 3)      3,377 2,964
Auditor’s remuneration (see below)      161 140
Auditor’s remuneration:
–  fees payable to Group’s auditor for the audit of the Group’s annual accounts    40 30
– the audit of the Group’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation     8 8
– taxation services (non audit services)      32 15
– corporate ﬁ nance advice (non audit services)      81 87
      161 140
3 Directors and employees
Staff costs during the year for the Group were as follows:
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Wages and salaries      3,008 2,709
Social security costs       369 255
      3,377 2,964
The average number of employees of the Group during the year ended 30 April 2009 was 69 (2008: 60).
Directors’ emoluments amounted to £858,000 (2007: £943,000). Further details of emoluments paid to directors, including details 
of the highest paid director, are contained in the Remuneration committee report on pages 37-38. The directors are deemed to be key 
management. No pension contributions were made in respect of any of the directors during the year ended 30 April 2009 (2008: £nil).
4 Investment income
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Dividends receivable from investments      44 22
Interest receivable      63 304
      107 326
5 Tax expense
The tax assessed for the year differs from the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 28% (2008: 28%). The differences are 
explained as follows:
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Proﬁ t before tax      5,526 5,072
Proﬁ t multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 28% (2008: 28%)   1,547 1,420
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes      88 143
Depreciation for the period in excess of capital allowances     38 5
Revenue that is exempt from taxation      (12) (7)
Adjustments to tax charge in respect of prior periods      (300) (24)
Deferred taxation      – (27)
Current tax charge for year       1,361 1,510
Comprising:      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Current income tax      1,361 1,537
Deferred tax      – (27)
      1,361 1,510  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 27
6 Earnings per ordinary share 
The calculation of the basic earnings per share is based on the proﬁ t attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted 
average number of shares in issue during the year.
    2009   2008
   Weighted   Weighted 
   average Per share  average Per share
  Proﬁ t number amount Proﬁ t number amount
  £000 of shares pence (p) £000 of shares pence (p)
Basic earnings per share
Proﬁ t attributable to ordinary shareholders  4,165 41,611,475 10.01 3,562 27,544,379 12.93
Dilutive effect of securities
Options   923,475 (0.22)  981,732 (0.44)
Warrants    603,199 (0.14)  2,291,974 (0.93)
Diluted earnings per share  4,165 43,138,149 9.65 3,562 30,818,085 11.56
The average share price during the year was 114.0p, which meant that the dilutive securities shown in the table above were those 
which have exercise prices of 30p, 40p, 75p, 85p, 98p and 108 pence per share.
The directors propose the payment of a dividend of £1,884,000 (4 pence per share) in the ﬁ nancial year 2009 in relation to the 
current year.
As the distribution of dividends by Ashley House plc requires approval at the Shareholders’ meeting, no liability in this respect is 
recognised in the 2009 consolidated Group accounts. No tax expense consequences are expected to arise as a result of this transaction 
at the level of Ashley House plc.
7 Goodwill 
       £000
Cost
As at 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009       270
Impairment
As at 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009       –
 
Net book value as at 30 April 2009       270
Net book value as at 30 April 2008       270
 
Ashley House plc management’s key assumption in assessing the impairment of goodwill as at 30 April 2009 is that stable proﬁ t margins 
will continue on contracts completed by the Welsh ofﬁ ce. The Group’s Welsh ofﬁ ce is the cash generating unit to which goodwill relates 
and the recoverable amount has been calculated based on value in use.
The key assessment of the goodwill value relates to the value of the design work undertaken by the Welsh ofﬁ ce as compared to their 
overheads. During the year, the Welsh ofﬁ ce was responsible for design fees billed and accrued for in excess of £2m.
The goodwill is assessed with reference to the historic revenue generated and the pipeline of future work and estimated timing of realisation.
8 Other intangibles
The intangible asset of £24.8m relates to the purchase of the NHS LIFT interests from Babcock & Brown. This acquisition was completed 
on 12 June 2008, however the terms were renegotiated and settled on 30 April 2009.
       £000
Cost
As at 1 May 2008       –
Additions in year       24,800
As at 30 April 2009       24,800
Impairment
As at 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009       –
Net book value as at 30 April 2009       24,800
Net book value as at 30 April 2008       – 28 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
8 Other intangibles (continued)
The carrying value of the interests acquired has been reviewed with reference to the forecast earnings expected to be generated from 
them over the next 10 years. The existing 7 NHS LIFT agreements which underpin the value of the business have a further 16 years to 
run on average. Since the acquisition, Ashley House has been successfully approved as one of only 7 private sector partners in Express 
LIFT, which represents an opportunity to secure further new NHS LIFT exclusive mandates.
The forecast earnings are based on the existing pipeline of projects acquired, which at acquisition had a build value of £300m. 
The discount rate used was 25% which represents the average cost of capital for a smaller public company with minimal debt.
The carrying value and any impairment to the intangible asset will be reviewed annually on a similar basis, taking into account the 
expected future earnings, the amount of time left on the contracts in existence and the Group’s cost of capital as a discount rate. 
Value in use has been used to determine recoverable amount.
9 Acquisition of interest in jointly controlled entities
On June 12 2008, Ashley House plc completed the acquisition of interests in 7 NHS Local Improvement Finance Trusts (“LIFT”) companies 
from Babcock & Brown. The acquisition comprised interests in joint controlled companies which control the management of the private 
sector shareholder in seven NHS LIFT businesses. Due to there being contractually agreed sharing of control, these entities are deemed 
to be jointly controlled entities. The total consideration comprised:
At Completion:
£14m in cash, ﬁ nanced in part by the exercise of the then outstanding Babcock & Brown warrant over 7.88m Ashley House plc shares 
at 120 pence per share, which raised £9.45m; and 8m new Ashley House plc shares, which were worth £12m at 150 pence per share.
Deferred Consideration:
There was an entitlement for up to a further £19m payable in cash dependent on the performance of the joint controlled entities 
acquired. Following Babcock & Brown falling into administration, this entitlement was settled early on 30 April 2009 for £1m payable with 
£0.5m paid on 30 April 2009 and £0.5m payable on 31 October 2009.
As it is within one year of acquisition, the value of the assets acquired has been amended to reﬂ ect the adjusted acquisition price of 
£27m and the liability of £19m has been removed from the balance sheet. The remaining £0.5m payable in October 2009 remains as 
a liability in the balance sheet.
Details of net assets acquired and intangible assets acquired in these joint controlled entities are as follows:
       £000
Purchase consideration:
– Cash paid       14,000
– Direct costs relating to the acquisition       727
– Fair value of shares issued       12,000
– Deferred consideration       1,000
Total purchase consideration       27,727
The assets and liabilities as at 12 June 2008 arising from the acquisition of these joint controlled entities are as follows:
       Acquiree’s 
       carrying 
      Fair value amount
      £000 £000
Cash and cash equivalents
Property, plant and equipment      15 15
Intangibles      2 2
Debtors      3,044 3,044
Cash      2,403 2,403
Trade and other receivables
Trade and other payables      (1,765) (1,765)
Borrowings      (772) (772)
Fair value of net assets      2,927 2,927
Intangible assets (note 8)      24,800 
Total purchase consideration      27,727 
Cost of acquisition of the joint controlled entities settled in cash     14,727 
Cash and cash equivalent acquired      (2,403) 
Cash outﬂ ow on acquisition of joint controlled entities     12,324   Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 29
10 Property, plant and equipment
The carrying amounts of property, plant and equipment for the periods presented in the Group’s consolidated ﬁ nancial statements as at 
30 April 2009 are reconciled as follows:
    Ofﬁ ce,    
    equipment   
    furniture Motor Mobile 
    and ﬁ xtures vehicles surgeries Total
    £000 £000 £000 £000
Cost
As at 1 May 2008    382 31 305 718
Additions    36 – – 36
As at 30 April 2009    418 31 305 754
Accumulated depreciation and impairment
As at 1 May 2008    127 16 284 427
Charge for the year    91 6 17 114
As at 30 April 2009    218 22 301 541
Net book amount at 30 April 2009    200 9 4 213
    Ofﬁ ce    
    equipment,    
    furniture Motor Mobile 
    and ﬁ xtures vehicles surgeries Total
    £000 £000 £000 £000
Cost/valuation
As at 1 May 2007    238 30 305 573
Additions    279 11 – 290
Disposals    (135) (10) – (145)
As at 30 April 2008    382 31 305 718
Accumulated depreciation and impairment    
As at 1 May 2007    160 15 198 373
Charge for the year    80 10 86 176
Disposals    (113) (9) – (122)
As at 30 April 2008    127 16 284 427
Net book amount at 30 April 2008    255 15 21 291
11 Available for sale investments
All assets are stated at fair value:
       Listed 
       Investments
       £000
As at 1 May 2008       1,321
Movement in fair value       (583)
As at 30 April 2009       738
At 30 April 2009 the investment in AH Medical Properties plc had a market value of £738,000 (2008: £1,321,000).
 Nature of work Class of share capital held Proportion held
AH Medical Properties plc (Incorporated in England) Investment Property  Ordinary shares of 0.01p each 6.8% 30 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
12 Jointly controlled entities
The Group has the following jointly controlled entities which are all incorporated in England and Wales:
      Proportion held
AH Scarborough Health Park Limited       50%
IPC Plus Limited       50%
Wilco Plus Limited       50%
Infracare Group Limited, AHBB ELL Holdings Limited, AHBB LHIL Holdings Limited
Ashley House owns 100% of the “A” shares in these companies, which gives operational control. Amber Infrastructure Group Limited 
owns 100% of the “B” shares in these companies which entitles them to protect existing income streams from underlying investments 
and gives them the right to future investment opportunities from the NHS LIFT pipeline of projects. These companies do not trade but 
hold interests in underlying NHS LIFT companies.
During the year Ashley House established jointly controlled entities IPC Plus limited and Wilco Plus Limited with groups of General 
Practioners (GPs). These entities are engaged on providing clinical services in West Sussex and Salisbury respectively.
The ﬁ nancial statements of joint controlled entities have been incorporated into Ashley House plc’s Group’s consolidated ﬁ nancial 
statements using proportionate consolidation. The aggregate amounts relating to these jointly controlled entities that have been 
included in the Group’s ﬁ nancial statements are as follows:
Investment in joint ventures
      AH 
   Infracare   Scarborough 
   Group IPC+ Wilco+  Health Park 
 ELLIL
*
 LLIL
*
  Limited
*
 Limited  Limited Limited Total
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Income statement
Revenue 341 525 492 119 3 – 1,480
Operating proﬁ t/(loss) 89 213 (94) 24 (1) (12) 219
Proﬁ t/(loss) before tax 89 213 (94) 24 (1) (12) 219
Income tax expense (22) (68) 24 (4) – – (70)
Share of proﬁ ts/(losses) of 
joint ventures after tax 67 145 (70) 20 (1) (12) 149
       
Balance sheet       
Non-current assets – 2 23 – 5 – 30
Current assets 1,100 1,813 2,255 52 3 1,363 6,586
Current Liabilities (700) (487) (110) (34) (9) (1,446) (2,786)
Non-current liabilities (111) (686) – – – – (797)
Net assets/(liabilities) 289 642 2,168 18 (1) (83) 3,033
       
* Acquired 12 June 2008.
13 Trade and other receivables
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Trade receivables      1,585 3,812
Amounts recoverable on contracts      13,466 4,839
Retentions held on contracts      309 579
Other receivables      2,465 84
Prepayments and accrued income      953 356
      18,778 9,670
Trade and other receivables at the balance sheet date comprise amounts receivable from Design & Construction and Management 
Services. The directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair value due to their 
short-term nature.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 31
13 Trade and other receivables (continued)
The following table provides analysis of trade receivables that were past due at 30 April 2009 but not impaired. The Group believe that 
the balances are ultimately recoverable based on a review of past payment history and the current ﬁ nancial status of the customers, which 
are typically NHS bodies, NHS LIFT companies (which are joint ventures between ourselves and the NHS) or AH Medical Properties plc 
which is well known to the Group.
In the past where there has been a larger than anticipated period to collect revenues, the amount paid has been in excess of the original 
amount and has covered the time cost of the debt.
 
Trade receivables
        2009 2008
        £000 £000
Past due up to 30 days       56 45
Past due 31-90 days       – 23
Past due over 90 days       365 1,054
Loans and receivables past due       421 1,122
14 Cash and cash equivalents
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Cash at bank       1,187 6,869
Proportion of cash in joint ventures      2,127 –
Bank balances      3,314 6,869
Cash and cash equivalents (which are presented as a single class of assets on the face of the balance sheet) comprise cash held by the 
Group and short-term bank deposits with an original maturity of three months or less. 
The carrying amount of these assets approximates their fair value.
The cash balances held by the Group at the bank are held within current accounts and earn interest of 0.25% (2008: 0.25%) under base 
from Lloyds Banking Group.
15 Trade and other payables
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Trade payables      1,328 832
Social security and other taxes      185 477
Deferred consideration on acquisition      500 –
Other payables      1,296 44
Accrued expenses      4,355 3,125
      7,664 4,478
Trade and other payables principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs. The average credit period 
taken for trade purchases is 24 days (2008: 32 days).
The directors consider that the carrying amount of trade payables approximates to their fair value due to their short-term non-interest 
bearing nature.
16 Bank borrowings
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Share of joint venture loan – Scarborough      1,330 1,330
Share of joint venture loan – LIFT companies      797 –
      2,127 1,330 32 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
17 Current tax liabilities
Income tax liabilities comprise corporation tax liabilities, calculated or estimated by the Group companies.
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Current tax liabilities      1,219 1,253
18 Financial risk management
There is no exchange rate risk, and the fair values of the assets and liabilities of the Group are not materially different from their net 
book values.
The Group’s ﬁ nancial instruments comprise cash resources, and various items such as trade receivables and trade payables, that arise 
directly from its operations. The main purpose of these ﬁ nancial instruments is to raise ﬁ nance for the Group’s operations. The main risks 
arising from the Group’s ﬁ nancial instruments are credit risk, liquidity risk and interest ﬂ uctuation risks.
  Fair value  Total for Fair value  Total for
  of other Non balance of other Non balance
  ﬁ nancial ﬁ nancial sheet ﬁ nancial ﬁ nancial sheet
  liabilities liabilities heading liabilities liabilities heading
  2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008
  £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance sheet headings – liabilities
Trade payables  1,328 – 1,328 832 – 832
Accruals  4,170 – 4,170 3,125 – 3,125
Other payables  1,796 – 1,796 44 – 44
VAT and taxation payables  – 185 185 – 477 477
Tax payable  – 1,219 1,219 – 1,253 1,253
Total  7,294 1,404 8,698 4,001 1,730 5,731
       
Financial assets and liabilities included in the balance sheet relate to the following IAS 39 categories:
  Available  Total for  Available  Total for
  for sale Non balance  for sale Non balance
 Loans &  ﬁ nancial ﬁ nancial sheet Loans &  ﬁ nancial ﬁ nancial sheet
 receivables assets assets heading receivables assets assets heading
 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008 2008
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance sheet headings – assets
Cash and cash equivalents 3,314 – – 3,314 6,869 – – 6,869
Trade receivables – current 1,585 – – 1,585 3,812 – – 3,812
Amounts recoverable 
on contracts 13,466 – – 13,466 4,839 – – 4,839
Retentions held on contracts – – 309 309 – – 579 579
Other receivables – current 2,465 – – 2,465 84 – – 84
Prepayments – – 953 953 – – 356 356
Available for sale 
ﬁ nancial investments – 738 – 738 – 1,321 – 1,321
Total 20,830 738 1,262 22,830 15,604 1,321 935 17,860
The Board reviews and determines policies for managing each of these risks and they are summarised below. These policies have been 
consistently applied throughout the period.
All of the Group’s assets and liabilities are held at amortised cost, with the exception of available for sale investments, which are held at 
fair value. The directors are of the opinion that there is no material difference between the book value and the fair value of any of the 
Group’s assets or liabilities.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 33
18 Financial risk management (continued)
Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk that the counterparty will fail to discharge their obligation.
The Group’s principal ﬁ nancial assets are bank balances and cash and trade and other receivables, which represent the Group’s maximum 
exposure to credit risk in relation to ﬁ nancial assets.
The Group’s credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade receivables of £1,585,000 (2008: £3,812,000). The amounts presented in the 
balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful receivables, estimated by the Group’s management based on prior experience and their 
assessment of the current economic environment.
The Group’s short-term cash and cash equivalents are deposited with a high credit rated commercial bank (typically with credit ratings 
of A+ or higher), currently deposits are held with Lloyds Banking Group.
The Group’s main customers are Medical Properties Limited, a subsidiary of AH Medical Properties plc and Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon 
LIFT company (BHH). During the year, the Group supplied design, contracting and asset management services to the AHMP Group 
totalling £4,330,000 (2008: £10,826,000) which represented 19% of the Group’s turnover (2008: 52%) and design and contracting 
services to BHH of £5,162,000 (2008: £658,000).
New customers are subject to an initial credit assessment using external credit reference agencies and trade references are conﬁ rmed. 
These credit limits are reviewed on an on-going basis and subject to senior management oversight. The payment position of past due 
trade receivables is monitored daily and actively managed.
No collateral is held by the Group in relation to its ﬁ nancial assets.
Liquidity risk
Amounts recoverable on contracts relate to projects that are largely ongoing as at 30 April 2009. A substantial proportion of the amounts 
have not yet been invoiced, however they are expected to be invoiced within the next ﬁ nancial year, at which point the Group expect to 
collect all the balances in full.
The use of instant access deposits ensures sufﬁ cient working capital is available at all times.
The Group guarantees sufﬁ cient liquidity at all times by efﬁ cient cash management, and by ensuring that only credit-worthy customers 
are engaged with.
There was no undrawn committed facility apart from the £1m overdraft facility from Lloyds Banking Group which is utilised from time
to time.
The cash outﬂ ows required to settle these ﬁ nancial liabilities are the same amounts as presented in the Group balance sheet.
Interest Rate Risk
The only borrowing the Group is liable for is the loan to AH Scarborough Health Park Limited from Lloyds Banking Group for £2.66m, 
against a valuation of £3.75m performed by King Sturge, which has been guaranteed by Ashley House plc. The loan has a +/- 1% 
sensitivity of £13,300. 
19 Deferred tax asset
     Share-based  
     payments Provisions Total
     £000 £000 £000
Deferred tax asset
As at 1 May 2008     800 27 827
Charged to equity     (617) – (617)
As at 30 April 2009     183 27 210
Net deferred tax asset
As at 30 April 2009       210
As at 30 April 2008       827
Deferred tax assets have been calculated using the expected future tax rate of 28%. Any changes in the future would affect these 
amounts proportionately. 34 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
20 Share capital
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Authorised
67,000,000 (2007: 51,000,000) Ordinary shares of 1p each      670 510
Allotted, called up and fully paid
47,094,379 (2008: 27,544,379) Ordinary shares of 1p each      470 275
The ordinary shares are entitled to receipt of dividends. Ordinary shares have full voting rights.
Shares issued in the period      Number of shares
At 1 May 2008       27,544,379
Warrants exercised to ﬁ nance acquisition (120 pence per share)      7,880,000
Shares issued re acquisition (150 pence per share)       8,000,000
Options and other warrants (30 pence per share)       170,000
Shares issued for cash (65 pence per share)       3,500,000
At 30 April 2009       47,094,379
  Price 
Options  pence (p) 2009 Issued Lapsed Exercised 2008
Issued 2004 expire 2014  30 1,040,000 – – (20,000) 1,060,000
Issued 2005 exercisable from 2008, expire 2015  85 100,000 – – – 100,000
Issued 2005 exercisable from 2008, expire 2015  98 90,000 – (15,000) – 105,000
Issued 2005 exercisable from 2008, expire 2015  108 180,000 – (30,000) – 210,000
Issued 2007 exercisable from 2007, expire 2017  150 1,687,500 – (155,000) – 1,842,500
Issued 2007 exercisable from 2009, expire 2017  159 100,000 – – – 100,000
Issued 2007 exercisable from 2009, expire 2017  175 50,000 – – – 50,000
Issued 2007 exercisable from 2009, expire 2017  152 50,000 – – – 50,000
Issued 2007 exercisable from 2009, expire 2017  152 255,000 – – – 255,000
Issued 2008 exercisable from 2010, expire 2018  150 657,500 657,500 – – –
Issued 2009 exercisable from 2011, expire 2019  75 320,000 320,000 – – –
Total Options    4,530,000 977,500 (200,000) (20,000) 3,772,500
Weighted average price 136.6 pence per option (2008: 137.0 pence per option) 
   Price    
Warrants   pence (p) 2009 Issued Exercised 2008
Issued 2004, expire 2009   30p 660,000 – (150,000) 810,000
Issued 2004, expire 2009   40p 180,000 – – 180,000
Issued 2007, expire 2010   120p – – (7,880,000) 7,880,000
Total Warrants    840,000 – (8,030,000) 8,870,000
Weighted average price: 32.7 pence per warrant (2008: 117.2 pence per warrant)
 
Between 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009 the company issued 8,050,000 new shares for warrants and options exercised.
Exercise of an option is subject to continued employment and warrants are subject to time limitation. The fair value per option and 
warrant granted and the assumptions used in the calculation of fair value for awards made after 7 November 2002 are set out in the 
table overleaf.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 35
20 Share capital (continued)
At 30 April 2009 options and warrants over unissued ordinary 1p shares were as follows:
  Option,  Options,  Closing   Risk free  
  warrant price warrant share price Exercise Expected interest Dividend Fair value 
  per share periods at grant price volatility rate yield per share 
Date of grant Number pence (p) ending pence (p) pence (p) % % % pence (p)
2004 1,040,000 30 2014 30 30 19.97 5.25 5 5
2004  660,000* 30 2009 30 30 19.97 5.25 5 5
2004  180,000* 40 2009 40 40 19.97 5.25 5 5
2006 100,000 85 2016 85 85 19.97 5.25 5 13
2006 90,000 98 2016 98 98 19.97 5.25 5 9
2006 180,000 108 2016 108 108 19.97 5.25 5 10
2007 55,000 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 24
2007 12,500 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 19
2007 1,120,000 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 22
2007 120,000 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 14
2007 187,500 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 11
2007 142,500 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 8
2007 50,000 150 2017 150 150 19.97 5.25 5 6
2007 100,000 159 2017 159 159 17.68 5.25 3.5 21
2007 50,000 175 2017 175 175 17.68 5.25 3.5 23
2007 50,000 152 2017 152 152 17.68 5.25 3.5 20
2007 255,000 152 2017 152 152 17.68 5.25 3.5 20
2008 657,500 150 2018 150 150 17.15 5.25 3.5 8
2009 320,000 75 2019 75 75 17.15 5.25 3.5 6
* These are warrants, all others are options.
The market price of the Group’s shares at 30 April 2009 was 70.5p (2008: 148.5p) and the range during the year was between 67.0p 
and 148.5p (2008: 129.0p and 174.0p). The weighted average exercise price of the options and warrants is 100.8p (2008: 101.5p).
During the period Babcock & Brown exercised their warrant over 7,880,000 shares at the exercise price of 120 pence per share. The cash 
proceeds from this exercise of £9.45m were used to part ﬁ nance the acquisition of interests in seven NHS LIFT companies from 
Babcock & Brown.
The vesting period of an option is assumed to be commensurate with the exercise period and this varies between being immediately 
exercisable and ﬁ ve years.
Expected volatility is a measure of the amount by which a share price is expected to ﬂ uctuate during a period. The volatility of the 
company’s share price was calculated using the basic Hull-White model.
The risk free rate is the yield on deposits held by the company. 
The dividend yield of 3.5% is based on the dividends paid during the period. 
Options and warrants are valued using the basic Hull-White model.
21 Capital commitments
The Group did not have any capital commitments at 30 April 2009 or 30 April 2008. 36 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the financial statements
continued
22 Commitments under operating leases
The Group’s future minimum operating lease payments are as follows:
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Less than one year      219 196
Between one and ﬁ ve years      597 686
Five years or more      108 144
      924 1,026
Lease payments recognised as an expense during the year amount to £219,000 (2008: £196,000). No sub-lease income is expected 
as all assets held under lease agreements are used exclusively by the Group.
Operating lease agreements do not contain any contingent rent clauses. None of the operating lease agreements contain renewal or 
purchase options or any restrictions. The leases may be renewed when due.
23 Contingent liabilities
Under the terms of a loan by Lloyds Banking Group to AH Scarborough Health Park Limited for £2,660,000 (see note 27), Ashley House 
plc has provided a corporate guarantee for the whole of the loan amount secured on the land, valued by King Sturge at £3,800,000. 
Ashley House plc has provided a limited guarantee to WilcoPlus of £100,000 in respect of the contract with the Primary Care Trust, the 
Equitable Access Centre. There is no recourse to Ashley House in respect of the loans in the jointly controlled NHS LIFT entities.
24 Related party transactions
During the year the Group received invoices from directors or their companies totalling £213,000 (2008: £168,000) from Layland Walker 
Limited, a company controlled by B Walker in respect of consultancy services and rent contribution for the London ofﬁ ce. At 30 April 2009 
the balance due to Layland Walker Limited was £nil (2008: £nil). In addition, the company made payments of £205,000 (2008: £82,000) 
to Gibson Freake Edge, a partnership of which A Gibson is a partner in respect of consultancy services. At 30 April 2009 the balance due 
to Gibson Freake Edge was £12,000 (2008: £11,000).
Remuneration of key management personnel
Information about the remuneration of individual directors is provided in the Remuneration committee report.
25 Capital management
The business model operated by Ashley House plc is not very capital intensive. Construction projects are not typically owned and there is 
little timing difference between payment and income on contracting. There is therefore modest requirements for working capital in the 
design and construction function, other than the overhead required to deliver the pipeline of projects.
Investment has been made and is on-going in new areas of activity such as management services and also to support activities such as 
asset management for example with the capital investment in 6.8% of AH Medical Properties plc and interests in NHS LIFT companies.
Equity capital is regarded as a scarce and valued resource. Investment in new ventures and in the business is made with an eye to returns 
over a reasonable and relevant period taking account of the nature of the investment.
Debt is employed in the ﬁ nancing of the business from time to time but typically where there is asset backing to support it, other than 
for the Group overdraft facility of £1m which is secured by a ﬂ oating charge over the Group’s assets.
26 Dividends
Subsequent to the year end but prior to the approval of the ﬁ nancial statements, the directors have recommended the payment of 
a dividend of 4.0 pence per share, totalling £1,884,000.
27 Loans payable
A facility from Lloyds Banking Group for £2,660,000 was granted in April 2008, for a period of 12 months at a rate of 1.75% over base 
(see note 22). This facility has been extended by Lloyds Banking Group at a rate of 2.75% over 3 month Libor. The facility is provided 
to AH Scarborough Health Park Limited and is based on 70% of the site value, as valued by King Sturge, at £3,800,000. The security 
comprises a ﬁ rst charge over the 3.7 acre site and a guarantee from Ashley House plc. Ashley House plc has a 50% interest in the joint 
venture, AH Scarborough Health Park Limited, as shown in note 12. The Group has an overdraft facility of £1m from Lloyds Banking Group 
which is charged at 2.2% over base when utilised.
The Group’s share of various loans to the jointly controlled NHS LIFT companies of £797,000 have been included in the balance sheet. 
These loans relate to the original set up of the NHS LIFT companies and are guaranteed by the relevant Primary Care Trust(s), should 
there be insufﬁ cient revenue generated from completed projects to repay these loans.  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 37
Remuneration committee report
Remuneration policy for the executive directors
The Group’s policy on executive directors’ remuneration is to:
•  attract and retain high quality executives by paying competitive remuneration packages relevant to each director’s role, experience and 
the external market. The packages include contributions to private medical insurance; and
•  give incentive to directors to maximise shareholder value through annual bonus schemes.
Service agreements
No director has a service agreement with a notice period that exceeds six months.
Directors’ remuneration
      Salaries,  Salaries,
      fees and  fees and
      beneﬁ ts beneﬁ ts
      2009 2008
      Total Total
      £ £
N K Croxford (Resigned 19 May 2008)*      5,181 110,086
J Holmes      232,040 178,428
S G Minion      225,095 178,870
G Mosley (Resigned 19 May 2008)*      2,802 68,171
B L Walker      200,222 167,348
R E L Warner (Resigned 19 May 2008)*      6,438 109,999
Executive      671,778 812,902
J Arnold-Forster      22,500 11,250
J Coghlan       23,750 13,333
A C Cook (Appointed 12 June 2008)      – –
G J Frost (Appointed 12 June 2008)      – –
A Gibson      98,088 66,767
J H Gunn (Retired 9 July 2007)      – 6,000
Sir W Wells      41,875 32,875
Non-executive      186,213 130,225
      857,991 943,127
The Group did not make contributions to any director’s pension fund during the year.
* This remuneration only refers to the period as a director. All remain employed by the Group.
Directors’ interests 
The directors who held ofﬁ ce at the end of the ﬁ nancial year had the following beneﬁ cial interests in the ordinary share capital of Ashley 
House plc at 30 April 2009 according to the register of directors’ interests:
     Number of   Number of
    shares of % of  Acquired/ shares of
    1p held at issued (disposed 1p held at
    30 April share of) during 1 May
    2009 capital year 2008
A Gibson    50,000 0.1% – 50,000
J Holmes     1,099,604 2.3% – 1,099,604
S G Minion     3,774,825 8.0% – 3,774,825
B L Walker    250,000 0.5% – 250,000
Sir W Wells    60,000 0.1% – 60,000 38 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Connected persons’ interest in share capital 
M Holmes holds 709,328 shares, G Holmes holds 100,000 shares (parents of J Holmes).
Interests in share options
The interests of the directors and persons connected to the directors in options over shares in Ashley House plc are set out below:
    Number of   Options 
    options at Exercise  held at 
    30 April Price Number 1 May 
    2009 pence (p) Granted 2008
J Arnold-Forster     50,000 175 –  50,000
J Coghlan     50,000 152 –  50,000
J Holmes    330,000 30 – 330,000
    300,000 150 – 300,000
S G Minion    330,000 30 – 330,000
    300,000 150 – 300,000
A Gibson    100,000 85 – 100,000
    100,000 150 – 100,000
B L Walker    300,000 150 – 300,000
W Wells    100,000 159 – 100,000
The 30 pence options were granted on 15 August 2004 and are exercisable within ten years from the date of grant. The 85 pence options 
were granted on 11 January 2006 and the 108 pence options were granted on 6 February 2006. These options vest in three years and 
expire within ten years from the date of grant. The 150 pence options were granted on 16 January 2007. These options vest in ﬁ ve years 
and expire within ten years from the date of grant The 159 pence options were granted on 25 April 2007, the 175 pence options were 
granted on 5 June 2007 and the 152 pence options were granted on 19 September 2007. These options vest in two years and expire 
within ten years from the date of grant.
Interests in warrants 
The interests of the directors and persons connected to the directors in warrants over shares in Ashley House plc at 30 April 2009 were:
    Warrants   Warrants 
    held at Exercise  held at 
    30 April price Warrants 1 May
    2009 pence (p) Exercised  2008
B L Walker    – 30 150,000 150,000
    180,000 40 – 180,000
The 150,000 shares issued following the warrant exercise were immediately sold.
The warrants, which were granted on 22 December 2004 at 40 pence, are exercisable within ﬁ ve years from the date of grant.
Market value of shares 
Between 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009 the shares traded in the range 67.0p to 158.5p. At 30 April 2009 the share price was 
67.5 pence per share.
Remuneration committee report
continued  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 39
Statement of directors’ responsibilities
Directors’ responsibilities for the financial statements
The directors are responsible for preparing the ﬁ nancial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Under the law the directors are required to prepare Group ﬁ nancial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union and have elected to prepare parent company ﬁ nancial statements in accordance with 
United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP). The ﬁ nancial statements are required by law to give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs of the Group and company and of the proﬁ t or loss of the Group for that period. In preparing those ﬁ nancial 
statements, the directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
•  state whether applicable Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained 
in the ﬁ nancial statements; and
•  prepare the ﬁ nancial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group will continue 
in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the ﬁ nancial 
position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for 
safeguarding assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 
The directors are also responsible for the preparation of the Report of the directors and other information in the annual report.
In so far as the directors are aware:
•  there is no relevant audit information of which the Group’s auditor is unaware; and
•  the directors have taken all steps deemed necessary to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that 
the auditor is aware of that information.
The directors conﬁ rm that the accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the ﬁ nancial statements are appropriate to the Group, 
have been consistently applied and are supported by reasonable prudent judgements and estimates. All applicable accounting standards 
have been followed.
The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and ﬁ nancial information included on the Group’s 
website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of ﬁ nancial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions.  40 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Report of the independent auditor to the members of Ashley House plc
We have audited the ﬁ nancial statements of Ashley House plc for the year ended 30 April 2009 which comprise the consolidated income 
statement, the consolidated balance sheet, the consolidated statement of changes in equity, the consolidated cash ﬂ ow statement, the 
parent company balance sheet, the principal accounting policies and the related notes. The ﬁ nancial reporting framework that has been 
applied in the preparation of the consolidated ﬁ nancial statements is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as 
adopted by the European Union. The ﬁ nancial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the parent company ﬁ nancial 
statements is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with sections 495 and 496 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 auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the 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 directors’ responsibilities statement on page 39, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the 
ﬁ nancial statements and for being satisﬁ ed that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit the ﬁ nancial 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 ﬁ nancial statements is provided on the APB’s website at www.frc.org.uk/apb/scope/UKNP
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion:
•  the ﬁ nancial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 30 April 2009 
and of the Group’s proﬁ t for the year then ended; 
•  the Group ﬁ nancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union;
•  the parent company ﬁ nancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice; and
•  the ﬁ nancial 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 ﬁ nancial year for which the ﬁ nancial statements are prepared 
is consistent with the ﬁ nancial statements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following:
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required 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 ﬁ nancial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration speciﬁ ed by law are not made; or
•  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
T D James
Senior Statutory Auditor
for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP
Statutory Auditor, Chartered Accountants
Oxford
3 July 2009
Report of the independent auditor  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 41
Company balance sheet 
at 30 April 2009
      2009 2008
     Note £000 £000
Fixed assets
Intangible asset     2 69 135
Tangible assets     3 189 287
Investments     4 28,466 1,322
      28,724 1,744
Current assets   
Debtors     5 18,014 10,130
Cash at bank and in hand      1,117 6,874
      19,131 17,004
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year     6 (8,142) (5,657)
   
Net current assets      10,989 11,347
Net assets      39,713 13,091
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital     7 470 275
Share premium account     8 31,627 8,040
Share-based payments reserve     8 425 1,421
Proﬁ t and loss account     8 7,191 3,355
Shareholders’ funds      39,713 13,091
The ﬁ nancial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 3 July 2009. 
They were signed on its behalf by:
Jonathan Holmes
Chief Executive
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁ nancial statements. 42 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Basis of preparation
The ﬁ nancial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable UK accounting standards (UK GAAP) and under the historical 
cost convention.
The principal accounting policies of the company are set out below.
Turnover
Turnover comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for the sale of services in the ordinary course of 
the company’s activities. Revenue is shown, net of value-added tax rebates and discounts. Revenue from long term contracts 
is detailed below.
Construction contracts
Where the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, revenue and costs are recognised by reference to the stage 
of completion of the contract activity at the balance sheet date.
This is normally assessed by Ashley House plc’s management by taking into consideration all the information at the balance sheet date. 
Ashley House plc’s construction contracts usually deﬁ ne milestone payments for the project work to be carried out. The maximum 
amount of revenue to be recognised for each milestone is determined by estimating relative contract fair values of each project phase. 
Variations in contract work, claims and incentive payments are included to the extent that they have been agreed with the customer.
Where the outcome of a construction contract cannot be estimated reliably, contract revenue is recognised to the extent of contract 
costs incurred and where it is probable that they will be recoverable. Contract costs are recognised as expenses in the period in which 
they are incurred. When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract revenue, the expected loss is recognised as an 
expense immediately.
Design fees and development fees
Where the outcome of a design and development contract can be estimated reliably and it is probable that the contract will be 
proﬁ table, revenue and cost are recognised over the period of the contract. The company does not consider that the outcome of a 
design or development contract can be reliably determined until it is at least 50% complete. Where it is probable that total costs will 
exceed total contract revenue, the expected loss is recognised as an expense immediately.
The company uses the “percentage of completion method” for design and development contracts to determine the appropriate amount 
to recognise in a given period. The stage of completion is measured by reference to the actual contract costs incurred up to the balance 
sheet date as a percentage of the total estimated costs for each contract. Provision is made for losses incurred or foreseen in bringing the 
contract to completion as soon as they become apparent. 
Tangible fixed assets and depreciation
Tangible ﬁ xed assets are stated at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment. Depreciation is calculated to 
write down the cost or valuation less estimated residual value of all tangible ﬁ xed assets, other than freehold land, on the straight line 
basis over their expected useful economic lives. The periods generally applicable are:
• ofﬁ ce equipment, furniture and ﬁ xtures 4 years
• motor vehicles 4 years
• mobile surgeries 4 years
Investments
Investments are included at cost less provision for amounts written off to the proﬁ t and loss account.
Work in progress and long-term contracts
Work in progress is valued on the basis of direct costs plus attributable overheads based on normal levels of activity. Costs associated 
with long-term contracts are included in stock to the extent that they cannot be matched with contract work accounted for as turnover. 
Long-term contract balances included in stocks are stated at cost, after provision has been made for any foreseeable losses and the 
deduction of applicable payments on account. No element of proﬁ t is included in the carrying value of work in progress. Full provision 
is made for losses on all contracts in the year in which the loss is ﬁ rst foreseen.
Deferred taxation
Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date where 
transactions or events have occurred at that date that will result in an obligation to pay more, or a right to pay less tax, with the exception 
that deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that the directors consider that it is more likely than not that there will be 
suitable taxable proﬁ ts from which the future reversal of the underlying timing differences can be deducted.
Deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which timing differences 
reverse, based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
Company principal accounting policies  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 43
Leased assets
Costs in respect of operating leases are charged on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
Financial instruments
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classiﬁ ed according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into.
A ﬁ nancial liability exists where there is a contractual obligation to deliver cash or another ﬁ nancial asset to another entity, or to exchange 
ﬁ nancial assets or ﬁ nancial liabilities under potentially unfavourable conditions. In addition, contracts which result in the entity delivering a 
variable number of its own equity instruments are ﬁ nancial liabilities. Shares containing such obligations are classiﬁ ed as ﬁ nancial liabilities. 
Finance costs and gains or losses relating to ﬁ nancial liabilities are included in the proﬁ t and loss account. The carrying amount of the 
liability is increased by the ﬁ nance cost and reduced by payments made in respect of that liability. Finance costs are calculated so as to 
produce a constant rate of charge on the outstanding liability. 
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities. 
Dividends and distributions relating to equity instruments are debited directly to reserves.
Intangible assets – goodwill
Goodwill, representing the excess of the fair value of consideration given over the fair values of the identiﬁ able net assets acquired, 
is capitalised and amortised on a straight line basis over its estimated useful economic life of four years.
Share-based payments
The company issues share options to its employees. The company has applied the requirements of FRS 20 Share-based Payments. 
FRS 20 has been applied to all grants of equity instruments after 7 November 2002 that were unvested as of 1 May 2006.
The company issues equity-settled share-based payments to employees. Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at fair value 
at the date of grant.
Options and warrants are valued using the basic Hull-White model.
The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled, share-based payments is expensed on a straight-line basis over the 
vesting period, based on the company’s estimate of shares that will eventually vest, updated at each balance sheet date. 44 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the company financial statements
for the year ended 30 April 2009
1 Profit for the financial year
The company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its 
own proﬁ t and loss account in these ﬁ nancial statements. The company’s proﬁ t for the year after tax was £4,358,000 (2008: £3,922,000).
Details of directors’ remuneration and employee costs are set out in note 3 to the Group ﬁ nancial statements and in the remuneration 
committee report.
2 Intangible assets 
Goodwill
       £000
Cost
At 1 May 2008 and at 30 April 2009       425
Amortisation
At 1 May 2008       290
Charged to the year       66
At 30 April 2009       356
Net book value as at 30 April 2009       69
Net book value as at 30 April 2008       135
3 Tangible assets
    Ofﬁ ce
    equipment,    
    furniture Motor Mobile 
    and ﬁ xtures vehicles surgeries Total
    £000 £000 £000 £000
Cost
At 30 April 2008    373 31 305 709
Additions    14 – – 14
Disposal    (2) (10) – (12)
At 30 April 2009    385 21 305 711
    
Depreciation    
At 30 April 2008    122 16 284 422
Charge to the year    89 6 17 112
Disposal    (2) (10) – (12)
At 30 April 2009    209 12 301 522
Net book amount at 30 April 2009    176 9 4 189
Net book amount at 30 April 2008    251 15 21 287  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 45
4 Investments
     Subsidiary
     undertakings  
     and joint Listed 
     ventures Investments Total
     £000 £000 £000
At 1 May 2008      1 1,321 1,322
Acquisition in year (See note 9 in Group accounts)     27,727 – 27,727
Impairment     – (583) (583)
At 30 April 2009     27,728 738 28,466
 Nature of work Class of share capital held Proportion held
Subsidiaries   
Neil Niblett and Associates Limited Architects Ordinary shares of £1 each 100%
Ashley House Clinical Services Limited Management Services Ordinary shares of £1 each 100%
   
Joint Ventures   
Ashley House plc   
AH Scarborough Health Park Limited Property development  Ordinary shares of £1 each 50%
Ashley House Clinical Services Limited   
IPC Plus Limited Management Services Ordinary shares of £1 each 50%
Wilco Plus Limited Management Services Ordinary shares of £1 each 50%
Infracare Group Limited, AHBB ELL Holdings Limited, AHBB LHIL Holdings Limited
Ashley House owns 100% of the “A” shares in these companies, which give operational control. Amber Infrastructure Group Limited 
owns 100% of the “B” shares in these companies which entitles them to protect existing income streams from underlying investments 
and gives them the right to future investment opportunities from the NHS LIFT pipeline of projects. These companies do not trade but 
hold interest in underlying NHS LIFT companies.
 At 30 April 2009 the investment in AH Medical Properties plc had a market value of £738,000 (2007: £1,322,000).
 Nature of work Class of share capital held Proportion held
AH Medical Properties plc Investment Property  Ordinary shares of 0.01p each 6.8%
5 Debtors
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Trade debtors      1,539 3,732
Amounts owed by Group undertakings      1,326 553
Amounts recoverable on contracts      14,160 5,415
Prepayments and other debtors      989 430
      18,014 10,130
Amounts owed by Group undertakings is due greater than one year £1,087,000. 46 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Notes to the company financial statements
continued
6 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
      2009 2008
      £000 £000
Trade creditors      1,296 700
Amounts owed to Group undertakings      643 141
Social security and other taxes      216 500
Corporation tax      1,178 1,223
Other creditors      500 –
Accrued expenses      4,309 3,093
      8,142 5,657
7 Share capital
Detailed disclosure of the company’s share capital, options and warrants is included in note 20 of the consolidated ﬁ nancial statements 
of the Group.
8 Reserves
    Share-based Share  Proﬁ t
    payment premium and loss 
    reserve account account Total
    £000 £000 £000 £000
At 1 May 2008    1,421 8,040 3,355 12,816
Proﬁ t for the year    – – 4,358 4,358
Dividends paid    – – (1,607) (1,607)
Issue of shares    – 23,587 – 23,587
Share-based payment charge    89 – – 89
Transfer between reserves on conversion of warrants    (1,085) – 1,085 –
At 30 April 2009    425 31,627 7,191 39,243
During the year, the company paid a ﬁ nal dividend of 3.7 pence per share for the year ended 30 April 2008, and is proposing a ﬁ nal 
dividend for the year to 30 April 2009 of 4.0 pence per share.
9 Capital commitments
The company did not have any capital commitments at 30 April 2009 or 30 April 2008.
10 Commitments under operating leases
Operating lease payments amounting to £236,000 (2008: £196,000) are due within one year. The leases to which these amounts relate 
expire as follows:
     2009  2008
    Land and  Land and 
    Buildings Other Buildings Other
    £000 £000 £000 £000
In one year or less    21 1 21 2
Between one and ﬁ ve years    145 25 125 12
In ﬁ ve years or more    44 – 36 –
    210 26 182 14 11 Contingent liabilities
The company did not have any contingent liabilities at 30 April 2009 or 30 April 2008.
12 Share-based payments
Details of options and warrants over the company’s shares are set out in note 20 to the Group ﬁ nancial statements.
13 Related party transactions
During the year the company received invoices from directors or their companies totalling £213,000 (2008: £168,000) from Layland 
Walker Limited, a company controlled by B Walker in respect of consultancy services and rent contribution for the London ofﬁ ce. At 
30 April 2009 the balance due to Layland Walker Limited was £nil (2008: £nil). In addition, the company made payments of £205,000 
(2008: £82,000) to Gibson Freake Edge, a partnership of which A Gibson is a partner in respect of consultancy services. At 30 April 2009 
the balance due to Gibson Freake Edge was £12,000 (2008: £11,000).
During the year the company traded with the following joint controlled entities, Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon LIFT in respect of 
construction of £5,162,000 (2008: £568,000) with £480,000 due at 30 April 2009 (2008: £773,000). The following amounts were 
invoiced this year to jointly controlled entities for the ﬁ rst time: Bexley Bromley and Greenwich NHS LIFT £53,000, Brent, Harrow and 
Hillingdon LIFT £89,000 and East London NHS LIFT £272,000 with the following amounts due on 30 April 2009 respectively £28,000, 
£13,000 and £154,000. These amounts were for management services.
 Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 47 48 Ashley House plc Report and accounts 2009
Company information
Company registration number
2563627
 
Registered office
The Priory
Stomp Road
Burnham
Buckinghamshire
SL1 7LW
 
Directors
Sir W Wells Non-executive Chairman
S G Minion  Executive Deputy Chairman
J Holmes Chief Executive
B L Walker Finance Director 
J Arnold-Forster Non-executive Director
J Coghlan Non-executive Director
A Gibson Non-executive Director
Secretary
S Ronaldson
 
Nominated Advisor and Broker
Numis Securities Limited
The London Stock Exchange Building
10 Paternoster square
London EC4M 7LT
 
Bankers
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC
High Street
Slough
Berkshire SL1 1DH
 
Solicitors
Hammonds
2 Park Lane
Leeds LS3 1ES
 
Auditor
Grant Thornton UK LLP
1 Westminster Way
Oxford OX2 0PZ  Report and accounts 2009 Ashley House plc 11
Board of directors
Sir William Wells
 (1)(2)
Non-executive Chairman
Aged 69 – Sir William brings a wealth of experience to 
the board having held numerous positions in both the public 
and private sectors in a career that has spanned more than 40 
years. From 1964 Sir William worked as a Property Consultant 
becoming Partner at Chesterton and Sons in 1966, Managing 
Partner in 1984 and Chairman of the business following 
incorporation in 1991 until his retirement in 1997. His board 
level experience commenced in 1972 and since that time 
he has held positions in many well known organisations. 
Sir William began a parallel career in the public sector in 
1968 as a Governor of the Royal Free Hospital in Grays Inn 
Road and has continued unbroken in the NHS to date, together 
with other posts in health, education and science including: 
Chairman of the NHS Appointments Commission (2001-2007); 
Chairman of the Commercial Advisory Board to the Department 
of Health (2003-2007); Member of the General Council of the 
King’s Fund.
Stephen Minion
Executive Deputy Chairman
Aged 62 – a chartered engineer with a long career in the 
design and development of commercial property. Following the 
award of his BSc degree he initially joined the London Borough 
of Harrow, leaving three years later on gaining Chartered 
Engineer status to join George Wimpey & Co., where he learnt 
his main ‘stock in trade’ as a property developer, leaving in 
1978 to start his own company. In 1991 he founded Ashley 
House with colleagues who have since retired. His specialist 
area of responsibility centres around the overall delivery of 
the company’s core product and the initial development 
of new services.
Jonathan Holmes
Chief Executive
Aged 41 – prior to joining Ashley House in 1998 he followed 
a career in sales and marketing with an emphasis on setting up 
new ventures. In the 1990s he worked in the City for Thomson 
Financial Services and latterly the capital markets and Eurobond 
regulator ISMA. At Ashley House he is responsible to all 
stakeholders, shareholders, employees, clients and trading 
partners, for ensuring the continued commercial success of 
the business.
Bruce Walker
Finance Director
Aged 43 – has a background in property and corporate 
ﬁ nance with Johnson Fry and then Brown Shipley, followed by 
three years as corporate and ﬁ nance director of FairBriar PLC, 
an Ofﬁ cial List quoted company engaged in residential property 
development and serviced apartment ownership and 
management. He joined the board in June 2004 and was 
instrumental in the establishment of AHMP and the growth of 
its portfolio. He is also a Non-executive Director of Old Vic 
Productions plc, an unlisted theatre production company.
Andrew Gibson MBE 
(1)(2)(3)
Non-executive Director
Aged 59 – his ﬁ rst career was as a high-ranking army ofﬁ cer 
specialising in logistics. From there he went on to become one 
of the top performing chief executives within the NHS gaining 
the coveted three-star rating in every year it was published, 
initially as Chief Executive of City Hospitals Sunderland and 
latterly as Chief Executive of Newcastle PCT before stepping 
down at the end of 2005. He now holds a number of posts 
acting as a consultant to both the public and private sectors 
with approximately half of his time spent with Ashley House, 
which he joined in January 2006, where he is helping to lead 
the company’s expansion into Clinical Services.
Jake Arnold-Forster 
(1)
Non-executive Director
Aged 45 – Jake is an independent consultant to and investor 
in a number of companies supplying products and services to 
the NHS. He is the former CEO of Dr Foster Intelligence, a 
commercial provider of healthcare information.
John Coghlan 
(2)(3)
Non-executive Director
Aged 51 – John is Chairman of Inchcape Shipping Services and 
a Chief Executive Ofﬁ cer of DX Group, both private equity-
owned businesses. He is a Director of Yell plc, where he is the 
Chairman of the Audit Committee. John is former Deputy Chief 
Executive and Group Finance Director of Exel plc, where he 
spent eleven years up to the time of its takeover by Deutsche 
Post in 2006. Prior to joining the Board of Exel/Ocean Group 
plc in 1995, he spent seven years with Tomkins plc in various 
ﬁ nancial roles, having joined them after eight years with Arthur 
Andersen, where he qualiﬁ ed as a Chartered Accountant.
(1) Appointments committee
(2) Remuneration Committee
(3) Audit Committee Ashley House is one of the UK’s leading health & social care 
infrastructure companies, with 18 years experience in 
delivering projects efficiently and cost effectively.
Our approach is based on building active partnerships 
with our clients and their communities. These relationships 
are the core of our success and our ability to sustain strong 
value growth for our stakeholders.
This has been a year of strong activity during which we 
have built our pipeline to record levels aided by a significant 
acquisition giving Ashley House a market leading position 
in NHS LIFT.
 
Contents
01 Highlights
02 Strength in depth
04 Delivering on our business model
05 Projects and pipeline
06 Chairman’s statement
08 Chief Executive’s statement
11 Board of directors
12 Report of the directors
14 Consolidated income statement
15 Consolidated balance sheet 
16 Consolidated statement of changes in equity
17 Consolidated cash ﬂ ow statement
18 Principal accounting policies 
24 Notes to the ﬁ nancial statements
37 Remuneration committee report
39 Statement of directors’ responsibilities
40 Report of the independent auditor
41 Company balance sheet
42 Company principal accounting policies
44 Notes to the company ﬁ nancial statements
48 Company information
 
 This report has been printed in the UK. It has been produced with the 
approach to measure and meet environmental standards and improve 
a company’s environmental performance, where the main areas targeted 
for continual reduction arise from the use of solvents, energy consumption 
and waste generation. 
 
This paper is manufactured using a paper that is 75% recycled with the 
remainder being made from environmentally-friendly Elemental Chlorine 
Free (ECF) wood pulp sourced from well-managed sustainable forests. The 
paper is also bio-degradable and recyclable. All inks used are vegetable based. 
 
If you have ﬁ nished reading this report and no longer wish to retain it please 
pass it on to other interested readers, return it to Ashley House plc or dispose 
of it in your recycled paper waste. Thank you.
Designed and produced by The College www.thecollege.uk.com  Ashley House plc
 The Priory
Stomp Road
Burnham
Buckinghamshire
SL1 7LW
Telephone: +44 (0)1628 600340
Fax: +44 (0)1628 600345
 www.ashleyhouseplc.com
Ashley House plc
Reports and 
accounts 2009
A strong foundation 
for continued growth