annual report  accounts 2009 nationwide provides
automotive crash repair 
and accident administration
services principally to the 
uk insurance industry
ifc corporate statement
1 highlights
2 chairman’s statement 
4 chief executive’s report 
6 finance director’s review
8 board of directors
10 directors  advisers
11 directors’ report
13 statement of directors’ responsibilities
14 remuneration report
15 report of the independent auditor
16 consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
17 consolidated statement of financial position
18 company statement of financial position
19 consolidated statement of changes in equity
20 consolidated cash flow statement
21 company cash flow statement
22 notes to the accounts
37 financial calendar
the business is underpinned
by a strong balance sheet
and good cash flow and
looking ahead we are
encouraged by the growth
opportunities available to
nationwide and view long
term prospects positively”
michael marx
chairman highlights
� very creditable performance in challenging 
market conditions
 reduced insurance claims across the industry
 decrease in higher margin light cosmetic 
repair work as consumers deferred spend
� revenue of £1709m 2008 £1793m – 
but significant change in sales mix
� gross profit margin increased to 469 
2008 465
 after strong turnaround in margins in h2 
as benefits of actions implemented in h1 
came through
� profit before tax before nonrecurring items 
£54m 2008 £78m
profit before tax after nonrecurring items 
£51m 2008 £71m
� earnings per share before nonrecurring items
89p 2008 128p
� earnings per share after nonrecurring items 
84p 2008 116p
� strong balance sheet with net cash up 53 at
year end to £83m 2008 £54m
� final dividend of 33p per share recommended
maintaining total for the year at 50p 
2008 50p
� continuing penetration of motor 
insurance marketplace 
 major rsa contract extended and new 
name insurance wins 
� new three year growth plan in place – 
supported by £1m investment in 2010
 build noninsurance work especially in 
retail and fleet markets
 launch of ‘mobile restore’ unit offering light
repairs at customers’ premises
 launch of ‘motorglass’ unit providing 
specialist glass repair skills
 drive further operational efficiencies
� board views prospects positively
with a national network of 71 accident repair
centres located across england scotland and
wales employing over 2300 people it is the
largest dedicated provider of accident repair
services in the uk 
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
1 introduction
trading conditions in 2009 were some of the
toughest the automotive repair industry has seen
in recent times many smaller insurance repairs left
our marketplace as insurance policy excesses rose
consumers tightened spending and the volume of
insurance claims reduced overall i am pleased to
report that the group negotiated these challenges
effectively and after a difficult first half nationwide’s
performance strengthened in the second half as
the management’s prompt actions took effect   
against this backdrop results for the year are very
creditable and demonstrate the strengths of our
industryleading business systems and processes
which have enabled us to manage a volatile work
flow effectively  
nationwide’s financial position continues to be
very strong the group generates good cash
flows has no borrowings and at the year end its
net cash position stood at  £83m substantially
higher than at the same point last year   
we are pleased to recommend the payment of a
final dividend which maintains the total dividend
for the year at last year’s level
financial results
revenues for the year ended 31 december 2009
of £1709m showed a 5 decrease on last year
2008 £1793m this partly reflected the
reduction in insurance claims evident over the
year  more significantly in terms of profitability
the sales mix also changed as consumers
responded to the economic downturn and we saw
a marked drop in smaller cosmetic repair work
which typically offers higher margins  as we
reported at the half year this change in the sales 
mix impacted gross margins in the first half
reducing profitability by some £21m  following
management actions i am pleased to report that
gross margins in the second half of the year
recovered strongly moving from 443 in the first
half to 500 in the second half  this six
percentage point improvement represents a very
strong turnaround and meant that the gross
margin for the year improved to 469 from
465 in 2008 
the statutory profit before tax after nonrecurring
items was £51m against £71m in 2008  of this
£20m decline £13m is attributable to an
increase in the ias19 pension charge which rose
significantly from £209000 in 2008 to £1553m
in 2009 this higher level of charge is likely to be
maintained in 2010 the profit before tax before
nonrecurring items was £54m 2008 £78m and
earnings per share before nonrecurring items
were 89 pence 2008 128 pence
the group continues to generate very strong cash
flows and nationwide’s balance sheet remains
robust with nil borrowings and net cash of £83m
at 31 december 2009 some 53 higher than at
the same point last year 2008 £54m this increase
in the group’s net cash position reflects our focus
on improving working capital management
dividend
the board is pleased to recommend a final
dividend of 33 pence per share 2008 33 pence
per share which maintains the total dividend for
the year at last year’s level of 50 pence per share
2008 50 pence per share subject to
shareholder approval at the annual general 
chairman’s statement
2
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
“results for the
year are very
creditable and
demonstrate the
strengths of our
industryleading
business”
michael marx
chairman meeting on 15 june 2010 the final dividend will
be paid to shareholders on the register at the
close of business on 28 may 2010
trading overview
it was a difficult year the sharp and rapid drop in
smaller repair work was a marked feature in the
first half with consumers avoiding nonessential
insurance repairs the volume of repair jobs also
fell year on year with the work flow harder to
predict than usual on a localised basis while
trading conditions in the second half of the year
did not ease there was a clear improvement in
the group’s profitability as the measures we took
in the first half to protect and restore margins
yielded results    
a large part of the management’s ability to manage
volatile trading conditions successfully derives from
nationwide’s national scale and unrivalled operating
systems which are underpinned by a single it
platform our technology and systems enable us 
to manage our national network of bodyshops 
call centres and mobile repair fleet in an integrated
manner for commercial and competitive advantage
we believe that there is scope to drive further
operational efficiencies throughout the business 
and this remains a focus in 2010 
it is pleasing to report that we were able to grow
our market share over the year expanding our
relationship with rsa and signing new insurance
customers as well as new fleet customers  
our initiative to expand outside the insurance
market into the retail sector where consumers pay
for vehicle repairs rather than insurers continued 
to demonstrate good growth over the year we are
now investing more significantly to develop our
retail sales and as part of this investment we will be
making appointments to our senior management
team and expanding our mobile repair fleet
outlook
we do not expect market conditions in 2010 to
improve materially over last year  however as the
uk’s largest dedicated provider of accident repair
services the group is wellpositioned to trade well
and to execute its planned growth we intend to
invest some £1m in the current financial year over
and above our normal business development
spend to support our expansion plans which
have the objective over the next three years of
broadening nationwide’s customer base and
developing additional income streams alongside
this we will continue to build our insurance
customer business and to leverage further
operational efficiencies
the business is underpinned by a strong balance
sheet and good cash flow and looking ahead 
we are encouraged by the growth opportunities
available to nationwide and view long term
prospects positively
michael marx
chief executive
22 march 2010
chairman’s statement continued
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
3
revenue
£1709m
profit before tax before 
nonrecurring items
£54m
accident repair centres
71 introduction
in a testing year with reduced insurance claims
and a decrease in higher margin lightdamage
repair work i am pleased to report that the
business has performed robustly nationwide
continues to generate high levels of cash and
profits and our dividends are comfortably
supported by earnings  
i am especially encouraged by the recovery in 
the group’s gross margins in the second half of
the year as the actions we took to manage the
downturn delivered the anticipated benefits
managing work flow efficiently through our
bodyshops is important in protecting gross
margins and our it and integrated operations
which include accident management call centres
and a mobile repair fleet alongside our national
network of bodyshops are key to this we aim to
lead our industry in service levels and customer
satisfaction and our focus on internal efficiency
also helps us to do this  
the overall accident repair market is substantial
and according to market analysts generates five
million repair opportunities per year  this equates
to a market spend in excess of £5 billion as our
current market share is modest the opportunity to
increase our market penetration remains exciting
currently our core repair customers are motor
insurers and over the next three years we aim to
broaden our customer base outside the insurance
marketplace targeting consumers as well as fleet
operators at the same time we will continue to
develop our insurance relationships and to
capitalise on operational efficiencies
operations and customer relations
the accident repair market is mature and price
sensitive operating in such markets requires 
a methodical measured approach to both
continuous business improvement and to
acquisitions in 2009 as well as managing the 
downturn our focus was on business
improvement and integrating previously acquired
sites the six sites we acquired in 2008
scunthorpe gravesend redruth bristol kettering
and perth demonstrate the enhanced returns that
can be generated by the nationwide model in
2008 these sites incurred aggregate losses of
£230000 by contrast in 2009 the same sites
cumulatively contributed £273000 to group
profits this process of looking for ‘continuous
improvement in performance’ is a key part of 
our culture and across our network of over 70
bodyshops we see significant scope to continue
to raise performance levels to the benefit of both
customers and the business
our operational team focuses on delivering our
customers  
� quality    � value    � speed    � service
our 2009 customer satisfaction survey which
contacts approximately 17000 customers annually
shows that the overall satisfaction of our customers
has increased to a record 87 from 85 last year
the same customers rated the “quality of the
repair” at 93 reinforcing our confidence that we
deliver in this important area the integrity of our
vehicle repairs is important to all of our customers
and to support this in 2009 we took the decision
to implement where appropriate the industry’s
recently adopted british standards institution
kitemark standard pas 125 this standard allows
us to verify and demonstrate independently the
integrity of our repairs and equipment the quality
of components used and the skill and competence
of our team at the time of writing out of a total
of 637 approved sites in the uk 66 are nationwide
bodyshops representing some 10 of the total
value remains more difficult to quantify  insurance
companies are by nature price sensitive and our
ability to offer value remains a key factor in our
continued success the 2009 account renewals 
chief executive’s report
4
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
“customers rated
the “quality of the
repair” at 93
reinforcing our
confidence that 
we deliver in this
important area”
michael wilmshurst
chief executive and wins suggest that we continue to offer value
and the recently released average repair cost data
confirms that we remain competitive
the speed and the efficiency with which we repair
our customers’ vehicles is important to both car
owners who naturally want their vehicle repaired
and returned speedily and to insurers who can
often mitigate claim costs by rapid settlement and
repair our “cycle time” key to key measures the
time taken to complete a repair from the day we
receive a vehicle on site to the day it is returned to
the customer in 2009 this cycle time increased
marginally from 125 days in 2008 to 127 days
this increase is partially attributable to the slightly
larger types of repair we carried out in the period
but remains an area we can further improve  
we believe that our planned expansion of our
currently small mobile restore operation enabling
offsite repairs at customers’ premises will assist
in the achievement of this objective as will the
planned operational improvements at our sites  
offering a high level of customer service remains
at the heart of our offer and a key focus for us all
the average satisfaction level confirms that we
continue to improve in this area it remains our
objective to be a trusted and reliable provider of
automotive related services whether it be to
insurers fleet operators or retail consumers  
2009 also saw the continued development of our
fast fit offer which provides mots and other “bolt
on” services such as exhausts and tyres currently
fast fit is being offered on a pilot basis at two of
our sites at kettering and leicester the move has
given us significant market knowledge and it
remains a potential area for further expansion
our national network of 71 whollyowned
operational sites linked by a single it platform
offers us unique capability in a highly fragmented
marketplace this industry leading capability 
continues to prove attractive to existing and new
customers as a result 2009 saw the renewal and
expansion of our relationship with rsa as well as
new contracts with equity light commercial
vehicles broker direct newline insurance and bsm
network services
network services provides our national network of
sites with important support key to this support is
its accident management service which captures
new repair business for us and critically also enables
us to deploy repair work across our bodyshops in an
efficient manner our ability to direct work flow into
our national branch network continues to offer us
considerable market advantage
network services also manages our mobile restore
and mobile solutions operations mobile restore
currently operates a small fleet of vans which are
able to complete certain kinds of repair work ‘off
site’ at customers’ premises or other preferred
locations typically this repair work comprises light
cosmetic damage such as scratches dents and
scuffs we have now finalised our three year growth
plans for this business and will be launching a
‘businesstoconsumer offer’ branded as ‘mobile
restore’ in the early summer this business is
targeting in particular the ‘retail’ market which 
we broadly define as those repairs not paid for by
insurers  the retail market is estimated at £540
million and is currently growing partly as a result of
increased excesses passed on by insurers in 2009
our retail sales generated £5 million of revenues and
the major part of this was achieved “onsite” ie at
our bodyshops we are very confident that the
scope for us to increase our penetration of the retail
market through our ‘mobile restore’ operations and
our bodyshop network is significant  
our mobile solutions operations focus on glass
electronic and airconditioning related repairs
which require specialist equipment and skills  
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
5
originally established as a shared resource for
our bodyshops this unit has potential for
growth and we have established a three year
plan for the business as part of our growth
strategy we have refined and enhanced its
offer and in the early summer we will be re
branding and launching it as ‘motorglass’
leading the development of both ‘mobile
restore’ and ’motorglass’ will be steve
thompson one of our executive directors we
will be strengthening our operational team to
support the growth plans of both businesses
looking ahead
nationwide has a sound balance sheet and its
model is highly cash generative
our unique operating platform gives us
considerable advantages in a market in which
we can significantly increase our penetration
in the medium term our objectives are
� to continue to improve our operations 
increasing our ability to offer value service 
quality and speed to the benefit of our 
customers and our shareholders
� to increase our share in the motor insurance 
company repair market and
� to identify and secure additional and for us 
largely new market opportunities in the fleet 
and retail market
we are assuming that the economy will remain
challenging but are confident that the group is
well placed for medium term growth
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
22 march 2010
chief executive’s report continued 6
operating results
overall turnover reduced by 5 from £1793m to
£1709m which was indicative of a reduction in
claims volumes and consumer spending in general
the change in sales mix and resultant decrease in
margin meant that operating profit after non
recurring items fell by 18 to £55m from £67m 
the group reduced its cost base accordingly to
preempt any volume shortfall with a year on year
reduction in distribution and administration costs
of £15m 
profit before tax after nonrecurring items fell 
by 28 to £51m from £71m and earnings per
share has decreased by 28 to 84p
nonrecurring items
during the year the group incurred a number of
nonrecurring items firstly it recovered £171k
against the bad debt it provided for in 2008
secondly the group closed its kidderminster site
and incurred a cost of £187k to exit the site the
year also saw a significant drive to reduce costs
across the group this regrettably meant making
people redundant and £492k was incurred on
redundancy costs finally as stated in note 5 the
group experienced fires at two of its sites a profit
of £200k was recognised on the “disposal” of the
assets at norwich based on expected insurance
proceeds the profit on the “disposal” of the
assets at manchester was not recognised in 2009
as the insurance proceeds were not reasonably
certain it will be recognised in 2010
pension scheme
the group operates a defined benefit and defined
contribution pension scheme the defined benefit
scheme was closed for future accruals on 31st july 
2006 with active members transferred to a new 
defined contribution section of the schemeunder
ias 19 the deficit in the scheme as at 31st
december 2009 was £203m 2008 £165m or
£146m 2008 £119m net of deferred tax the
group has agreed with the trustees to eradicate
the scheme specific funding deficit by making
annual contributions of £26m for approximately
the next 9 years
the group has opted to amortise all actuarial
gains and losses above the corridor 10 of the
greater of assets and liabilities over the future
working lifetime of the active membership a full
actuarial valuation of the defined benefit scheme
was carried out as at 31 december 2008 and was
updated to 31 december 2009 by a qualified
independent actuary
cash flow
the net increase in cash during the year was
£29m 2008 an increase of £02m which
produced a net cash balance at 31st december
2009 of £83m this increase in cash is the result
of excellent working capital management and
credit control accordingly trade receivables
decreased by £65m 
the company continues to invest in new plant
and equipment and in improvements to its sites
£21m 2008 £28m in addition the company
continues to pay a deficit contribution to its pension
fund of £26m 2008 £26m and a dividend of
£22m was paid in 2009 2008 £20m
allthough cash positive the group has a
committed bank facility with the royal bank of
scotland for £8m until 31st december 2010
“the net increase 
in cash during the
year was £29m”
finance director’s review
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
david loftus
finance director trade receivables
the group’s trade receivables of £175m can 
be analysed between the three principal trading
units ncrc the bodyshops network services
the accident management company and 
mobile solutions
ncrc’s trade receivables are principally owed by
insurance companies and debtor days as at 31st
december 2009 were 33 days 2008 38 days
network services customer base includes
insurance customers and fleet operators and
includes debt invoiced by ncrc as well as its
approved repairer network network services
debtor days as at 31st december 2009 were 
31 days 2008 47 days 
both business sectors have made a significant
improvement in their credit control procedures
tax
the effective tax rate is 285 which is slightly
ahead of the company’s effective rate of tax of
28 the group has no income tax losses
available but has capital losses of £41m available 
earnings per share 
the basic earnings per share are 84p 2008 116p 
a reduction of 28 as a result of share options
being granted on 4th july 2006 and the average
market price of £090 the share options are not
included in the dilutive earnings per share calculation
which remains at 84p
dividends 
the board is proposing a final dividend in respect
of the results for the year ended 31 december
2009 of 33p per share 2008 33p per share
making 50p for the year as a whole 2008 50p
subject to approval by shareholders at the annual
general meeting this will be paid on 21 june
2010 to shareholders on the register at the close
of business on 28 may 2010 the annual dividend
is covered 17 times by underlying earnings
key performance indicators
the group reviews certain financial and non
financial key performance indicators on a regular
basis and yearonyear comparisons are included
within the directors’ report despite inflationary
pressure it is very pleasing to report that the gross
profit margin has increased to 469 from 465
in 2008 cycle time is also a key measure of
performance and is measured across the group on
a weekly basis the “key to key” measure ie how
long a car is on site for has deteriorated slightly in
the year from 125 days to 127 days 
measurement of customer satisfaction is also a key
indicator and is measured monthly via a sample of
independent telephone surveys across all customers
this has been increased to a creditable 87 from
85 in 2008
david loftus
finance director
22 march 2010
2008
£67m
2007
£66m
operating profit
2009
£55m
2009 2008
£m £m
ncrc 124 158
network services 38 65
mobile solutions 07 05
other 06 12
175 240
turnover 
2008
£1793m
2007
£1519m
2009
£1709m
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
7
finance director’s review continued michael marx
nonexecutive chairman
aged 62
michael was appointed nonexecutive
chairman in june 2006  he is currently
chief executive of development securities
plc to whose board he was appointed in
1994  michael is a fellow of the institute 
of chartered accountants in england and
wales and a member of the uk listing
authority advisory committee from 2004 to
2007 he was formerly finance director and
commercial director of heron international
plc from 1981 to 1994
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
aged 50
michael has extensive automotive sector
experience with twr hr owen and
european motor holdings at hr owen 
he was head of the luxury division including
rolls royce jaguar ferrari and land rover
he formally joined nationwide in may 2002
having been an active member of the team
that took the company private 
david loftus
finance director fca mba ba hons
aged 48
david joined nationwide in january 2003 
as finance director after qualifying as a
chartered accountant with spicer  pegler
now part of deloitte he spent four years
as an audit manager in 1990 he joined
brunel holdings plc formally bm group plc
as group accountant and in 1995 he was
appointed finance director
board of directors
8
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 stephen thompson
executive director
aged 37
stephen has extensive multisite experience
in the automotive sector he was
operations director with silver shield
windscreens and was also a divisional
director for kwikfit prior to that he was 
a commercial managing director for
phones4u limited part of the caudwell
communications group he joined
nationwide in january 2005 and since then
he has been responsible for developing
network services nationwide limited 
and mobile solutions
christopher mills
nonexecutive director
aged 57
christopher was appointed nonexecutive
director in june 2009 christopher is a
founding director of jo hambro capital
management chief investment officer of
north atlantic value llp and chief executive
of north atlantic smaller companies
investment trust plc before joining jo
hambro capital management limited he
worked for samuel montagu limited
montagu investment management limited
and its successor company invesco mim until
1993 he was a director of invesco mim and
held positions as head of north american
investments and head of north american
venture capital
lady judge
nonexecutive director
aged 63
barbara was appointed nonexecutive
director in june 2006 and is a lawyer 
and international banker she is currently
chairman of the uk atomic energy
authority and the school of oriental 
african studies in addition barbara is
deputy chairman of friends provident plc
she was formerly a commissioner of the us
securities and exchange commission
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
9
board of directors continued directors  advisers
company no
966807 incorporated in england and wales
directors
michael marx
chairman
michael wilmshurst
chief executive 
david loftus 
finance director
stephen thompson
executive director
lady barbara thomas judge 
nonexecutive director
christopher mills 
nonexecutive director
secretary
martin hickmanashby
auditor
grant thornton uk llp
grant thornton house
202 silbury boulevard
central milton keynes mk9 1lw
bankers
the royal bank of scotland plc
280 bishopsgate
london ec2m 4rb
hsbc bank plc
29 king street
leeds ls1 2hl
solicitors
kl gates
110 cannon street
london ec4n 6ar
osborne clarke
2 temple back east
temple quay
bristol bs1 6eg
financial adviser and corporate
stockbroker
arbuthnot securities ltd
20 ropemaker street
london ec2y 4ge
registrars
capita registrars
northern house
woodsome park
fenay bridge
huddersfield
w yorkshire hd8 0ga
registered office
17a thorney leys park
witney
oxfordshire ox28 4ge
website address
wwwnarsplccom
10
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 the directors present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 december 2009
principal activities and review of the business
as noted in the business review within the chief executive’s report and finance director’s review the business of the group is the repair of motor
vehicles and the provision of accident claim management services
the strategy for 2009 was to improve margins within the core business and to introduce new insurance companies to branches where possible
considering the challenging economic climate the directors are pleased with the results for the year which are in line with market expectations 
this strategy will be maintained in 2010 together with a strategy to develop the group’s mobile business and its retail sales opportunities 
principal risks and uncertainties
the directors regularly review principal risks and uncertainties that affect the group these include avoiding the reliance on key customers for work
provision by diversifying contracts and extending the duration of contracts the group has implemented where appropriate the industry’s british
standards institution kitemark standard pas 125 this demonstrates our commitment to ensuring quality repairs
the group’s business continuity has been addressed by adopting a comprehensive disaster recovery program which has been approved by the
directors in the event of a systems failure work can be redirected to an alternative bodyshop
the details of the group’s financial risk management objectives and policies are detailed in note 27 to the financial statements
results and dividends
the group’s sales revenue amounted to £170890000 2008 £179337000 and the profit before taxation amounted to £5057000 2008
£7052000 taxation was a charge of £1440000 2008 charge of £2030000 and the net profit for the year was £3617000 2008 £5022000
the directors are proposing a final dividend in respect of the results for the year ended 31 december 2009 of 33p per share 
subject to approval by shareholders at the annual general meeting this will be paid on 11 june 2010 to shareholders on the register at the close of
business on 28 may 2010
during 2009 the group paid dividends of £2160000 2008 £2030000 to its equity shareholders these comprised a final dividend in respect of 2008
of 33p per share paid in june 2009 £1426000 and an interim dividend in respect of 2009 of 17p per share paid in november 2009 £734000
noncurrent assets
the movement of noncurrent assets is set out in notes 11 12 and 13 to the accounts
directors and their interests
the directors who served during the year and their interests in the shares of the group are shown in the remuneration report on page 14 the group has
taken out directors and officers liability insurance j j brade resigned as a director on 4 june 2009 and was replaced on the same date by c h b mills
corporate governance
the board is committed to the highest principles of corporate governance as a group quoted on aim the group is not required to comply with the
requirements of the combined code
the board consists of three executive and three independent nonexecutive directors who take an active role in board matters and it meets eight times
in every year the board is responsible for maintaining a sound system of internal control to safeguard shareholders’ investment and group assets
the board has appointed an audit committee consisting of the chairman and c h b mills a remuneration committee consisting of the chairman
and c h b mills and a nominations committee consisting of the chairman and lady judge
the audit committee meets regularly with the external auditor and with the executive directors to review the interim and final results key areas of
accounting treatment and risk and control procedures the committee can meet with the external auditor without any of the executive directors
being present
the remuneration committee met in february 2010 and the nominations committee met in march 2009
employment of disabled persons
the group gives full and fair consideration to applications for employment received from disabled persons having regard to their particular aptitudes
and abilities and wherever possible the group continues the employment of and arranges for reasonable adjustments to the working conditions of
employees who become disabled persons while employed by the group disabled employees are treated no differently from any other employees as
regards training career development and promotion opportunities the group operated this policy throughout the year
directors’ report
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
11 directors’ report 
employee involvement
effective employee relations are seen as key drivers in moving the group forward consequently human resources quality health and safety and
training functions need to establish good communications with individual sites and are therefore organised on a divisional basis this structure
enables staff to obtain the help and guidance they may need and keeps them informed of and effectively involved in the development of the
group’s business regular review meetings are held at local divisional and group level to ensure that all employees are kept informed of the group’s
objectives progress towards those objectives is measured and reported back to individual sites
supplier payment policy
the group requires its subsidiaries to negotiate clear and satisfactory arrangements for the payment of suppliers as part of the overall terms and
conditions of the supply and to make payment accordingly group trade creditor days at the end of the year were 54 2008 52 the company trade
creditor days at the end of the year were 312008 29  
share capital
full details of the authorised and issued share capital of the group are set out in note 21 to the accounts
summary of key performance indicators
the directors have monitored the progress of the overall groupcompany strategy and the individual strategic elements by reference to certain
financial and nonfinancial key performance indicators
key performance indicator 2009 2008 method of calculation
turnover £1709m £1793m external turnover excluding value added tax 
gross profit margin  469 465 gross profit margin is the ratio of gross profit to sales 
revenue expressed as a percentage
cycle time key to key 127 days 125 days cycle time measures the days from receipt of the vehicle on
site to return to the customer
csi 87 85 a measure of customer satisfaction derived from the results
of independent telephone surveys
12
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
turnover and gross margin are reviewed by individual bodyshop on a monthly basis in order that the operational team can address work provision or
operating practices respectively cycle times are indicative of vehicle throughput and de minimis targets have been set based on weekly data csi
targets are also specified and monitored in conjunction with the service level agreements specified by insurance companies
auditor
grant thornton uk llp offer themselves for reappointment as auditor
on behalf of the board
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
22 march 2010 the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year under that law the directors have elected to prepare
financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards as adopted by the european union ifrss the financial
statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and parent company and of the profit or loss of the
group for that period in preparing these financial statements the directors are required to
�
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
�
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
�
state whether applicable ifrss have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements and
�
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the
company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the companies act 2006 they are also responsible for safeguarding
the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities
in so far as the directors are aware
�
there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware and
�
the directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that 
the auditor is aware of that information
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company’s website
legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from other legislation in 
other jurisdictions
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
22 march 2010
statement of directors’ responsibilities
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13 remuneration report
remuneration committee
the remuneration committee is chaired by m h marx and includes c h b mills the committee which met in february 2010 reviews and
determines the remuneration package of the executive directors of the group 
the remuneration policy set by the remuneration committee is designed to deliver the group’s objective of increasing shareholder value by
attracting and retaining the most capable and committed people
directors’ and key management’s emoluments audited
the aggregate emoluments of the directors of the company who served during the year and of key management were
2009
total excl pension
salary annual pension contribution 2009 2008
and fees benefits bonus contributions dc scheme total total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
executive directors
m a wilmshurst 334 — — 334 — 334 334
d j loftus 147 14 — 161 11 172 252
s d g thompson 126 21 — 147 10 157 216
nonexecutive directors
m h marx 33 — — 33 — 33 30
lady judge 25 — — 25 — 25 20
j j brade resigned 4609 8 — — 8 — 8 20
c h b mills appointed 4609 17 — — 17 — 17 —
total directors’ emoluments 690 35 — 725 21 746 872
key management’s emoluments 367 43 7 417 12 429 379
total 1057 78 7 1142 33 1175 1251
fees of £323400 are paid to troy solutions limited via a consultancy agreement and are incorporated in the amount shown in respect of
m a wilmshurst in the above table m a wilmshurst is a director of troy solutions limited see note 25
the above disclosure on directors’ emoluments forms part of the financial statements as stated in note 7
key management are those managers involved in the senior operations meeting which is held monthly and discusses both financial and 
operational issues
£169000 of employee compensation expense has been included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for 2009 2008
£240000 relating to share based payments
share options
share options were granted to m a wilmshurst d j loftus and s d g thompson on 4 july 2006 details are given in note 21
none of the directors 2008  nil exercised any share options during the year
directors’ interests
the interests of the directors in the share capital of the company were
ordinary shares
31 december 1 january
2009 2009
executive directors
m a wilmshurst 1351351 1351351
d j loftus 54054 54054
s d g thompson — —
nonexecutive directors
m h marx 30000 30000
lady judge 55348 55348
c h b mills — —
c h b mills is a partner within north atlantic value llp who have a 3188 interest in the share capital of the company this represents a 
shareholding of 13773214 ordinary shares 2008 13773214 shares
14
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 we have audited the financial statements of nationwide accident repair services plc for the year ended 31 december 2009 which comprise the
consolidated statement of comprehensive income the consolidated and parent company statement of financial position the consolidated and parent
company statements of changes in equity the consolidated and parent company cash flow statements and the related notes the financial reporting
framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and international financial reporting standards ifrss as adopted by the
european union and as regards the parent company financial statements as applied in accordance with the provisions of the companies act 2006
this report is made solely to the company’s members as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 our audit
work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an 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 auditor
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 5 the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial
statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with applicable
law and international standards on auditing uk and ireland those standards require us to comply with the auditing practices board’s apb’s ethical
standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the financial statements
a description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided on the apbs website at wwwfrcorgukapbscopeuknp
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
�
the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the groups and of the parent companys affairs as at 31 december 2009 and 
of the groups profit for the year then ended 
�
the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrs as adopted by the european union and
�
the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrs as adopted by the european union and as applied 
in accordance with the provisions of the companies act 2006 
�
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006
opinion on other matter prescribed by the companies act 2006
i
n our opinion the information given in the directors report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with
the financial statements
matters on which we are required to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the companies act 2006 requires us to report to you if in our opinion
�
adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches
not visited by us or
�
the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns or
�
certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made or
�
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit
john corbishley
senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of grant thornton uk llp
statutory auditor chartered accountants
milton keynes
22 march 2010
report of the independent auditor
to the members of nationwide accident repair services plc
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
15 consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
for the year ended 31 december 2009
2009 2008
notes £’000 £’000
revenue 170890 179337
cost of sales 4 90681 95857
gross profit 80209 83480
distribution costs 46647 46933
administrative expenses 27544 28822
share option charge 169 240
operating profit before nonrecurring items 5849 7485
nonrecurring items  administrative costs 5 307 750
operating profit 6 5542 6735
finance income 8 5 325 
finance costs 8 490 8
profit before tax 5057 7052
income tax expense 9 1440 2030
profit for the period 3617 5022
other comprehensive income — —
total comprehensive income for the period 3617 5022
attributable to
equity holders of the parent 3617 5022
earnings per share 
basic 10 84p 116p
diluted 10 84p 115p
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements 
16
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 2009 2008
notes £’000 £’000
assets
noncurrent assets
goodwill 11 7768 7752
property plant and equipment 13 9962 9811
pension and other employee assets 15 8649 7619
26379 25182
current assets
inventories 16 2317 2678
trade and other receivables 17 23460 29500
cash and cash equivalents 19 8269 5395
34046 37573
total assets 60425 62755
liabilities
non current liabilities
longterm provisions 22 86 86
deferred tax liabilities 18 2112 1678
2198 1764
current liabilities
shortterm provisions 22 31 4
trade and other payables 23 29568 33728
current tax liabilities 24 311 568
29910 34300
total liabilities 32108 36064
net assets 28317 26691
equity
equity attributable to the shareholders of the parent
share capital 21 5400 5400
capital redemption reserve 1209 1209
share premium account 11104 11104
revaluation reserve 8 8
retained earnings 10596 8970
total equity 28317 26691
the financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 22 march 2010 
they were signed on its behalf by
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements
company number 966807
consolidated statement of financial position
as at 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
17 2009 2008
company notes £’000 £’000
assets
noncurrent assets
investments in subsidiary undertakings 12 37496 37496
property plant and equipment 13 193 337
pension and other employee assets 15 8649 7619
46338 45452
current assets
trade and other receivables 17 2764 949
cash and cash equivalents 19 11651 10200
14415 11149
total assets 60753 56601
liabilities
noncurrent liabilities
deferred tax liabilities 18 2458 2104
current liabilities
deferred tax liabilities 23 31824 28291
total liabilities 34282 30395
net assets 26471 26206
equity
share capital 21 5400 5400
capital redemption reserve 1209 1209
share premium account 11104 11104
retained earnings 8758 8493
total equity 26471 26206
the financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 22 march 2010 
they were signed on its behalf by
michael wilmshurst
chief executive
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements
company number 966807
company statement of financial position
as at 31 december 2009
18
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2009
capital share
share redemption premium revaluation retained
capital reserve account reserve earnings total
group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
balance at 1 january 2008 5578 1031 11104 8 7426 25147
share buyback 178 178 — — 1688 1688
share option charge — — — — 240 240
dividend paid see note 10 — — — — 2030 2030
transactions with owners 178 178 — — 3478 3478
profit for the year — — — — 5022 5022
other comprehensive income — — — — — —
total comprehensive income for the year — — — — 5022 5022
balance at 31 december 2008 5400 1209 11104 8 8970 26691
share option charge — — — — 169 169
dividend paid see note 10 — — — — 2160 2160
transactions with owners — — — — 1991 1991
profit for the year — — — — 3617 3617
other comprehensive income — — — — — —
total comprehensive income for the year — — — — 3617 3617
balance at 31 december 2009 5400 1209 11104 8 10596 28317
capital share
share redemption premium revaluation retained
capital reserve account reserve earnings total
company £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
balance at 1 january 2008 5578 1031 11104 — 8835 26548
share buyback 178 178 — — 1688 1688
share option charge — — — — 240 240
dividend paid see note 10 — — — — 2030 2030
transactions with owners 178 178 — — 3478 3478
profit for the year — — — — 3136 3136
other comprehensive income — — — — — —
total comprehensive income for the year — — — — 3136 3136
balance at 31 december 2008 5400 1209 11104 — 8493 26206
share option charge — — — — 169 169
dividend paid see note 10 — — — — 2160 2160
transactions with owners — — — — 1991 1991
profit for the year — — — — 2256 2256
other comprehensive income — — — — — —
total comprehensive income for the year — — — — 2256 2256
balance at 31 december 2009 5400 1209 11104 — 8758 26471
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements 
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
19 consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 december 2009
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
operating activities
profit for the year 3617 5022
adjustments to arrive at operating cash flow
net finance costs 5 8
depreciation 1828 2303
profitloss on sale of property plant and equipment incl non recurring items 211 35
taxation recognised in profit or loss 1440 2030
changes in inventories 361 87
changes in trade and other receivables 6040 2955
changes in trade and other payables 4176 6369
changes in provisions 60 —
movement in pension fund asset – ias 19 1553 209
share option scheme charge 169 240
outflow from pension obligations 2582 2555
outflow from provisions 33 49
net cash flow from operating activities 8061 10570
tax paid 1263 1817
6798 8753
investing activities
additions to property plant and equipment 2088 2788
proceeds from the disposal of property plant and equipment 319 273
acquisition of businesses – cost — 2296
1769 4784
financing activities
dividend paid 2160 2030
interest receivedpaid 5 8
purchase of own shares — 1688
2155 3726
net increase in cash and cash equivalents 2874 243
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 5395 5152
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 8269 5395
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements
20
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 2009 2008
£’000 £’000
operating activities
profit for the year 3199 4587
adjustments to arrive at opening cash flow
net finance costs 81 4
depreciation 141 157
lossprofit on sale of property plant and equipment 2 18
changes in trade and other receivables 1856 4590
changes in trade and other payables 3533 1659
movement in pension fund asset – ias 19 1553 209
share option scheme charge 169 240
outflow from pension obligations 2582 2555
outflow from provisions — 18
net cash flow from operating activities 4240 8855
tax paid 548 1373
3692 7482
investing activities
additions to property plant and equipment — 242
proceeds from the disposal of property plant and equipment — 18
interest paid 81 4
81 228
financing activities
dividend paid 2160 2030
purchase of own shares — 1688
2160 3718
net increase in cash and cash equivalents 1451 3536
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 10200 6664 
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 11651 10200
the accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements
company cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
21 notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 december 2009
1 nature of operations
nationwide accident repair services plc and its subsidiaries’ the group principal activity is the provision of support services to the motor insurance
industry currently this includes the repair of motor vehicles in the group’s wholly owned sites and the provision of accident claim management services
the strategy for 2009 was to maintain the profitability of the core business to achieve consistency in margins and to introduce new insurance companies
to branches where possible the integration of newly acquired sites was also paramount considering the challenging economic climate the directors are
comfortable with the results for the year and this strategy will be maintained in 2010 together with a strategy to develop the group’s mobile business
and its retail sales opportunities
the following is a list of the principal subsidiary undertakings of which nationwide accident repair services plc is either directly or through subsidiary
undertakings the beneficial owner of the whole of the equity share capital all companies are engaged in motor trade activities all are incorporated in
england and wales
�
nationwide crash repair centres limited
�
nationwide crash repair centres staff limited
�
network services nationwide limited
�
mobile vehicle repairs limited trading as mobile solutions
�
nationwide fast fit plus limited previously w harold perry limited
2 general information
the consolidated financial statements of the group have been prepared in accordance with the international financial reporting standards ifrs as
adopted by the eu and as developed and published by the international accounting standards board iasb
the measurement basis for individual items has been noted in the accounting policies below
3 summary of accounting policies
basis of preparation
the accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention the accounting policies have remained unchanged from the previous year
except as noted below with regard to ias 1 and ifrs8
it should be noted that accounting estimates and assumptions are used in preparing the financial statements including the carrying amount of
goodwill note 11 and provisions note 22 although these estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions
actual results may ultimately differ from those estimates the following significant judgements have been made in the financial statements 
intangible assets  provisional fair values are placed on all property plant and equipment at the date of acquisition as certain asset values are
required to be estimated no intangible asset arises on acquisition
onerous leases  consideration has been given to the liabilities over the remaining life of  leases in respect of empty properties and the probability of
subletting these properties
bad debts  consideration is given to those amounts which are overdue by more than 120 days and for which no cash has been received after the
year end impairment of those amounts is made where considered necessary
fire claim  the directors have only included the estimated insurance proceeds from the fire claim where they could be reliably measured further
details are provided within note 5 to the financial statements
pension assumptions  the present value of the defined benefit obligation dbo at the balance sheet date and the amounts recognised in the
statement of comprehensive income are determined by an independent actuary based on assumptions detailed in note 15 to the financial
statements
depreciation  in accordance with  ias 16 the group has revised its estimate of the useful economic life of certain items of property plant and
equipment the impact on the financial statements was to reduce the depreciation charge by £545k 2008  nil
the adoption of ias 1 revised 2007 has not affected the financial position or profits of the group but gives rise to additional disclosures ias 1
revised 2007 introduces a “statement of comprehensive income” the group has chosen to prepare a single statement of comprehensive income
which incorporates the income statement and statement of other comprehensive income the adoption of ifrs 8 has changed the segments that are
disclosed in the financial statements under ifrs 8 the accounting policy for identifying segments is now based on the internal management
reporting information that is regularly reviewed at board level consequently the results for the year of network services nationwide and mobile
solutions have been separately identified and have been disclosed in note 4 although the change in accounting policies in adopting ifrs 8 is
retrospective the third balance sheet for the year ended 31 december 2007 has not been presented because the information is unchanged from the
previously published financial statements
the following standards and interpretations have been issued but are not yet effective and have not been early adopted by the group 
 ifrs 9 financial statements effective 1 january 2013 
 ias 24 revised 2009 related party disclosures effective 1 january 2011 
 ias 27 consolidated and separate financial statements revised 2008 effective 1 july 2009 
 amendment to ias 39 financial instruments recognition and measurement – eligible hedged items effective 1 july 2009 
 group cashsettled sharebased payment transactions – amendment to ifrs 2 effective 1 january 2010 
 improvements to ifrss 2009 various effective dates earliest of which is 1 july 2009 but mostly 2010 
 ifrs 3 business combinations revised 2008 effective 1 july 2009 
 ifric 17 distributions of noncash assets to owners effective 1 july 2009 
 ifric 18 transfers of assets from customers effective prospectively for transfers on or after 1 july 2009 
22
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 3 summary of accounting policies continued
basis of preparation continued
 ifric 19 extinguishing financial liabilities with equity instruments effective 1 july 2010 
 prepayments of a minimum funding requirement – amendments to ifric 14 effective 1 january 2011 
 amendments to ifrs 1 additional exemptions for firsttime adopters effective 1 july 2010 
 amendments to ias 32 classification of rights issues effective 1 february 2010 
the standards and interpretations are not expected to have any significant impact on the group’s financial statements in their periods of initial application
as permitted by section 408 of the companies act 2006 an income statement is not presented for nationwide accident repair services plc profit
for the year for nationwide accident repair services plc the company was £2255984 2008 £3136323
going concern
the company’s business activities together with the factors likely to affect its future development performance and position are set out in the
business review on pages 2 to 5 the financial position of the company its cash flows liquidity position and borrowing facilities are described in the
finance director’s review on pages 6 to 7 in addition note 27 to the financial statements includes the company’s objectives policies and processes
for managing its capital its financial risk management objectives details of its financial instruments and its exposures to credit risk and liquidity risk
based on their review of the above and consideration of the long term contracts with some of the main insurance companies and key suppliers 
the directors believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully despite the current uncertain economic outlook the
directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future
thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements
consolidation
subsidiaries are all entities over which the group has power to control the financial and operating policies with a view to obtaining benefits the
consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the parent company as well as those entities controlled by the group by 
full consolidation
in addition acquired subsidiaries and non subsidiary acquisitions are subject to the application of the purchase method this involves the revaluation 
at fair value of all identifiable assets and liabilities including contingent liabilities of the subsidiary at the acquisition date regardless of whether or not
they were recorded in the financial statements of the subsidiary prior to acquisition on initial recognition the assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are
included in the consolidated balance sheet at their fair values which are also used as the bases for subsequent measurement in accordance with group
accounting policies goodwill represents the excess of acquisition cost over the fair value of the group’s share of identifiable net assets of the acquired
subsidiary at the date of acquisition unrealised gains on transactions between the group and its subsidiaries are eliminated and unrealised losses are
eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred amounts reported in the financial statements of
subsidiaries have been adjusted where necessary to ensure consistency with the accounting policies adopted by the group
the results of subsidiary undertakings acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for their respective periods of ownership intercompany trading is eliminated from these accounts where appropriate
income and expense recognition
revenue for nationwide crash repair centres ltd is recognised upon the completion of the service after authority has been given by the customer to
undertake this work network services nationwide limited recognises referral fee income based upon the number of jobs invoiced in a particular
accounting period intragroup sales and value added tax are excluded from the consolidated financial statements operating expenses with the
exception of the ias 19 pension adjustment are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income upon utilisation of the service interest income
and expenditure are reported on an accruals basis
fire claims
gains arising from the receipt of insurance proceeds in excess of asset net book values are only recognised when the insurance proceeds can be
determined with reasonable certainty this is dependent on the site’s planned reopening date
goodwill
goodwill is tested annually for impairment and carried at cost of acquisition over the fair value of the group’s share of identifiable net assets
acquired less accumulated impairment losses
property plant and equipment
all property plant and equipment is recognised at cost
buildings fittings and furniture are carried at acquisition cost less subsequent depreciation and impairment losses
the cost of property plant and equipment is depreciated on a straight line basis taking into account estimated residual values both estimated
residual values and useful economic life are reviewed annually
the useful lives of property plant and equipment can be summarised as follows
land – nil
buildings – 5 to 25 years
plant and equipment – 3 to 10 years
it equipment – 2 to 5 years
land is not depreciated as it has an unlimited useful economic life
on adopting ifrs the group and company have taken advantage of the transitional rule that allows previously revalued fixed assets to be deemed to be
at cost
leases
payments on operating leases are recognised as an expense on a straight line basis over the lease term operating leases are those agreements where
the risk and rewards of ownership are not transferred to the lessee
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
23 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
3 summary of accounting policies continued
impairment testing of goodwill other intangible assets and property plant and equipment
the group’s goodwill and property plant and equipment are subject to impairment testing
for the purpose of assessing impairment assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows cash
generating units as a result some assets are tested individually for impairment and some are tested at cashgenerating unit level goodwill is
allocated to those cashgenerating units that are expected to benefit from synergies of the related business combination and represent the lowest
level within the group at which management controls the related cash flows
individual assets or cashgenerating units that include goodwill are tested for impairment at least annually all other individual assets or cash
generating units are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable
an impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s or cashgenerating unit’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount the
recoverable amount is the higher of fair value reflecting market conditions less costs to sell and value in use based on an internal discounted cash
flow evaluation impairment losses recognised for cashgenerating units to which goodwill has been allocated are credited initially to the carrying
amount of goodwill any remaining impairment loss is charged pro rata to the other assets in the cashgenerating unit with the exception of
goodwill all assets are subsequently reassessed for indications that an impairment loss previously recognised may no longer exist
inventories
inventories comprise materials and direct labour at the balance sheet date inventories are carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value
inventories are valued using the weighted average cost method net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business
less any applicable selling expenses
accounting for income taxes
current income tax assets andor liabilities comprise those obligations to or claims from fiscal authorities relating to the current or prior reporting
period that are unpaid at the balance sheet date they are calculated according to the tax rates and tax laws applicable to the fiscal periods to which
they relate based on the taxable income for the year all changes to current tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in
the statement of comprehensive income
deferred income taxes are calculated using the liability method on temporary differences deferred tax is generally provided on the difference
between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases however deferred tax is not provided on the initial recognition of
goodwill nor on the initial recognition of an asset or liability unless the related transaction is a business combination or affects tax or accounting
profit deferred tax on temporary differences associated with shares in subsidiaries and joint ventures is not provided if reversal of these temporary
differences can be controlled by the group and it is probable that reversal will not occur in the foreseeable future in addition tax losses available to
be carried forward as well as other income tax credits to the group are assessed for recognition as deferred tax assets
deferred tax liabilities are always provided for in full deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be able to be
offset against future taxable income deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated without discounting at tax rates that are expected to apply to
their respective period of realisation provided they are enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date deferred tax is on the annual
share option is recognised as a deferred tax asset on the balance sheet
most changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in the statement of comprehensive income only
changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities that relate to a change in value of assets or liabilities that are charged directly to equity are charged or
credited directly to equity
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand as well as short term highly liquid investments such as money market instruments and
bank deposits
financial assets
trade receivables do not carry any interest and are recognised after initial recognition at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method as
reduced by appropriate allowances for estimated irrecoverable amounts
equity
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 the share capital any transaction costs associated with the issuing of shares are
deducted from share premium net of any related income tax benefits
the revaluation reserve comprises gains and losses due to the revaluation of property plant and equipment
retained earnings include all current and prior period results as disclosed in the statement of comprehensive income
the capital redemption reserve was created on the acquisition by the company of its own shares
share based payments
the group operates two employee share option schemes the fair value at the date at which the share options are granted is recognised in the
statement of comprehensive income on a straight line basis over the vesting period taking into account the number of options that are expected to
vest in valuing the share options the group has utilised the blackscholes option pricing model for tranche 1 of the options and the monte carlo
model for tranche 2 of the options with the weighted average share price being factored into the model the expected life of the options has been
assumed to be three years for tranche 1 and five years for tranche 2 with the options being exercisable between three and ten years the tranche 2
options have market conditions taken into account in the calculation of the fair value at grant date and do not impact the number of awards expected
to vest the model assumptions used are included within note 21 no adjustments are made if the conditions are not met
24
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 3 summary of accounting policies continued
pension obligations and short term employee benefits
pensions to employees are provided through a defined benefit plan as well as a defined contribution plan
a defined benefit plan is a pension plan that defines an amount of pension benefit that an employee will receive on retirement usually dependent
on one or more factors such as age years of service and salary the legal obligation for any benefits from this kind of pension plan remains with the
group even if plan assets for funding the defined benefit plan have been acquired plan assets may include assets specifically designated to a long
term benefit fund as well as qualifying insurance policies
a defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the group pays fixed contributions into an independent entity the group has no legal or
constructive obligation to pay further contributions after payment of the fixed contribution
the assetliability recognised in the balance sheet for defined benefit pension plans is the present value of the defined benefit obligation dbo at the
balance sheet date less the fair value of the plan assets together with adjustments for unrecognised actuarial gains or losses and past service costs
the dbo is calculated annually by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method the present value of the dbo is determined by
discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which
the benefits will be paid and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension liability
actuarial gains and losses are not recognised as an expense unless the total unrecognised gain or loss exceeds 10 of the greater of the obligation
and related plan assets the amount exceeding this 10 is charged or credited to profit or loss over the employees’ expected average remaining
working lives actuarial gains and losses within the 10 corridor are disclosed separately past service costs are recognised immediately in the
statement of comprehensive income unless the changes to the pension plan are conditional on the employees remaining in service for a specified
period of time the vesting period in this case the past service costs are amortised on a straight line basis over the vesting period
the contributions recognised in respect of defined contribution plans are expensed as they fall due liabilities and assets may be recognised if
underpayment or prepayment has occurred and are included in current liabilities or current assets as they are normally of a short term nature
financial liabilities
the group’s financial liabilities include bank loans and overdrafts trade and other payables they are included in balance sheet line item ‘long term
financial liabilities’ and ‘trade and other payables’ 
trade payables are recognised initially at their fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost through the statement of comprehensive
income less settlement payments
dividend distributions to shareholders are included in ‘other short term financial liabilities’ when the dividends are approved by the shareholders’ meeting
other provisions contingent liabilities and contingent assets
other provisions are recognised when present obligations will probably lead to an outflow of economic resources from the group and they can be
estimated reliably timing or amount of the outflow may still be uncertain a present obligation arises from the presence of a legal or constructive
commitment that has resulted from past events provisions are not recognised for future operating losses
provisions are measured at the estimated expenditure required to settle the present obligation based on the most reliable evidence available at the
balance sheet date including the risks and uncertainties associated with the present obligation any reimbursement expected to be received in the
course of settlement of the present obligation is recognised if virtually certain as a separate asset not exceeding the amount of the related provision
where there are a number of similar obligations the likelihood that an outflow will be required in settlement is determined by considering the class
of obligations as a whole in addition long term provisions are discounted to their present values where time value of money is material
all provisions are reviewed at each balance sheet date and adjusted to reflect the current best estimate
in those cases where the possible outflow of economic resource as a result of present obligations is considered improbable or remote or the amount
to be provided for cannot be measured reliably no liability is recognised in the consolidated balance sheet unless assumed in the course of a
business combination these contingent liabilities are recognised in the course of the allocation of purchase price to the assets and liabilities acquired
in the business combination they are subsequently measured at the higher amount of a comparable provision as described above and the amount
initially recognised less any amortisation
probable inflows of economic benefits to the group that do not yet meet the recognition criteria of an asset are considered contingent assets
investment in subsidiaries
investments are valued at cost less any impairment and after deducting any dividends paid out of preacquisition profits
4 segment analysis
the group operates three main business segments nationwide crash repair centres ncrc network services and mobile solutions which
incorporates mobile restore the former is the core business and comprises a dedicated network of repair centres across england scotland and
wales network services provides accident administration services to insurance companies and fleet operators in the main deploying work to
nationwide crash repair centres limited while mobile solutions provides glass air conditioning and autoelectronic services to the automotive
industry mobile restore provides minor cosmetic repairs at the customers’ premises the income and costs of the holding company are shown within
ncrc which acts as the support function for the nationwide crash repair centres bodyshops
the revenues and net result generated by the three business segments are summarised as follows
network  mobile 
ncrc services solutions total
year to 31 december 2009 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
revenue from external customers 152809 15855 2226 170890
intersegment revenues — 20095 1299 21394
profit before tax 4950 52 55 5057
total assets 52992 6223 1210 60425
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
25 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
4 segment analysis continued
the revenues and net result generated by the three business segments are summarised as follows continued
network  mobile 
ncrc services solutions total
year to 31 december 2008 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
revenue from external customers 158734 19537 1066 179337
intersegment revenues — 20346 1936 22282
profit before tax 6857 132 327 7052
total assets 48646 13288 821 62755
major customers
during the year there were three customers 2008three who each accounted for more than 10 of the group’s revenues as follows all are included
within nationwide crash repair centres limited
2009 2008
sales £’000  of total sales £’000  of total
customer 1 34224 200 39064 218
customer 2 28602 167 18423 103
customer 3 21118 124 25007 139
83944 491 82494 460
as the group operates in a single geographical market the united kingdom no secondary segmentation is provided
5 non recurring item  administrative costs
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
bad debt provision for debtor in administration — 750
amounts recovered against above 2008 bad debt 171 —
profit on norwich assets destroyed in fire 200 —
kidderminster closure costs 186 —
redundancy costs 492 —
307 750
during the year the company suffered two fires at its sites in manchester august 09 and norwich september 09 the group’s insurers have
accepted liability for the respective claims which cover the loss of assets and business interruption lost profits
included within trade and other receivables as at 31 december 2009 is an amount of £1336k which relates to amounts claimed under the policy
this is after taking into account an interim payment from the insurers of £675k that was received in december 2009
the norwich site is planned to reopen in april 2010 and since the insurance proceeds could be reliably measured a profit of £200k has been
recognised the profit has arisen as the insurance proceeds of £300k are in settlement of fixed assets with a net book value of £100k the gain on
the manchester site could not be reliably measured as the site is not expected to be operational until july 2010 and insurance recoveries were not
reasonably certain
6 operating profit
operating result is stated after chargingcrediting
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
depreciation 1828 2303
operating lease rentals
land and buildings 7098 6192
courtesy cars 5513 5616
plant and machinery 186 178
auditor’s remuneration
audit services 5 5
non audit services   
audit of subsidiary companies pursuant to legislation 90 107
other services relating to tax and ifrs assistance 9 —
lossprofit on disposal of property plant and equipment 11 11
bad debt expense 123 132
26
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 7 employee remuneration
the aggregate payroll costs of the group’s employees are analysed as follows
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
wages and salaries 49237 51589
social security costs 4871 5126
other pension costs contributions paid 2867 2857
56429 59572
the amount of pension contributions paid to defined contribution scheme 285 302
the average number of employees during the year was made up as follows
number number
motor accident repair operations 2182 2319
accident claim management operations 107 122
central and other 22 18
2311 2459
the remuneration of the directors and key management is disclosed in the remuneration report of the directors’ and key management’s
emoluments on page 14
8 finance income and finance costs
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
finance income
interest receivable on bank balances 5 —
pension credit see note 15 
interest on obligation — 3911
expected return on assets — 4236
5 325
finance costs
interest payable on bank balances — 8
pension costs see note 15
interest on obligation 3842 —
expected return on assets 3352 —
490 8
9 tax expense
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
current tax
united kingdom corporation tax at 28 2008 285 1007 1418
adjustments in respect of prior years 1 64
1006 1354
deferred tax
movement relating to pension asset ias 19 288 657
temporary differences origination and reversal 193 86
on share options 47 67
1440 2030
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
27 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
9 tax expense continued
the tax assessed for the period is higher 2008 higher than the effective rate of corporation tax in the uk of 28 2008 285 the differences
are explained as follows
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
profit for the year before tax 5057 7052
profit on ordinary activities before tax multiplied by effective rate of uk corporation tax of 28 2008 285 1416 2010
effect of adjustments in respect of prior years — 10
deferred tax provided at 28 — 13
capital item covered by capital losses brought forward 75 32
items not deductible for tax purposes 22 52
depreciation in excess of capital allowances 77 23
total tax charge for the year 1440 2030
10 earnings per share and dividends
basic earnings per share
basic earnings per share has been calculated using the net results attributable to the shareholders of the company of £3617000 2008 £5022000
the weighted average number of outstanding shares used for basic earnings per share amounted to 43197220 2008 43264023
diluted earnings per share
diluted earnings per share has been calculated using the net results attributable to the shareholders of the company of £3617000  2008 £5022000
the weighted average number of outstanding shares used for diluted earnings per share amounted to 43197220 2008 43672070 and assumes that
none of the share options detailed in note 21 would be exercised given the average market price of £090
in the current year due to the average market price of £090 the share options are not included in the dilutive earnings per share calculation in 2008
the average market price was £123 and on this basis the dilutive effect on weighted average shares at this price was 408047   
underlying earnings per share
the underlying earnings per share has been calculated as follows   
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
profit before tax as stated 5057 7052
non recurring item 307 750
5364 7802
tax expense as stated 1440 2030
tax effect on non recurring item 86 214
3838 5558
adjusted earnings per share 89p 128p
dividends
during 2009 the company paid dividends of £2160000 2008 £2030000 to its equity shareholders 
these comprised
– a final dividend in respect of 2008 of 33p per share paid in june 2009 £1426000 and
– an interim dividend in respect of 2009 of 17p per share paid in november 2009 £734000
the board is proposing a final dividend in respect of the results for the year ended 31 december 2009 of 33p per share
28
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
11 goodwill
group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
cost or valuation
1 january 7812 7098
reassessment of previous goodwill 16 21
additions — 735
31 december 7828 7812
accumulated impairment
1 january and 31 december 60 60
net book value at 31 december 7768 7752
net book value comprises
business of gemini accident repair centres acquired in july 2005 4648 4648
business of aquilo motor services acquired in december 2006 1481 1481
businesses acquired in 2007 888 888
businesses acquired in 2008 751 735
7768 7752
during the year an adjustment of £16000 was made to increase the goodwill of the perth acquisition by £11000 and the redruth acquisition by
£5000 this related to further costs of acquisition which were known but not quantifiable at that 31 december 2008
all the above acquisitions are acquisitions on behalf of nationwide crash repair centres limited with the exception of aquilo motor services which
was on behalf of network services nationwide limited
business of gemini accident repair centres
the carrying amount of goodwill is allocated to the cashgenerating units acquired the recoverable amounts for the cashgenerating units
determined above are based on value in use calculations covering a detailed one year forecast followed by an extrapolation of expected cash flows
using a 25 growth rate these cash flows were extrapolated over ten years and discounted using a rate of 5 a ten year period has been chosen
because management’s experience and knowledge of the business indicates that equivalent sites have a useful economic life in excess of ten years
management’s key assumptions for these cashgenerating units include stable profit margins and resulting cash flows which have been determined
based on past experience in this market the group is not currently aware of any reasonable possible changes which would necessitate changes in its
key assumptions 
business of aquilo motor services
the carrying amount of goodwill is allocated to the cashgenerating units acquired the recoverable amounts for the cashgenerating units
determined above are based on value in use calculations covering a detailed one year forecast followed by an extrapolation of expected cash flows
using a 25 growth rate these cash flows were extrapolated over five years and discounted using a rate of 5 a five year period has been
chosen because management’s experience and knowledge of the business indicates that equivalent business have a useful economic life in excess of
five years management’s key assumptions for these cashgenerating units include stable profit margins and resulting cash flows which have been
determined based on past experience in this market the group is not currently aware of any probable changes which would necessitate changes in
its key assumptions
businesses acquired in 2008
during 2008 five businesses were acquired scunthorpe and gravesend february 08 redruth april 08 kettering october 08 and perth
november 08the recoverable amounts for the cashgenerating units determined above are based on value in use calculations covering a detailed
one year forecast followed by an extrapolation of expected cash flows using a 25 growth rate these cash flows were extrapolated over ten years
and discounted using a rate of 5 a ten year period has been chosen because management’s experience and knowledge of the business indicates
that equivalent sites have a useful economic life in excess of ten years management’s key assumptions for these cashgenerating units include stable
profit margins and resulting cash flows which have been determined based on past experience in this market 
businesses acquired in 2007
during 2007 the trade and assets of four bodyshop businesses were acquired in llandudno january 07 lincoln march 07 matlock october 07
and hull november 07 the recoverable amounts for the cashgenerating units determined above are based on value in use calculations covering a
detailed one year forecast followed by an extrapolation of expected cash flows using a 25 growth rate these cash flows were extrapolated over
ten years and discounted using a rate of 5 a ten year period has been chosen because management’s experience and knowledge of the business
indicates that equivalent sites have a useful economic life in excess of ten years management’s key assumptions for these cashgenerating units
include stable profit margins and resulting cash flows which have been determined based on past experience in this market 
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
29 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
12 investments in subsidiary undertakings
company
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
cost or valuation
1 january 37506 39506
disposals — — 
31 december 37506 37506
accumulated provisions
1 january 10 10
on disposals — —
31 december 10 10
net book value at 31 december 37496 37496
the significant investments comprise the following entities which are consolidated within the group financial statements
subsidiary country of residence proportion of shares held
nationwide crash repair centres limited england and wales 100
nationwide crash repair centres staff limited england and wales 100
network services nationwide limited england and wales 100
mobile vehicle repairs limited england and wales 100
nationwide fast fit plus limited england and wales 100
all shareholdings are classified as direct
13 property plant and equipment
asset plant
in the course equipment and
land buildingsof construction computers total
group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
cost
1 january 2009 248 5725 — 22570 28543
additions — 646604 838 2088
disposals —  234 —  735 969
31 december 2009 248 6137 604 22673 29662
accumulated depreciation
1 january 2009 — 2009 — 16723 18732
disposals — 181— 679860
charge for the year — 360 — 1468 1828
31 december 2009 — 2188 — 17512 19700
net book value at 31 december 2009 248 3949 604 5161 9962
cost
1 january 2008 248 4853 — 20537 25638
acquisitions —564—9701534
additions —308—24802788
disposals ———14171417
31 december 2008 248 5725 — 22570 28543
accumulated depreciation
1 january 2008 — 1705 — 15833 17538
disposals ———11091109
charge for the year — 304 — 1999 2303
31 december 2008 — 2009 — 16723 18732
net book value at 31 december 2008 248 3716 — 5847 9811
the net book value of land and buildings comprises short
leasehold
total freehold improvements
£’000 £’000 £’000
group as at 31 december 2009 3701 248 3949
group as at 31 december 2008 3964 248 3716
the assets in the course of construction relate to £604127 to acquire the “fnol” system for network services nationwide limited
30
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 13 property plant and equipment continued
motor vehicles
2009 2008
company £’000 £’000
cost
1 january 639 516
additions — 242
disposals 22 119
31 december 617 639
accumulated provisions
1 january 302 264
change for the year 142 157
on disposals 20 119
31 december 424 302
net book value at 31 december 193 337
14 leases
the total of future minimum lease commitments in respect of noncancellable operating leases as at 31 december are as follows
2008
2009 restated
group £’000 £’000
land and buildings leases expiring
within one year 6117 5850
two – five years inclusive 22986 21693
more than five years 29312 32738
58415 60281
other leases expiring
within one year 3381 2361
two – five years inclusive 1072 306
more than five years — —
4453 2667
the total of future minimum sublease payments expected to be received under noncancellable subleases at the balance sheet date is £1207000
2008 £1100000
2008
2009 restated
company £’000 £’000
land and buildings leases payments falling due
within one year 39 31
two – five years inclusive 158 197
197 228
other leases payments falling due
within one year 5 5
two  five years inclusive 10 15
15 20
the operating lease commitments have been restated to recognize lease payments as they fall due
15 pension and other employee assetsobligations
the group operates a defined benefit scheme and a defined contribution pension scheme in the uk which offers both pensions in retirement and death
benefits to members since 1 january 2002 the defined benefit scheme has been closed to new members  the assets of the schemes are administered by
trustees independent of the group the company made contributions of £2583000 2008 £2555000 to the defined benefit scheme during the year
the defined benefit scheme was closed for future accruals on 31 july 2006 with active members transferred to a new defined contribution section of the
scheme in 2010 the company agreed with the trustees of the pension scheme to make annual contributions of  £26 million and the contribution is
expected to be £26 million in the year to 31 december 2010 this was agreed with a view to eradicating the scheme specific funding deficit over a
period of approximately nine years
the group has opted to amortise all actuarial gains and losses above the corridor 10 of the greater of assets and liabilities over the future working
lifetime of the active membership
a full actuarial valuation of the defined benefit scheme was carried out as at 31 december 2008 and was updated to 31 december 2009 by a qualified
independent actuary
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
31 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
15 pension and other employee assetsobligations continued
2009 2008 2007 2006
ias 19    
the major assumptions used by the actuary were in nominal terms
rate of increase in salaries na na na na
rate of increase in pensions – accrued pre 5 april 1997 30 30 30 30
rate of increase in pensions – accrued post 5 april 1997 350 270 315 285
discount rate 60 65 61 54
inflation assumption 350 270 315 285 
the assumptions used in determining the overall expected return of the scheme have been set with reference to yields available on government bonds and
appropriate risk margins the pre and post retirement mortality assumptions use the a92 and pa92 tables respectively the 1992 series of mortality tables
were published by the continuous mortality investigation bureau and are based on mortality data from life assurance companies over the years 1991 to
1994 inclusive the “a92” tables are based on the mortality experience of life assurance policyholders the “pa92” tables are based on the mortality
experience of pension annuity policyholders
the assets in the scheme and the expected rate of return were
2009 2008 2007 2006
long long long long
term rate term rate term rate term rate
of return value of return value of return value of return value
expected £’000 expected £’000 expected £’000 expected £’000
equities 92 33940 96 26575 85 37044 81 34525
bonds 52 12776 52 9668 53 9664 48 9341
property 92 4212 96 4378 85 6055 81 6400
other 42 2012 42 3047 43 1970 33 94
total market value of assets 52940 43668 54733 50360
present value of defined  
obligations funded plans 73195 60131 65040 70928
present value of 
unfunded obligations 20255 16463 10307 20568
unrecognised actuarial losses 28904 24082 15580 2443
net asset in balance sheet 8649 7619 5273 3867
actual return on assets in period 8752 11783 3540 4719
the overall expected rates of return were determined by the directors of the group with the advice of their actuarial advisers the expected return 
available on equities has been taken as the dividend yield on the ftse actuaries all share index plus real dividend growth of 21 plus price inflation
reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the present value of the defined benefit obligations
2009 2008 2007 2006
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
benefit obligation at beginning of year 60131 65040 70928 65552
service cost — — — 613
interest cost 3842 3911 3786 3262
contributions by scheme members — — — 212
actuarial gainloss 11284 6983 8042 3351
curtailments and settlements — — — 611
benefits paid 2062 1837 1632 1451
balance at end of year 73195 60131 65040 70928
reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the fair value of plan assets
2009 2008 2007 2006
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
fair value of scheme assets at beginning of year 43668 54733 50360 44519
expected return on scheme assets 3352 4236 3747 3248
actuarial gainloss 5400 16019 207 972
contributions by employers 2582 2555 2465 2860
contributions by scheme members — — — 212
benefits paid 2062 1837 1632 1451
asset at end of year 52940 43668 54733 50360
32
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 15 pension and other employee assetsobligations continued
the amounts recognised in the statement of comprehensive income are
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
current service cost — —
interest on obligation 3842 3911 
expected return on assets 3352 4236 
curtailments and settlements — —
actuarial loss recognised in year 1063 534 
1553 209 
charged to
administration expenses 1063 534
finance income — 325
finance costs 490 —
1553 209 
history of scheme assets obligations and experience adjustments
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
present value of defined benefit obligations 73195 60131 65040 70928 65552
fair value of scheme assets 52940 43668 54733 50360 44519
deficit in scheme 20255 16463 10307 20568 21033
experience adjustments arising on scheme liabilities 11285 6983 8042 3351 323
experience item as a  of scheme liabilities 15 12 12 5 0
experience adjustments arising on scheme assets 5400 16019 207 972 3113
experience item as a  of scheme assets 10 37 0 2 7
16 inventories
group
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
consumables 2317 2678
in 2009 total purchases of £42690000 of inventories were included in the statement of comprehensive income as an expense 2008 £47161000 
there were no write downs of inventories 2008 £nil
17 trade and other receivables
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
trade receivables 327 209 17457 24000 
provision for credit losses — — 226 921
current tax receivable 106 147 — —
taxes and social security costs 1004 — — —
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings 233 418 — —
prepayments and accrued income 1094 175  6229 6421
2764 949 23460 29500 
the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair values
financial assets can be analysed as follows
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
within terms 253 558 14476 18528
overdue by 30 days 23 10 1723 2342
overdue by 60 days 23 — 561 1587
overdue by 90 days 10 59 239 577
overdue by more than120 days 18 — 458 966
327 627 17457 24000
management considers that the value of debts within terms are not impaired 2008  £737k
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
33 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
17 trade and other receivables continued
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
impaired receivables £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
within terms — — — 737
overdue by 30 days — — — 5
overdue by 60 days — — — 3
overdue by 90 days — — — 5
overdue by more than120 days — — 226 171
— — 226 921
2009 2008 2009 2008
net gainloss on receivables  £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
movement on bad debt provision — — 695 776
receivables written off — — 286 106
net gainloss on receivables — — 409 882
the basis for identifying impaired receivables is to consider those amounts which are overdue by more than 120 days and for which no cash has
been received after the year end past history has indicated that this policy is reasonable
18 deferred tax assets and liabilities
2009 2008
group £’000 £’000
accelerated capital allowances 403 472
pension fund asset 2422 2133
goodwill 275 166
short term temporary differences 182 149
liability 2112 1678
balance brought forward 1678 1002
charge for the year 434 676
balance carried forward 2112 1678
company
accelerated capital allowances 58 29 
pension fund asset 2422 2133 
short term temporary differences 94 —
liability 2458 2104 
the group and company have capital losses available to be carried forward and offset against future capital gains of £41m 2008 £41m for which
no deferred tax asset has been recognised
19 cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand as well as short term highly liquid investments such as money market instruments and
bank deposits money market instruments are financial assets carried at fair value the company has a committed facility of £8m with the royal
bank of scotland plc until december 2010 any borrowings under this facility are guaranteed by a fixed charge on book debts under this facility the
company has given an unlimited guarantee for the borrowings of its trading subsidiaries
20 financial instruments
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
financial assets
trade receivables 327 209 17457 24000
cash and cash equivalents 11651 10200 8269 5395
11978 10409 25726 29395
financial liabilities
trade liabilitiess 433 1413 17866 18898
34
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 21 equity
share capital
2009 2008
shares £’000 shares £’000
authorised
ordinary shares of 125p 2007 125p each 64000000 800064000000 8000
issued and fully paid
ordinary shares of 125p 2007 125p each 43197220 5400 44197220 5400
of the 20802780 shares authorised but not issued 4262861 are reserved for issue in respect of the share options
share options
number exercise exercise
of shares price period
m a wilmshurst approved 25751 £1165 2009–16
unapproved 2217860 £111 2009–16
d j loftus approved 25751 £1165 2009–16
unapproved 1096055 £111 2009–16
s d g thompson approved 25751 £1165 2009–16
unapproved 871693 £111 2009–16
4262861
all the above options were issued on 4 july 2006 and no additional share options have been granted since this date
in total £169000 of employee compensation expense has been included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for 2009 2008
£240000 the corresponding credit is taken to shareholders’ funds no liabilities were recognised due to share based transactions
each director has been granted two transfers of options the first tranche is not subject to any vesting conditions and the second tranche is subject
to achievement of a total shareholder return performance condition under both tranches vested options can be exercised at any time between the
third and tenth anniversary of the date of the grant
the accounting policy for share based payments is included within note 3 and the following have been factored into the model
exercise prices of £111 and £1165 expected volatility of 25 dividend yield of 300 equivalent risk free rate of return being the rate of return
on zerocoupon government bonds with a term equal to the expected life assumptions
the company’s assumptions regarding the volatility of its shares have been based on a review of market and competitors’ volatility
the group’s objectives when managing capital are
i to safeguard the entitys ability to continue as a going concern so that it can continue to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for 
other stakeholders and 
ii to provide an adequate return to shareholders by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk
the group sets the amount of capital in proportion to risk the group manages the capital structure and makes adjustments to it in the light of 
changes in economic conditions and the risk characteristics of the underlying assets in order to maintain or adjust the capital structure the group
may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders return capital to shareholders issue new shares or sell assets to reduce debt
22 provisions
onerous lease costs
group
£’000
at 1 january 2009 90
charged to the statement of comprehensive income to administrative expenses    60
utilised 33
at 31 december 2009 117
current liability 31
noncurrent liability 86
117
the group vacated a number of properties over the last six years for which there is an ongoing liability in respect of leases and other costs 
the potential cost of these onerous contracts has been provided in the accounts due consideration has been given to the likelihood of subletting
these properties the potential outflows of which will occur in the period to december 2018
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
35 notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
23 trade and other payables
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
trade payables 433 1413 17866 23140
amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings 27020 24212 — —
taxes and social security costs 188 218  3081 3604 
accruals 4183 2448  8621 6984 
31824 28291  29568 33728 
the directors consider that the carrying amount of financial liabilities approximates to their fair values
24 current tax liabilities
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
current tax liabilities — — 311 568
25 related party transactions
group
the group paid £323400 to troy solutions limited in the year for management and consultancy services 2008 £323400 this amount is included within
directors’ remuneration as it relates to the amounts payable under a consultancy agreement dated 29 june 2007 m a wilmshurst is a director of troy
solutions limited  in addition the group paid troy solutions limited £235914 2008 £295653 in relation to the provision of office facilities customer
satisfaction surveys and training services the amount outstanding at the year end was £nil 2008 £34350 the outstanding amount in 2008 was payable
within 30 days of the invoice date in cash
company
the company paid £323400 to troy solutions limited in the year for management and consultancy services 2008 £323400 this amount is included
within directors’ remuneration as it relates to the amounts payable under a consultancy agreement dated 29 june 2007 m a wilmshurst is a director of
troy solutions limited  in addition the company paid troy solutions limited £235914 2008 £295653 in relation to the provision of office facilities
customer satisfaction surveys and training services the amount outstanding at the year end was £nil 2008 £34350 the outstanding amount in 2008
was payable within 30 days of the invoice date in cash
balances with subsidiaries
balance balance
as at as at
31 december 31 december
2009 2008
£’000 £’000
nationwide crash repair centres limited 2885 346
network services nationwide limited 838 778
mobile vehicle repairs limited — 27
nationwide fast fit plus limited 247 2362
other nontrading subsidiaries 22817 21027
26787 23794
during the year the company recharged various costs incurred to its subsidiaries including a £30m management charge to nationwide crash repair
centres limited 2008  £30m the above balances are all repayable on demand the company was also charged interest of £246575 2008
£840000 on an intercompany loan with a subsidiary nationwide fast fit plus limited the interest was calculated using the average base rate plus
1 throughout the year
c h b mills is a partner within north atlantic value llp who have a 3188 interest in the share capital of the company this represents a
shareholding of 13773214 ordinary shares 2008 13773214 shares
26 contingent assets and contingent liabilities 
various warranty and legal claims were brought against the group and the company during the year where these claims are not quantifiable no
provision is made in the accounts at the balance sheet date management’s assessment of the value of contingent assets and liabilities was £nil for
both the group and the company
36
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009 27 risk management objectives and policies
group and company
the group and company is exposed to a variety of financial risks which result from both its operating and investing activities the group and company’s risk
management is coordinated at its headquarters and is regularly discussed by the board of directors the group and company does not engage in the trading
of financial assets nor does it write options the most significant financial risks to which the group and company is exposed to are described below
i credit risk
the group and company’s trade and other receivables are monitored actively to avoid significant concentrations of credit risk the group varies its
credit terms with new customers in order to reduce this risk see note 17
ii cash flow and interest rate risks
the group and company is in a cash positive situation and currently earns between 025 and 05 interest on its deposits this interest earned is
dependent on bank rates and is not fixed other than this the group and company is not exposed to interest rate risk on its financial assets and
financial liabilities
the royal bank of scotland overdraft rate is only payable when the facility is utilised the interest rate is dependent upon the bank base rate and is
not fixed
iii market risk
the group and company hedge market risk by avoiding reliance on a few key customers in addition the group and company operate within a
vertical market with the ability to influence a significant number of market sectors
28 capital management
the group’s primary objective is to ensure its continued ability to provide a consistent return for its equity shareholders through a combination of
capital growth and through the payment of annual dividends
the group has no debt
company group
2009 2008 2009 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
cash and cash equivalents 11651 10200 8269 5395
share capital 5400 5400 5400 5400
capital redemption reserve 1209 1209 1209 1209
share premium 11104 11104 11104 11104
revaluation reserve — — 8 8
retained earnings 8758 8493 10596 8970
26471 26206 28317 26691
preliminary announcement 22 march 2010
annual report publication due 26 april 2010
annual general meeting 15 june 2010
2009 interim announcement september 2010
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2009
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
37
financial calendar nationwide accident repair services plc
17a thorney leys park
witney
oxfordshire ox28 4ge
wwwnarsplccom


Summary:
 introduction
trading conditions in 2009 were some of the
toughest the automotive repair industry has seen
in recent times many smaller insurance repairs left
our marketplace as insurance policy excesses rose
consumers tightened spending and the volume of
insurance claims reduced overall i am pleased to
report that the group negotiated these challenges
effectively and after a difficult first half nationwide’s
performance strengthened in the second half as
the management’s prompt actions took effect   
against this backdrop results for the year are very
creditable and demonstrate the strengths of our
industryleading business systems and processes
which have enabled us to manage a volatile work
flow effectively  
nationwide’s financial position continues to be
very strong the group generates good cash
flows has no borrowings and at the year end its
net cash position stood at  £83m substantially
higher than at the same point last year   
we are pleased to recommend the payment of a
final dividend which maintains the total dividend
for the year at last year’s level
financial results
revenues for the year ended 31 december 2009
of £1709m showed a 5 decrease on last year
2008 £1793m this partly reflected the
reduction in insurance claims evident over the
year  more significantly in terms of profitability
the sales mix also changed as consumers
responded to the economic downturn and we saw
a marked drop in smaller cosmetic repair work
which typically offers higher margins  as we
reported at the half year this change in the sales 
mix impacted gross margins in the first half
reducing profitability by some £21m  following
management actions i am pleased to report that
gross margins in the second half of the year
recovered strongly moving from 443 in the first
half to 500 in the second half  this six
percentage point improvement represents a very
strong turnaround and meant that the gross
margin for the year improved to 469 from
465 in 2008 
the statutory profit before tax after nonrecurring
items was £51m against £71m in 2008  of this
£20m decline £13m is attributable to an
increase in the ias19 pension charge which rose
significantly from £209000 in 2008 to £1553m
in 2009 this higher level of charge is likely to be
maintained in 2010 the profit before tax before
nonrecurring items was £54m 2008 £78m and
earnings per share before nonrecurring items
were 89 pence 2008 128 pence
the group continues to generate very strong cash
flows and nationwide’s balance sheet remains
robust with nil borrowings and net cash of £83m
at 31 december 2009 some 53 higher than at
the same point last year 2008 £54m this increase
in the group’s net cash position reflects our focus
on improving working capital management
dividend
the board is pleased to recommend a final
dividend of 33 pence per share 2008 33 pence
per share which maintains the total dividend for
the year at last year’s level of 50 pence per share
2008 50 pence per share subject to
shareholder approval at the annual general 
chairman’s statement
2
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
“results for the
year are very
creditable and
demonstrate the
strengths of our
industryleading
business”
michael marx
chairman meeting on 15 june 2010 the final dividend will
be paid to shareholders on the register at the
close of business on 28 may 2010
trading overview
it was a difficult year the sharp and rapid drop in
smaller repair work was a marked feature in the
first half with consumers avoiding nonessential
insurance repairs the volume of repair jobs also
fell year on year with the work flow harder to
predict than usual on a localised basis while
trading conditions in the second half of the year
did not ease there was a clear improvement in
the group’s profitability as the measures we took
in the first half to protect and restore margins
yielded results    
a large part of the management’s ability to manage
volatile trading conditions successfully derives from
nationwide’s national scale and unrivalled operating
systems which are underpinned by a single it
platform our technology and systems enable us 
to manage our national network of bodyshops 
call centres and mobile repair fleet in an integrated
manner for commercial and competitive advantage
we believe that there is scope to drive further
operational efficiencies throughout the business 
and this remains a focus in 2010 
it is pleasing to report that we were able to grow
our market share over the year expanding our
relationship with rsa and signing new insurance
customers as well as new fleet customers  
our initiative to expand outside the insurance
market into the retail sector where consumers pay
for vehicle repairs rather than insurers continued 
to demonstrate good growth over the year we are
now investing more significantly to develop our
retail sales and as part of this investment we will be
making appointments to our senior management
team and expanding our mobile repair fleet
outlook
we do not expect market conditions in 2010 to
improve materially over last year  however as the
uk’s largest dedicated provider of accident repair
services the group is wellpositioned to trade well
and to execute its planned growth we intend to
invest some £1m in the current financial year over
and above our normal business development
spend to support our expansion plans which
have the objective over the next three years of
broadening nationwide’s customer base and
developing additional income streams alongside
this we will continue to build our insurance
customer business and to leverage further
operational efficiencies
the business is underpinned by a strong balance
sheet and good cash flow and looking ahead 
we are encouraged by the growth opportunities
available to nationwide and view long term
prospects positively
michael marx
chief executive
22 march 2010
chairman’s statement continued
nationwide accident repair services plc
annual report and accounts 2009
3
revenue
£1709m
profit before tax before 
nonrecurring items
£54m
accident repair centres
71