tangent communications plc
84–86 great portland street
london w1w 7nr
wwwtangentplccom
intelligent marketing
and technology
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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t angent communications plc annual report and accounts 2010
tangent communica tions plc
annual report and accounts 2010 t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial calendar
financial calendar
intelligent marketing
and technology
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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intelligent marketing
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31 august 2010  annual general meeting
27 september 2010 dividend payment date
31 august 2010  financial half year end
november 2010  interim results announcement
28 february 2011  financial year end
june 2011  annual results announcement
 01 review of the year
  01 h ighlights
  02 o ur structure
  04 chairman’s statement
  06 chief executive’s statement
  08 business review
  16 financial review
 18 governance
  18 board of directors
  20 directors’ report
  22 directors’ responsibilities
  23 corporate governance statement
  25 remuneration report
 27 financial st atements
  27 independent auditors’ report
  28  consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income
  29  consolidated statement of changes in equity
  30 	 consolidated 	 statement 	 of 	 financial 	 position
  31 	 consolidated 	 statement 	 of 	 cash 	 flows
  32  company statement of changes in equity
  33 	 company 	 statement 	 of 	 financial 	 position
  34 	 company 	 statement 	 of 	 cash 	 flows
  35 	 notes 	 to 	 the 	 financial 	 statements
 53 financial calendar
tangent is a leading 
integrator of technology 
and marketing strategy
who we are
what we do
we combine leading edge technology with intelligent 
data‑driven communication strategies to help brands 
overcome the complex challenges laid down by media 
fragmentation diversification and increasingly 
sophisticated consumers
how we do it
our business is built around the twin pillars of technology 
and multi‑channel marketing this enables us to deliver 
accuracy and accountability into marketing operations 
whilst implementing intelligent and integrated communication 
strategies at new levels of cost‑efficiency
our technological expertise is backed up by strategic and 
creative excellence across both online and direct channels 
and supported by a state of the art 40000 sq ft fulfilment 
facility that allows us to combine end to end delivery with fully 
integrated marketing services
in an ever‑changing and increasingly challenging 
world tangent’s platform of intelligent marketing 
and technology provides the perfect environment 
for innovative efficient and accountable 
communications strategies  review of the year
01
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
  highlights
highlights
£1819m
£082m
£064m
£110m
financial
e revenues up by 165 to £1819m 2009 £1561m 
e underlying operating profit
1
 £820k 2009 £848k 
e adjusted earnings per share
2
 038p 2009 035p 
e diluted earnings per share “eps” 016p 2009 017p 
e recommended dividend maintained at 02p 2009 02p 
e net f unds at £11m 
1
  underlying operating profit is defined as operating profit after sharebased payment charges 2010 £002m 2009 £023m
2
  adjusted eps is after sharebased payments before restructuring expenses net of tax note tax charges 2010 £nil 2009 £022m
operational
e  t he digital print partnership “dpp” has grown to represent 6 of print revenues 
from a standing start 
e  completed the re‑brand of over 100 halifax property services offices to 
r eeds r ains branches 
e sales increased by 36 year on year for the second half for estate agency services 
e rebranded and implemented retail marketing plan for 147 galabingo clubs 
e  marketing t oolkit software platform was expanded to include email and sms 
alongside its existing market leading direct mail press and graphic design tools 
e  zui‘s contract with business consultancy dvw to design user interfaces for 
h eineken was successfully implemented 
e  delivery of online stores for sap t raining and certification across 27 countries 
e  launch of revolutionary peer to peer car sharing system whipcarcom 
e  tangent one’s “intelligent ad banners” acclaimed by marketing week as a “world 
first” and shortlisted by revolution magazine for “best use of online advertising”
revenue 
underlying operating profit 
cash from operations
net funds tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
 our structure 02
partnership
tangent labs also provides a range of partnership 
services that utilise our technical expertise to develop 
solutions for specific and advanced client needs 
these include zui a joint venture with de villiers 
walton that provides increased productivity for 
sap software through the development of highly 
customised and user friendly interfaces
technology
our renowned technological capability is driven 
by t angent labs a team of 35 highly skilled 
developers that delivers consistently innovative 
and intelligent technical solutions for the challenges 
of 21st century marketing these include transactional 
and business critical systems as well as communication 
tools that work across email websites mobile and 
social media
digital communications
our online offer is built around t angent one an award 
winning full service integrated digital agency that 
creates executes and manages endtoend digital 
communications across ecommerce websites 
email search social media and mobile marketing
at the heart of tangent one lies taobase™ 
a proprietary tool that captures stores and segments 
customer data to provide customers with a single 
customer view across all digital transactions
for more information on t angent one visit 
tangentonecom
for more information on t angent labs visit 
tangentlabscouk
t o learn more about t angent and our 
group of companies log on to 
tangentplccomgroupcompanies
for more information on zui visit 
zuicouk
online tangent is underpinned by 
industry‑leading technology 
our business is spread across 
online direct marketing and 
propertyprint services review of the year
03
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
  our structure
marketing resource management
snowball has pioneered the development of online 
marketing resource management and played a 
leading role in making intelligent marketing technology 
accessible and practical through marketing t oolkit™ 
marketing t oolkit is one of the most advanced 
products of its kind consistently producing 
distributing broadcasting and hosting millions 
of branded assets across direct mail point of 
sale email press ads mobile and websites
for more information on snowball visit 
snowballcouk
data driven marketing
our direct arm snowball is a leading provider 
of datadriven marketing services and specialises 
in developing highly targeted and personalised 
multichannel communications built around the 
intelligent integration of customer data marketing 
strategy and creative snowball’s core expertise 
lies in managing customer databases and identifying 
critical insights that help brands communicate more 
effectively with customers and prospects to increase 
loyalty retention and frequency of purchase
f ull service property marketing 
and brand strategy
we provide industryleading marketing services to the 
property sector through ravensworth ravensworth’s 
highly intelligent and intuitive web to print technology 
combined with its unrivalled knowledge of the property 
sector and 40000 sq ft fulfilment facility enables it 
to provide bespoke and highly targeted marketing 
collateral to over 3000 estate agents across the 
united kingdom
ravensworth’s services cover a comprehensive range 
of skills for the property sector including marketing 
strategy creative direct mail press advertising 
web email and bespoke point of sale
direct
for more information on ravensworth visit 
ravensworthcouk
03
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
for more information on t angent on demand 
and the digital print partnership visit 
todukcom
digitalprintpartnershipcom
digital print
our 40000 sq ft digital print and fulfillment facility 
makes us one of the only agencies in the uk with 
the ability to provide genuine endtoend services 
for all of our clients our digital print services include 
t angent on demand for premium fast turnaround 
short run requirements and the digital print partnership 
an innovative and marketleading online digital 
printing service
propertyprint 04
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chairman’s statement
chairman’s statement
t angent’s highly talented team ensures that 
we regularly punch above our weight and we 
continue to supply major household names 
with high volume and timecritical marketing 
services through innovative technology 
we have built the business upon a solid 
backbone of proven technology and 
multichannel marketing capability that 
has provided a robust platform for stability 
in a challenging market this has allowed 
our companies to continue to deliver ever 
greater accuracy and accountability into 
marketing operations
in the year ended 28 february 2010 
underlying operating profits of £820000 
were ahead of our initial expectations the 
recommended dividend of 02p is maintained 
for the year although not fully covered after 
exceptional charges our financial position 
remains solid with net cash of £11m 
and prospects for the current year are 
encouraging however we did not achieve all 
our targets for the year notably in respect of 
contributions from our latest acquisition where 
revenues from key accounts continue to 
disappoint the integration of snowball with 
t angent direct’s business is progressing to 
plan and has been able to secure important 
new client wins such as the miele account 
we have also not yet been able to take a bigger 
step up in size which means that overhead 
costs as a proportion of revenue remain higher 
than we would like however i am confident we 
can improve performance both immediately 
through our own efforts and through increased 
activity from a number of market segments 
we will also work harder on building scale 
piers caldecote
we have built the 
business upon a 
solid backbone of 
proven technology 
and multi‑channel 
marketing capability 
that has provided 
a robust platform 
for stability in a 
challenging market review of the year
05
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chairman’s statement
our financial position remains solid and 
prospects for the current year are encouraging 
we have implemented a new management 
structure with timothy green taking on full 
responsibility as chief executive 
our newly formed consumer division 
built on the success of the digital print 
partnership will be driven by nicholas green 
who will also continue to focus on corporate 
activity and key clients greg jackson will 
continue to head up the online division with 
his technology skills
kevin cameron took over as group 
financial controller in february 2010 following 
graeme harris’ departure i am pleased to 
announce that kevin now joins the board 
as finance director and company secretary 
he has managed group finances since 
june 2009 and he brings many years’ 
experience from within the ravensworth 
business to the board graeme had been 
with t angent as finance director since the 
flotation in 2005 and gave us excellent 
service i am sure he will be a great asset 
in his next position 
the new management team’s key challenge 
will be to work across our businesses to sell the 
benefits of our extensive range of marketing 
and production services throughout our client 
base t angent’s responsibility is to provide 
clients with a truly endtoend service enable 
real time campaign data analysis and react 
rapidly to constantly changing market conditions
i would like to thank all of our employees 
for their hard work throughout the last twelve 
months in demanding market conditions 
many of whom have worked through the 
night to support our clients 
it is probably not usual to compliment a 
nonexecutive director but paul murray has 
as always been exceptional in overseeing 
compliance audit and remuneration matters 
a small company has to cover the same 
bases as much bigger businesses but 
without their depth of support and paul has 
been instrumental in making this possible 
we also welcome alan smith to the board 
as nonexecutive director his tremendous 
experience will be welcome in the coming 
period and specifically his history of working 
with public companies and the retail sector 
will assist both the business and executive team 
as they look to grow the t angent business 
finally my thanks to our shareholders 
for continuing to support t angent 
piers caldecote
non‑executive chairman
21 june 2010 06
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chief executive’s statement
chief executive’s statement
performance for 2010 from our core 
business units was substantially above 
management expectations set out at the 
start of the year however as a result of 
some underperformance from our latest 
acquisitions the overall results were only in 
line with the higher expectations anticipated 
at the interim stage going forward we remain 
cautious and have factored into our 2011 
budgets some but not substantial growth 
from key markets or from recent acquisitions 
second half revenues increased to a 
record high of £967m giving a full year 
figure of £1819m ahead of management 
expectations contributions through the 
acquired business assets of snowball the 
sales generated from vlm and lateralnet 
customer lists and growth from the core 
business gave rise to a significant sales 
increase in a period of economic challenge 
underlying operating margin for the second 
half was up to 50 from 40 in the first half 
we do not anticipate adding further to the 
current cost base and would expect to 
see margins continue to rise as revenues 
increase and the sales mix continues to 
return favourably 
the last six months have shown an increase 
in core revenue streams across the t angent 
business and the first two months of the 
current financial year have generated 
significant profits whilst it is too early at this 
stage to forecast into the second half of the 
year when the full impact of legislative tax 
and economic changes may be felt we are 
confident that our first half performance will 
be strong in comparison to last year
t angent is increasingly well positioned 
to pick up revenue in growth markets 
particularly technology data insight and 
digital marketing continued investment in our 
proprietary technology platforms – t aobase 
and marketing t oolkit – has positioned us at 
the forefront of our field with market‑leading 
software and services enabling our insight 
and online experts to take advantage of the 
shifting market with increasing returns from 
our market‑leading estate agency service 
all t angent business streams should provide 
a significant contribution to profits and 
cash‑generation this year 
continued media fragmentation and an 
increasing need for greater effectiveness 
and accountability has encouraged many 
marketing services companies to start investing 
in technology insight and e‑services t angent 
has been ahead of the curve investing 
significantly for some time now and is ideally 
placed to take full advantage of this change 
and make significant steps in a growing market 
we have already secured an impressive 
new contract win with miele and the uk launch 
of whipcarcom and our extended remits with 
galacoral the labour party and homeserve 
should underpin a solid year of growth ahead
with the new management structure in place 
i look forward to working closely with the 
many outstanding individuals across the 
business to accelerate growth and enhance 
t angent’s positioning as a leading provider 
of intelligent marketing and t echnology 
timothy green
chief executive
21 june 2010
timothy green 
t angent is increasingly well positioned to pick 
up revenue in growth markets particularly 
technology data insight and digital marketing 07
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chief executive’s statement
case study
tangent works with leading 
bar operator pitcher  piano 
to provide a through the 
line marketing strategy that 
integrates both inbar and 
crm messaging together 
we have developed a 
compelling and consistent 
brand experience for 
customers across web 
email mobile and direct 
mail helping to generate 
increased brand awareness 
and loyalty
each promotion generates a 
unique voucher and code which 
is linked into pitcher  piano’s 
national epos system and 
enables all redemptions to 
be accurately tracked across 
the branch network this data 
provides valuable information 
on the types of offers that 
customers are most responsive 
to and what messaging is most 
engaging offline and online
our work has enabled 
pitcher  piano to significantly 
increase its marketing database 
and offer personalised 
communications that are relevant 
to each bar and customer 
the net effect is greater levels 
of loyalty through targeted 
messages based on unique 
customer purchasing behaviour
review of the year 08
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
business review
tangent
intelligent marketing and t echnology lies at 
the core of t angent it symbolises our ability 
to combine leading edge technology with 
brand communications to overcome the 
complex challenges laid down by media 
fragmentation and diversification above all 
we have developed a technology platform 
that is both practical and accessible in terms 
of cost speed to market and ease of use
at the heart of our approach lies t aobase 
a pioneering technology driven environment 
that allows creativity and strategy to 
be applied at scale across multiple 
communications channels by investing 
in and developing such leading edge 
technology ahead of the curve we have 
built a business in tune with the market and 
well placed to leverage the inevitable growth 
in the adoption of marketing services 
technology the recession has accelerated 
the demand for increased accountability and 
efficiency in marketing services bringing 
the market to a tipping point that t angent is 
ideally positioned to take full advantage of
market demand
we have developed three revenue models 
designed around the most profitable 
opportunities available to us
1    enterprise model – through which we 
provide our services direct to enterprises
2  partnership model – enabling us to cater 
for the increasing need of intermediaries 
to provide automated marketing services 
to their clients through the licensing of 
our product 
3  open model – the next frontier for 
our technology and gateway to the 
consumer market
exploring new opportunities – 
the consumer proposition
in line with our commitment to develop 
new revenue streams we are now looking 
to extend into the consumer market the 
technical and creative capability of t angent’s 
platform combined with its scalability and 
speed to market presents a significant 
opportunity to leverage growing consumer 
demand for automation we have already 
developed wholesale and partnership 
models through the digital print partnership 
and are confident that we will be able to 
make significant progress in this area
management priorities
we set out with the following performance 
expectations at the start of 2010
1    estate agency maintain our status as the 
leading provider of marketing materials to 
the estate agency sector albeit through 
a shared and reduced cost base
2  online integration integrate t angent one 
and lateral and create a full service digital 
marketing business
3  financial consolidation consolidate our 
finance department resources
4  direct position the business to attract 
a greater proportion of data and higher 
margin consultative revenues
below is how we responded to these challenges
1    estate agency we increased our overall 
market share but still have work to do in 
reducing our cost base this is because 
although our client base was less active 
we retained a high number of clients and 
the resource required to support them 
needed to be maintained however we 
were able to engage with our customers 
to lessen the seasonal cost impact when 
order volumes are low and consolidation 
is more difficult
2  online integration we successfully 
integrated t angent one and lateral 
although this took longer than expected 
the combination of lateral’s award 
winning creative with t angent’s proven 
technology platform has added a new 
dimension to our applications helping 
to improve results for our clients and 
strengthen our full service proposition
3  financial consolidation was completed by 
june 2009 however our finance director 
graeme harris has since moved on and 
kevin cameron has been appointed from 
within administrative and central costs 
have been reduced with savings of 
£180000 expected in 2011
4  direct the acquisition of snowball 
significantly strengthened our data 
and consultative capabilities
we now put forward the following priorities 
for 2011
1  to launch a corporate retail version 
of dpp by august 2010 
2  t o extend the positioning of ravensworth 
to a broader range of marketing services 
for the estate agency sector by bringing 
in digital and data expertise from within 
the group and reducing the dependency 
on single product contracts
3    t o extend the high profile online creative 
wins for boots and mothercare secured 
through our creative director simon crab 
one of the most awarded creatives in 
the digital industry 09
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
“ snowball’s work has 
been fantastic – their 
technological expertise 
and intelligent marketing 
has had a significant 
impact on the relevance 
and efficiency of our 
direct marketing” 
louise breton
director
trailfinders
case study
review of the year
snowball’s work with t railfinders 
is a perfect example of intelligent 
marketing and technology 
combining to deliver greater 
relevance efficiency and 
accountability into marketing 
operations our end to end service 
includes data management 
profiling and segmentation 
through to the design printing 
and distribution of highly 
personalised direct mail packs
we use variable data to create 
digitally printed mailers that are 
specifically relevant to each 
recipient for example the 
mailer might refer to the last 
hotel stayed at or mention 
potential destinations based on 
previous booking activity where 
a customer hasn’t booked a 
holiday for a while the message 
will focus on the brand’s core 
offering but still be tailored 
to previous spending habits
trailfinders has worked closely 
with snowball to develop 
increasingly intelligent data 
driven communications 
strategies that have improved 
the relevancy and impact of 
their campaigns 10
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
business review continued
case study
when reeds rains one 
of the uk’s leading estate 
agency chains acquired 
100 new offices that 
needed to be rebranded 
and assimilated with 
the rest of the branch 
network they worked 
with ravensworth to 
integrate and launch 
the new offices
it’s all part of a comprehensive 
range of services provided to 
reeds rains by ravensworth 
including creative marketing 
direct mail press advertising 
email and bespoke point of 
sale material
in addition each branch is able 
to localise its own campaign 
material and order through 
an online system that allows 
bespoke messaging and 
accurate customer targeting 
across all sectors of the 
housing market
ravensworth’s flexibility allows 
reeds rains to communicate 
highly relevant marketing 
messages to their customers 
with optimum efficiency this 
is no small advantage over their 
competitors and has helped 
contribute towards reeds rains 
bucking the recent downsizing 
trend of rival networks 
instead during the period of 
ravensworth’s collaboration 
reeds rains has almost 
doubled its branch network  11
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
management priorities continued
4    t o extend our technology reach by finding 
more partners and exploring the opportunity 
to open‑source key components whilst 
developing industry‑leading processes 
in deployment testing and recruitment 
5  t o extend further the customer relationship 
management crm capability within 
snowball so that the sales mix reflects 
a greater proportion of higher margin 
value‑added consultancy revenues
6    t o maintain the market‑leading position 
of snowball’s marketing t oolkit 
7  t o consolidate all costs excluding those 
solely arising from the company’s market 
quotation into the revenue generating 
units to ensure central overheads are 
supported by the business segments 
management structure
a refined management structure has already 
been implemented with damian bentley 
ian gordon and greg jackson heading up 
snowball ravensworth and t angent one 
respectively they are supported by group 
resources kevin cameron for finance and 
andy wheatley for marketing ensuring a 
strong platform for collaborative workflow 
and swift delivery of our end‑to‑end services 
business review by revenue stream
tangent’s businesses are united by 
a central belief in technology as the 
key enabler of 21st century marketing 
our strapline intelligent marketing and 
technology underpins the tangent brand 
and reflects our unique ability to combine 
leading edge technology with data‑driven 
communication strategies to help brands 
meet the complex challenges laid down 
by media fragmentation and diversification
direct 
this division contains two principal revenue 
streams snowball represented by the 
combined contribution from the acquired 
snowball business and the historic t angent 
direct business and ravensworth 
overall trading performance
sales increased year on year by 9 to 
£1394m 2009 £1273m sales in snowball 
represented 64 of direct sales and 
increased year on year by 19 sales 
by ravensworth to the property market 
represented 36 of direct sales down 
4 on the previous year 
underlying operating profit from direct was down 
4 for the full year to £099m 2009 £104m 
in the second half of the year profits of 
£061m were 59 higher than the first half 
and represent a significant increase over 
profits of £002m generated in the same 
period in the prior financial year 
the reduced margin was due to a 
combination of increased postage sales 
which carry no margin and more of the sales 
mix coming from volume digital direct mail 
than in previous years with a more balanced 
sales mix in the second half and higher 
revenues underlying operating margin grew 
from 59 in the first half to 82 we would 
expect this upward trend to be sustained 
as the sales mix continues to be more 
favourable the first few months of the year 
have shown this to be the case although 
the normal seasonal variation where 
performance tends to be first half weighted 
means that the second half is expected 
to provide greater challenges 
snowball – direct communications 
insight and marketing software
snowball the combined division of the historic 
t angent direct business and the snowball 
business acquired in september 2009 provides 
direct communications strategy and marketing 
software at an enterprise level key account 
growth during the year was excellent given 
the market conditions and demonstrated that 
our focus on efficient marketing with clear 
return on investment has been successful 
key account diversification has also been 
achieved with broader service engagements 
most notably in data management and data 
consultancy we have increased our intake of 
analysts and developed a core competency 
in data insight that now plays a key role in 
our new business strategy print services 
still make up the majority of the sales mix 
but we expect this to move towards a more 
balanced mix of consultancy insight and 
technology in 2011 as snowball’s profile 
and reputation continues to grow
snowball’s software proposition to 
marketing departments marketing t oolkit 
has accelerated in growth once again 
orders processed are now above 10000 
a month and over 40 million items were 
generated during the general election 
campaign period most significantly the 
software has evolved and the technical 
architecture has expanded to include 
a full range of media services including
1 direct mail
2 point of sale
3 website content
4  email
5 sms
6 data capturemanagement
7 media planning
review of the year 12
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
business review continued
snowball – direct communications insight 
and marketing software continued
all products are licensed to our customers 
typically for a period of one to three years 
and are available both directly to enterprise 
and through re‑sellers the re‑seller model 
has started to perform particularly well as 
marketing agencies strive to provide 
technology to their clients in the form of 
automated marketing products such as 
marketing t oolkit we are looking at potential 
open source models where we will be able 
to provide access to our tools through the 
internet across markets and expand our 
international reach
in september 2009 t angent acquired the 
ddg network ltd together with the business 
and assets of double d management llp  
collectively known as snowball the 
performance of the acquisition has been 
disappointing and as a result of the majority 
of the purchase price being structured as 
earn out the overall consideration expected 
to be paid will reduce as a result of market 
conditions key clients have reduced 
marketing activity resulting in a significant 
impact on earnings however client 
relationships continue to be strong and our 
services are still contracted and retained 
by them and important new clients such as 
miele are being secured as the economy 
recovers and client confidence grows 
we expect levels of client marketing activity 
to improve and for the historic business 
to provide a more significant contribution 
as a result
in the meantime new business wins will 
compensate and we are hopeful that the 
miele account will provide a platform for a 
return of earnings growth the business has 
been fully integrated and damian bentley 
has taken the position of managing director 
of the amalgamated snowball brand 
formerly snowball and tangent direct 
the new snowball division has already been 
recognised by marketing week as a t op 30 
direct marketing service provider in the uk 
and one of “10 suppliers you need to know”
r avensworth – property marketing design 
and production digital print services
property revenues
ravensworth’s estate agency services 
business had a mixed year with the first six 
months providing the lowest return for more 
than four years we managed to retain and 
hold on to much of our expert staff over this 
period but the contribution to tangent’s 
performance was minimal since august 2009 
the market has begun to return ending a 
twelve month period during which sales had 
declined by almost 40 and we have now 
out‑performed year on year by a minimum 
of 20 each month with some months 
achieving levels as high as 40 our key 
metrics of live branches and activity per 
account have similarly returned to levels 
of 2008
whilst home information packs “hips” 
represented an opportunity to generate 
additional print volumes the contribution 
has always been small with low margins 
we do not anticipate upcoming legislation 
which is expected to eliminate hips to have 
any material impact instead the estate 
agency community who welcome the 
removal of the legislation suggests that 
the marketing of properties should become 
quicker and simpler and may result in an 
increase in the number and circulation of 
particulars a key driver for our business
print revenues
non‑property services – t angent is developing 
new revenue lines the ravensworth site offers 
unique scale in the digital print sector which 
attracts trade business
the digital print partnership “dpp” – t angent’s 
wholesale online print ordering business 
since launch this new business has 
generated revenues in excess of £500000 
further investment in the site functionality 
and product offering all in‑house has 
allowed for the efficient delivery of thousands 
of orders with an average order value of 
over £40 and rising the range of products 
and offers has been well received by dpp 
customers the main costs of the business 
are marketing where we will continue to 
re‑invest the market opportunity for this 
area is estimated to be substantial 
online 
overall trading performance
sales for 2010 increased by 50 to £431m 
2009 £288m as a result of the lateralnet 
sales contribution and new contract wins 
sales generated by zui £034m our joint 
venture and in australia £049m were also 
significant in the year underlying operating 
profit reduced to £073m from £101m in 
2009 developing operational procedures to 
manage the expanding business which now 
includes a growing creative team together 
with support for our australia and zui 
ventures has meant a significant reduction 
in the margins from the business the 2009 
operating margins of 35 were perhaps not 
sustainable and a period of re‑alignment with 
continued investment in our development 
pool and the transfer of lateral staff into 
t angent one has been required underlying 
operating profit margins for the second half of 
the year continued to decline from 21 in the 
first half to 14 in the second half for 2011 
we expect the first half to continue at these 
levels and the second half to begin a return 
to increasing margins review of the year
13
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
“ tangent has helped 
to transform our 
communications activities 
and inform strategy at 
the highest level”
alicia kennedy
deputy secretary general
labour party
t angent runs membersnet 
the official communications 
infrastructure for over 250000 
members of the labour 
party in 2010 as part of an 
all‑encompassing range of 
tools and services designed 
to leverage digital technology 
t angent produced icampaign 
the party’s first iphone application
icampaign allows members 
to contact constituents across 
the uk from any location and 
provides opportunities to drive 
offline activity such as using 
gps to find local events and 
sign up to attend in one click 
or volunteer with their local party
response was excellent 
with thousands of downloads 
within the first few weeks and 
a second updated version has 
already been released with new 
functionality labour’s unique 
animated manifesto videos 
were made playable in the app 
and the official policy guide 
was added allowing activists 
to consult while on the road
icampaign was one of the first 
products of its kind and was 
reviewed positively against 
the other parties’ competing 
applications for labour it has 
been instrumental in facilitating 
peer to peer communication 
and empowering activists
case study 14
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
business review continued
case study
“ one of the main reasons 
we like dpp is the 
simplicity of the online 
ordering – many online 
ordering systems are 
complex but this one 
couldn’t really be easier 
the pricing is fantastic 
and the quality of the 
finished product is top 
notch too”
steve rushton
managing director
sr print management ltd 
dpp member
the digital print partnership 
dpp is tangent’s wholesale 
online print ordering business 
dpp allows companies to sell 
digitally printed products to their 
own customers without having 
to invest in expensive digital 
print presses
joining dpp is free of charge 
and users benefit from a 
simple and easy to use 
interface from which they can 
order a comprehensive range 
of digitally printed products 
including calendars greeting 
cards newsletters flyers 
posters business cards 
and letterheads once ordered 
all orders are printed finished 
and dispatched to any destination 
in the uk within 48 hours
dpp has been an outstanding 
success during its first twelve 
months of operation it has 
generated revenue in excess 
of £500000 with an average 
order value of £40 and rising  review of the year
15
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
business review
tangent one – strategy creative 
user interfaces e‑commerce 
and software development
t angent one supported by the t ao team in 
t angent labs is the online and technology 
arm of t angent and offers a full service digital 
proposition performance over the year has 
been mixed the first six months experienced 
continued growth and contribution from key 
accounts but the closure of borders uk in 
december 2009 some bad debts and lower 
than expected revenues from the lateral 
acquisition have impacted in the second half 
this area of our business has gone through 
four continuous years of rapid growth and 
we intend to consolidate our position in the 
market this year we introduced “3a ” a new 
methodological framework that provides greater 
strategic depth to our offer and that has already 
contributed to a number of new business wins 
the work coming out of this division is award 
winning and with new levels of creativity meeting 
technology excellence we feel the proposition 
is ready for introduction to an elevated position 
in the digital strategy marketplace
award‑winning creative combined with 
award‑winning technology provides a 
dynamic that most competitors are starting 
to recognise and invest in however 
t angent one is already positioned in this 
space through extensive investment in the 
skills needed to provide online strategy to 
its growing number of major blue chip clients 
that have embraced our extensive search 
and social media capabilities
the investment in human capital to position 
our online business in order to compete 
and be ahead of the market opportunities 
has been substantial and is a strategy 
our cash‑generating units will continue to 
support we now have a creative digital strategy 
team that is recognised by industry peers for 
its excellence and a broadened cutting edge 
technical architecture overseen by t echnical 
director james eddison this offering will 
take time to develop but the collective skills 
now assembled are expected to credibly 
place t angent one in a unique market 
position of bespoke creative development
t o accelerate growth t angent one is 
implementing a structured new business 
strategy this includes investment in external 
new business capabilities along with a 
strategic pr programme focusing on key 
marketing and business titles the ongoing 
pr activity will continue to build awareness 
of t angent one its clients key spokespeople 
and expertise within important business sectors
australia our australian office was established 
to develop e‑commerce and other online 
business in the rapidly growing asia pacific 
market this year our australian venture 
has brought significant contribution from a 
standing start we now have a multi‑skilled 
team covering strategy creative and technical 
architecture supported by our london team 
significant market opportunities are under 
development with the launch of ebooks 
to be announced shortly further client 
opportunities are being secured with a full 
pr and local marketing effort led by principal 
simon mcevoy and supported by our uk 
marketing resource
zui our joint venture with sap consultants 
dvw zui creates user interfaces and 
additional functionality on top of enterprise 
software zui secured a significant revenue 
contribution for online chiefly from a large 
project to create a sales application for 
dvw’s client heineken which has now 
been rolled out and received well in the 
market the project was extensive and 
the revolutionary interface design and 
architecture that is at the forefront of the 
zui proposition has ensured that the tool 
has received positive take up and swift 
implementation forward revenues are 
however hard to predict and the sales cycles 
for these contracts are long and complex but 
we have a number of similar enterprise level 
opportunities in the marketplace that are at 
different stages of review 
outlook
the start of the year has been strong 
with significant contribution from our core 
accounts and the continuing strong recovery 
in our property business we are confident 
this will ensure first half growth year on year 
for the group but visibility for the second half 
of the year remains limited
timothy green
chief executive
21 june 2010 16
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
financial review
the year ended 28 february 2010 saw 
revenue growth in both our direct and online 
divisions during difficult trading conditions 
revenues from property continued to decline 
during the first six months but the second 
half of 2010 has seen significant likeforlike 
growth over the same period in 2009 
whilst the acquisitions during the year have 
not met management expectations t angent 
continues to be profitable and cash generative 
and the board is recommending that the 
dividend be maintained at 02p per share
key performance indicators “kpis”
we manage t angent’s business using kpis 
which measure underlying performance 
as noted in the 2009 financial statements 
the charge for sharebased payments 
has now been included within operating 
expenses underlying performance as 
stated below excludes restructuring costs
we believe that our focus on the kpis as set 
out below will in the medium and long term 
deliver value for shareholders
•  revenue increased 165 to £1819m 
2009 £1561m
•  underlying operating profit decreased 
by 35 to £082m 2009 £085m
•  underlying operating profit excluding 
charges for sharebased payments 
decreased by 22 to £084m  
2009 £108m
•  underlying operating profit reduced 
to 45 2009 54
•  diluted basic earnings per share were 
016p 2009 017p
•  cash generated from operations was 
£064m 2009 £16m representing 
a cash conversion rate of 78
t rading performance
t otal revenues increased by 165 
to £1819m 2009 £1561m
revenues from direct increased by 9 to 
£1387m 2009 £1273m with underlying 
operating profit reduced by 4 to £099m 
the reduced margin was due to a combination 
of increased postage sales which carry no 
margin and more of the sales mix coming from 
volume direct mail than in previous years
revenues from online increased by 
50 to £431m 2009 £288m investing 
in operational infrastructure growing the 
creative team and providing support to both 
zui and our australia venture saw operating 
expenses increase and as a result underlying 
operating profit reduced to £073m from 
£101m in 2009 
operating expenses increased by £177m 
from £595m in 2009 to £772m in 2010
of this £154m related to salary costs 
expenses and professional fees as follows
•  increase in head count of 22 staff 
for online development 
•  annual cost of lateral staff brought 
over £065m
•  staff acquired via the acquisition 
of snowball £013m
•  professional fees and expenses £033m
whilst revenues grew the gross margin 
earned was not enough to offset the increase 
in operational overhead thus underlying 
operating profit reduced to £082m 2009 
£085m as a result the board has undertaken 
a number of restructuring programmes to reduce 
operational overhead for the coming year 
group restructuring expense
during the year the board undertook 
a number of restructuring programmes 
to consolidate both operational and 
administration functions
central – the group finance function has 
been consolidated into one unit to increase 
efficiency and reduce headcount
kevin cameron
“ t angent continues 
to be profitable and 
cash generative” 
 05
 
 0
underlying profit £m
h2 2009 h1 2010 h2 2010
0043m
0345m
0475m
 10
 
 5
revenue comparison £m
h2 2009 h1 2010 h2 2010
676m
850m
968m
financial review review of the year
17
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
financial review
online – having acquired the assets and 
clients of lateral net limited in march 2009 
its operational team was integrated into 
online and restructured resulting in a 
reduction in head count 
direct – following the acquisition of the ddg 
network limited in september 2009 and its 
subsequent merger with t angent direct 
a restructure of the account management 
teams was undertaken
the combined cost of implementing the 
improved structure and relocations was 
£05m and is expected to yield annual 
savings of £033m
share‑based payment charge
the sharebased payment charge for the 
year ended 28 february 2010 amounted 
to £002m 2009 £023m and represents 
the fair value of options granted
t axation
t angent has no tax charge in 2010 the tax 
charge differs from the standard rate of 28 
because although the group has expenses 
that are not deductible for tax purposes this 
was more than offset by utilisation of prior 
year tax losses and adjustments at the year 
end the group had £023m of tax losses 
available to offset against future profits
earnings
profit for the year was £028m 2009 £030m 
equating to basic earnings per share of 017p 
2009 018p and diluted earnings per share 
of 016p 2009 017p 
acquisitions
on 16 september 2009 t angent acquired 
the entire issued share capital of the ddg 
network limited together with the business 
and assets of double d management llp  
collectively known as snowball for a net 
cash consideration of £099m
a maximum further contingent consideration 
of £218m is payable equally over three years 
with £168m payable in cash and £05m 
payable in shares at a valuation of 617p 
per share to be paid in three equal tranches 
subject to earnings before interest and 
tax rising to a total of £15m over a three 
year period to 31 august 2012 having 
reviewed performance to date the directors 
do not consider that any provision is 
necessary in respect of this additional 
contingent consideration
cash flow
cash flow from operations was £064m 
2009 £160m and represented 78 
of operating profit this is lower than previous 
years as working capital increased by £070m 
following revenue growth which led to higher 
debtor balances together with reduced 
profit before tax and non cash charges 
for sharebased payments
•  t ax payments were £019m 2009 £038m
•  the final £017m of deferred consideration 
was paid for the acquisition of c360 uk
•  on 16 september 2009 t angent acquired 
the entire issued share capital of ddg 
together with the business and assets of 
double d management llp  collectively 
known as snowball for a net cash 
consideration of £099m
•  capital expenditure of £047m was spent 
substantially on digital equipment and 
leasehold improvements in addition the 
group acquired other intangible assets 
customer lists for a consideration of £011m
•  dividends of £034m were paid and 
£006m of finance leases were repaid
•  over the year net funds decreased by 
£159m to £106m 2009 £265m
balance sheet
net assets decreased by £002m to £1957m 
2009 £1959m with the major change being 
the addition to goodwill of £097m following 
the acquisition of snowball at the year end 
current assets exceeded current liabilities 
by over £2m
dividends
the board believes that paying a dividend 
is an important part of providing total 
shareholder return we will recommend 
a dividend of 02p 2009 02p per share 
at the annual general meeting 
t reasury funding and exchange risk
the group finances its operations through 
funds raised from shareholders retained 
earnings and finance lease borrowings 
in addition the group has a variable rate £1m 
overdraft facility which has rarely been drawn 
regular reports on cash balances and 
borrowings are provided to the board
the majority of trade is conducted in sterling 
although a material amount is denominated 
in euros and the australian dollar the directors 
monitor exposure and where possible match 
euro and australian dollar denominated 
revenue and expenditure or if appropriate 
hedge some of the exposure to mitigate 
the foreign exchange risk 
kevin cameron
finance director
21 june 2010 18
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 board of directors
governance
board of directors
3 piers caldecote
non‑executive chairman age 63
piers was an associate director at 
carlton communications plc between 
1990 and 2004 covering strategy and 
mergers and acquisitions prior to that 
he worked in the city as an investment 
analyst latterly for chase manhattan securities
5 kevin cameron
finance director age 41
kevin was formerly the finance director 
and joint managing director of ravensworth 
digital services limited acquired by t angent 
in march 2007 he is an fcca and qualified 
with tait walker a large independent 
north east practice 
1 t imothy green 
chief executive age 34
prior to joining t angent timothy was 
a founding partner at unanimis which 
specialises in internet commercial services 
for clients such as ebay and the bbc and 
more recently was sold to france t elecom 
prior to this timothy was part of the 
ask jeeves launch team in the uk 
he is a graduate of nottingham university
2 nicholas green 
executive director age 37
prior to joining tangent nicholas worked 
at advertisingcom as european sales 
and marketing director the company 
specialised in performance based marketing 
and was successfully sold to aol in 2004 
for 439m prior to advertisingcom 
nicholas worked at teletext for seven 
years in the commercial department
4 greg jackson
executive director age 38
greg cofounded the datadriven agency 
c360 in 2003 which was acquired by 
tangent in 2006 he is a graduate of 
cambridge university and his career 
prior to c360 included running a database 
business being a brand manager at 
procter  gamble and writing high 
performance software greg is responsible 
for tangent’s online strategy
6 paul murray
non‑executive director age 49
paul was group finance director at 
carlton communications plc between 2001 
and 2004 prior to that he was group finance 
director at lasmo plc he currently sits 
on the boards of royal mail plc and 
knowledgepeers plc until october 2009 
he was the senior independent director at 
market researcher t aylor nelson sofres plc
7 alan smith not pictured
non‑executive director age 69
alan has extensive quoted company 
experience having held a number of 
senior positions notably with kingfisher plc 
marks and spencer plc and mothercare plc 
he currently acts as a nonexecutive director 
for a number of companies including 
colefax group plc space nk limited 
and martin mccoll retail group  19
tangent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 board of directors
governance
governance
1
2
3
4
5
6
secretary
graeme harris 
resigned 28 february 2010
kevin cameron 
appointed 28 february 2010
registered office 
84–86 great portland street  
london w1w 7nr
company registration 
number
3967805
nominated adviser 
and broker
collins stewart limited
88 wood street 
london ec2v 7qr 
bankers
hsbc bank plc
60 queen victoria street 
london ec4n 4tr
auditors
uhy hacker y oung llp
quadrant house 
4 thomas more square 
london e1w 1yw
registrar
capita registrars 
northern house  
woodsome park 
fenay bridge 
huddersfield 
west yorkshire hd8 0la
solicitors
pinsent masons llp
citypoint 
one ropemaker street 
london ec2y 9ah
rosenblatt 
9–13 st andrew street 
london ec4a 3af t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 20
governance
the directors present their report and audited financial statements of the group for the year ended 28 february 2010
principal activity and review of the business
the principal activity of the group is the provision of customised marketing services a review of the business its future 
development and its key performance indicators can be found in the business review and the financial review
results and dividends
the consolidated profit for the year amounted to £282000 the directors recommend the payment of a dividend of 02p per 
ordinary share to be paid on 27 september 2010 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 27 august 2010 
further information on the group’s results and financial position is included in the financial review
company listing
t angent is listed on aim part of the london stock exchange the market code for the company is tng information required 
by aim rule 26 is available in the investor relations section of t angent’s website at wwwtangentplccom
changes in share capital
on 28 july 2009 the company issued 300000 ordinary shares with a further 100000 issued on 16 december 2009 both following 
the exercise of options
the company has one class of ordinary share which carries no right to fixed income each share carries the right to one vote 
at general meetings of the company 
at 28 february 2010 and at the date of this report the number of issued ordinary shares is 170533502
further details are set out in note 22
directors
during the financial year the following directors held office
piers caldecote 
nicholas green 
timothy green 
graeme harris resigned 28 february 2010
greg jackson
paul murray
kevin cameron and alan smith were both appointed to the board on 8 june 2010
timothy green and paul murray retire by rotation at the next annual general meeting and being eligible offer themselves for re‑election
directors’ interests 
at 28 february 2010 the directors’ shareholdings were as follows
 ordinary shares of 1p each
     28 february 28 february 
     2010 2009
piers caldecote     1500000 1500000
kevin cameron     696250 696250
nicholas green     2730770 2730770
timothy green     2730770 2730770
greg jackson     10315938 10315938
paul murray     3322510 3322510
directors’ interests in share options are set out in the remuneration report on pages 25 to 26
substantial shareholdings
the directors are aware of the following shareholdings of 3 or more of the issued share capital of the company at 31 may 2010
       of issued 
     ordinary ordinary 
     shares of  share 
beneficial holder     1p each capital
michael green      53076924 311
hargreave hale     11323680 66
nicholas gillett

     10315938 60
herald investment management     5846154 34
unicorn asset management     5696354 33
 a vendor of c360 uk limited and senior employee within the group
directors’ report
directors’ report
for the year ended 28 february 2010 governance
21
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 directors’ report
governance
substantial shareholdings continued
institutional shareholders with an interest of between 1 and 3 of the issued share capital of the company at 31 may 2010 were 
as follows
aberdeen asset management
axa framlington investment management
bluehone investors
discretionary unit fund
fc asset management
marlborough fund managers
savoy investment management
suppliers payment policy 
it is the group’s policy that payments to suppliers are made in accordance with those terms and conditions agreed between the 
group and its suppliers provided that all trading terms and conditions have been complied with at 28 february 2010 the group 
had an average of 60 days 2009 47 days of purchases outstanding in trade creditors
employees
the group recognises the benefit of keeping its employees informed of all relevant matters on a regular basis the group is an 
equal opportunities employer and all applications for employment are considered fully on the basis of suitability for the job 
use of financial instruments
t angent’s financial risk management objectives are to minimise debt to fund acquisitions through a mixture of equity financing and 
cash and to ensure sufficient working capital for the group’s overhead and capital expenditure commitments this is achieved by 
prudent financial management and careful management of the group’s cash balances both short and long term the financial risk 
management objectives and policies of the group set out in note 21 of the financial statements include the group’s exposure to 
currency liquidity and credit risk
key risks and uncertainties
the key risks and uncertainties for the group are identified as exposure to the residential property market exposure to bad debts 
and the effects of larger technology companies replicating some of t angent’s technical innovations
going concern
after making appropriate enquiries and examining those areas which could give rise to financial exposure the directors are satisfied 
that no material or significant exposures exist and that the group has adequate resources to continue its operations for the foreseeable 
future for this reason the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the group’s financial statements
donations
during the year the group made charitable donations of £6000 2009 £8000 of this £5000 was donated to the harpin foundation 
for encouraging young entrepreneurs in the uk and a political donation to the labour party of £8000 2009£6000
auditors
each of the persons who is a director at the date of approval of this annual report confirms that
• so far as the directors are aware there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditors are unaware and
•  the directors have taken steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and 
to establish that the auditors are aware of that information 
this confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of section 148 of the companies act 2006
uhy hacker young have expressed their willingness to continue in office as auditors and a resolution to re‑appoint them will 
be proposed at the forthcoming annual general meeting
kevin cameron
secretary
21 june 2010 t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 22
governance
company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year under that law the directors have elected 
to prepare the group and parent company financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards 
“ifrs” as adopted by the european union under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless 
they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and the 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 accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
•  state whether applicable ifrs as adopted by the european union 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 adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and the group and enable 
them to ensure that the financial statements and the directors’ remuneration report comply with the companies act 2006 they 
are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the 
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the company’s website and legislation in the united kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions
directors’ responsibility statement 
each of the directors whose names and functions are listed on page 18 confirm that to the best of each person’s knowledge 
and belief
•  the financial statements prepared in accordance with ifrs as adopted by the european union give a true and fair view of the 
assets liabilities financial position and profit or loss of the group and company and
•  the directors’ report contained in the annual report includes a true and fair review of the development and performance of the 
business and the position of the company and group together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that 
they face
by order of the board
timothy green
chief executive
21 june 2010
directors’ responsibilities
directors’ responsibilities
for the year ended 28 february 2010 governance
23
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 corporate governance statement
governance
statement of compliance
although aim listed companies are not required to report on the combined code the directors are committed to proper standards 
of corporate governance and will continue to keep procedures under review 
board and board committees
during the year the board of directors comprised two non‑executive directors and four executive directors graeme harris 
resigned on 28 february 2010 as an executive director the full board manages overall control of the group’s affairs by the schedule 
of matters reserved for its decision these include the approval of financial statements acquisitions and disposals authority levels for 
expenditure and review of monthly and other management reports the chairman will continue to review the skills and balance of 
the board as the group grows
the directors are able to take independent professional advice in the furtherance of their duties at the company’s expense and all 
directors have access to the advice and services of the company secretary
the board considers its non‑executive directors to be independent an independent director is one who has no relationship 
with the company or its management which may undermine independence and who is not dependent on the company or its 
management for his primary source of income was not within the last three years a senior manager of the company and does 
not participate in the company’s incentive bonus scheme or pension schemes
the board delegates day‑to‑day and business management control to the executive directors who are in regular contact with each 
other formal decisions are communicated throughout the group the executive directors are responsible for implementing group 
policy the monitoring and performance of the business and reporting to the full board thereon
the company has an audit committee whose terms of reference cover the points recommended by the code its duties include 
monitoring internal financial control throughout the group approving the group’s accounting policies and reviewing the half year 
and annual financial statements before submission to the board paul murray is chairman of the audit committee and piers caldecote 
is the other member
the company has a remuneration committee of which paul murray is chairman and piers caldecote is the other member
all executive directors have rolling service contracts with the company terminable on twelve months’ notice from the company 
except greg jackson whose contract is terminable on six months’ notice from the company and by six months’ notice by the 
director non‑executive directors agree a letter of appointment terminable on six months’ notice by each party 
following their first appointment to the board the terms of the articles of association require all directors to retire and stand for 
re‑election at the earliest opportunity under the articles of association all directors are required to retire once every three years 
the nominations committee comprises all directors and is chaired by piers caldecote
relationship with shareholders
the directors consider the clear and timely communication of information to shareholders as an important part of their duties 
the business review and financial review provide a summary of the group’s trading performance and future outlook the group’s 
website wwwtangentplccom also gives shareholders access to additional information furthermore twice a year the group’s 
financial results are published in conjunction with briefings for investment managers and institutional analysts following the 
company’s interim and preliminary full year announcements and at other ad hoc times
the board views the annual general meeting as an opportunity to communicate with both institutional and private investors alike 
and aims to comply with all the provisions of the code relating to the constructive uses of annual general meetings the directors 
intend to be present and available to answer questions at this year’s annual general meeting
accountability and financial control
the board has overall responsibility for the systems of financial control implementation and maintenance of the financial control 
systems is the responsibility of executive management the board through the audit committee has reviewed the effectiveness 
of the systems of internal financial control for the accounting year and the period to the date of approval of the financial statements 
it should be understood however that such systems are designed to provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against 
material misstatement or loss
the company has an established framework of internal financial controls the key features of which are as follows
control environment
there are clearly defined organisational responsibilities and the board is committed to employing suitably qualified staff so that 
the appropriate level of authority can be delegated with regard to accountability and acceptable levels of risk
information systems
the group operates a number of separate systems of financial and operational reporting to the board and senior management 
based upon an annual budget and regular forecasts monthly weekly and other periodic reports of actual results financial and 
non‑financial together with key performance indicators are produced and discussed by the directors
identification and evaluation of business risks and controls
management control is exercised at all levels of the group and is regulated by appropriate limits of authority the directors 
have considered various areas of business risks and have developed appropriate policies to manage and diffuse those risks 
these policies are reviewed in the light of known and perceived changes to the risks
corporate governance statement
for the year ended 28 february 2010 t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 24
governance
accountability and financial control continued
quality and integrity of personnel
the group attaches high importance to the values of trust honesty and integrity of personnel in responsible positions and operates 
a policy of recruiting and promoting suitably experienced personnel with clearly defined accountabilities 
investment appraisal
all major capital expenditure is included in the annual budget and is reported on to the board in addition all potential and actual 
acquisition opportunities are regularly reviewed by the board both in meetings and by ad hoc reports
monitoring
given the size of the group and the close day‑to‑day involvement of the executive directors in all of the group’s locations no formal 
internal audit is considered necessary
piers caldecote timothy green 
non‑executive chairman chief executive
21 june 2010
corporate governance statement
corporate governance statement continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010 governance
25
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 remuneration report
governance
remuneration report
for the year ended 28 february 2010
introduction
the policy of the group is to offer competitive remuneration packages that will attract retain and motivate experienced and talented 
individuals who will enhance the value of the group the remuneration packages of the executive directors are reviewed and 
approved by the remuneration committee on an annual basis the remuneration policies aim to incentivise and reward both short 
term financial performance and also shareholder value creation the remuneration of other employees is the responsibility of the 
chief executive
remuneration of the directors
executive directors are paid a basic salary and receive benefits in kind the remuneration of non‑executive directors requires 
approval by the board individual directors are not permitted to participate in decisions concerning their own remuneration
the structure of executive directors’ remuneration was reviewed at the beginning of the year and the remuneration elements 
are as follows
•  a base salary pension and benefits in kind are set at a competitive level and reflect the remuneration packages paid by companies 
of a similar size and in similar sectors 
•  an annual cash bonus of up to 50 of basic salary is payable depending upon achievement of challenging financial performance targets 
set at the beginning of each financial year  the purpose is to incentivise on the short term financial performance of the group and
•  a long term incentive plan “ltip” under which share options with an intrinsic value up to 50 of basic salary per year are awarded 
to directors which vest over a three year period depending upon the achievement of challenging goals based on total shareholder 
return over the period the purpose is to incentivise delivery of long term value and to align interests with shareholders
audited remuneration of directors for the year under review was as follows
   compensation   2010 2009 
  salary for loss of office  benefits t otal t otal 
  £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
piers caldecote  21 — — 21 21
nicholas green  116 — 9 125 124
timothy green  113 — 9 122 124
graeme harris  110 123 10 243 119
greg jackson  100 — — 100 54
paul murray  21 — — 21 21
  481 123 28 632 463
no bonuses were paid to executive directors as financial targets were not met for the year ended 28 february 2010
in addition to the remuneration stated in the table above pension contributions of £9000 2009 £9000 were made to defined 
contribution schemes for the benefit of each of the executive directors nicholas green timothy green and graeme harris
remuneration is stated for the period during which each director served greg jackson was appointed to the board on 14 may 2008 
the audited directors’ remuneration is all classified as short term employment benefits under international accounting standard “ias” 24 
share options
the company operates three share option schemes by which employees including executive directors are able to acquire 
shares comprising an inland revenue approved scheme the approved scheme an unapproved scheme the unapproved 
scheme and an enterprise management incentive scheme the emi scheme at 28 february 2010 5000 options 2009 5000 
had been granted to employees under the approved scheme 10502731 2009 10221643 under the unapproved scheme 
and 4582934 2009 5082934 under the emi scheme in total 15090665 options had been granted at 28 february 2010 
which represents 8 of the issued number of shares
the share options held by directors who served during the year were as follows
   at   at 
  exercise 1 march granted lapsed 28 february 
 note price 2009 in year in year 2010
nicholas green  a 1p 2500000 — — 2500000
 b 5p 2500000 — — 2500000
timothy green  a  1p 2500000 — — 2500000
 b  5p 2500000 — — 2500000
graeme harris  a  5p 1100000 — — 1100000
 b   1175p 500000 — 333334 166666
 c 1p 393422 — 393422 —
 d 1p 498180 — 498180 —
 e 1p — 1649096 1649096 —
greg jackson d 1p 272975 — — 272975
 e 1p — 1506024 — 1506024
   12764577 3155120 2874032 13045665 t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010 26 remuneration report continued
governance
share options continued
a  options granted on 27 september 2005 which have vested in full vesting criteria were the purchase and retention of matching 
ordinary shares in t angent achievement of specific business integration targets following the reverse acquisition that was 
completed on 11 july 2005 and continued employment the options are exercisable between 27 september 2008 and 
26 september 2015
b  options granted on 27 september 2005 which have vested in full vesting criteria were targets for earnings per share 
performance and total shareholder return performance for each of the financial years that ended in february 2006 2007 
and 2008 and continued employment earnings per share targets were for earnings per share excluding amortisation and 
exceptional items to exceed 07p in the year ended 28 february 2006 and this target increased by 15 per annum over the 
following two years t otal shareholder return targets were that for each year total shareholder returns on t angent shares equal 
or exceed the total shareholder return on a portfolio of smaller support services companies selected from the ftse all share 
index the options are exercisable between 27 september 2008 and 26 september 2015
c  options granted on 25 june 2007 under the 2007 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2010 and 
25 june 2012 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return performance in excess of 10 per annum from 
1 march 2007 to the financial year ends in february 2008 2009 and 2010 at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under 
the 2007 ltip 
d  options granted on 6 august 2008 under the 2008 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2011 and 
6 august 2013 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return performance in excess of 10 per annum from 
1 march 2008 to the financial year ends in february 2009 2010 and 2011 at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under 
the 2008 ltip 
e  options granted on 31 march 2009 under the 2009 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2012 and 
31 march 2014 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return of 10 per annum above the total shareholder 
return of the aim index excluding certain unrelated sectors at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under the 2009 ltip 
in addition to the share options above the following phantom options have been issued which will result in a cash bonus being 
paid subject to the relevant performance criteria being met in all cases the board retains the right to satisfy the options in shares 
rather than through a cash bonus
    at  at 
   exercise 1 march granted 28 february 
  note price 2009 in year 2010
nicholas green   a 1p 415279 — 415279
  b 1p 522066 — 522066
  c 1p — 1728163 1728163
timothy green   a  1p 415279 — 415279
  b  1p 522066 — 522066
  c 1p — 1728163 1728163
    1874690 3456326 5331016
a  options granted on 25 june 2007 under the 2007 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2010 and 
25 june 2012 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return performance in excess of 10 per annum from 
1 march 2007 to the financial year ends in february 2008 2009 and 2010 at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under 
the 2007 ltip 
b  options granted on 6 august 2008 under the 2008 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2011 and 
6 august 2013 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return performance in excess of 10 per annum from 
1 march 2008 to the financial year ends in february 2009 2010 and 2011 at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under 
the 2008 ltip 
c  options granted on 31 march 2009 under the 2009 ltip which vest and become exercisable between 1 march 2012 and 
31 march 2014 dependent on the achievement of total shareholder return of 10 per annum above the total shareholder 
return of the aim index excluding certain unrelated sectors at 28 february 2010 no options had vested under the 2009 ltip 
the share‑based payment charge for options and phantom options granted to directors was £9000 for the year ended 
28 february 2010
paul murray 
non‑executive director
21 june 2010
remuneration report
remuneration report continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010 financial statements
27
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
independent auditors’ report
independent auditors’ report
to the shareholders of t angent communications plc
we have audited the financial statements of t angent communications plc for the year ended 28 february 2010 which comprise 
the consolidated statement of comprehensive income the consolidated and parent company statements of changes in equity 
the consolidated and parent company statements of financial position the consolidated and parent company statement of 
cash flows and the related notes the financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable 
law and international financial reporting standards “ifrs” as adopted by the european union
this report is made solely to the company’s members as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 
our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state 
to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose t o the fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or assume 
responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body for our audit work for this report 
or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors 
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out in page 22 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 relevant legal and regulatory requirements and international standards on auditing 
uk and ireland those standards require us to comply with the auditing practices board’s “ apb’s” ethical standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the financial statements
a description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided on the apb’s website at wwwfrcorgukapbscopeuknp 
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion 
•  the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 
28 february 2010 and of the group’s profit for the year then ended 
• the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrs as adopted by the european union and
• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006 
opinion on other matters prescribed by the companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared 
is consistent with the financial statements
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
colin wright senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of uhy hacker young 
chartered accountants and statutory auditors
quadrant house
4 thomas more square
london e1w 1yw
21 june 2010  28
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
      2010 2009 
     notes £000 £000
revenue      18185 15607
cost of sales      9620 8576
gross profit      8565 7031
operating expenses     4 7726 5954
share‑based payment charge     23 19 229
underlying operating profit       820 848
group restructuring expense     2 542 397
operating profit     4 278 451
finance income     7 4 72
profit before tax      282 523
t ax     8 — 219
profit for the year      282 304
other comprehensive income   
exchange differences on translating foreign operations      2 —
t otal comprehensive income for the year      284 304
earnings per share pence     9  
basic      017 018
diluted      016 017
the results shown above relate entirely to continuing operations and are attributable to equity shareholders of the company
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 28 february 2010 financial statements
29
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
consolidated statement of changes in equity
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 28 february 2010
      retained  
  share share merger other  earnings t otal 
  capital premium reserve reserves losses equity 
 notes £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 29 february 2008  1660 — 459 3108 14157 19384
comprehensive income       
retained profit for the year  — — — — 304 304
share‑based payment charge 23 — — — 229 — 229
t otal comprehensive income   — — — 229 304 533
transactions with owners       
equity dividend 10 — — — — 329 329
issue of shares 22 42 — 458 500 — —
t otal transactions with owners   42 — 458 500 329 329
at 28 february 2009  1702 — 917 2837 14132 19588
comprehensive income       
retained profit for the year  — — — — 284 284
share‑based payment charge 23 — — — 19 — 19
t otal comprehensive income   — — — 19 284 303
transactions with owners       
equity dividend 10 — — — — 338 338
issue of shares 22 4 12 — — — 16
t otal transactions with owners   4 12 — — 338 322
at 28 february 2010  1706 12 917 2856 14078 19569 30
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
consolidated statement of financial position
      2010 2009 
     notes £000 £000
assets   
non‑current assets   
intangible assets     12 16004 14961
property plant and equipment     13 1582 1685
       17586 16646
current assets   
inventories     15 106 106
trade and other receivables     16 5286 3191
cash and cash equivalents      1145 2801
       6537 6098
t otal assets      24123 22744
liabilities   
current liabilities   
borrowings     17 62 63
trade and other payables     18 4326 2664
current tax liabilities      141 148
provisions     19 — 166
       4529 3041
non‑current liabilities   
borrowings     17 25 87
deferred tax     20 — 28
      25 115
t otal liabilities      4554 3156
net assets      19569 19588
   
equity   
share capital     22 1706 1702
share premium      12 —
merger reserve      917 917
other reserves     24 2856 2837
retained earnings      14078 14132
t otal equity attributable to equity shareholders of the company     19569 19588
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 21 june 2010 and were signed on its behalf by
nicholas green timothy green
executive director chief executive
registered number 3967805 
consolidated statement of financial position
at 28 february 2010 financial statements
31
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
consolidated statement of cash flows
consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 28 february 2010
      2010 2009 
     notes £000 £000
operating activities   
cash generated from operations     25 636 1600
interest paid      5 13
t ax paid      190 378
net cash generated from operating activities      441 1209
investing activities   
acquisition of subsidiary net of cash acquired     28 990 —
payment of contingent consideration     19 166 167
purchase of property plant and equipment     13 468 618
purchase of other intangible assets     12 114 —
sale of property plant and equipment     13 17 48
interest received      9 83
net cash used in investing activities      1712 654
financing activities   
dividends paid     10 338 329
repayment of borrowings      63 89
proceeds from issue of shares net of costs      16 —
net cash used in financing activities      385 418
decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents      1656 137
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year      2801 2664
cash and cash equivalents at end of year     26 1145 2801 32
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
company statement of changes in equity
      retained  
  share share merger other  earnings t otal 
  capital premium reserve reserves losses equity 
 notes £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 29 february 2008  1660 — 459 1947 10869 14935
comprehensive income       
retained loss for the year  — — — — 1080 1080
share‑based payment charge 23 — — — 229 — 229
t otal comprehensive income   — — — 229 1080 851
transactions with owners       
equity dividend 10 — — — — 329 329
issue of shares 22 42 — 458 500 — —
t otal transactions with owners  42 — 458 500 329 329
at 28 february 2009  1702 — 917 1676 9460 13755
comprehensive income       
retained loss for the year  — — — — 1207 1207
share‑based payment charge 23 — — — 19 — 19
t otal comprehensive income   — — — 19 1207 1188
transactions with owners       
equity dividend 10 — — — — 338 338
issue of shares 22 4 12 — — — 16
t otal transactions with owners  4 12 — — 338 322
at 28 february 2010  1706 12 917 1695 7915 12245
company statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 28 february 2010 financial statements
33
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
company statement of financial position
      2010 2009 
     notes £000 £000
assets   
non‑current assets   
property plant and equipment     13 2 —
investment in subsidiaries     14 18739 17095
      18741 17095
current assets   
trade and other receivables     16 58 18
cash and cash equivalents      219 —
       277 18
t otal assets      19018 17113
liabilities   
current liabilities   
trade and other payables     18 6773 3192
current tax liabilities      — —
provisions     19 — 166
t otal liabilities      6773 3358
net assets      12245 13755
equity   
share capital     22 1706 1702
share premium      12 —
merger reserve      917 917
other reserves     24 1695 1676
retained earnings      7915 9460
t otal equity attributable to equity shareholders of the company     12245 13755
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 21 june 2010 and were signed on its behalf by
nicholas green timothy green
executive director chief executive
registered number 3967805 
company statement of financial position
at 28 february 2010 34
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
company statement of cash flows
      2010 2009 
     notes £000 £000
operating activities   
cash generated from operations     25 2353 410
net cash generated from operating activities      2353 410
investing activities   
acquisition of a subsidiary     28 1644 —
payment of contingent consideration      166 167
purchase of property plant and equipment      2 —
interest received      — 1
net cash used in investing activities      1812 166
financing activities   
dividends paid      338 329
proceeds from issue of shares net of costs      16 —
net cash used in financing activities      322 329
increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents      219 85
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year      — 85
cash and cash equivalents at end of year      219 —
company statement of cash flows
for the year ended 28 february 2010 financial statements
35
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 28 february 2010
1 summary of significant accounting policies
t angent has prepared both its consolidated financial statements and its parent company financial statements for the year ended 
28 february 2010 in compliance with ifrs as adopted by the european union and those parts of the companies act 2006 applicable 
to companies reporting under ifrs the principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated financial 
statements are set out below these policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented
11 basis of preparation
these consolidated financial statements of the company and its subsidiaries are for the year ended 28 february 2010 
the consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention
going concern
the directors confirm that after giving due consideration to the financial position and cash flows of the group and company 
they have reasonable expectation that the group and company have adequate resources to continue in operational existence 
for the foreseeable future for this reason the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these accounts
12 consolidation
subsidiaries are all entities which t angent has the power to govern the financial and operating policies generally accompanying 
a shareholding of more than one half of the voting rights subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is 
transferred to t angent they are de‑consolidated from the date that control ceases all active subsidiaries were held by a direct 
100 shareholding by the parent company at the balance sheet date
the purchase method of accounting is used to account for the acquisition of subsidiaries the cost of an acquisition is measured 
as the fair value of the assets given equity instruments issued and liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of exchange plus 
costs directly attributable to the acquisition identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a 
business combination are measured initially at their fair value at the date of acquisition the excess of the cost of acquisition 
over the fair value of t angent’s share of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill
inter‑group transactions balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated accounting 
policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by t angent
13 revenue recognition
revenue comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for the sale of goods and services in the ordinary 
course of t angent’s activities revenue is shown net of value‑added tax returns rebates and discounts and after eliminating 
inter‑group sales t angent recognises revenue when the amount of revenue can be reliably measured it is probable that future 
economic benefits will flow to t angent and specific delivery criteria have been met 
sale of goods
revenue is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods have been passed to the buyer and the 
amount of revenue can be measured reliably this is usually on dispatch of the goods
provision of services
revenue is recognised when the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods has been passed to the buyer and the 
amount of revenue can be measured reliably this is usually when the service has been provided
14 segmental reporting
operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision‑maker 
who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating segments and which has been identified 
as the board of directors that make strategic decisions
15 foreign currency translation
a functional and presentational currency
items included in the financial statements of each of t angent’s entities are measured in sterling which is the company’s and the 
group’s functional and presentation currency
b transactions and balances
foreign currency transactions are translated into sterling using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions 
exchange differences arising from the translation at the year end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated 
in foreign currencies are recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income
16 employee benefits
a pension obligations
t angent has defined contribution plans under which t angent pays fixed contributions into a separate entity t angent has no legal 
or constructive obligations to pay further contributions relating to employee service in the current and prior years the contributions 
are recognised as an employee benefit expense when they are due
b share‑based compensation
t angent operates a number of equity‑settled share‑based compensation plans the fair value of the employee services received 
in exchange for the grant of the options is recognised as an expense the total amount to be expensed over the period until the 
option vest is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted excluding the impact of any non‑market vesting 
conditions eg profitability and revenue growth targets non‑market vesting conditions are included in the assumptions about the 
number of options that are expected to vest at each balance sheet date t angent revises its estimates of the number of options 
that are expected to vest it recognises the impact of the revision to original estimates if any in the statement of comprehensive 
income with a corresponding adjustment to equity
the proceeds received net of any directly attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital nominal value and share 
premium when the options are exercised  36
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
1 summary of significant accounting policies continued
17 intangible assets 
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of t angent’s share of the net identifiable assets 
of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition goodwill on acquisition of subsidiaries is included in intangible assets 
goodwill is tested annually for impairment and carried at cost less accumulated impairment losses any impairment on goodwill 
is recognised immediately in the statement of comprehensive income and is not subsequently reversed gains and losses 
on the disposal of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill relating to the entity sold
goodwill is allocated to cash‑generating units for the purpose of impairment testing the allocation is made to those 
cash‑generating units or groups of cash‑generating units that are expected to benefit from the business combination 
in which the goodwill arose t angent currently allocates goodwill to two business segments
other intangible assets
other intangible assets include website and customer list acquisition costs which are stated at cost less subsequent amortisation 
and impairment amortisation is calculated using the straight line method over two or three years
18 investments in subsidiaries
the parent company’s investments in subsidiary undertakings are included in the company balance sheet at cost less provision 
for any impairment in value
19 property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment is stated at historic cost less subsequent depreciation and impairment historic cost includes 
expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items
depreciation on assets is calculated using the straight line method to allocate their cost less their residual values over their 
estimated useful lives as follows
• buildings   over the term of the lease
• plant and equipment two to ten years
the assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted if appropriate at each balance sheet date
subsequent costs are included in an asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset as appropriate only when it 
is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to t angent and the cost of the item can be measured 
reliably the carrying amount of a replaced part is derecognised all other repairs and maintenance are charged to the statement 
of comprehensive income during the financial year in which they are incurred
an asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than 
its estimated recoverable amount
gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in the 
statement of comprehensive income 
110 inventories
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value
111 trade receivables
trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value a provision for impairment of trade receivables is established when there 
is objective evidence that the group will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables 
the amount of the provision is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future 
cash flows the carrying amount of the asset is reduced through the use of an allowance account and the amount of the loss 
is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income within operating expenses when a trade receivable is uncollectible 
it is written off against the allowance account for trade receivables subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are 
credited against operating expenses in the statement of comprehensive income 
112 cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet include cash in hand and short term deposits held with banks bank overdrafts 
are shown within borrowings in current liabilities on the balance sheet for the purposes of the cash flow statement cash and cash 
equivalents also include bank overdrafts financial statements
37
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
1 summary of significant accounting policies continued
113 leases
leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as operating 
leases payments under operating leases net of any incentives received from the lessor are charged to the statement of 
comprehensive income on a straight line basis over the period of the lease
t angent leases certain plant and equipment where t angent has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership these leases 
are classified as finance leases finance leases are capitalised at the lease commencement at the lower of the fair value of the 
leased property and the present value of the minimum lease payments
each finance lease payment is allocated between the liability and finance charges so as to achieve the explicit or implicit interest 
rate on the finance balance outstanding the corresponding rental obligations net of finance charges are included in other 
short term and other long term borrowings the interest element of the finance cost is charged to the statement of comprehensive 
income over the lease period the property plant and equipment acquired under finance leases is depreciated over the shorter 
of the useful life of the asset and the lease term
114 provisions
provisions are recognised when t angent has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events it is probable that 
an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the amount has been reliably estimated provisions are not 
recognised for future operating losses
provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation using a pre‑tax 
rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the obligation the increase in 
the provision due to the passage of time is recognised as interest expense
115 deferred tax
deferred tax is provided in full using the liability method on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and 
liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements deferred tax is not accounted for if it arises from initial 
recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than a business combination that at the time of the transaction affects 
neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss deferred tax is determined using tax rates that are expected to apply when the related 
deferred tax asset is realised or when the deferred tax liability is settled
deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the 
temporary differences can be utilised
116 equity instruments
ordinary shares are classified as equity costs directly attributable to the issue of new shares are shown as equity as a deduction 
from the proceeds
117 new standards and interpretations
during the year the following accounting standards were issued and adopted by t angent
ifrs 8 operating segments
this standard replaces ias 14 and is applicable for all accounting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009
the standard adopts a management approach and requires that segmental information is presented on the same basis as used 
for internal management decision making further disclosure is also required in respect of products services geographical areas 
and major customers in note 3
ias 1 presentation of financial statements
the revised standard is applicable to accounting periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 its intent is to improve users’ 
ability to analyse and compare information given in financial statements and is the first phase at harmonising presentation with the 
us financial accounting standards board
following adoption of the standard t angent has presented a consolidated statement of comprehensive income on page 28 
in addition the titles of the following financial statements have changed
consolidated income statement has become the consolidated statement of comprehensive income
consolidated balance sheet has become the consolidated statement of financial position
ifrs 7 financial instruments disclosures
the revised standard is applicable to accounting periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 the amendments expand the 
disclosures required in respect of fair value measurements and liquidity risk in particular the amendment requires disclosure of 
fair value measurements by level of a fair value measurement hierarchy
during the year the iasb and ifric have issued the following standards and interpretations with an effective date for periods 
commencing on or after 1 january 2009 38
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
1 summary of significant accounting policies continued
117 new standards and interpretations continued
ifrs 2 share‑based payment vesting conditions and cancellations
the amendments clarify the definition of vesting conditions for the purposes of ifrs 2 introduce the concept of “non‑vesting” 
conditions and clarify the accounting treatment for cancellations
the amendment has been applied retrospectively in accordance with the relevant transitional provisions note 23
at the date of authorisation of these financial statements the following standards and interpretations which have not been applied 
in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective
ifrs 1 first time adoption of international financial reporting standards 1 july 2009
ifrs 2 share‑based payment group cash‑settled share‑based payment transactions 1 january 2010
ifrs 3 business combinations revised january 2008 1 july 2009
ifrs 9 financial instruments classification and measurement 1 january 2013
ias 24 related party disclosures revised 1 january 2011
ias 27 consolidated and separate financial statements revised january 2008 1 july 2009
ias 32 amendments to ias 32 classification of rights issues 1 february 2010
ias 39 recognition and measurement eligible hedged items 1 july 2009
ifric 14 amendment prepayments of a minimum funding requirement 1 january 2011
ifric 17 distributions of non‑cash assets to owners 1 july 2009
ifric 18 transfers of assets from customers 1 july 2009
ifric 19 extinguishing financial liabilities with equity instruments 1 july 2010
the group has not early adopted these amended standards and interpretations 
the directors do not anticipate that the adoption of these standards and interpretations will have a material impact on the group’s 
financial statements in the periods of initial application
118 accounting estimates and judgements
estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors including 
expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances
t angent makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future the resulting accounting estimates will by definition rarely 
equal the related actual results the estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment 
to carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are outlined below
a intangible assets
t angent tests annually whether goodwill has suffered any impairment in accordance with the accounting policy stated in note 17 
the recoverable amounts from cash‑generating units are determined based on value‑in‑use calculations these calculations 
require the use of estimates in arriving at the fair value of goodwill tangent estimates the future consideration payable for 
acquisitions where the final consideration is contingent upon future events or performance estimated future consideration is 
reviewed and accrued at each balance sheet date if recoverable amounts of cash‑generating units are below the estimated 
levels or if the future consideration payable on acquisitions is higher than estimated an impairment loss may be triggered
b deferred tax
t angent estimates future profitability in arriving at the fair value of the deferred tax assets and liabilities if the final tax outcome is 
different to the estimated deferred tax amount the resulting changes will be reflected in the statement of comprehensive income 
unless the tax relates to an item charged to equity in which case the changes in tax estimates will also be reflected in equity
c business combinations
upon acquisition of another entity t angent evaluates whether or not any intangibles have arisen under methodologies prescribed 
under ifrs 3 business combinations judgement is required to identify which intangibles meet the recognition criteria of separate 
or contractual assets cash flow forecasts are performed to determine the value of any assets arising any such assets are tested 
at least annually for impairment information on intangibles arising during the year is contained in note 12
2 group restructuring
the board completed a number of restructuring programmes during the year the cost of which fall outside normal operating 
expenses and income they have therefore been separately identified in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
and excluded from underlying operating profit 
1  during the year the group finance department central was consolidated into one unit this resulted in a reduction in both head 
count and ongoing costs included in the employee redundancies detailed below is compensation for loss of office amounting 
to £123000 paid to graeme harris the former finance director of the group
2  in march 2009 t angent acquired the business and assets of lateral a digital marketing business following the acquisition 
the online business segment undertook a restructure of its creative service resulting in a reduction in head count and related 
employee redundancy and relocation costs financial statements
39
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
2 group restructuring continued
3  following the acquisition of snowball and subsequent merger with t angent direct a restructure of the direct account management 
team was undertaken to create the most effective and efficient consolidated client management team this coupled with a review 
of the group’s printing facility in london resulted in a reduction in head count and related employee costs
restructuring expenses and are set out below
      £000
employee redundancies – central      302
employee redundancies – online      166
employee redundancies – direct      63
property relocation – online      4
property relocation – direct      7
      542
3 segment information
management has determined the operating segments based on the reports reviewed by the board of directors that are used 
to make strategic decisions on this basis the group has two reportable segments online and direct
online 
this comprises the t angent one and t angent labs businesses
direct 
this comprises of snowball ravensworth and t angent on demand the direct segment has a significant property related sales 
element which is separately disclosed 
central 
central costs are not allocated to specific business segments but are included below to reconcile the segmental information 
to the consolidated information central costs include the share‑based payment charge as set out in note 23
the segment results for the year ended 28 february 2010 were as follows
   online direct central t otal 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
revenue      
property related revenue   — 4983 — 4983
other revenue   4535 8957 — 13492
   4535 13940 — 18475
less inter‑segment sales   223 67 — 290
revenues from external customers   4312 13873 — 18185
results      
profit from operations before exceptional items   734 991 905 820
exceptional costs   170 70 302 542
profit from operations   564 921 1207 278
net finance costs      4
profit before tax      282
income tax expense      —
profit for the year      282
assets and liabilities     
segment assets excluding goodwill and other intangible assets   1503 6339 277 8119
goodwill   4435 11497 — 15932
other intangible assets   20 52 — 72
t otal assets   5958 17888 277 24123
segment liabilities   766 3453 335 4554
other segment information    
capital expenditure    
property plant and equipment   134 332 2 468
plant and equipment acquired with acquisition   — 75 — 75
intangible assets   39 75 — 114
intangible assets acquired with acquisition   — 3 — 3
    173 485 2 660
depreciation   41 538 — 579
amortisation   19 23 — 42 40
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
3 segment information continued
major customers 
no customer represented more than 10 of total group revenues during the year direct had no customers representing more than 
10 of that segment’s total revenues online had one customer that represented 193 of that segment’s total revenues 
the segment results for the year ended 28 february 2009 were as follows 
   online direct central t otal 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
revenue      
property related revenue   — 5195 — 5195
other revenue   2877 7535 — 10412
   2877 12730 — 15607
less inter‑segment sales   — — — —
revenues from external customers   2877 12730 — 15607
results      
profit from operations before exceptional items   1013 1038 1203 848
exceptional costs   3 391 3 397
profit from operations   1010 647 1206 451
net finance costs      72
profit before tax      523
income tax expense      219
profit for the year      304
assets and liabilities     
segment assets excluding goodwill and other intangible assets   278 7487 18 7783
goodwill   4435 10526 — 14961
t otal assets   4713 18013 18 22744
segment liabilities   446 2468 242 3156
other segment information    
capital expenditure – property plant and equipment   19 586 13 618
depreciation   19 500 — 519
major customers 
no customer represented more than 10 of total group revenues during the year direct customers representing more than 10 
of that segment’s revenue were as follows 
customer one  1158
customer two  1052
online customers representing more than 10 of that segment’s revenue were as follows 
customer one  3870
customer two  1290
customer three  1100
geographical information
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
revenues from external customers  
united kingdom     16739 14348
usa     36 —
germany     827 1259
australia     583 —
     18185 15607
non‑current assets  
united kingdom     17585 16646
australia     1 —
     17586 16646
non‑current assets for this purpose consist of property plant and equipment and intangible assets  financial statements
41
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
4 operating costs
the operating costs which are deducted from revenue in arriving at operating profit are analysed as follows
     2010 2009 
    note £000 £000
employee benefits    6 7238 6346
direct purchases for goods and services provided     6507 5549
depreciation and amortisation     621 519
other expenses     3541 2742
     17907 15156
5 auditors’ remuneration
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
fees payable to the company’s auditor for the audit of the company’s annual financial statements  57 50
t ax services     12 12
other services     36 11
     105 73
the other services were £11000 2009 £11000 for reviewing the group half year accounts and £25000 2009 £nil for due 
diligence work on the acquisition of subsidiaries
6 employee information
     2010 2009 
    note £000 £000
wages and salaries     6488 5463
social security costs     669 586
pension contributions     62 68
share‑based payment charge    23 19 229
     7238 6346
the average number of employees including directors by location was
     2010 2009 
     number number
london     103 81
newcastle     69 68
cheltenham     12 14
     184 163
details of directors’ emoluments including details of share option schemes are given in the remuneration report on pages 25 to 26 
these disclosures form part of the audited financial statements of the group
7 finance income
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
interest receivable on deposits     6 85
other interest receivable     3 —
interest payable on finance leases     5 13
     4 72
8 taxation
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
uk corporation tax – current year     76 238
uk corporation tax – prior year     53 8
deferred tax     23 11
     — 219
uk corporation tax is calculated at 28 2009 28 of the estimated assessable profit for the period 42
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
8 taxation continued
reconciliation of the tax charge in the statement of comprehensive income
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
profit before tax     282 523
t ax at the weighted average tax rate of 28 2009 28     79 146
t ax effects of  
movement in deferred tax assets not recognised     52 25
expenditure not deductible for tax purposes     36 123
other adjustments     63 25
t ax charge for the year     — 219
deferred tax assets are recognised for unused tax losses to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against 
which losses can be utilised the carrying value of deferred tax assets recognised at 28 february 2010 is £nil 2009 £nil 
the group has tax losses available to carry forward against future profits amounting to £229000 2009 £600000 and the 
unrecognised deferred tax asset at 28 february 2010 is £140000 2009 £168000
9 earnings per share
the calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
profit attributable to shareholders     282 304
     number number 
     000 000
weighted average number of shares  
for basic earnings per share     168903 166902
adjustment for options outstanding     4083 5078
adjustment for consideration shares yet to be issued     4158 4158
for diluted earnings per share     177144 176138
     pence per pence per 
     share share
earnings per share  
basic     017 018
diluted     016 017
diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume 
conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares t angent has two categories of dilutive potential ordinary shares share options 
and shares contingently issuable as consideration for an acquisition
a calculation is performed for the share options to determine the number of shares that could have been acquired at fair value 
based on the monetary value of the subscription rights attached to the outstanding share options the number of shares from 
this calculation is compared with the number of shares that would have been issued assuming the exercise of the options and 
the difference is deemed to be the number of dilutive shares attributable to share options
the estimated number of shares that will be issued in the future as purchase consideration for current subsidiaries is deemed 
to be the number of dilutive shares issuable as consideration for acquisitions
10 dividends
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
recommended final dividend for the year of 02p 2009 02p per share    338 337
the recommended final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the 2010 annual general meeting and has not been 
included as a liability in these financial statements 
the t angent employee share ownership trust which holds a total of 1428340 ordinary shares has agreed to waive all dividends 
so the directors estimate that the dividend will be payable on approximately 169m ordinary shares
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
final dividend paid for the year of 02p 2009 02p per share     338 329 financial statements
43
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
11 statement of comprehensive income for the parent company
in accordance with section 408 of the companies act 2006 the parent company has not published a statement of comprehensive 
income the loss dealt with in the financial statements of the parent company of £1207000 2009 loss of £1080000 has been 
included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income
12 intangible assets
     other 
     intangible  
    goodwill assets t otal 
group   note £000 £000 £000
cost    
at 1 march 2008 and 28 february 2009    14961 — 14961
on acquisition of subsidiary   28 971 — 971
acquired with subsidiary    — 3 3
additions    — 114 114
at 28 february 2010    15932 117 16049
amortisation and impairment    
at 1 march 2008 and 28 february 2009    — — —
acquired with subsidiary    — 3 3
amortisation during the year    — 42 42
at 28 february 2010     — 45 45
net book value    
at 28 february 2010    15932 72 16004
at 28 february 2009     14961 — 14961
additions to goodwill in the year ended 28 february 2010 relate to the acquisition of the ddg network limited and double d 
management llp  collectively known as snowball and detailed in note 28
additions to other intangibles in the year ended 28 february 2010 relate to the acquisition of customer lists and website 
domain names
impairment of goodwill 
goodwill acquired through business combinations has been allocated to two cash‑generating units direct and online these units 
represent the lowest level at which goodwill is monitored for impairment 
the carrying value of goodwill allocated to each cash‑generating unit is as follows 
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
direct     11497 10526
online     4435 4435
     15932 14961
goodwill arising on the acquisition of snowball has been allocated to the direct cash‑generating unit
the recoverable amount of each cash‑generating unit is calculated based on a value‑in‑use calculation which uses cash flow 
projections based on financial budgets approved by the board of directors covering a period of five years cash flows beyond 
the five year period have been extrapolated using a growth rate of 3 2009 3 
the pre‑tax discount rate applied to the cash flow projections is 125 2009 81 and represents the weighted average cost 
of capital for the group 
the directors have concluded that at 28 february 2010 the value of goodwill has not been impaired the directors have performed 
sensitivity analysis on both the wacc and growth rates applied and have concluded that any reasonable changes in the key 
assumptions used in determining the recoverable amount for each of the cash‑generating units would not cause the carrying 
value to exceed the recoverable amount of each unit  44
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
13 property plant and equipment
    short 
     leasehold  
    land and  plant and 
    buildings equipment t otal 
group    £000 £000 £000
cost   
at 1 march 2008     458 3491  3949 
additions    218 400  618 
disposals    68  1401  1469
at 28 february 2009     608 2490 3098
additions    15 453 468
acquired with subsidiary    — 75 75
disposals    — 17 17
at 28 february 2010    623 3001 3624
depreciation   
at 1 march 2008    109 2202  2311
charge for the year    42  477 519
disposals    51 1366  1417 
at 28 february 2009     100 1313 1413
charge for the year    82 497 579
acquired with subsidiary    — 59 59
disposals    — 9 9
at 28 february 2010     182 1860 2042
net book value   
at 28 february 2010    441 1141 1582
at 28 february 2009     508 1177 1685
included within net book value of plant and equipment is £128000 2009 £169000 in respect of assets held under finance leases 
included within the depreciation charge for the year is £33000 2009 £40000 in respect of assets held under finance leases
     plant and 
     equipment t otal  
company     £000 £000
cost   
at 1 march 2008 and 28 february 2009     — —
additions     2 2
at 28 february 2010     2 2
depreciation   
at 1 march 2008 and 28 february 2009     — —
charge for the year     — —
at 28 february 2010      — —
net book value   
at 28 february 2010     2 2
at 28 february 2009      — — financial statements
45
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
14 investments in subsidiaries
     2010 2009 
company     £000 £000
cost  
at 1 march     17359 17359
additions note 28     1644 —
at 28 february     19003 17359
provision for impairment  
at 1 march and 28 february     264 264
net book value at 28 february     18739 17095
additions to investments in the year ended 28 february 2010 relate to the acquisition of the ddg network limited together with the 
business and assets of double d management llp note 28 the recoverable amount of investments is calculated using a value‑in‑use 
calculation of the assets comprising the investment in subsidiaries based on cash flow projections approved by the board of directors 
the pre‑tax discount rate applied to the cash flow projections is 125 2009 81 and represents the weighted average cost 
of capital for the group 
in the opinion of the directors the aggregate value of the investment in subsidiary undertakings is not less than the amount 
at which it is stated in the statement of financial position 
subsidiary undertakings
the company’s significant trading subsidiaries are as follows
  interest in 
 principal ordinary  
name activity share capital
ravensworth digital services limited marketing services 100
t angent labs limited formerly c360 uk limited marketing services 100
t angent marketing services limited marketing services 100
the ddg network limited marketing services 100
the subsidiary companies are all incorporated in england and their results have been consolidated in these financial statements
joint ventures
in addition to the above the company holds 50 of the issued share capital of zui limited a company registered in england 
zui recorded a profit of £24000 for the year ended 28 february 2010 and had net liabilities of £117000 at that date as the group 
does not have a controlling interest in zui these results have not been consolidated in the financial statements during the year the 
group recorded sales of £391000 to zui and at the balance sheet date the amount due was £245000
15 inventories
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
consumables   106 105 — —
work in progress   — 1 — —
   106 106 — — 46
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
16 trade and other receivables
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
trade receivables   4566 3000 — —
allowance for doubtful debts   146 47 — —
   4420 2953 — —
other receivables   87 23 39 —
prepayments and accrued income   779 215 19 18
   5286 3191 58 18
all of the group’s trade receivables have been reviewed for indicators of impairment certain trade receivables were found to be 
impaired and a provision of £146000 has been included at the year end the movement in that provision is as follows 
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
balance at the beginning of the year   47 — — —
impairment losses recognised on receivables   125 47 — —
amounts written off during the year as uncollectable   26 — — —
amounts recovered during the year   — — — —
balance at the end of the year   146 47 — —
trade receivables above include amounts that are past due at the year end but against which no allowance for doubtful receivables 
has been made because there has not been any significant change in the credit quality and the amounts are still considered recoverable 
the group does not hold any collateral or other credit enhancements over these balances 
the age of financial assets passed due but not impaired is as follows 
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
current   3657 2335 — —
overdue by less than 30 days   518 272 — —
30 to 60 days overdue   81 169 — —
60 to 90 days overdue   67 155 — —
more than 90 days overdue   97 22 — —
balance at the end of the year   4420 2953 — —
17 borrowings
group borrowings comprise finance leases with repayments due as follows
   present value 
 minimum lease  of minimum lease 
 payments  payments
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
within one year    63 64 62 63
after one but not more than five years   26 89 25 87
   89 153 87 150
less finance charges allocated to future years   2 3 — —
present value of finance lease borrowings   87 150 87 150 financial statements
47
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
18 trade and other payables
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
trade payables   1991 1121 34 —
other taxes and social security   729 284 44 —
other creditors   42 280 2 2
accruals   1564 979 202 21
owed to group companies   — — 6491 3169
   4326 2664 6773 3192
19 provisions
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
at 1 march   166 333 166 333
settled in the year   166 167 166 167
at 28 february   — 166 — 166
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
analysed as    
current liabilities   — 166 — 166
   — 166 — 166
in 2009 provisions were for the estimated cash consideration that the directors expected to be paid for the acquisition 
of c360 uk limited settled in 2010 
20 deferred tax
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
at 1 march   28 39 — —
movement in the year   28 11 — —
at 28 february   — 28 — —
the deferred tax liability in 2009 resulted from accelerated capital allowances
at the balance sheet date the group had unused tax losses of £229000 2009 £600000 available for offset against suitable future profits 
a deferred tax asset has not been recognised in respect of such losses due to the uncertainty of future profit streams the contingent 
deferred tax asset is estimated to be £140000 2009 £168000  48
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
21 financial instruments 
the group’s financial instruments comprise cash liquid resources and various items such as debtors and creditors that arise 
directly from its operations 
the main risk arising from the group’s financial instruments is interest rate risk the group monitors its interest rate risk primarily 
through monthly cash flow forecasting 
interest rate risk
the group finances its operations through funds raised from shareholders retained earnings and finance lease borrowings 
throughout the year the group’s exposure to interest rate fluctuations was on its cash deposits and finance leases
foreign currency risk
the group policy is to match foreign currency payments and receipts where possible and to ensure by hedging if necessary 
to avoid a material foreign currency risk
the carrying amounts of the group’s foreign currency denominated monetary assets and monetary liabilities at the reporting date 
are as follows
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
australian dollars   72 1 — —
euros   147 8 — —
   219 9 — —
credit risk
the group’s policy is that customers who wish to trade on credit terms are subject to credit verification procedures in addition 
receivable balances are monitored on an ongoing basis with the result that the group’s exposure to bad debts has not been 
significant credit risk arising from other financial assets which comprise only cash deposits have been minimised by only 
placing deposits with banks with high credit ratings
liquidity risk
the group operates a cash‑generative business holds net funds and has an overdraft facility of £1m the risk of a shortage 
of funds is therefore low
capital management
the group ensures that the capital structure maintains a strong credit rating a low reliance on debt and resources that enable the 
group to make small scale acquisitions quickly if desired
interest rate risk profile of financial assets and liabilities
the interest rate profile of the group’s financial assets and liabilities was
    floating rate  floating rate 
   fixed rate financial fixed rate financial 
   financial assets financial assets 
   liabilities liabilities liabilities liabilities 
   2010 2010 2009 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
cash balances   — 1145 — 2801
finance leases   — 87 1 149
   — 1058 1 2652
interest on cash is based on short term floating rates linked to money market rates the average rate of interest on floating rate 
liabilities is 175 above bank base rate the average rate of interest on fixed rate liabilities was 45 in 2009 financial statements
49
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
21 financial instruments continued
fair value of financial instruments
the group’s financial instruments which comprise cash and short term deposits variable rate finance leases receivables and 
payables are carried at amortised cost which is also considered to be equivalent to their fair value
borrowing facilities
t angent has agreed a £1m overdraft facility at a rate of 175 over base rate secured by cross guarantees and debentures 
the overdraft facility has rarely been drawn but improves the financial flexibility of the group the finance lease liabilities as set 
out in note 17 are all secured on the assets against which the borrowings were provided
22 share capital
 number of shares  nominal value
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   000 000 £000 £000
authorised      
at 1 march and 28 february   225000 225000 2250 2250
 number of  
 ordinary 1p shares  nominal value
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   000 000 £000 £000
allotted and fully paid    
at 1 march    170134 165967 1702 1660
issued in the year   400 4167 4 42
at 28 february   170534 170134 1706 1702
the group has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income
23 share‑based payments
the movements in share options and corresponding weighted average exercise prices waep are summarised below
 2010  2009
   number waep number waep 
   000 pence 000 pence
at 1 march    15310 458 14871 488
granted   3155 100 771 100
exercised   400 400 — —
lapsed   2974 257 332 969
at 28 february   15091 424 15310 458
for the share options outstanding at 28 february 2010 exercise prices ranged between 1p and 1325p per share and the weighted 
average remaining contractual life was 549 years 
fair values 
the fair value of share options granted in the year was calculated using the black‑scholes pricing model the volatility measured 
as the standard deviation of expected share price return is based on statistical analysis of the t angent share price from july 2005 
to the date of grant which resulted in an assumed volatility of 40
the other key inputs were a risk free rate of return of 05 a dividend yield of 6 and an expected life of five years
the total share‑based payment charge for the year calculated in accordance with ifrs 2 on share‑based payments was £19000 
2009 £229000  50
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010
24 other reserves
 group  company
   2010 2009 2010 2009 
   £000 £000 £000 £000
esop reserve   3 3 3 3
share‑based payments reserve   1199 1180 1199 1180
capital reserve   499 499 499 499
restructure reserve   1161 1161 — —
   2856 2837 1695 1676
the esop reserve represents the cost of t angent shares held by the employee share ownership trust at 28 february 2010 
the employee share ownership trust held a total of 1428340 2009 1428340 ordinary shares with a market value of £61561 
2009 £36000 
the share‑based payment reserve represents the value of share‑based payments recognised in the statement of comprehensive 
income to date less any transfers to retained earnings that arise from the shares issue on the exercise of options
the capital reserve represents the future share capital and the associated merger reserve that is expected to result from the proposed 
issue of 4158333 ordinary shares at 12p each as contingent share consideration for the acquisition of c360 uk limited
the restructure reserve represents the consolidated capital reserve which arose when the group restructured and floated on aim 
in may 2000
25 cash generated from operations
     2010 2009 
group     £000 £000
profit before tax for the year      282 523
depreciation and amortisation of non‑current assets     621 519
profitloss on sale of plant and equipment     9 5
net interest income     4 72
net foreign exchange gain     2 —
share‑based payment charge     19 229
     911 1204
movements in working capital
increase in inventories     — 11
increasedecrease in trade and other receivables     1675 1133
increasedecrease in trade and other payables     1400 726
cash generated from operations     636 1600
     2010 2009 
company     £000 £000
loss before tax for the year      1207 1080
share‑based payment charge     19 229
increasedecrease in trade and other receivables     40 14
increase in trade and other payables     3581 1247
cash generated from operations     2353 410
26 analysis of net funds
    at   at 
    1 march cash  28 february 
    2009 flows   2010  
    £000   £000   £000 
cash    2801 1656 1145
finance leases    150 63 87
net funds    2651 1593 1058 financial statements
51
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial statements
notes to the financial statements
27 operating lease commitments
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
minimum lease payments under operating leases recognised as an expense in the year   1822 1822
future minimum lease payments under non‑cancellable operating leases are as follows
     2010 2009 
     £000 £000
within one year     1480 1637
after one but not more than five years     1556 3195
after five years     1392 1529
     4428 6361
28 business combination
on 16 september 2009 t angent acquired the entire share capital of the ddg network limited together with the business and 
assets of double d management llp  collectively known as snowball
established in 2003 snowball provides customer management services to its clients helping them to retain their existing customers 
by driving increased loyalty and retention together with identifying and targeting new customers through data insight 
consideration paid
t otal consideration was paid as follows
      £000
cash      1585
acquisition costs      59
      1644
a maximum further contingent consideration of £218m is payable equally over three years with £168m payable in cash and 
£500000 payable in shares at a valuation of 617p per share to be paid in three equal tranches subject to earnings before interest 
and tax rising to a total of £15m over a three year period to 31 august 2012 
having reviewed performance to date the directors do not consider that any provision is necessary in respect of this additional 
contingent consideration 
assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition
    book  fair value fair  
    values adjustments values 
    £000 £000 £000
plant and equipment    16 — 16
trade and other receivables    420 — 420
cash and cash equivalents    654 — 654
trade and other payables    253 9 262
current tax liabilities    155 — 155
    682 9 673
goodwill arising on acquisition
      £000
consideration paid      1644
less fair value of net assets acquired      673
goodwill arising on acquisition note 12      971
goodwill arose in the acquisition of snowball as a result of the expected synergies revenue growth and future market developments 
these benefits are not recognised separately from goodwill because they do not meet the criteria for separately identifiable 
intangible assets
the group also acquired the customer lists and customer relationships of snowball as part of the acquisition these assets could 
not be separately recognised from goodwill because they are not capable of being separated from the group and sold transferred 
licensed rented or exchanged either individually or together with any related contracts  52
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
notes to the financial statements continued
28 business combination continued
net cash outflow on acquisition of subsidiary
net cash outflow arising from the acquisition was as follows
      £000
purchase consideration settled in cash      1585
acquisition costs      59
cash paid for acquisition      1644
cash and cash equivalents in subsidiary acquired      654
cash paid net of cash and cash equivalents in subsidiary acquired      990
impact of acquisition on the results of the group 
included in the profit for the year is a profit of £7000 attributable to the business generated by snowball revenue for the period 
amounted to £364000 
had the business combination been effected at 1 march 2009 the revenue of the group from continuing operations would have 
been £1912m and underlying profit for the year from continuing operations of £917000 the directors of the group consider these 
pro‑forma numbers to represent an approximate measure of the performance of the combined group on an annualised basis and 
to provide a reference point for comparison in future periods
assets acquired from lateral net limited 
on 5 march 2009 the group acquired from the administrator of lateral net limited the clients and certain assets of the company 
together with assuming certain fixed liabilities related to the completion of contracts
      £000
acquisition of tangible fixed assets      20
acquisition of intangible assets customer lists      39
pre‑contract liabilities assumed      34
cash paid       25
29 related party transactions
compensation of key management personnel
key management personnel of the group are defined as those persons having authority and responsibility for the planning 
directing and controlling the activities of the group directly or indirectly key management of the group are therefore considered 
to be the directors of tangent communications plc there were no transactions with the key management other than their 
emoluments which are set out in the remuneration report on pages 25 to 26
30 post balance sheet events
on 8 june 2010 the directors recommended payment of a dividend which is subject to approval at the 2010 annual general meeting 
details are set out in note 10
since the balance sheet date the trade of snowball has been transferred to ravensworth digital services limited
notes to the financial statements continued
for the year ended 28 february 2010 t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
financial calendar
financial calendar
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31 august 2010  annual general meeting
27 september 2010 dividend payment date
31 august 2010  financial half year end
november 2010  interim results announcement
28 february 2011  financial year end
june 2011  annual results announcement
 01 review of the year
  01 h ighlights
  02 o ur structure
  04 chairman’s statement
  06 chief executive’s statement
  08 business review
  16 financial review
 18 governance
  18 board of directors
  20 directors’ report
  22 directors’ responsibilities
  23 corporate governance statement
  25 remuneration report
 27 financial st atements
  27 independent auditors’ report
  28  consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income
  29  consolidated statement of changes in equity
  30 	 consolidated 	 statement 	 of 	 financial 	 position
  31 	 consolidated 	 statement 	 of 	 cash 	 flows
  32  company statement of changes in equity
  33 	 company 	 statement 	 of 	 financial 	 position
  34 	 company 	 statement 	 of 	 cash 	 flows
  35 	 notes 	 to 	 the 	 financial 	 statements
 53 financial calendar
tangent is a leading 
integrator of technology 
and marketing strategy
who we are
what we do
we combine leading edge technology with intelligent 
data‑driven communication strategies to help brands 
overcome the complex challenges laid down by media 
fragmentation diversification and increasingly 
sophisticated consumers
how we do it
our business is built around the twin pillars of technology 
and multi‑channel marketing this enables us to deliver 
accuracy and accountability into marketing operations 
whilst implementing intelligent and integrated communication 
strategies at new levels of cost‑efficiency
our technological expertise is backed up by strategic and 
creative excellence across both online and direct channels 
and supported by a state of the art 40000 sq ft fulfilment 
facility that allows us to combine end to end delivery with fully 
integrated marketing services
in an ever‑changing and increasingly challenging 
world tangent’s platform of intelligent marketing 
and technology provides the perfect environment 
for innovative efficient and accountable 
communications strategies  tangent communications plc
84–86 great portland street
london w1w 7nr
wwwtangentplccom
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 technology
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t angent communications plc annual report and accounts 2010
tangent communica tions plc
annual report and accounts 2010


Summary:
 06
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chief executive’s statement
chief executive’s statement
performance for 2010 from our core 
business units was substantially above 
management expectations set out at the 
start of the year however as a result of 
some underperformance from our latest 
acquisitions the overall results were only in 
line with the higher expectations anticipated 
at the interim stage going forward we remain 
cautious and have factored into our 2011 
budgets some but not substantial growth 
from key markets or from recent acquisitions 
second half revenues increased to a 
record high of £967m giving a full year 
figure of £1819m ahead of management 
expectations contributions through the 
acquired business assets of snowball the 
sales generated from vlm and lateralnet 
customer lists and growth from the core 
business gave rise to a significant sales 
increase in a period of economic challenge 
underlying operating margin for the second 
half was up to 50 from 40 in the first half 
we do not anticipate adding further to the 
current cost base and would expect to 
see margins continue to rise as revenues 
increase and the sales mix continues to 
return favourably 
the last six months have shown an increase 
in core revenue streams across the t angent 
business and the first two months of the 
current financial year have generated 
significant profits whilst it is too early at this 
stage to forecast into the second half of the 
year when the full impact of legislative tax 
and economic changes may be felt we are 
confident that our first half performance will 
be strong in comparison to last year
t angent is increasingly well positioned 
to pick up revenue in growth markets 
particularly technology data insight and 
digital marketing continued investment in our 
proprietary technology platforms – t aobase 
and marketing t oolkit – has positioned us at 
the forefront of our field with market‑leading 
software and services enabling our insight 
and online experts to take advantage of the 
shifting market with increasing returns from 
our market‑leading estate agency service 
all t angent business streams should provide 
a significant contribution to profits and 
cash‑generation this year 
continued media fragmentation and an 
increasing need for greater effectiveness 
and accountability has encouraged many 
marketing services companies to start investing 
in technology insight and e‑services t angent 
has been ahead of the curve investing 
significantly for some time now and is ideally 
placed to take full advantage of this change 
and make significant steps in a growing market 
we have already secured an impressive 
new contract win with miele and the uk launch 
of whipcarcom and our extended remits with 
galacoral the labour party and homeserve 
should underpin a solid year of growth ahead
with the new management structure in place 
i look forward to working closely with the 
many outstanding individuals across the 
business to accelerate growth and enhance 
t angent’s positioning as a leading provider 
of intelligent marketing and t echnology 
timothy green
chief executive
21 june 2010
timothy green 
t angent is increasingly well positioned to pick 
up revenue in growth markets particularly 
technology data insight and digital marketing 07
t angent communications plc
annual report and accounts 2010
review of the year
chief executive’s statement
case study
tangent works with leading 
bar operator pitcher  piano 
to provide a through the 
line marketing strategy that 
integrates both inbar and 
crm messaging together 
we have developed a 
compelling and consistent 
brand experience for 
customers across web 
email mobile and direct 
mail helping to generate 
increased brand awareness 
and loyalty
each promotion generates a 
unique voucher and code which 
is linked into pitcher  piano’s 
national epos system and 
enables all redemptions to 
be accurately tracked across 
the branch network this data 
provides valuable information 
on the types of offers that 
customers are most responsive 
to and what messaging is most 
engaging offline and online
our work has enabled 
pitcher  piano to significantly 
increase its marketing database 
and offer personalised 
communications that are relevant 
to each bar and customer 
the net effect is greater levels 
of loyalty through targeted 
messages based on unique 
customer purchasing behaviour
review of the year