Financial Report 2022

Performing While Transforming

Financial Report

2022

*** Revenue GBP142.8m up 31% *** Net Profit GBP2m up 3204% *** Net Cash at Bank GBP6.5m up 18% ***

"As a Group, we have remained profitable, demonstrating the strength of a diversified portfolio of companies reducing risk for investors who want to invest in small business."


Victoria Sylvester |  CEO MBH Corporation Plc

CEO Statement 2022

Victoria Sylvester

Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to the MBH Corporation 2022 Annual Report. As the incoming CEO in 2023, I am looking forward to the coming years and representing the MBH Corporation as we grow. I am fortunate that I have been an MBH Principal myself, bringing my own company - Acacia Training - into the MBH Group pre-listing as well as representing all Principals on the MBH board over the last 4 years.Having partnered with Non-Executive Chair Callum Laing, the board, stakeholders and of course our incredible MBH principals, I am genuinely grateful to be part of this Group and immensely proud to be leading us through the next chapter of our growth and focused on taking us to the next level.


The MBH journey is an impressive one. We listed in the second half of 2018, had our first full year in 2019 welcoming 5 new companies into the Group, but then in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world. The following years from 2020 have been challenging for all businesses globally and as a group of SME’s we were not excluded from that.

Performing While Transforming


The title of our annual report for 2022 is ‘Performing While Transforming’. Despite the many business pressures I have witnessed the magic of SME’s and seen first-hand that coming together really works. Firstly, as a Group, we have remained profitable, demonstrating the strength of a diversified portfolio of companies reducing risk for investors who want to invest in small business. Secondly, the businesses in the Group survived very well, demonstrating the cultural strength from within as we supported each other as leaders. And thirdly, I am constantly impressed with how resilient and innovative our businesses are - supported by long standing workforce relationships, with individuals who stand together through thick and thin and who behave like a closely connected family. 


SME’s account for three fifths of all employment and around half of the sales turnover in western economies. Yet investing in them can be challenging and sometimes viewed as risky. The last few years demonstrates that our theory of bringing SME’s together lowers this risk, and increases their opportunities to grow. MBH is a solution to this creating an opportunity for investors to be part of an incredible SME community and benefit from the unique strengths and qualities that they bring.


I have spent the last few months visiting with many of the Group companies and gaining insight into their businesses, their plans and discussing what the future could hold for them. I have also spent time with investors understanding what they would like to see from MBH as we enter our next chapter. Our overall strategy hasn’t changed, however we have taken the time to refine it having learnt from our own experiences. MBH has fantastic foundations and I am truly excited by what the future holds for the Group and for its investor community. 


Thank you, Victoria Sylvester

"If you are new to MBH then I would firstly encourage you to read

the philosophy behind MBH from our initial listing."


Callum Laing | Non-Executive Chair MBH Corporation Plc

Non-Executive Chair Statement 2022

Callum Laing

Non-Executive Chair

The theme of this annual report is ‘Performing While Transforming’ which is clearly significant for MBH as we review the past year and make progress in what is looking to be a solid 2023 and a return to our acquisitive ways.


Victoria Sylvester, as the incoming MBH CEO, is doing a fantastic job galvanising the Group Principals towards more predictable growth and overcoming some of the hurdles that have presented themselves over the past few years.


I feel as confident as ever that we have the right strategy and the right people to execute it. What has been challenging to us is the environment that we have been operating in over the past few years. But this is not unique to MBH and no excuses are being made. The Principals continue to dig deep, innovate and work together, so that the Group can be more resilient and thrive in any tough times to come.


For investors the last few years have also been challenging. Whilst MBH has delivered on its results, we have not yet been able to capture the imagination of the markets. We continue to innovate, trying new markets and launching new investor initiatives. Whilst the concern around the viability of small businesses is sometimes understandable, there is many-an-investor who has discovered that the ‘safety’ of big banks or big tech companies has proven to be anything but. Whilst we never ignore our environment, we are resolute in not being distracted by it and maintaining our focus on profitability and growth - the two areas we can control.


Betting on any single stock will always hold risks, regardless of its size. Tracker funds have traditionally mitigated that risk and at MBH we take a Tracker fund approach to growth. Not every business we bring into the Group will work out and not every year will outperform the previous one, but over time, as we build our base of good companies, we start to build momentum. As we bring more revenue and profit into the Group and increase our balance and market cap, we will attract more investors. The growing pool of talent and resources within the Group will continue to attract new companies and the model becomes even more resilient.


We live in interesting times. New technologies such as Blockchain and AI offer intriguing opportunities for our companies. Although MBH as a Group is still young, the companies within it are mature having reached that maturity by consistently performing even whilst adapting and transforming to the markets they serve. As a Group we are very focused on doing the same. Ensuring that companies in the Group continue to have the best possible chance to succeed is what will continue to make MBH successful in the long term and ultimately reward our fellow owners.


Thank you, Callum Laing

Financial Summary & CFO Statement 2022

Victor Tan

Chief Financial Officer

Key Financial Highlights

Income Statement

As a Group, MBH Corporation emerged from the global pandemic and delivered a record breaking revenue for 2022.  Revenue was GBP142.8 million which represents an increase of 31% from 2021.  This was an outstanding result which was all driven organically with no new acquisitions during the year. 

 

Similar to the rest of the world, as an organisation MBH faced macroeconomic challenges that were largely out of our control and resulted in higher costs of doing business.  These cost pressures were evident across all of our industry verticals and the financial impact of these increases exceeded the growth in revenue. As a result, EBIT for 2022 was GBP3.4 million which is down 34% on the prior year.

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Balance Sheet and Cashflow


The net assets position of the Group was GBP72 million for 2022.  The net cash position of GBP6.5 million represents an increase from last year.  Cashflow from operating activities decreased from GBP5.2 million in 2021 to GBP3.6 million in 2022, which was a reflection of the decrease in the Group’s 2022 EBIT from 2021.  Surplus cash was largely used to service debt finance costs. 

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Summary


MBH is cognisant of the macroeconomic challenges the world is facing right now and understand that these challenges will likely continue for the foreseeable future.  We have made operational improvements from our performance in 2022 and will continue to do so to ensure that we can deliver higher returns for our shareholders in 2023.


Thank you, Victor Tan.

"We have made operational improvements from our performance in 2022 and will continue to do so to ensure that we can deliver higher returns for our shareholders in 2023."


Victor Tan |  CFO MBH Corporation Plc

MBH Our World: Performing While Transforming

Performing While Transforming is an important message to communicate with this MBH 2022 Annual Report. 


As a company of successful individual organisations that have come together under the MBH roof, we are always looking at new ways to improve performance and to remain competitive. But while doing this we are also transforming the business…reviewing how we can do things differently and always looking at the long term health of the organisation as well as what is happening at the current time. Having both a strategic and a tactical approach is key to our overall business success.


MBH and the companies within the Group operate in exciting environments and the last few years have created opportunities for businesses in the Group to work closely together - as a Group together and also within the various verticals that we operate in. 


The MBH Education vertical is a key vertical with considerable opportunities and that is performing while transforming. Acacia Training’s tactical acquisitions have moved into different directions – with some merging directly into Acacia to create one larger company. Learning Wings has moved from being a tactical to a strategic company in the Group as it started to focus on its growth in Singapore. Logistica and KS Training have come together as Logistica Holdings, again pulling resources under one umbrella. In addition, Everyday Realty Services in the US has become part of the education vertical due to the nature of its business teaching students about real estate.


From an acquisition perspective we are continuing with our acquisition strategy, with a specific focus on tactical bolt on acquisitions. This doesn’t mean we stop looking at creating new industry verticals if the organisation, the owner, the culture and their business plan is the right fit for MBH - however depth is our goal for the next few years.


And as we grow the organisation, how we support the environment and consider our social commitment and governance role is paramount to how we operate. Our work around diversity and inclusion, governance and leadership development as well as how our businesses reduce their environmental impact is essential for our future as a business.



"As a company of successful individual organisations that have come together under the MBH roof, we are always looking at new ways to improve performance and to remain competitive."


Victoria Sylvester |  CEO MBH Corporation Plc

Global Footprint 2022

MBH Board 2022

MBH Board of Directors

Board Apprentices

Executive Leadership Team

Timeline 2022

"Although MBH as a Group is still young, the companies within it are mature having reached that maturity by consistently performing even whilst adapting and transforming to the markets they serve."


Callum Laing | Non-Executive Chair MBH Corporation Plc

Meet the Principals 2022

Click to learn about how the Principals reflect on joining MBH.

Environmental, Social & Governance 2022

MBH Corporation’s ESG Summary


During 2022 The MBH Corporation remained fully committed to its ESG strategy, continuing on a path focusing on impact on people, planet and prosperity. ESG is a vitally important thread throughout the Group and the decisions made in our businesses are made with consideration for future generations and in preparing the businesses to remain competitive and sustainable in a world that continually needs to change.


Our 5-stage roadmap, as described in our first ever ESG report released in June 2022, continues to be the tool we use to plan and track our journey, as we align our work with the UNSDG’s. Key to our success is transparency and facing up to the reality of the impact business can have both positively and negatively.


Our second ESG report will be released in June 2023 and will detail our work from the past year. Key milestones include widening our carbon data collection across the Group to establish a broader baseline to include both direct and indirect emissions. This includes our net zero/carbon reduction plans both at high level and at subsidiary level and will include targets in selected areas as we continue to act on our responsibilities. This baseline is really important for MBH, particularly as 2020 & 2021 were more complex in data collection as many industries were reduced or closed for periods of time due to the pandemic. We now have a more robust data set to work from and we will continue to improve our data collection detail as we progress, including our SBTi commitment.


MBH continues to be driven, in the ESG area, by targeting where we can have a positive impact. We work to stretch beyond compliance and regulation to ensure we are as effective and impactful as we can be. The businesses in the Group are experienced and recognise fully that this is a long-term journey when it comes to ESG. Our businesses are established from a desire to create change and are embedded in their local communities They naturally consider their impact and for them being part of MBH has assisted in strategising and learning from other colleagues, industries and geographies across the Group, allowing this diversity to create new and innovative ideas.


There are many success stories which will be shared in our ESG report [due June 2023], and likewise at Group level our work has continued. Our female leadership programme has completed 3 cohorts now and what started out with 25 women is now closer to 100, all focused on the future diversity of leadership across the Group. Research shows that women in leadership are more likely to drive ESG than male counterparts, hence why this is such a key part of our strategy.


After the success of our board apprentice programme in 2021, we continued in 2022 with a focus on disabilities (or different abilities) and young people to again contribute to diversity of thought from the input of under-represented voices. 


And finally, our third world impact has continued with our strategic partner ‘B1G1’, as we continue to work towards achieving 1,000,000 impacts. During 2022 we achieved the milestone of hitting over 400,000 impacts as we continue to donate every month to global projects.


The ESG Sustainability Report will be available in June 2023.

“Bringing entrepreneurial minds together for people,

our planet and prosperity”

"We achieved 5-star Support the Goals status, demonstrating our public commitment to the UNSDG’s.


The 5th star is in recognition for the work we do in raising awareness with our supply chain and bringing them on our ESG journey."


Victoria Sylvester | CEO MBH Corporation Plc

To find out more about our approach to ESG, review the latest ESG Report on the MBH website.

MBH Principals Gatherings 2022

Bringing the MBH Corporation Principals together to meet face-to-face is always an important part of our annual events calendar. In 2022 Principals from across the globe came together in the English Lake District in April and then again in sunny Phuket in Thailand in October. These gatherings are an excellent opportunity for an exchange of ideas, to network and to plan for the future. A gallery of photos from these two productive events is shown below. 

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    April 2022

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    April 2022

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    April 2022

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  • Phuket

    October 2022

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    October 2022

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    October 2022

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The Future 2023

New MBH Organisational Structure 2023

"The theme of this annual report is ‘Performing While Transforming’ which is clearly significant for MBH as we review the past year and make progress in what is looking to be a solid 2023 and a return to our acquisitive ways."


Callum Laing | Non-Executive Chair MBH Corporation Plc

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