Final Results

About this update from Saga Plc

[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n 9 April 2025 \n Saga plc \n Unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 January 2025 \n Significant strategic progress paves the way for future growth \n Underlying profit growth driven by continued Ocean Cruise demand \n   \n Saga plc ( Saga or the Group ), the UK's specialist in products and services for people over 50, announces its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 January 2025. \n   \n \n \n \n \n Year ended \n \n \n 31 January 2025 \n \n \n 31 January 2024 \n \n \n Change \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Revenue 1 \n \n \n £768.2m \n \n \n £732.7m \n \n \n 5% \n \n \n \n \n Revenue \n \n \n £588.3m \n \n \n £564.6m \n \n \n 4% \n \n \n \n \n Trading EBITDA 1 \n \n \n £137.1m \n \n \n £116.5m \n \n \n 18% \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 \n \n \n £47.8m \n \n \n £38.2m \n \n \n 25% \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 from continuing operations \n \n \n £37.2m \n \n \n £34.3m \n \n \n 8% \n \n \n \n \n Loss before tax \n \n \n (£160.2m) \n \n \n (£123.8m) \n \n \n (29%) \n \n \n \n \n Available Operating Cash Flow 1 \n \n \n £109.6m \n \n \n £143.8m \n \n \n (24%) \n \n \n \n \n Net Debt 1 \n \n \n £590.5m \n \n \n £637.2m \n \n \n 7% \n \n \n \n \n Leverage Ratio 1 \n \n \n 4.7x \n \n \n 5.4x \n \n \n 0.7x \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 1 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Mike Hazell, Saga's Group Chief Executive Officer, said: \n \"I'm very pleased with the progress Saga has made over the past 12 months. From a trading perspective, we delivered a strong performance, with total underlying profit before tax up 25% and ahead of previous guidance. This was driven by the strength of our Travel businesses, with especially high levels of customer demand for our differentiated ocean and river cruise offers. \n \"In addition, we took the significant strategic action necessary to reposition the Group for future growth. We completed our strategic review, successfully signed a new 20-year Insurance Broking partnership with wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Ageas SA/NV and agreed the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business. These achievements materially reduce the risk and complexity of the Insurance business going forward and, when combined with our continued strong trading performance, meant that we were able to complete the refinancing of our long-term corporate debt, replacing our 2026 debt maturities with new long-term credit facilities. The new facilities provide us with significant financing headroom and flexibility as we move forward. \n \"Following the completion of these important objectives, our focus has shifted to the long-term growth plans for the Group, building on our established businesses by continuing to explore complementary partnerships and unlocking new avenues for growth beyond our current business and product lines. All of this will be with our customers' best interests at the forefront of our thinking. \n \"I would like to thank all our customers for their continued support, and my colleagues for the outstanding contribution they made towards a successful year. The foundations for growth are now in place and we are already making tangible progress. By continuing to be a delivery-focussed business, with our customers always front of mind, I am confident that the plans we have in place will step change our financial performance within the next five years, delivering a business with annual underlying profits of at least £100.0m, strong cash generation and leverage of less than 2.0x EBITDA.\" \n   \n Strategic and operational progress \n ·      Following the agreement we signed with wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Ageas SA/NV ( Ageas ) in December 2024, the work to transition to our new 20-year motor and home insurance partnership is on track for the new arrangement to go live in Q4 2025. \n ·      A new Insurance Broking leadership team is now in place, led by Lloyd East as Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ). They are now working to successfully transition to the new partnership and maximise the opportunities it presents in the future. \n ·      The sale of our Insurance Underwriting business, Acromas Insurance Company Limited ( AICL ) is on track and expected to complete in Q2 2025, subject to regulatory approval. That application has been submitted and is in progress. \n ·      The combination of these actions will transform our approach to motor and home insurance. Ageas will undertake the underwriting and pricing risk that previously drove significant volatility in our profitability and cash generation. They will also be responsible for delivering the operational administration of customer policies which has, to date, introduced significant cost and complexity into our operations. Saga, in turn, will focus on marketing, brand management and customer insight, leveraging our core strengths in these areas. \n ·      Building on the continued success of our Travel 2 businesses, we consolidated the leadership structures into one management team, led by Nigel Blanks, previously CEO of our Cruise business. This move allows us to build on the significant demand for our travel products, deliver further improvements to our customer proposition and unlock operational synergies across the Cruise and Holidays 2 businesses. \n ·      Following the successful refinancing of the Group's corporate debt, the transition to a new capital structure is complete. The new facilities provided by certain funds, entities (or affiliates or subsidiaries of such funds or entities) and/or accounts managed, advised or controlled by HPS Investment Partners, LLC or its subsidiaries ( HPS Funds ) materially enhance liquidity, provide additional flexibility and give funding certainty, as we execute the next phase of our growth plans, with no mandatory repayments for the next six years. \n 2 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n   \n Financial highlights \n ·      Total Underlying Revenue 3 increased 5%, to £768.2m, driven primarily by growth across our Travel 4 businesses. On a statutory basis, excluding our discontinued operations but including non-cash technical accounting adjustments and one-off impacts, statutory revenue was 4% higher than in the prior year, at £588.3m. \n ·      This resulted in growth in Trading EBITDA 3 of 18%, from £116.5m in the previous year, to £137.1m. \n ·      The Group delivered a total Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 £47.8m, a 25% increase when compared with the £38.2m reported in the previous year. \n ·      After excluding our discontinued Insurance Underwriting operations, alongside the associated accounting adjustments, Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 from continuing operations was £37.2m, 8% higher than the £34.3m in the year before. \n ·      The loss before tax from continuing operations was £160.2m, reflecting the impairment of assets, including the previously reported Insurance Broking goodwill impairment and those that will no longer deliver economic benefit under the new Insurance partnership, alongside restructuring costs and other exceptional items. \n ·      Available Operating Cash Flow 3 was £109.6m, which compares with £143.8m in the prior year, reflecting the expected lower contribution from Insurance Broking and reduced dividends from Insurance Underwriting, alongside the one-off prior year benefit from River Cruise and Holidays 4 moving to an escrow arrangement. \n ·      Net Debt 3 , at 31 January 2025, was £590.5m, £46.7m lower than at 31 January 2024. As a result, and in combination with growing Trading EBITDA 3 , the total Leverage Ratio 3 improved to 4.7x, from 5.4x in the previous year. \n ·      At the same date, the Group held £79.3m of Available Cash 3 , in addition to further liquidity through the £50.0m undrawn Revolving Credit Facility ( RCF ) and the £10.0m undrawn portion of the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan. \n ·      Following the year end, the new £335.0m term loan facility provided by HPS Funds was drawn to repay the £250.0m bond maturing in July 2026 and the £75.0m drawn portion of the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan. Alongside this, the Group's existing £50.0m RCF was cancelled and replaced with a £50.0m RCF provided by HPS Funds, together with, a £100.0m delayed-draw term loan, offering incremental liquidity. \n   \n 3 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 4 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n   \n Outlook \n Building on the progress we made in 2024/25, the coming year will be one of transition. Our Travel 5 businesses will deliver further growth, supported by their strong forward bookings position. Alongside this, we will continue to prepare for the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business, AICL, and the move to the new partnership arrangement with Ageas. A material increase in financing costs in 2025/26 will mean that we expect the Group to generate an Underlying Profit Before Tax 6 below that of 2024/25, before returning to growth thereafter. At the same time, we expect to make further progress in reducing Net Debt 6 during the course of 2025/26, with the reduction expected to accelerate thereafter. \n Our vision is to be the most-trusted brand for older people in the UK, supported by the quality of products and the service we deliver to our customers. The actions taken over the past 12 months put us in a strong position to deliver this vision and, in turn, create sustainable growth and value for our shareholders. We are delivering on the commitments we made and are confident that our growth strategy, built on detailed five-year plans, will take underlying profit to at least £100.0m and leverage to below 2.0x EBITDA within that timeframe. \n 5 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n 6 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n END \n Management will hold a presentation for analysts and investors at 9.30am today. The webcast can be accessed by registering at www.investis-live.com/saga-group/67cee0ebeeffcd000f58857f/utret and a copy of the presentation slides is available at www.corporate.saga.co.uk/investors/results-reports-presentations/ . \n A separate live presentation for retail investors will be held via the Investor Meet Company platform on 10 April 2025 at 9.30am. The presentation is open to all existing and potential investors. Questions can be submitted pre-event via the Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9.00am on 9 April 2025, or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and follow Saga plc via www.investormeetcompany.com/saga-plc/register-investor . Investors who already follow Saga plc on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited. \n For further information, please contact: \n Saga plc \n Emily Roalfe, Director of Investor Relations and Treasury   Tel: 07732 093 007 \n                                                 Email: [email protected] \n   \n Headland Consultancy \n Susanna Voyle                                         Tel: 07980 894 557 \n Will Smith                                      Tel: 07872 350 428 \n Tel: 020 3805 4822 \n Email: [email protected] \n   \n Notes to editors \n Saga is a specialist in the provision of products and services for people over 50. The Saga brand is one of the most recognised and trusted in the UK. Saga is known for its high level of customer service and its high-quality, award-winning products and services including cruises and holidays, insurance, personal finance and publishing. www.saga.co.uk \n   \n   \n Divisional performance \n Travel 1 - Increasing customer demand drives growth across all key metrics \n Our Travel 1 businesses, which comprise Ocean Cruise, River Cruise and Holidays 1 , had an outstanding year and, when combined, generated Underlying Revenue 2 of £453.9m, 9% higher than the prior year. \n   \n Ocean Cruise \n ·      Ocean Cruise reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £48.9m, a 38% increase when compared with the £35.5m in the previous year. \n ·      Underlying Revenue 2 increased 10% to £236.7m, supported by a load factor of 91% and per diem of £357, a 3ppt and 8% increase, respectively, when compared with last year. \n ·      Following another exceptional year, Trading EBITDA 2 increased 19%, to £89.2m, compared with £74.8m in 2023/24. \n   \n River Cruise \n ·      River Cruise reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £4.0m, a 33% increase, when compared with the £3.0m reported in the previous year. \n ·      River Cruise revenue, of £49.4m, was 13% higher than the prior year, supported by a load factor increase, from 85% to 89%, and a per diem increase, from £285 to £326. \n   \n Holidays 1 \n ·      Our Holidays 1 business delivered significant growth year on year, reporting a step change in Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 , which was £10.7m, compared with £1.5m in the previous year. \n ·      Revenue 3 , on a comparable basis, increased 19% when compared with the prior year, to £167.8m, while passengers 3 increased 9% to 54.8k on the same basis. \n   \n Insurance - Continuation of first half trends, with result in line with guidance \n Insurance Broking \n ·      Insurance Broking reported a total earned Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £14.4m, compared with £39.8m in the previous year, reflecting the continued challenging insurance environment. For our continuing operations, excluding the accounting adjustments arising from the Group operating an Insurance Underwriting business, Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 was £14.5m, which compares with £34.5m in the prior year. \n ·      As expected, the trends from the first half of the year continued into the second half. These included the reduced competitiveness of our motor insurance, arising from market-wide price reductions out-pacing those from our panel of underwriters, and inflationary pressures in home insurance. \n ·      When combined with the fewer policies available for renewal coming into the year, arising from lower policy sales in the prior year, the total number of policies in force across all products at 31 January 2025, was 1.3m, 15% behind the prior year. Policy sales for the period were also 14% behind. \n   \n Insurance Underwriting \n ·      Insurance Underwriting, which is classified as a discontinued operation following the agreement of its sale to Ageas, reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £10.7m, a £12.1m improvement year on year, reflecting the pricing action taken to mitigate motor claims inflation. \n ·      The net current year combined operating ratio continued to improve, standing at 100.7%, 16.4ppts lower when compared with the 117.1% in the prior year. \n   \n 1 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n 2 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 3 Restated to exclude the revenue and passengers from our discontinued Titan third-party river cruise offering in the prior year \n   \n Wider progress \n ·      Our Publishing strategy continued to play a powerful role in customer engagement as we built on our award-winning magazine, with insightful content on our new website, which now regularly attracts over 1.0m monthly visits. \n ·      Alongside this, we further extended our customer engagement through our digital newsletters, curated by our Publishing team. These newsletters provide regular touch points with our customers, with insightful and useful content, including travel, personal finance and broader lifestyle topics. We now send 10.7m of these regular newsletters each month to 1.4m customers and are seeing industry-leading open rates, averaging around 46%, which demonstrates the value our customers attribute to such relevant and curated content. \n ·      Our extensive database continues to be one of our most valuable assets and, at 31 January 2025, included 9.4m individuals, with contact details for 7.8m of them, following the actions taken to drive more meaningful engagement. \n ·      Our colleagues remain at the heart of our success and we were delighted that Saga was ranked as the sixth best employer in the UK (of the 500 companies examined) by the Financial Times, following an independent survey, which sampled around 20,000 employees. Our own internal colleague surveys supported this, showing that colleague engagement increased from 6.6 out of 10 last year, to 7.9, a testament to the work we are doing to make Saga a great place to work and the difference this is making. \n   \n Chairman's Statement \n This has been an extremely important year for Saga. The strategic actions we took, together with the progress we made across our existing businesses, have created a solid platform upon which we can now build sustainable long-term value for our shareholders and provide even more excellent products and service for our customers. \n For the year ended 31 January 2025, Saga has delivered a strong underlying financial performance, growing both revenue and Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 , supported in particular, by another strong year in both our Cruise and Holidays 2 businesses. Our Net Debt 1 and Leverage Ratio 1 continued to reduce and remain a key priority for the future. Our strategic review has now been completed and led to a transformative 20-year Insurance partnership agreement with wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Ageas SA/NV ( Ageas ), the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business and the successful refinancing of our corporate debt. \n Our Travel 2 businesses are all performing well and continuing to grow. Our partnership with Ageas, and the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business, will transform our two main lines of insurance, being motor and home, with that business moving to a significantly lower risk, less complex commercial model, with Ageas as an excellent partner for growth. Our new credit facilities, with a six-year maturity horizon, provide long-term flexible financing to support our growth ambitions. \n Our excellent Ocean Cruise business continues to progress with increasing success, delivering outstanding occupancy levels, alongside growing ticket prices, as a result of our unique customer proposition, exceptional customer service and continued strong demand. We have continued to narrow the gap between the experience we deliver on our river cruises with those provided on our ocean cruises. This approach is reflected in our occupancy and ticket prices for River Cruise, which have also continued to grow year on year. \n Our Holidays 2 business had an excellent year and, on a comparable basis 3 , revenue and passenger numbers increased significantly when compared with the previous year. \n In Insurance, we reached several significant milestones, with the signing of our 20-year Broking agreement with Ageas and the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business. These are transformational changes for our Insurance business. Ageas brings the scale, infrastructure and capabilities of a first-class insurance operator that, when combined with Saga's brand, customer insight and marketing strength, create a powerful combination for success. We will soon no longer take any underwriting or pricing risk in motor and home, and Ageas will take on the administration of around 1.1m of our policies. The customer data and relationships will continue to be retained by Saga and we will maintain responsibility for marketing. This agreement allows us to move away from the highly volatile risk-based Insurance model we have today, to a lower risk, less complex model, which will leverage Saga's and Ageas's combined strengths to better serve our customers and, in doing so, provides the opportunity to return that part of our business to growth. \n In Money, awareness of our newer products has grown and there remains significant growth opportunity across our more established savings and equity release products. The number of customers we serve in this area has grown significantly this year and is a clear sign of the value customers attribute to our personal finance offering and our increasing credibility. \n Our Publishing business continues to produce engaging and insightful content for the readers of our Saga Magazine. The fast-growing distribution of our popular weekly newsletters continues, with more readers signing up to receive our regular and insightful content than ever before, and our new Saga Magazine website has proven to be incredibly popular, with monthly visitor numbers now in excess of one million. \n Peter Bazalgette, Senior Independent Director, and Steve Kingshott, have both notified the Board of their intention to step down with effect from 9 April 2025. These changes to the Board follow the successful Insurance agreement with Ageas and reflect the Group's new simplified business model. \n I would like to thank them both for all their hard work over the past years and the significant contributions they have each made. Their expertise in their respective fields of media and insurance have proven invaluable as we have reshaped Saga, positioning it for growth. We wish them well in their future endeavours. \n Mike Hazell has made great strides this year and I am excited about the opportunities he has teed up for us. He has taken action to address the challenges in our Insurance business and we are excited about the growth potential our partnership with Ageas brings. Our Travel 2 businesses are all performing well and our Money business is also very well positioned. I am equally excited about the new opportunities we might now have available to us, as we build even more products designed to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Understanding and meeting those needs has always been at the heart of what we do, and continuing to deliver on that promise remains key to our strategy. \n   \n Sir Roger De Haan \n Non-Executive Chairman \n 8 April 2025 \n   \n 1 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 2 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n 3 Restated to exclude the revenue and passengers from our discounted Titan third-party river cruise offering in the prior year \n   \n Group Chief Executive Officer's Strategic Review \n A strong financial performance, with significant strategic progress \n I am very pleased with the progress we have made this year and the positive position our business is now in. Our overall performance was strong, with underlying profitability growing year on year, and the strategic actions we have taken position us well for future growth. We completed our strategic review, which led to the successful agreement of a new 20-year insurance partnership with wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Ageas SA/NV ( Ageas ) and the sale of our Insurance Underwriting business, which remains on track to complete in the coming months. This partnership significantly changes the shape of our Insurance business, providing a route to a less volatile, lower risk and less complex business model moving forwards. The combination of these achievements meant that we were able to refinance our corporate debt, replacing our 2026 maturities with new six-year credit facilities that provide significant headroom and flexibility as we move forward. \n Growing demand for Travel 1 and Insurance performance in line with guidance \n Our Travel 1 businesses had an outstanding year, continuing to drive strong customer demand and delivering growth across all key metrics. Earnings for our Insurance Broking business reduced in the year, driven by lower opening policy volumes and the measures taken to rebalance our competitiveness, as we invested in pricing and marketing to support longer-term growth. After a difficult period, our Insurance Underwriting business also returned to an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 . Alongside this, our Money business continued to grow the number of customers it serves and deepen its engagement with those customers through its successful newsletters and webinars. Publishing, which continues to play a pivotal role in driving customer engagement, also saw a record number of visits to our Saga Magazine website. \n Underlying Revenue 2 and profit growth, alongside continued debt reduction \n Saga delivered a significantly improved underlying financial performance for the year ended 31 January 2025, with total Underlying Revenue 2 of £768.2m and total Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £47.8m, reflecting growth of 5% and 25% respectively. Following agreement for the sale of Acromas Insurance Company Limited ( AICL ) to Ageas, Insurance Underwriting and all associated accounting adjustments have been classified as discontinued operations. Excluding these items, Underlying Revenue 2 was £588.6m, 3% higher than the prior year, while Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 was £37.2m, reflecting 8% growth. \n The Group reported a loss before tax from continuing operations of £160.2m, reflecting the impairment of assets, including the previously reported write-down of Insurance Broking goodwill and those that will no longer deliver economic benefit following the move to the new Insurance partnership, restructuring costs and other exceptional items. \n The reduction of Net Debt 2 remains a key strategic focus and we made further progress with this. At 31 January 2025, Net Debt 2 was £590.5m, a £46.7m reduction from the £637.2m reported at 31 January 2024. Available Cash 2 , also at 31 January 2025 was £79.3m, compared with the £169.8m at the same time in the prior year. In addition to this, and following the successful refinancing of our corporate debt, the Group has further liquidity available through a £50.0m Revolving Credit Facility ( RCF ) and £100.0m undrawn delayed-draw term loan, both provided by certain funds, entities (or affiliates or subsidiaries of such funds or entities) and/or accounts managed, advised or controlled by HPS Investment Partners, LLC or its subsidiaries ( HPS Funds ). \n 1 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n 2 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Our strategy \n Having spent the past 12 months creating a strong foundation to build on, we are now focussed on driving sustainable long-term growth. Our existing businesses have detailed five-year plans in place that demonstrate strong growth potential and the strategic actions taken allow us to now pursue growth opportunities beyond these plans, building new revenue streams for the long term. With this in mind, our priorities have evolved to introduce a fourth strategic pillar, focussed on driving incremental value from new business lines and products. \n Our ambition is to be the most-trusted brand for older people in the UK and we will achieve this through the delivery of our strategy, which is focussed on the following four priorities: \n 1. Maximising the growth of our existing businesses \n 2. Driving incremental growth through new business lines and products \n 3. Growing our customer base and deepening those relationships \n 4. Reducing debt, while simplifying our operations \n An update on our progress during the year in each of these areas is set out below. \n 1. Maximising the growth of our existing businesses \n Cruise \n For the 12 months ended 31 January 2025, our Ocean Cruise business delivered exceptional growth in Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 , which was £48.9m, 38% higher than the £35.5m in the prior year. \n We continued to generate strong customer demand, achieving record levels of occupancy with the current two Ocean Cruise ships. This translated into a 91% load factor and £357 per diem, which were 3ppts and 8% higher when compared with the 88% and £331 in the previous year. After accounting for the cost of operating the ships, Trading EBITDA 3 was £89.2m, representing growth of 19%. \n Our customer transactional net promoter score ( tNPS ) for Ocean Cruise increased to 82, from 80 in the prior year, reflecting improvements to the shore excursions included within the ticket price and our pre-departure administration processes. Alongside this feedback from our customers, we were delighted to have been awarded 'Best Luxury Cruise Line' at the British Travel Awards and the number one rated cruise line by Which?, achieving recommended provider status for the fifth year in a row. \n For 2025/26, we are continuing to expand our included VIP chauffeur service, from the current 300-mile range to nationwide, ensuring that all our customers, irrespective of where they live, benefit from hassle-free comfort and exceptional service from the very start of their Ocean Cruise holiday. This, alongside other continual enhancements to our offering, continues to support our strong forward bookings position and, at 6 April 2025, the booked load factor for the first half was 94% and the per diem was £392, 5ppts and 7% ahead of the 89% and £365 at the same point in the prior year. For the full year, and at the same date, the load factor was 78%, 2ppts ahead of the prior year and the per diem was £396, 8% ahead. \n Our River Cruise business continues to go from strength to strength, having delivered an Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 of £4.0m, a 33% increase on the £3.0m reported in the prior year. Revenue also grew 13%, from £43.8m to £49.4m, supported by a load factor of 89% and a per diem of £326 reflecting a 4ppt and 14% increase when compared with the 85% and £285 achieved in the prior year. \n Similar to the trend observed in Ocean Cruise, our River Cruise tNPS also increased in the year, from 59 to 60, reflecting growth in the scores relating to the journey from a customer's home to the ship and the online booking experience, following significant improvements to documentation. \n At 6 April 2025, the River Cruise booked load factor and per diem for the first half of 2025/26, for our current fleet of ships, were 89% and £362, 5ppts and 6% ahead of the 84% and £341 at the same time in the prior year. We are scaling the River Cruise business and are delighted that Spirit of the Moselle joins the fleet in July 2025. Boasting four passenger decks and a capacity of 172 guests, our newest ship will deliver the same luxury and exceptional experience as her sister ships, Spirit of the Rhine and Spirit of the Danube. Including bookings on this new ship and mirroring the approach to revenue management used in Ocean Cruise, which optimises load factors on a month-by-month basis by prioritising the earlier months first, the load factor for the year ending 31 January 2026, at the same date, was 67%, 4ppts behind the prior year, with the per diem of £361, 6% ahead. \n Holidays 4 \n Our Holidays 4 business had an excellent year, generating revenue of £167.8m, compared with £156.3m in the prior year, representing growth of 7%, or 19% on a comparable basis 5 . On the same basis 5 , the number of passengers who travelled with us was 54.8k, 9% higher, with the average revenue per passenger also 9% higher. This led to a significant step change in Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 , which grew from £1.5m in the prior year, to £10.7m. \n Our commitment to providing exceptional holidays for our customers continues to be recognised industry-wide, having recently received 32 awards at the 2024 British Travel Awards, including gold in the 'Best Tour Operator' category. This, alongside continual enhancements to the range of products we offer, contributed to our strong pipeline of future bookings. At 6 April 2025, 50.7k passengers had booked with us for 2025/26, which was 14% ahead of the same time last year, generating revenue of £157.6m, which was also 14% ahead. \n Supporting the strong forward bookings position is our growing tNPS, which increased to 45, from 34 in the prior year. The improvement reflects growth across our escorted group tours and hosted holidays, arising from the enhancements made to pre-departure administration for customers, alongside positive trends in hotel quality scores, following action taken to set clearer customer expectations during the booking process. \n Building on the growth in Holidays 4 over the past couple of years, we made the decision to consolidate the leadership across Cruise and Holidays 4 , with the Holidays 4 business now being led by our Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) of Cruise, now the CEO of Travel 4 . This move will more closely align the customer experience between the two businesses, deliver operational synergies and better position both businesses for further growth. \n Insurance \n For the year ended 31 January 2025, Insurance Broking reported a total Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 of £14.4m, materially lower than the £39.8m in the prior year, but in line with our guidance. Following the agreement to sell our Insurance Underwriting operations to Ageas, AICL and all associated accounting adjustments, including the Insurance Broking written to earned adjustment, have been classified as discontinued operations. Excluding these, Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 from continuing operations was £14.5m, compared with £34.5m in the prior year. \n Coming into the year, our policies in force were 9% lower than in the prior year. We took early action to improve our competitive position and rebalance the business for a return to policy growth in future years, however, the lower volume of policies available to renew, and the wider market pressures, adversely impacted in-year policy sales. As a result, the number of policies sold across all products, was 1.4m, 14% lower than the 1.6m in the prior year. The number of policies in force at the year end was, therefore, also lower, falling by 15%. \n The above dynamics for motor and home meant that the margin per policy reduced to £51, compared with £55 in the preceding year. Customer retention was 77% across these lines, 4ppts lower than the 81% reported in the previous year. \n For motor insurance, while our pricing actions showed early encouraging results, market-wide price reductions outpaced those from our panel of underwriters, dampening our competitive position. This, and fewer policies coming into the year, meant that policy sales were 13% lower than in the prior year. Motor margins increased, as higher margins from reducing net rates on our three-year fixed-price products more than offset the impact of our pricing action on standard one-year policies. \n In home, policy sales were 17% behind the prior year, again reflecting fewer available renewals and reduced competitiveness following the necessary price increases to mitigate the effect of continued net rate inflation. Alongside this, home margins reduced, reflecting pressure on our three-year fixed-price products in the current high inflation environment. \n The contribution from our other broking products was lower than in the prior year, reflecting the increasingly competitive travel insurance market, with increased marketing activity and higher levels of discounting observed among our competitors, and market wide net rate inflation on private medical insurance. \n The tNPS for Insurance Broking for the full year was 57, broadly consistent with the 58 in the prior year, with significant improvement observed in the fourth quarter, which scored 61, following our pricing action and the introduction of our additional contact centre in South Africa. \n In Insurance Underwriting, which is classified as a discontinued operation following the agreement with Ageas for its sale, the pricing action taken to mitigate the impact of recent claims inflation continued to flow through and benefit the financial result. Subsequently, we reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 of £10.7m, which compares with an Underlying Loss Before Tax 3 of £1.4m in the prior year. Within this, the net current year combined operating ratio improved to 100.7%, representing a 16.4ppt reduction when compared with the 117.1% in the prior year. \n Consistent with our ambition to return the Insurance business to growth, on 16 December 2024, we announced that we had reached an agreement with Ageas for a 20-year partnership for motor and home insurance, alongside the sale of AICL, our Insurance Underwriting business. The new partnership is designed to deliver best-in-class insurance services to our customers, driving growth in our motor and home business through differentiated products, first-rate customer service and value for money. \n The sale of AICL remains subject to regulatory approval, however, as previously stated, we expect this to complete in the second quarter of 2025. Furthermore, the preparation work required ahead of the transition to the partnership model is progressing well and on track for the new arrangement to go live in the fourth quarter of 2025. Once fully transitioned, this partnership, and the sale of AICL, will mean that we no longer face the underwriting risk that we have previously been exposed to and will operate a significantly less complex model, supported by Ageas in those areas, as our motor and home insurance partner. \n   \n Money \n For the year ended 31 January 2025, Money reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax 3 of £0.7m, slightly lower than the £1.1m reported in the prior year, reflecting investment in our newer products, combined with an inability to grow our savings book, following the government delay in approving an increase to the ring-fence limit applicable to investment banks in the UK, with such legislation finally being passed in February 2025. \n We are continuing to build awareness of our newer products, with our digital newsletter reaching more than 700k customers every week and increased demand for our insightful webinars, which promote financial wellbeing. \n   \n 3 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 4 Following the consolidation of leadership across our Cruise and Travel businesses, Travel will now be referred to as 'Holidays', with the existing Cruise and Travel umbrella becoming 'Travel' \n 5 Restated to exclude the revenue and passengers from our discontinued Titan third-party river cruise offering in the prior year \n   \n 2. Driving incremental growth through new business lines and products \n Saga's success over the past 74 years was built on continually assessing the needs of our customers and developing and evolving products to meet those needs. While we have detailed growth plans in place for each of our existing businesses and product lines, the strategic actions taken over the past year now give us the opportunity to build on these plans and explore incremental growth, through new products and business lines not currently provided by Saga. \n The work to deliver these opportunities begins now and updates will, therefore, come as and when we are further progressed with these activities. Our approach will be disciplined and leverage partnership opportunities, in line with our strategy. \n 3. Growing our customer base and deepening those relationships \n Increasing the number of customers we serve and the quality of our interactions with them remains a key strategic priority for the Group. Our extensive customer database continues to be one of our most valuable assets, providing us with an unrivalled wealth of information on people aged over 50 in the UK, and allowing us to develop and refine our products to meet our customers' changing needs. At 31 January 2025, our database consisted of 9.4m individuals, and following the actions to drive more meaningful engagement, we are now able to contact 7.8m of them. \n Our Publishing business continues to be key to growing our customer base and deepening our customer relationships, through the provision of engaging and insightful content across a variety of channels. Our award-winning magazine is now being trialled in selected high street stores, with good early progress. Building on the success of the magazine, we continue to generate high levels of traffic to the website, which represents a significant opportunity as we look to maximise digital engagement and insight in an increasingly digitally savvy customer market. Following its launch in May 2024, the website now regularly sees over 1.0m visits per month and continues to grow. \n Alongside the magazine, our popular newsletters are key to driving customer engagement to support our insight. We now send 10.7m newsletters a month to our engaged audience, covering a range of topics, including travel, personal finance and lifestyle, with industry-leading open rates of 46%, an increase when compared with the 44% in the prior year. \n 4 . Reducing debt, while simplifying our operations \n During the year, we made significant progress with our ambition to reduce our debt. At 31 January 2025, Net Debt 6 was £590.5m, £46.7m lower than 31 January 2024 and included within this was £79.3m of Available Cash 6 . As a result of our reduced Net Debt 6 position, alongside growth in Trading EBITDA 6 , the Leverage Ratio 6 also reduced to 4.7x, from 5.4x at the same time last year. \n In January 2025, we announced that we had successfully refinanced the Group's corporate debt in full, having reached agreement with HPS Funds for a series of new long-term credit facilities. These comprise a £335.0m term loan facility, a £100.0m delayed-draw term facility, which can be used to fund Ocean Cruise ship debt repayments or growth investment, and a new £50.0m RCF. The debt attached to the Ocean Cruise ships remains unchanged. \n Following the year end, the new £335.0m term loan was drawn and used to repay the £250.0m bond, maturing in July 2026, alongside the £75.0m drawings under the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan. Not only does the new capital structure significantly enhance the Group's liquidity position, but it also increases the covenant headroom, providing flexible funding certainty for the next six years as we execute our growth plans. \n The strategic action taken over the past year and, in particular, the agreed transaction with Ageas, provides a pathway to remove some of the historic risks and complexity within the Group. Alongside this, we believe there is further opportunity to simplify our legacy operations and create a more agile and entrepreneurial approach moving forward, seeking partnerships to support us in this journey, where it makes sense to do so. \n 6 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n   \n Strengthening our exceptional culture \n We recognise that our ability to provide customers with exceptional products and service is only possible with the support of our colleagues. As such, we believe it is important to continually listen to their feedback and views and respond appropriately to ensure that we create the best possible culture, where colleagues can be their authentic selves. \n We were proud to be recognised as the sixth best employer in the UK by the Financial Times, following a survey of around 20,000 employees, who were asked about working conditions, reward and potential for development. Our own internal colleague surveys supported this, showing that engagement increased from 6.6 in January 2024, to 7.9 out of 10 in December 2024, reflecting a growing sense of advocacy among our colleagues, underpinned by greater leadership visibility and responses to colleague feedback. \n Significant growth potential \n The past 12 months has been a period of significant progress as we laid the foundations that will underpin our plans for long-term growth. We have a group of established businesses, with detailed growth plans in place for each of them and a new partnership with Ageas that significantly reduces the risk, complexity and earnings volatility in our Insurance business. Our partnership strategy will continue to support and amplify this growth, leveraging partner capabilities and infrastructure, where this complements our existing plans, and unlocking new opportunities for products that meet customer needs. \n Looking ahead, there is no shortage of growth potential, with our current plans providing a clear route to deliver a material step change in financial performance within the next five years. Over that timeframe, we believe there is a path to deliver at least £100.0m of annual Underlying Profit Before Tax 7 , while reducing the Leverage Ratio 7 to below 2.0x. \n Of course, none of this would be possible without our excellent colleagues, who work hard every day to give our customers the best possible experience, our loyal customers and, of course, our investors and partners, who continue to support us. \n   \n Mike Hazell \n Group Chief Executive Officer \n 8 April 2025 \n   \n 7 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Group Chief Financial Officer's Review \n I am pleased to report that, for the 12 months ended 31 January 2025, the Group delivered a strong set of underlying financial results. Total Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 was £47.8m, 25% higher than the year before, reflecting continued momentum in our Travel businesses and improvements in the performance of Insurance Underwriting, but the continuation of challenging conditions in Insurance Broking remained. \n Following agreement of the transaction with wholly owned UK subsidiaries of Ageas SA/NV ( Ageas ), which includes the sale of Acromas Insurance Company Limited ( AICL ) and the move to a 20-year partnership for motor and home insurance, our Insurance Underwriting operations, alongside all associated accounting adjustments, have been classified as discontinued operations. As a result, the Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 from our continuing operations was £37.2m, £2.9m higher than in the prior year. \n After accounting for the impairment of assets, including the previously reported Insurance Broking goodwill write-down and other smaller one-off exceptional items, the Group reported a loss before tax from continuing operations of £160.2m. \n Our Travel businesses had an outstanding year, with each delivering a step change in earnings. In Ocean Cruise, growing customer demand saw us report record load factors since acquiring our current two ships, alongside growing per diems, resulting in a 38% increase in Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 , to £48.9m. Our River Cruise business reported a similar growth in Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 , of 33%, to £4.0m, also reflecting growing demand, following actions taken to more closely align the customer experiences to those in Ocean Cruise. Our Holidays business saw growing customer numbers, on a like-for-like basis, which resulted in growth in Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 of £9.2m, from £1.5m in 2023/24, to £10.7m in 2024/25. \n While our Insurance Underwriting business saw a significant improvement in the financial result and returned to an Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 , following pricing action taken during the recent inflationary environment, conditions in Insurance Broking remained challenging, as expected. As a result, the business reported a total earned Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 of £14.4m, compared with £39.8m in the prior year. While the contribution from motor insurance increased, arising from higher margins on our three-year fixed-price products, the contribution from home and other broking reduced, reflecting net rate pressures and increased competition in the travel and private medical insurance ( PMI ) markets. \n Looking at the statement of financial position, we made significant progress in reducing the level of Net Debt 1 . At 31 January 2025, this was £590.5m, which was £46.7m lower than at 31 January 2024 and, in combination with the increase in Adjusted Trading EBITDA 1 , meant that the Leverage Ratio 1 reduced from 5.4x, to 4.7x. \n The Group continues to remain highly cash-generative, with Available Operating Cash Flow 1 of £109.6m, despite the material reduction in the cash contribution from the Insurance Broking business. As a result, the Group held £79.3m of Available Cash 1 at the year end, in addition to further available liquidity through the £50.0m undrawn Revolving Credit Facility ( RCF ) and the £10.0m undrawn portion of the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan. \n We also reached a significant milestone ahead of the year end, having successfully refinanced our corporate debt. Through the new facilities, provided by certain funds, entities (or affiliates or subsidiaries of such funds or entities) and/or accounts managed, advised or controlled by HPS Investment Partners, LLC or its subsidiaries ( HPS Funds ), we secured funding certainty for the next six years, with no corporate debt maturities falling due until January 2031. This, alongside the enhanced flexibility and incremental liquidity that the facilities provide, places us in a strong position as we deliver the next phase of our growth plans. \n On 27 February 2025, the new £335.0m term loan provided by HPS Funds was drawn, with the funds used to repay the £250.0m unsecured corporate bond that was set to mature in July 2026, and the £75.0m drawn portion of the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan maturing in April 2026, with the facility then cancelled. The existing £50.0m RCF, which was to mature in March 2026, was also replaced with a facility of the same value, provided by HPS Funds. \n Looking ahead, the building momentum in our Travel businesses, combined with the strategic action taken over the last 12 months, positions the business for long-term success. While 2025/26 will be a transitional year, with Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 expected to be lower than in 2024/25 as we prepare for the move to the new Insurance arrangement and embed the new capital structure, there is a clear opportunity for material growth thereafter. Within the next five years, we believe that there is a route to deliver at least £100.0m of annual Underlying Profit Before Tax 1 , while reducing the Leverage Ratio 1 to below 2.0x. \n 1 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n   \n Operating performance \n Group income statement \n \n \n \n \n   \n   \n £m \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2024 \n \n \n \n \n Continuing operations \n \n \n Discontinued operations \n \n \n   \n Total \n \n \n   \n Change \n \n \n Continuing operations \n \n \n Discontinued operations \n \n \n   \n Total \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Revenue 2 \n \n \n 588.6 \n \n \n 179.6 \n \n \n 768.2 \n \n \n 4.8% \n \n \n 572.4 \n \n \n 160.3 \n \n \n 732.7 \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 2 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Travel \n \n \n 63.6 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 63.6 \n \n \n 59.0% \n \n \n 40.0 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 40.0 \n \n \n \n \n Insurance Broking (earned) \n \n \n 14.5 \n \n \n (0.1) \n \n \n 14.4 \n \n \n (63.8%) \n \n \n 34.5 \n \n \n 5.3 \n \n \n 39.8 \n \n \n \n \n Insurance Underwriting \n \n \n - \n \n \n 10.7 \n \n \n 10.7 \n \n \n >500.0% \n \n \n - \n \n \n (1.4) \n \n \n (1.4) \n \n \n \n \n Total Insurance \n \n \n 14.5 \n \n \n 10.6 \n \n \n 25.1 \n \n \n (34.6%) \n \n \n 34.5 \n \n \n 3.9 \n \n \n 38.4 \n \n \n \n \n Other Businesses and Central Costs \n \n \n (14.2) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (14.2) \n \n \n 16.5% \n \n \n (17.0) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (17.0) \n \n \n \n \n Net finance costs 3 \n \n \n (26.7) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (26.7) \n \n \n (15.1%) \n \n \n (23.2) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (23.2) \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 \n \n \n 37.2 \n \n \n 10.6 \n \n \n 47.8 \n \n \n 25.1% \n \n \n 34.3 \n \n \n 3.9 \n \n \n 38.2 \n \n \n \n \n Impairment of Insurance Broking goodwill \n \n \n (138.3) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (138.3) \n \n \n   \n \n \n (104.9) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (104.9) \n \n \n \n \n Other exceptional items \n \n \n (59.1) \n \n \n 8.5 \n \n \n (50.6) \n \n \n \n \n \n (53.2) \n \n \n (9.1) \n \n \n (62.3) \n \n \n \n \n (Loss)/profit before tax \n \n \n (160.2) \n \n \n 19.1 \n \n \n (141.1) \n \n \n (9.4%) \n \n \n (123.8) \n \n \n (5.2) \n \n \n (129.0) \n \n \n \n \n Tax (expense)/credit \n \n \n (18.5) \n \n \n (5.3) \n \n \n (23.8) \n \n \n (248.8%) \n \n \n 15.8 \n \n \n 0.2 \n \n \n 16.0 \n \n \n \n \n (Loss)/profit after tax \n \n \n (178.7) \n \n \n 13.8 \n \n \n (164.9) \n \n \n (45.9%) \n \n \n (108.0) \n \n \n (5.0) \n \n \n (113.0) \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Earnings/(loss) per share \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Earnings Per Share 2 \n \n \n 18.1p \n \n \n 5.1p \n \n \n 23.2p \n \n \n (22.7%) \n \n \n 26.9p \n \n \n 3.1p \n \n \n 30.0p \n \n \n \n \n (Loss)/earnings per share \n \n \n (127.2p) \n \n \n 9.8p \n \n \n (117.4p) \n \n \n (45.9%) \n \n \n (77.2p) \n \n \n (3.6p) \n \n \n (80.8p) \n \n \n \n \n   \n The Group's business model is based on providing high-quality and differentiated products to its target demographic, predominantly focussed on travel and insurance. The Travel businesses comprise Ocean Cruise, River Cruise and Holidays. The Insurance business operates mainly as a broker, sourcing underwriting capacity from selected third-party insurance companies, and, for motor and home, also from the Group's in-house underwriter. Other Businesses include Money, Publishing and CustomerKNECT, a mailing and printing business. \n Underlying Revenue 2 \n Underlying Revenue 2 increased 4.8% to £768.2m (2024: £732.7m), mainly due to increased load factors and per diems across our Cruise businesses, alongside a 13.2% increase in average revenue per passenger in our Holidays business. \n Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 2 \n The Group generated a total Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £47.8m in the current year, compared with £38.2m in the prior year. This is primarily due to a: \n ·      £23.6m increase in Travel, moving to an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 of £63.6m (2024: £40.0m), with £13.4m driven by Ocean Cruise; \n ·      a return to an Underlying Profit Before Tax 2 in Insurance Underwriting of £10.7m (2024: Underlying Loss Before Tax 2 of £1.4m); and \n ·      £2.8m improvement in Other Businesses and Central Costs following the cost-reduction programme actioned in the second half of the prior year. \n These were partially offset by a £25.4m reduction in Insurance Broking profitability due to difficult trading conditions, particularly within home. \n Net finance costs 3 in the year were £26.7m (2024: £23.2m), which excludes finance costs within the Ocean Cruise business of £18.4m (2024: £18.2m) and Insurance Underwriting business of £8.8m (2024: £2.5m). \n   \n Loss before tax \n The loss before tax for the year, of £141.1m, includes a £138.3m impairment to Insurance Broking goodwill and other exceptional items of £50.6m, consisting of: \n ·      impairments to assets, other than goodwill, of £30.8m including software assets that will no longer drive economic benefit to the Group following the transition to the Insurance Broking partnership with Ageas; \n ·      restructuring costs of £32.2m, including a provision for the expected costs of restructuring of the Group's Insurance Broking business operations, ahead of the Ageas partnership becoming operational; \n ·      costs and amortisation of fees relating to the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan of £3.6m; \n ·      fair value losses of £0.3m on derivatives; \n ·      a negative International Financial Reporting Standard ( IFRS ) 16 'Leases' adjustment of £0.5m on River Cruise ships; \n ·      £1.7m additional Ocean Cruise dry dock costs and customer compensation relating to Spirit of Adventure; \n ·      profit share due to AXA on cessation of the PMI contract of £2.6m; \n ·      foreign exchange gains on River Cruise ship leases of £0.6m; \n ·      onerous contract provisions net positive of £14.8m on three-year fixed-price products and on insurance contracts under IFRS 17 'Insurance Contracts'; \n ·      fair value gains on debt securities of £5.1m; and \n ·      a £0.6m positive change in discount rate on non-periodical payment order ( PPO ) insurance liabilities. \n The loss before tax in the prior year, of £129.0m, includes a £104.9m impairment to Insurance goodwill and other exceptional items of £62.3m, comprising: \n ·      restructuring costs of £40.3m, arising from the cost reduction programme initiated in the second half and the decisions to exit some of our smaller, loss-making activities and rationalise our property portfolio; \n ·      impairments to assets, other than goodwill, of £11.9m (net of amounts recoverable under quota share arrangements); \n ·      £12.1m onerous contract provisions on three-year fixed-price products and insurance contracts under IFRS 17; \n ·      fair value gains on debt securities of £3.5m; \n ·      a £1.0m positive change in discount rate on non-PPO insurance liabilities; \n ·      discretionary customer ticket refunds and related costs within Ocean Cruise of £1.0m; \n ·      costs and amortisation of fees relating to the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan of £0.4m; \n ·      £0.3m costs on the acquisition and disposal of The Big Window Consulting Limited (the Big Window ); \n ·      fair value losses of £1.4m on derivatives; and \n ·      foreign exchange gains on River Cruise ship leases of £0.6m. \n Tax \n The Group's tax expense for the year was £23.8m (2024: £16.0m credit), representing a negative tax effective rate of 850.0% (2024: positive 66.4%), excluding the Insurance Broking goodwill impairment charge. In both the current and prior years, the difference between the Group's tax effective rate and the standard rate of corporation tax was mainly due to the Group's Ocean Cruise business being in the tonnage tax regime. In addition, in the current year it is also due to all temporary differences at 31 January 2025 not being considered recoverable and, therefore, no deferred tax assets were recognised for these temporary differences. This is the result of the change in mix of profitability within the Group, where the majority of the Group's profits now come from the Ocean Cruise business, whereas the Insurance Broking business has been in decline. \n In the prior year, there was also an adjustment for the over-provision of prior year tax of £4.5m. Excluding the impact of the Ocean Cruise business being in the tonnage tax regime, the Insurance goodwill impairment, the adjustments to prior year tax and the non-recognition of net deferred tax assets, the tax effective rate for the current year is 21.4% (2024: 19.9%). \n Earnings/(loss) per share \n The Group's Underlying Basic Earnings Per Share 2 was 23.2p (2024: 30.0p). The Group's reported basic loss per share was 117.4p (2024: loss of 80.8p). \n   \n 2 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 3 Net finance costs exclude Ocean Cruise and Insurance Underwriting finance costs and Travel net fair value losses on derivatives \n   \n Travel \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2024 \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n   \n £m \n \n \n Ocean \n Cruise \n \n \n River \n Cruise \n \n \n Holidays \n \n \n Total Travel \n \n \n Change \n \n \n Ocean Cruise \n \n \n River \n Cruise \n \n \n Holidays \n \n \n Total \n Travel \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Revenue 4 \n \n \n 236.7 \n \n \n 49.4 \n \n \n 167.8 \n \n \n 453.9 \n \n \n 9.1% \n \n \n 215.9 \n \n \n 43.8 \n \n \n 156.3 \n \n \n 416.0 \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Gross profit \n \n \n 97.7 \n \n \n 15.1 \n \n \n 41.7 \n \n \n 154.5 \n \n \n 26.2% \n \n \n 81.1 \n \n \n 11.3 \n \n \n 30.0 \n \n \n 122.4 \n \n \n \n \n Marketing expenses \n \n \n (13.8) \n \n \n (5.7) \n \n \n (10.9) \n \n \n (30.4) \n \n \n (15.6%) \n \n \n (12.3) \n \n \n (4.4) \n \n \n (9.6) \n \n \n (26.3) \n \n \n \n \n Other operating expenses \n \n \n (16.6) \n \n \n (5.8) \n \n \n (21.2) \n \n \n (43.6) \n \n \n (12.7%) \n \n \n (15.1) \n \n \n (4.0) \n \n \n (19.6) \n \n \n (38.7) \n \n \n \n \n Investment return \n \n \n - \n \n \n 0.4 \n \n \n 1.1 \n \n \n 1.5 \n \n \n 87.5 % \n \n \n - \n \n \n 0.1 \n \n \n 0.7 \n \n \n 0.8 \n \n \n \n \n Finance costs \n \n \n (18.4) \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n (18.4) \n \n \n (1.1%) \n \n \n (18.2) \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n (18.2) \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit Before Tax 4 \n \n \n 48.9 \n \n \n 4.0 \n \n \n 10.7 \n \n \n 63.6 \n \n \n 59.0% \n \n \n 35.5 \n \n \n 3.0 \n \n \n 1.5 \n \n \n 40.0 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Average revenue per passenger (£) \n \n \n 5,543 \n \n \n 2,923 \n \n \n 3,062 \n \n \n 3,968 \n \n \n 14.9% \n \n \n 4,683 \n \n \n 2,639 \n \n \n 2,704 \n \n \n 3,452 \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise load factor \n \n \n 91% \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 91% \n \n \n 3ppts \n \n \n 88% \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 88% \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise per diem (£) \n \n \n 357 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 357 \n \n \n 7.9% \n \n \n 331 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 331 \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise load factor \n \n \n \n \n \n 89% \n \n \n \n \n \n 89% \n \n \n 4ppts \n \n \n \n \n \n 85% \n \n \n \n \n \n 85% \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise per diem (£) \n \n \n \n \n \n 326 \n \n \n \n \n \n 326 \n \n \n 14.4% \n \n \n \n \n \n 285 \n \n \n \n \n \n 285 \n \n \n \n \n Passengers ('000) \n \n \n 42.7 \n \n \n 16.9 \n \n \n 54.8 \n \n \n 114.4 \n \n \n (5.1%) \n \n \n 46.1 \n \n \n 16.6 \n \n \n 57.8 \n \n \n 120.5 \n \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise \n The Ocean Cruise business owns two Ocean Cruise ships, Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure. \n The business achieved a load factor of 91% (2024: 88%) and a per diem of £357 (2024: £331). These two factors, when combined, equated to Underlying Revenue 4 growth of 9.6% and resulted in a 37.7% increase in profitability, from an Underlying Profit Before Tax 4 of £35.5m in the prior year, to £48.9m in the current year. \n River Cruise \n The River Cruise business has 10-year charters in place for two boutique purpose-built River Cruise ships, Spirit of the Rhine and Spirit of the Danube, alongside two other shorter-term charters . \n The business achieved a load factor of 89% (2024: 85%) and a per diem of £326 (2024: £285). This resulted in Underlying Revenue 4 growth of 12.8% and a 33.3% increase in profitability, to an Underlying Profit Before Tax 4 of £4.0m (2024: £3.0m). \n Holidays \n The Holidays business, which includes both the Saga Holidays and Titan brands, generated higher revenue per passenger in the current year, increasing by 13.2% from £2,704 to £3,062, but saw slightly reduced volumes when compared with the prior year, with passenger numbers decreasing from 57.8k to 54.8k. \n This led to Underlying Revenue 4 growth of 7.4% and an increase in profitability, from an Underlying Profit Before Tax 4 of £1.5m in the prior year, to £10.7m in the current year. \n On a comparable basis and, therefore, excluding the discontinued Titan third-party river cruise product, which is included in the prior year numbers, revenue grew 19.1% on a passenger base that grew 8.9%. \n Forward Travel sales \n The Ocean Cruise load factor for 2025/26 is 2ppts ahead of the same point last year for 2024/25, with an improved load factor in the first half, but reduced load factors in the second half, reflecting our strategic focus to optimise revenue across the full year. The per diem for 2025/26 is 7.6% higher than the same point last year, reflecting strong customer demand. \n Ocean Cruise bookings for 2026/27 are also ahead of the prior year, with the load factor 4ppts ahead and the per diem 13.7% ahead. \n The River Cruise load factor for 2025/26 is marginally behind the same point last year, by 4ppts, reflecting a higher load factor in the first half of the year, but a lower load factor in the second, arising from the mirroring of the revenue management approach used in Ocean Cruise, which optimises load factors on a month-by-month basis, prioritising the earlier months first. The per diem for the full year is 6.5% ahead, reflecting increased customer demand. \n Looking ahead to 2026/27, the River Cruise booked load factor is marginally ahead of the prior year position, with the per diem 8.0% ahead. \n Holidays bookings for 2025/26 are ahead of the same point last year by 13.6% and 13.9% for revenue and passengers respectively. The increased revenue is due to higher passenger numbers, reflecting increased uptake across our short- and long-haul touring ranges, alongside an uptick in stays. \n Holidays bookings for 2026/27 reflect a revenue position that is 40.1% ahead of the same point in the prior year, with passengers 54.3% ahead. \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n Current year departures \n \n \n   \n \n \n Next year departures \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n 6 April 2025 \n \n \n Change \n \n \n 7 April 2024 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 6 April 2025 \n \n \n Change \n \n \n 7 April 2024 \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise revenue (£m) \n \n \n 217.6 \n \n \n 9.8% \n \n \n 198.1 \n \n \n \n \n \n 76.8 \n \n \n 38.6% \n \n \n 55.4 \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise load factor \n \n \n 78% \n \n \n 2ppts \n \n \n 76% \n \n \n \n \n \n 26% \n \n \n 4ppts \n \n \n 22% \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise per diem (£) \n \n \n 396 \n \n \n 7.6% \n \n \n 368 \n \n \n \n \n \n 407 \n \n \n 13.7% \n \n \n 358 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise revenue (£m) \n \n \n 40.8 \n \n \n (0.5%) \n \n \n 41.0 \n \n \n \n \n \n 2.0 \n \n \n 17.6% \n \n \n 1.7 \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise load factor \n \n \n 67% \n \n \n (4ppts) \n \n \n 71% \n \n \n \n \n \n 3% \n \n \n 1ppt \n \n \n 2% \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise per diem (£) \n \n \n 361 \n \n \n 6.5% \n \n \n 339 \n \n \n \n \n \n 380 \n \n \n 8.0% \n \n \n 352 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Holidays revenue (£m) \n \n \n 157.6 \n \n \n 13.6% \n \n \n 138.7 \n \n \n \n \n \n 22.7 \n \n \n 40.1% \n \n \n 16.2 \n \n \n \n \n Holidays passengers ('000) \n \n \n 50.7 \n \n \n 13.9% \n \n \n 44.5 \n \n \n \n \n \n 5.4 \n \n \n 54.3% \n \n \n 3.5 \n \n \n \n \n 4 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Insurance \n Insurance Broking \n The Insurance Broking business provides tailored insurance products, principally motor, home, PMI and travel insurance. Its role is to price the policies and source the lowest risk price, whether through the panel of motor and home underwriters or through solus arrangements for PMI and travel i nsurance. The Group's in-house insurer, AICL, sits on the motor and home panels and competes for that business with other panel members on equal terms. AICL offers its underwriting capacity on the home panel through a coinsurance deal with a third party, so the Group takes no underwriting risk for that product. Even if underwritten by a third party, the product is presented as a Saga product and the Group manages the customer relationship. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2024 \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Motor \n \n \n Home \n \n \n Other \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n Motor \n \n \n Home \n \n \n Other \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n £m \n \n \n broking \n \n \n broking \n \n \n broking \n \n \n Total \n \n \n Change \n \n \n broking \n \n \n broking \n \n \n broking \n \n \n Total \n \n \n \n \n Gross Written Premiums 5 \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Brokered \n \n \n 134.2 \n \n \n 155.1 \n \n \n 123.7 \n \n \n 413.0 \n \n \n 1.3% \n \n \n 114.1 \n \n \n 162.4 \n \n \n 131.0 \n \n \n 407.5 \n \n \n \n \n Underwritten \n \n \n 160.0 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 1.8 \n \n \n 161.8 \n \n \n (18.5%) \n \n \n 195.5 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 3.0 \n \n \n 198.5 \n \n \n \n \n Gross Written Premiums \n \n \n 294.2 \n \n \n 155.1 \n \n \n 125.5 \n \n \n 574.8 \n \n \n (5.1%) \n \n \n 309.6 \n \n \n 162.4 \n \n \n 134.0 \n \n \n 606.0 \n \n \n \n \n Broker revenue \n \n \n 13.1 \n \n \n 6.2 \n \n \n 39.9 \n \n \n 59.2 \n \n \n (21.1%) \n \n \n 4.5 \n \n \n 25.4 \n \n \n 45.1 \n \n \n 75.0 \n \n \n \n \n Instalment revenue \n \n \n 3.3 \n \n \n 3.5 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 6.8 \n \n \n 1.5% \n \n \n 3.4 \n \n \n 3.3 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 6.7 \n \n \n \n \n Add-on revenue \n \n \n 7.2 \n \n \n 7.7 \n \n \n 0.1 \n \n \n 15.0 \n \n \n (14.8%) \n \n \n 8.1 \n \n \n 9.5 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 17.6 \n \n \n \n \n Other revenue \n \n \n 25.2 \n \n \n 15.7 \n \n \n (4.4) \n \n \n 36.5 \n \n \n (11.2%) \n \n \n 27.1 \n \n \n 17.3 \n \n \n (3.3) \n \n \n 41.1 \n \n \n \n \n Written Underlying Revenue 5 \n \n \n 48.8 \n \n \n 33.1 \n \n \n 35.6 \n \n \n 117.5 \n \n \n (16.3%) \n \n \n 43.1 \n \n \n 55.5 \n \n \n 41.8 \n \n \n 140.4 \n \n \n \n \n Written gross profit \n \n \n 42.1 \n \n \n 33.1 \n \n \n 42.8 \n \n \n 118.0 \n \n \n (16.4%) \n \n \n 35.9 \n \n \n 55.5 \n \n \n 49.7 \n \n \n 141.1 \n \n \n \n \n Marketing expenses \n \n \n (9.1) \n \n \n (6.0) \n \n \n (5.8) \n \n \n (20.9) \n \n \n 2.3% \n \n \n (9.6) \n \n \n (6.2) \n \n \n (5.6) \n \n \n (21.4) \n \n \n \n \n Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 \n \n \n 33.0 \n \n \n 27.1 \n \n \n 37.0 \n \n \n 97.1 \n \n \n (18.9%) \n \n \n 26.3 \n \n \n 49.3 \n \n \n 44.1 \n \n \n 119.7 \n \n \n \n \n Other operating expenses \n \n \n (31.9) \n \n \n (25.0) \n \n \n (26.1) \n \n \n (83.0) \n \n \n 2.7% \n \n \n (36.6) \n \n \n (29.6) \n \n \n (19.1) \n \n \n (85.3) \n \n \n \n \n Written Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 5 \n \n \n 1.1 \n \n \n 2.1 \n \n \n 10.9 \n \n \n 14.1 \n \n \n (59.0%) \n \n \n (10.3) \n \n \n 19.7 \n \n \n 25.0 \n \n \n 34.4 \n \n \n \n \n Written to earned adjustment \n \n \n 0.3 \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n 0.3 \n \n \n (94.4%) \n \n \n 5.4 \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n 5.4 \n \n \n \n \n Earned Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 5 \n \n \n 1.4 \n \n \n 2.1 \n \n \n 10.9 \n \n \n 14.4 \n \n \n (63.8%) \n \n \n (4.9) \n \n \n 19.7 \n \n \n 25.0 \n \n \n 39.8 \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Policies in force \n \n \n 602k \n \n \n 506k \n \n \n 166k \n \n \n 1,274k \n \n \n (15.0%) \n \n \n 700k \n \n \n 605k \n \n \n 194k \n \n \n 1,499k \n \n \n \n \n Policies sold \n \n \n 655k \n \n \n 528k \n \n \n 168k \n \n \n 1,351k \n \n \n (14.2%) \n \n \n 750k \n \n \n 633k \n \n \n 192k \n \n \n 1,575k \n \n \n \n \n Third-party panel share 6 \n \n \n 40.7% \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 7.1ppts \n \n \n 33.6% \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Reconciliation to continuing operations: \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Earned Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 5 \n \n \n 1.4 \n \n \n 2.1 \n \n \n 10.9 \n \n \n 14.4 \n \n \n (63.8%) \n \n \n (4.9) \n \n \n 19.7 \n \n \n 25.0 \n \n \n 39.8 \n \n \n \n \n Written Underlying Profit Before Tax 5 from discontinued operations \n \n \n 0.1 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 0.3 \n \n \n 0.4 \n \n \n 300.0% \n \n \n 0.1 \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n 0.1 \n \n \n \n \n Written to earned adjustment \n \n \n (0.3) \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n (0.3) \n \n \n 94.4% \n \n \n (5.4) \n \n \n - \n \n \n - \n \n \n (5.4) \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 5 from continuing operations \n \n \n 1.2 \n \n \n 2.1 \n \n \n 11.2 \n \n \n 14.5 \n \n \n (58.0%) \n \n \n (10.2) \n \n \n 19.7 \n \n \n 25.0 \n \n \n 34.5 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n Insurance Broking written Underlying Profit Before Tax 5 , which excludes the impact of the written to earned adjustment deferring the revenue on policies underwritten over the term of the policy, reduced to £14.1m, from £34.4m in the prior year. Underlying Profit Before Tax 5 from continuing operations reduced to £14.5m from £34.5m. The written to earned adjustment will no longer be required when the Underwriting business is disposed of. \n A key metric for the Insurance Broking business is Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 , before deducting overheads. This reduced from £119.7m in the prior year, to £97.1m in the current year, mainly due to lower renewal volumes and margins on home, lower renewal margins on PMI and lower new business volumes and margins on travel. This was partially offset by an improvement in motor margins as net rate inflation slowed. Written Gross Profits After Marketing Expenses 5 fell by £22.2m in home and £7.1m in other broking, partially offset by an increase in motor of £6.7m. \n For motor and home insurance, in terms of the total Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 , the new business proportion reduced by £4.4m and the renewal proportion by £11.1m. \n The reduction in profitability of the home business is attributable to significant inflationary pressure in the net rates charged by panel underwriters, which have increased at a faster pace than the price that can be charged to consumers in a competitive marketplace. This was accentuated by the fact that a significant number of home policies are on three-year fixed-price deals, which fix the customer price for two renewals. Lower new business volumes in the prior year also led to a 14% reduction in the level of renewal volumes in the current year. \n The three-year fixed-price product remains significant, with 411k policies sold in the year, compared with 582k policies in the prior year. This represented 35% of total motor and home policies (2024: 42%), with 29% of direct new business customers taking the product (2024: 28%). These policies remain highly attractive to our customer base and, while current profitability has been impacted by high industry inflation, this is a short-term challenge, as all policies will be repriced over the next few years. \n The challenging home environment was partially offset by an improvement to the motor environment which led to the average gross margin per policy for motor and home combined, calculated as Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 divided by the number of policies sold, reducing to £50.8 in the current year, compared with £54.7 in the prior year. \n In addition, customer retention reduced from 81% to 77%, overall motor and home policies in force decreased 15% when compared with 31 January 2024, and direct new business sales increased 2ppts to 45%. \n Written profit and gross margin per policy for motor and home are stated after allowing for deferral of part of the revenues from three-year fixed-price products, which is then recognised in profit or loss when the option to renew those policies at a predetermined fixed price is exercised or lapses, recognising the inflation risk inherent in these products. At 31 January 2025, £8.9m (2024: £10.6m) of income had been deferred in relation to three-year fixed-price products, £7.3m (2024: £8.9m) of which related to income written in the period to 31 January 2025. \n Motor broking \n Gross Written Premiums 5 decreased 5.0% due to a 12.7% reduction in core policies sold, partially offset by an 8.8% increase in average premiums. Gross Written Premiums 5 , from business underwritten by AICL, decreased 18.2% to £160.0m (2024: £195.5m), due to a 22.2% decrease in core policies sold, offset by a 5.1% increase in average premiums. \n Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 was £33.0m (2024: £26.3m), contributing £50.4 per policy (2024: £35.1 per policy). The increase in renewal margins was partially offset by lower new business margins, a 13.8% reduction in renewal policies sold and a 7.5% decrease in new business policies sold. \n Home broking \n Gross Written Premiums 5 decreased by 4.5% due to a 16.6% reduction in core policies sold, partially offset by a 14.5% increase in average premiums. \n Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 was £27.1m (2024: £49.3m), equating to £51.3 per policy (2024: £77.9 per policy). The reduction in written gross profits, and margin per policy, was mainly due to the adverse impact of net rate inflation on home renewal profitability. \n Other broking \n Other broking primarily comprises PMI and travel insurance. \n Gross Written Premiums 5 reduced by 6.3% as a result of lower average premiums and a reduction to policy sales, to 131k, (2024: 146k) in travel insurance. For PMI, policy sales decreased to 30k (2024: 33k). \n As a result, Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 relating to travel insurance products decreased by £2.5m. \n While sales of PMI reduced slightly, there were net rate inflation pressures in the current year, reducing renewal margins and leading to Written Gross Profit After Marketing Expenses 5 decreasing by £ 3.5m. \n 5 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 6 Third-party underwriter's share of the motor panel for policies \n Insurance Underwriting (classified as a discontinued operation) \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2024 \n \n \n \n \n £m \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n Gross \n \n \n Re- \n insurance \n \n \n   \n Net \n \n \n Gross change \n \n \n   \n Gross \n \n \n Re- \n insurance \n \n \n   \n Net \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Insurance Underlying Revenue 7 \n \n \n A \n \n \n 194.5 \n \n \n (17.1) \n \n \n 177.4 \n \n \n 14.5% \n \n \n 169.8 \n \n \n (17.0) \n \n \n 152.8 \n \n \n \n \n Incurred claims (current year) \n \n \n B \n \n \n (143.1) \n \n \n (5.3) \n \n \n (148.4) \n \n \n 16.3% \n \n \n (170.9) \n \n \n 22.3 \n \n \n (148.6) \n \n \n \n \n Claims handling costs in relation to incurred claims \n \n \n C \n \n \n (17.8) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (17.8) \n \n \n (14.1%) \n \n \n (15.6) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (15.6) \n \n \n \n \n Changes to liabilities for incurred claims (prior year) \n \n \n D \n \n \n 52.5 \n \n \n (41.2) \n \n \n 11.3 \n \n \n 443.1% \n \n \n (15.3) \n \n \n 33.9 \n \n \n 18.6 \n \n \n \n \n Other incurred insurance service expenses \n \n \n E \n \n \n (12.4) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (12.4) \n \n \n 15.6% \n \n \n (14.7) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (14.7) \n \n \n \n \n Insurance service result \n \n \n   \n \n \n 73.7 \n \n \n (63.6) \n \n \n 10.1 \n \n \n 257.0% \n \n \n (46.7) \n \n \n 39.2 \n \n \n (7.5) \n \n \n \n \n Net finance (expense)/income from (re)insurance (excludes impact of change in discount rate on non-PPO liabilities) \n \n \n   \n \n \n (16.8) \n \n \n 8.0 \n \n \n (8.8) \n \n \n (200.0%) \n \n \n (5.6) \n \n \n 3.1 \n \n \n (2.5) \n \n \n \n \n Investment return (excludes fair value gains on debt securities) \n \n \n   \n \n \n 9.4 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 9.4 \n \n \n 9.3% \n \n \n 8.6 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 8.6 \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 7 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 66.3 \n \n \n (55.6) \n \n \n 10.7 \n \n \n 251.7% \n \n \n (43.7) \n \n \n 42.3 \n \n \n (1.4) \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Reported loss ratio \n \n \n (B+D)/A \n \n \n 46.6% \n \n \n \n \n \n 77.3% \n \n \n 63.1ppts \n \n \n 109.7% \n \n \n \n \n \n 85.1% \n \n \n \n \n Expense ratio \n \n \n (C+E)/A \n \n \n 15.5% \n \n \n \n \n \n 17.0% \n \n \n 2.3ppts \n \n \n 17.8% \n \n \n \n \n \n 19.8% \n \n \n \n \n Reported combined operating ratio ( COR ) \n \n \n (B+C+D+E)/A \n \n \n 62.1% \n \n \n \n \n \n 94.3% \n \n \n 65.4ppts \n \n \n 127.5% \n \n \n \n \n \n 104.9% \n \n \n \n \n Current year COR \n \n \n (B+C+E)/A \n \n \n 89.1% \n \n \n \n \n \n 100.7% \n \n \n 29.4ppts \n \n \n 118.5% \n \n \n \n \n \n 117.1% \n \n \n \n \n Number of earned policies \n \n \n   \n \n \n 487k \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n (9.6%) \n \n \n 539k \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Policies in force - Saga motor \n \n \n   \n \n \n 358k \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n (22.7%) \n \n \n 463k \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n The Group's in-house underwriter, AICL, underwrites around 60% of the motor business sold by Insurance Broking, alongside a smaller proportion of business on other panels. Alongside this, AICL underwrites a portion of Saga's home panel, although all home underwriting risk is passed to third-party insurance and reinsurance providers. AICL also has excess of loss and funds-withheld quota share reinsurance arrangements in place, relating to its motor underwriting line of business, which transfer a significant proportion of motor insurance risk to third-party reinsurers. \n In line with the wider market, AICL experienced a prolonged period of elevated claims inflation in 2022 and 2023, with the significant price rises applied over that time having now materially earned through to insurance revenue. \n Gross insurance Underlying Revenue 7 in the current year increased 14.5% to £194.5m (2024: £169.8m), reflecting a 26.8% increase in average earned premiums. This was partially offset by a 9.6% reduction in the number of earned policies underwritten by AICL, particularly those underwritten for Saga as opposed to other panels. \n The pricing and other management action taken during 2022 and 2023 resulted in significant improvement in the gross insurance service result year on year, with a 29.4ppt reduction in the current year gross COR to 89.1% (2024: 118.5%). After allowing for reinsurance arrangements, this increased to 100.7% (2024: 117.1%). This result was in line with expectations, recognising the fact that the gross current period motor surplus generated during the current year is shared with reinsurance partners. \n Motor claims severity inflation during the current year reduced to 6%, in line with pricing expectations. \n Positive changes to liabilities for incurred prior year claims reduced from £18.6m in the prior year to £11.3m in the current year. Both years benefited from favourable large claims movements (net of excess of loss reinsurance), albeit more so in the prior year. The net impact of our quota share reinsurance arrangements switched from a net benefit in the prior year to a net cost in the current year, with 80% of the favourable development in the most recent accident years ceded to quota share reinsurance partners. \n 7 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Other Businesses and Central Costs \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 12m to Jan 2024 \n \n \n \n \n £m \n \n \n Other \n Businesses \n \n \n Central Costs \n \n \n Total \n \n \n Change \n \n \n Other \n Businesses \n \n \n Central Costs \n \n \n Total \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Revenue 8 \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Money \n \n \n 5.6 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 5.6 \n \n \n (12.5%) \n \n \n 6.4 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 6.4 \n \n \n \n \n Publishing and CustomerKNECT \n \n \n 13.9 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 13.9 \n \n \n 13.0% \n \n \n 12.3 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 12.3 \n \n \n \n \n Total Underlying Revenue \n \n \n 19.5 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 19.5 \n \n \n 4.3% \n \n \n 18.7 \n \n \n - \n \n \n 18.7 \n \n \n \n \n Gross profit \n \n \n 6.9 \n \n \n 6.1 \n \n \n 13.0 \n \n \n 6.6% \n \n \n 7.2 \n \n \n 5.0 \n \n \n 12.2 \n \n \n \n \n Operating expenses \n \n \n (6.5) \n \n \n (24.4) \n \n \n (30.9) \n \n \n 10.7% \n \n \n (6.3) \n \n \n (28.3) \n \n \n (34.6) \n \n \n \n \n Investment income \n \n \n - \n \n \n 3.7 \n \n \n 3.7 \n \n \n (31.5%) \n \n \n - \n \n \n 5.4 \n \n \n 5.4 \n \n \n \n \n Net finance costs \n \n \n - \n \n \n (26.7) \n \n \n (26.7) \n \n \n (15.1%) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (23.2) \n \n \n (23.2) \n \n \n \n \n Underlying Profit/(Loss) Before Tax 8 \n \n \n 0.4 \n \n \n (41.3) \n \n \n (40.9) \n \n \n (1.7%) \n \n \n 0.9 \n \n \n (41.1) \n \n \n (40.2) \n \n \n \n \n   \n The Group's Other Businesses include Money, Publishing and CustomerKNECT. \n Underlying Profit Before Tax 8 for Other Businesses, when combined, reduced slightly, by £0.5m, from £0.9m in the prior year to £0.4m in the current year. Underlying Revenue 8 in Money reduced £0.8m due to market-wide equity release challenges arising from the inflationary environment. \n Central operating expenses reduced to £24.4m (2024: £28.3m). Gross administration costs, before Group recharges, decreased by £0.8m in the year. Net costs decreased by a further £3.1m due to higher Group recharges to the business units. \n Net finance costs in the year were £26.7m (2024: £23.2m), which excludes finance costs included within the Ocean Cruise business of £18.4m (2024: £18.2m) and Insurance Underwriting business of £8.8m (2024: £2.5m). The increase was predominantly driven by the drawdown on the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan to support repayment of the £150.0m bond in May 2024 and the higher interest rate attached to that facility. \n   \n 8 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Cash flow and liquidity \n Available Operating Cash Flow 9 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n £m \n \n \n \n \n \n 12m to \n Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n  Change \n \n \n 12m to \n Jan 2024 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Group Trading EBITDA 9 \n \n \n \n \n \n 137.1 \n \n \n 17.7% \n \n \n 116.5 \n \n \n \n \n Less Trading EBITDA 9 from restricted businesses \n \n \n \n \n \n (34.3) \n \n \n (411.9%) \n \n \n (6.7) \n \n \n \n \n Group Trading EBITDA 9, 10 from unrestricted businesses \n \n \n   \n \n \n 102.8 \n \n \n (6.4%) \n \n \n 109.8 \n \n \n \n \n Working capital and non-cash items \n \n \n \n \n \n 2.2 \n \n \n (92.8%) \n \n \n 30.5 \n \n \n \n \n Dividends and intercompany repayments from restricted businesses \n \n \n \n \n \n 23.0 \n \n \n (20.7%) \n \n \n 29.0 \n \n \n \n \n Capital expenditure funded with Available Cash 9 \n \n \n \n \n \n (18.4) \n \n \n 27.8% \n \n \n (25.5) \n \n \n \n \n Available Operating Cash Flow 9 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 109.6 \n \n \n (23.8%) \n \n \n 143.8 \n \n \n \n \n Restructuring costs \n \n \n \n \n \n (21.3) \n \n \n 26.0% \n \n \n (28.8) \n \n \n \n \n Interest and financing costs \n \n \n \n \n \n (43.3) \n \n \n (10.2%) \n \n \n (39.3) \n \n \n \n \n Tax receipts \n \n \n \n \n \n 7.5 \n \n \n 63.0% \n \n \n 4.6 \n \n \n \n \n Other payments \n \n \n \n \n \n (5.8) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (5.8) \n \n \n \n \n Change in cash flow from operations \n \n \n   \n \n \n 46.7 \n \n \n (37.3%) \n \n \n 74.5 \n \n \n \n \n Change in bond debt \n \n \n \n \n \n (150.0) \n \n \n (100.0%) \n \n \n - \n \n \n \n \n Change in loan facility debt \n \n \n \n \n \n 75.0 \n \n \n 100.0% \n \n \n - \n \n \n \n \n Change in Ocean Cruise ship debt \n \n \n \n \n \n (62.2) \n \n \n - \n \n \n (62.2) \n \n \n \n \n Cash at 1 February \n \n \n \n \n \n 169.8 \n \n \n 7.8% \n \n \n 157.5 \n \n \n \n \n Available Cash 9 at 31 January \n \n \n   \n \n \n 79.3 \n \n \n (53.3%) \n \n \n 169.8 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n £m \n \n \n \n \n \n 12m to \n Jan 2025 \n \n \n   \n  Change \n \n \n 12m to \n Jan 2024 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Available Operating Cash Flow 9 by business unit \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n   \n \n \n \n \n Ocean Cruise \n \n \n \n \n \n 92.4 \n \n \n 0.3% \n \n \n 92.1 \n \n \n \n \n River Cruise \n \n \n \n \n \n 1.4 \n \n \n (78.8%) \n \n \n 6.6 \n \n \n \n \n Holidays \n \n \n \n \n \n 12.6 \n \n \n 50.0% \n \n \n 8.4 \n \n \n \n \n Insurance Broking \n \n \n \n \n \n 8.1 \n \n \n (80.6%) \n \n \n 41.8 \n \n \n \n \n Insurance Underwriting \n \n \n \n \n \n 9.0 \n \n \n (35.7%) \n \n \n 14.0 \n \n \n \n \n Other Businesses and Central Costs \n \n \n \n \n \n (13.9) \n \n \n 27.2% \n \n \n (19.1) \n \n \n \n \n Available Operating Cash Flow 9 \n \n \n   \n \n \n 109.6 \n \n \n (23.8%) \n \n \n 143.8 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n   \n Available Operating Cash Flow 9 is made up of the cash flows from unrestricted businesses and the dividends paid by, and intercompany repayments from, restricted companies, less any cash injections to those businesses. Unrestricted businesses include Insurance Broking (excluding specific ring-fenced funds to satisfy Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) regulatory requirements), Other Businesses and Central Costs, and the Group's Ocean Cruise business. Restricted businesses include Insurance Underwriting, River Cruise and Holidays. \n As a result of a reduction in cash generation from Insurance Broking and dividends paid by Insurance Underwriting, Available Operating Cash Flow 9 fell from £143.8m in the prior year to £109.6m the current year. \n The Ocean Cruise business reported an Available Operating Cash Flow 9 of £92.4m (2024: £92.1m), with an increase in advance customer receipts of £12.0m (2024: £13.7m) and net trading income of £97.3m (2024: £82.2m), partially offset by capital expenditure of £5.4m (2024: £3.8m) and cash collateralised Association of British Travel Agents bonding of £11.5m (2024: £nil). Net of interest costs of £15.8m (2024: £15.2m) and exceptional costs of £1.7m (2024: £1.0m), the Ocean Cruise business reported a net cash inflow, before capital repayments on the ship debt, of £74.9m for the year, compared with £75.9m in the prior year. \n The River Cruise business repaid the Group £1.4m in the year (2024: £6.6m). The reduction is a result of all intercompany loans that arose following the impact of COVID-19 having now been repaid. For any further excess cash to be paid back to the Group, dividends will only be paid following an approval process with the Civil Aviation Authority ( CAA ). This is likely to commence by the end of 2025/26, when enough distributable reserves will have accumulated. The business continues to be under an escrow trust arrangement as part of its CAA licence. At 31 January 2025, the business held cash of £13.9m, of which £8.8m was held in escrow. The business must hold a minimum of £1.7m of cash outside of escrow within the business, as agreed with the CAA. \n The Holidays business repaid the Group £12.6m during the year (2024: £8.4m). This increase arose due to a change in its CAA licence, moving from an escrow trust arrangement, where 70% of customer cash was held in escrow and a minimum cash balance of around £5m was required within the business, to an arrangement where 70% of customer cash is held within the business rather than in escrow with no minimum cash balance. \n The Insurance Broking business reported an Available Operating Cash Flow 9 of £8.1m (2024: £41.8m). The decrease of £33.7m is the result of two significant adverse movements in the year. The first significant adverse movement is in relation to the home product, which faced not only a reduction in policy volumes of 105k in the year, but also a reduction to margins of £27 per policy. The margin reduction was the result of average net written premiums ( NWP ) increasing by 42% in the year, compared to average GWP increasing by 17%. The impact of these, in combination, was a £22.1m decrease in EBITDA on the home product, which is 89% of the £24.8m overall reduction to EBITDA. The second significant adverse movement was driven by working capital within the motor product. In 2023/24, there was a large increase in NWP, which drove a high working capital inflow. In 2024/25, there was a reduction in NWP, which drove a working capital outflow, resulting in the movement year on year being adverse. This was partially offset by a corresponding reduction in GWP, which drove positive movement in working capital year on year. The overall year on year adverse movement on working capital was £13.2m. Both of these adverse movements were partially offset by a reduction in capital expenditure in the current year of £4.3m. \n The Insurance Underwriting business paid dividends to the Group of £9.0m (2024: £14.0m), with the reduction in line with expectations. \n Other cash flow movements \n Interest and financing costs increased in the current year, predominantly driven by the drawdown on the loan facility provided by Roger De Haan to support repayment of the £150.0m bond in May 2024 and the higher interest rate attached to that facility. \n The Group continued to make the agreed payments to the defined benefit pension fund as part of the deficit recovery plan of £5.8m (2024: £5.8m), which are included within other payments. \n In the current year, the Group repaid in full its £150.0m corporate bond at maturity, drew down £75.0m of the available £85.0m loan facility provided by Roger De Haan and continued to make capital repayments against its Ocean Cruise ship debt facilities, with two payments totalling £30.6m (2024: £30.6m) on Spirit of Discovery's debt facility and two payments totalling £31.6m (2024: £31.6m) on Spirit of Adventure's debt facility. \n 9 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n 10 Trading EBITDA includes the line-item impact of IFRS 16 with the corresponding impact to net finance costs included in net cash flows used in financing activities \n Statement of financial position \n Goodwill \n On 1 January 2022, new pricing rules arising from the implementation of recommendations included in the FCA's General Insurance Pricing Practices market study came into effect. As a result, and against the background of a highly competitive motor insurance market, the Group saw a fall in policy volumes in the period to 31 July 2023 and year to 31 January 2024. At 31 July 2024, high net rate inflation from our underwriting panel continued to have an adverse impact on the expected future profitability of the Insurance business. In December 2024, the Group also announced it had entered into a binding agreement with Ageas, to establish a 20-year partnership for motor and home insurance (the Affinity Partnership ), which is expected to impact future cash flows of the business. Management, therefore, considered it necessary to perform impairment assessments of goodwill attaching to the Insurance Broking business at each of these dates. Forecast cash flows were modelled and, as a result, management took the decision to impair Insurance goodwill by £138.3m at 31 July 2024, following total impairments recognised in the year to 31 January 2024 of £104.9m. No further impairment was identified at 31 January 2025. Consistent with the approach taken in previous years, this impairment is not included within Underlying Profit Before Tax 11 . \n 11 Refer to the Alternative Performance Measures Glossary for definition and explanation \n Carrying value of Ocean Cruise ships \n At 31 January 2025, the carrying value of the Group's Ocean Cruise ships was £570.6m (31 January 2024: £586.7m). Trading performance in the current year was very positive and, with strong bookings for 2025/26, the Directors concluded that there were no indicators of impairment at 31 January 2025. \n Investment portfolio \n The majority of the Group's financial assets are held by its Insurance Underwriting entity and represent premium income received and invested to settle claims and meet regulatory capital requirements. \n The amount held in invested funds increased by £1.2m to £253.1m (31 January 2024: £251.9m). At 31 January 2025, 100% of the financial assets held by the Group were invested with counterparties with a risk rating of BBB or above, consistent with the prior year end, refl...

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