iStep Learning (ISTL) investor relations material

Company overview and business model

• Operates 24 UK nursery centers across nine brands, with capacity for 1,280 children aged three months to five years; completed six acquisitions totaling 10 centers since 2023.

• Combines centralized quality, safeguarding, HR, recruitment, marketing, finance and operational support with locally retained nursery brands and community ties.

• Growth plans include UK nursery acquisitions and new sites, selective expansion into specialist education and online tutoring, and longer-term nursery expansion in Australia; a 95%-owned Australian subsidiary had no operations at filing.

• The 80%-owned Belong Education subsidiary is the planned acquisition vehicle for Grolife; control began on April 14, 2026, after a shareholders’ agreement amendment.

Financial performance and metrics

• FY2026 revenue was £17.938m, up 24.3% YoY; gross profit was £3.728m and gross margin 20.8%, versus 11.4% in FY2025.

• FY2026 operating loss was £1.870m and net loss £1.906m; Adjusted EBITDA was £0.983m, versus £0.229m in FY2025 and a £0.995m loss in FY2024.

• FY2026 operating cash flow was £0.019m; June 30, 2026 cash was £0.946m and total indebtedness was £6.0m, including £5.3m of lease liabilities.

• Government assistance represented 64% of FY2026 revenue, up from 49.2% in FY2025; employee compensation and benefits totaled £12.7m in FY2026.

• Financial statements use IFRS; prior-year cost classifications were restated, moving property-related costs into cost of sales without changing reported losses, cash or net assets.

Use of proceeds and capital allocation

• Planned allocations include £6.2m for Grolife consideration at completion and £1.7m for its first deferred payment, expected six months after completion.

• Approximately £1.5m is earmarked for the proposed Bright Eyes acquisition and £50,000 for outstanding acquisition-related legal costs; the remainder is for working capital and general corporate purposes.

• Grolife’s contemplated £10.2m cash consideration is subject to definitive agreements; deferred amounts are expected to be funded from operations, post-offering cash and future financing, with no committed financing in place.

• If Grolife is not completed, its allocated proceeds are intended for working capital, general corporate purposes, or other acquisitions and investments aligned with growth plans.