13.5 Inge Larsen is the principal shareholder in Larsen Locations Limited. Her company provides services to businesses that are in the process of moving from one location to another. Inge and her staff plan the moves in detail, ensuring that all arrangements are made and that the move goes smoothly. Lately, the company has itself moved into larger premises and has taken on more staff.

Tom Wilton runs The Wilton Group pic, of which he is the major shareholder; the company's principal activity is similar to Larsen's. He is considering making an offer to Inge to buy the business from her, so that he can consolidate Wilton's position as market leader in the region. He does not want Inge Larsen to know anything about his possible interest in her company until he has completed some basic financial analysis.

Tom obtains Larsen's company accounts for the last three years from Companies House. Some of the extracted profit and loss account information is summarised in the following table:

20X8

£

20X7

£

20X6

£

20X5

£

Sales of services Administrative expenses Operating profit 3 709480 3 690 900 3 502 404 3 497 983 1 446 437 1 204448 1 109 932 1 100 555 756 734 841 525 795 046 787 046 Over the period 20X5 to 20X8 The Wilton Group pic has experienced steady growth in sales, administrative expenses and operating profits of 2-3% per year.

You are required to analyse Larsen's sales, administrative expenses and operating profits horizontally, reporting briefly on how the trends in these items compare with those of The Wilton Group pic.