Naturalistic plc is a British manufacturer of garden sheds, summer houses, gates and benches. The company has built a good reputation for its high quality products and employed a large number of highly skilled carpenters and apprentices. The high standard of craftmanship has enabled Naturalistic plc to charge a premium price for its products. The majority of Naturalistic plc's sales are to retail customers (home and garden centres), hotel chains and public projects like parks and schools. At the start of 2021, Naturalistic plc launched a new strategy in order to expand the business. They obtained a large bank loan to update the production facilities and invest more heavily in marketing and sales. The company also offered a longer credit period to the key retail customers in order to encourage sales. Extracts of Naturalistic plc's financial statements for 2020 and 2021 are shown at the end of this question. Required: (A) For Naturalistic plc, calculate the following ratios for 2020 and 2021. Workings and formulae used must be clearly stated. (i) Current ratio (ii) Quick (also called Acid-Test) ratio (iii) Gearing ratio (iv) Interest cover (v) Earnings per share (vi) Dividend Cover (10 marks) (B) Using the ratios calculated for Naturalistic plc in (A) and the information from the financial statements, assess the liquidity, solvency and investors related performance of the company in 2020 and 2021. You should relate your performance assessment to the new strategy that Naturalistic plc launched in 2021. Word count guidance for Part (B): 270-320 words (9 marks) (C) In last week's management meeting, the new General Manager questioned the decision of taking out a large bank loan to fund the new business expansion strategy. Discuss the benefits and drawback of using bank loans as a key source of finance to fund large business projects. Word count guidance for Part (C): 180-220 words (6 marks) Naturalistic plc - Profit and Loss Account Extracts Naturalistic plc - Statement of Financial Position Extracts