The Accounts · daily brief
27 August 2026
Liontrust staff costs double while sales slip
The takeaways
- Liontrust operating profit fell 38% to £46.1m as turnover contracted and staff costs doubled to £20.1m
- Flawless UK Vape Distribution flags the incoming ban on disposable vapes, posting a £10.7m operating profit
- Hoads Farm filed its accounts on a break-up basis, preparing to transfer assets to its parent and dissolve
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Wemaintain Technologies Ltd 87 → 118 staff ▲ +36% staff cost +28%
- Mcandrew Utilities Limited 29 → 35 staff ▲ +21% staff cost +26%
Cutting
- Illuminet Solutions Limited 64 → 52 staff ▼ −19% staff cost −17%
- Fountain Foods Limited 80 → 67 staff ▼ −16%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Hoads Farm Limited
Hoads Farm Limited is a Kent-based agricultural business engaged in the raising of poultry.
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up.
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £1.8m | £1.6m | ▲ +16% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 5 | 11 | ▼ −55% |
The day's most unusual filing is a set of accounts prepared on a break-up basis, as this Kent-based poultry business prepares to wind down. The P&L is entirely empty for this 18-month period, with the action confined to the balance sheet. The filing confirms an intention to transfer the remaining £1.8m in net assets to the parent company and dissolve the entity before the end of 2026.
Dace Motor Company Limited [1]
Trading as Dace Motor Group, the business operates as an independent, family-owned used car dealership network with multiple sites across Stockport and Greater Manchester.
Extended period
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £128m | £68m | ▲ +88% |
| Gross profit | £12m | £6.7m | ▲ +79% |
| Admin expenses | £10m | £5.6m | ▲ +78% |
| Operating profit | £2m | £1m | ▲ +86% |
| Finance costs | £743k | £479k | ▲ +55% |
| Profit before tax | £1.2m | £570k | ▲ +113% |
| Net profit | £903k | £398k | ▲ +127% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £5.1m | £5.3m | ▼ −3% |
| Dividends paid | £1.1m | £586k | ▲ +84% |
| People & pay | |||
| Staff cost | £6.5m | £3.6m | ▲ +82% |
| Director pay | £39,956 | £26,415 | ▲ +51% |
Watch the dates here: this is an 18-month reporting period against a 12-month prior year, so the unadjusted figures require some context. Annualised, turnover rose roughly 25% to an equivalent £85.3m, a jump attributed in the filing to an increase in the number of vehicles sold and their average value. Operating profit came in at £1.96m for the extended stretch.
Flawless Uk Vape Distribution Ltd [2]
Operating as Flawless Vape Distro, the company is a privately held Leicester-based wholesaler of electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, and CBD products, forming part of a wider corporate group controlled by the Maini and Kohli families.
Regulatory headwinds
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £120.3m | £105.7m | ▲ +14% |
| Gross profit | £17.9m | £17.2m | ▲ +4% |
| Admin expenses | £7.3m | £5.7m | ▲ +29% |
| Operating profit | £10.7m | £11.7m | ▼ −8% |
| Finance costs | £100k | £39,460 | ▲ +155% |
| Profit before tax | £10.7m | £11.8m | ▼ −9% |
| Net profit | £8m | £8.8m | ▼ −9% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £558k | £9.4m | ▼ −94% |
| Net assets | £28.9m | £22.5m | ▲ +28% |
| Dividends paid | £1.6m | £1.2m | ▲ +35% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 149 | 117 | ▲ +27% |
| Staff cost | £4.4m | £3.5m | ▲ +28% |
| Director pay | £157k | £133k | ▲ +18% |
Sales at the Leicester-based wholesaler rose 14% to £120.3m, but operating profit slipped back to £10.7m as administrative expenses expanded. The balance sheet shows a sharp contraction in cash, dropping from £9.4m to just £558k, while £1.6m was drawn in dividends during the period. The real story is in the strategic report, which notes preparations for the confirmed ban on disposable e-cigarettes from June 2025.
Liontrust Investment Partners Llp [3]
The partnership acts as the FCA-regulated professional investment management arm of the London-listed specialist fund management group Liontrust Asset Management PLC.
Margin squeeze
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £100.3m | £122.9m | ▼ −18% |
| Gross profit | £98.2m | £121.1m | ▼ −19% |
| Admin expenses | £52.1m | £47m | ▲ +11% |
| Operating profit | £46.1m | £74.1m | ▼ −38% |
| Profit before tax | £46.3m | £74.2m | ▼ −38% |
| Net profit | £20.8m | £41.5m | ▼ −50% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £32.5m | £4.7m | ▲ +596% |
| Net assets | £48.5m | £42.6m | ▲ +14% |
| Dividends paid | −£40.5m | −£47.6m | ▲ +15% |
| People & pay | |||
| Staff cost | £20.1m | £10m | ▲ +101% |
A challenging year for the investment management arm of the listed Liontrust group, with turnover falling 18% to £100.3m. The profit line saw a sharper contraction, dropping 38% to £46.1m at the operating level. That margin squeeze was accompanied by an expanding wage bill, with staff costs doubling from £10.0m to £20.1m alongside the shrinking top line.
The Tyre Group Holdings Limited [4]
The company acts as a holding entity for The Tyre Group, a privately owned independent tyre retailer and fast-fit automotive repair specialist operating under regional brands including Malvern Tyres and County Tyre.
Profits reverse
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £90.6m | £84.3m | ▲ +8% |
| Gross profit | £33.8m | £27.3m | ▲ +24% |
| Admin expenses | £33.1m | £29.2m | ▲ +13% |
| Operating profit | £778k | £2m | ▼ −60% |
| Finance costs | £1.9m | £1.3m | ▲ +41% |
| Profit before tax | £478k | £2.5m | ▼ −81% |
| Net profit | £700k | £2.1m | ▼ −66% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £1.2m | £1.7m | ▼ −31% |
Revenues at the independent tyre retailer ticked up 7% to £90.6m, but profitability contracted during the year. Operating profit dropped 60% to £778k, alongside a £3.8m rise in administrative expenses. The strategic report notes revised sales and procurement strategies to find efficiencies, keeping the group comfortably within its borrowing covenants.
Via East Midlands Limited [5]
Operating as a Teckal company wholly owned by Nottinghamshire County Council, Via East Midlands provides comprehensive civil engineering, highways maintenance, and fleet management services to both the local authority and external commercial clients.
Steady trading
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £90.5m | £87.7m | ▲ +3% |
| Gross profit | £6.9m | £8.3m | ▼ −16% |
| Admin expenses | £6.9m | £8.6m | ▼ −19% |
| Operating profit | £816k | £579k | ▲ +41% |
| Finance costs | £1,692 | £1,692 | ▲ −0% |
| Profit before tax | £906k | £690k | ▲ +31% |
| Net profit | £846k | £594k | ▲ +42% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £4.4m | £810k | ▲ +445% |
| Net assets | £2.6m | £2.3m | ▲ +11% |
| Dividends paid | −£600k | — | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 714 | 724 | ▼ −1% |
| Staff cost | £28.2m | £26.7m | ▲ +6% |
| Director pay | £77,254 | £92,263 | ▼ −16% |
| Highest-paid director | £46,000 | £102k | ▼ −55% |
A steady, low-margin performance from the Nottinghamshire County Council-owned civil engineering outfit. Turnover crept up 3% to £90.5m, while operating profit rose to £816k alongside a £1.5m increase in total staff costs. The filing points to a resilient performance through a difficult winter, keeping the local authority's highways running.
A reminder that even when the top line contracts, the wage bill can continue to expand. Until tomorrow.
Sources
- Dace Motor Company Limited
- Flawless Uk Vape Distribution Ltd
- Liontrust Investment Partners Llp
- The Tyre Group Holdings Limited
- Via East Midlands Limited