The Accounts · daily brief
29 August 2026
Elizabeth School scales, Aspire group pays dividends
The takeaways
- Elizabeth School of London grew revenue 38% to £103.3m but profit fell while headcount rose 72%
- Morningside Pharmaceuticals paid a £33.0m dividend alongside a 10% drop in turnover and a reduced workforce
- Mould Free Health filed on a break-up basis after ceasing its residential inspection trade
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Aphl 2 Limited 100 → 116 staff ▲ +16% staff cost +14%
- Mont Rose College Of Management And Sciences Limited 88 → 95 staff ▲ +8% staff cost +12%
Cutting
- Morningside Pharmaceuticals Limited 74 → 47 staff ▼ −36% staff cost −29%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Mould Free Health Ltd
Formerly known as NOK Interiors Limited, the company operates as Mould Free Health, providing residential mould inspection, structural remediation, and rebuilding services alongside related health consultations.
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up.
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £1,716 | £252 | ▲ +581% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 0 | 0 | |
Today's final filing comes from a business that has formally ceased its commercial operations. Mould Free Health has filed its accounts on a break-up basis, with the filing confirming the company has ceased trading. The stated intention is to realise any remaining assets and wind down the entity, leaving just £1.7k in cash at bank.
Aphl 2 Limited [1]
The company serves as a holding entity within the Aspire Pharma group, a UK-based pharmaceutical business whose portfolio includes Morningside Pharmaceuticals.
Stable holdco
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £118.2m | £115m | ▲ +3% |
| Gross profit | £47m | £44.6m | ▲ +5% |
| Admin expenses | £22.2m | £19.3m | ▲ +15% |
| Operating profit | £25m | £25.5m | ▼ −2% |
| Finance costs | £4,000 | £4,000 | ▲ −0% |
| Profit before tax | £25.1m | £25.8m | ▼ −3% |
| Net profit | £22.7m | £23.9m | ▼ −5% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £7.1m | £8.7m | ▼ −18% |
| Net assets | £72.9m | £50.2m | ▲ +45% |
| Dividends paid | £0 | £5.8m | ▼ −100% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 116 | 100 | ▲ +16% |
| Staff cost | £8.3m | £7.3m | ▲ +14% |
The parent company of the Aspire Pharma group posted a steady year, with turnover ticking up slightly to £118.2m. The filing notes the launch of over 30 new products alongside post-Brexit regulatory changes. Operating profit held flat at £25.0m, accompanying a 16% increase in average headcount to 116 employees. A stable set of group accounts, though the £349.4m in cross-guarantees for group loans remains a substantial contingent liability.
Aspire Pharma Limited [2]
Operating as a developer and wholesale supplier of speciality generic medicines and medical devices, the business is backed by the global alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital.
Operating core
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £118.2m | £115m | ▲ +3% |
| Gross profit | £47m | £44.6m | ▲ +5% |
| Admin expenses | £23.1m | £20.2m | ▲ +14% |
| Operating profit | £24.1m | £24.7m | ▼ −2% |
| Finance costs | £4,000 | £215k | ▼ −98% |
| Profit before tax | £24.2m | £24.9m | ▼ −3% |
| Net profit | £21.8m | £23.1m | ▼ −5% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £7m | £8.5m | ▼ −17% |
The main operating subsidiary mirrors its parent's top line almost pound-for-pound, booking £118.2m in turnover. Operating profit slipped marginally to £24.1m. The strategic focus here is on the horizon: the filing highlights the post-year-end acquisition of Irish firm Caragen Limited in February 2026, a move expected to broaden the group's commercial footprint.
Elizabeth School Of London Limited [3]
Trading as Elizabeth School of London, the company is a higher education provider delivering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across multiple UK campuses as a subsidiary of Planet Education Networks Ltd.
Margin contraction
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £103.3m | £74.9m | ▲ +38% |
| Gross profit | £68.8m | £46.9m | ▲ +47% |
| Admin expenses | £57.2m | £32.6m | ▲ +76% |
| Operating profit | £13.1m | £16.4m | ▼ −20% |
| Finance costs | £829k | £518k | ▲ +60% |
| Profit before tax | £12.3m | £15.9m | ▼ −22% |
| Net profit | £9.2m | £11.8m | ▼ −23% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £14.8m | £5.1m | ▲ +189% |
| Net assets | £5.3m | £1.1m | ▲ +376% |
| Dividends paid | £5m | £23m | ▼ −78% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 746 | 434 | ▲ +72% |
| Staff cost | £25.3m | £12.9m | ▲ +97% |
| Director pay | £145k | £148k | ▼ −3% |
A textbook case of margin narrowing as scale increases. Turnover at the higher education provider rose 38% to £103.3m, but operating profit fell 20% to £13.1m as administrative expenses expanded. The filing attributes this to a "planned step-up in investment", which is visible in the headcount: average staff numbers rose 72% to 746. This expansion in the cost base aligns with the stated support for a multi-campus franchise model.
Morningside Pharmaceuticals Limited [4]
Operating as a subsidiary of Aspire Pharma under the ultimate ownership of H.I.G. Capital, the company manufactures and supplies niche generic and branded specialty pharmaceuticals to the NHS, retail pharmacies, and international aid agencies.
Dividend payout
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £75.3m | £84m | ▼ −10% |
| Gross profit | £20.8m | £24.7m | ▼ −16% |
| Admin expenses | £7.1m | £7.4m | ▼ −5% |
| Operating profit | £13.7m | £17.3m | ▼ −21% |
| Profit before tax | £13.9m | £17.8m | ▼ −22% |
| Net profit | £13.4m | £16m | ▼ −17% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £100k | £1.4m | ▼ −93% |
| Net assets | £17.6m | £37.2m | ▼ −53% |
| Dividends paid | £33m | £6.5m | ▲ +408% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 47 | 74 | ▼ −36% |
| Staff cost | £2.4m | £3.3m | ▼ −29% |
| Director pay | £357k | £393k | ▼ −9% |
| Highest-paid director | £203k | £237k | ▼ −14% |
The top line is contracting at this Aspire Pharma subsidiary, while dividends remain substantial. Turnover slipped 10% to £75.3m and operating profit dropped 21%, while the workforce was reduced by more than a third to 47 employees. Alongside this contraction, the company paid out a £33.0m dividend, reducing net assets from £37.2m down to £17.6m.
Morningside Healthcare Limited [5]
Morningside Healthcare Limited is a Leicester-based pharmaceutical company that licenses, manufactures, and supplies prescription medications to UK and global markets, operating under the ultimate ownership of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.
Shrinking royalties
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £21.3m | £25.3m | ▼ −16% |
| Gross profit | £18.2m | £23.1m | ▼ −21% |
| Admin expenses | £6.2m | £6.6m | ▼ −6% |
| Operating profit | £12.1m | £16.7m | ▼ −28% |
| Finance costs | £0 | £0 | |
| Profit before tax | £12.1m | £16.8m | ▼ −28% |
| Net profit | £10.5m | £15.3m | ▼ −31% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £51,000 | £3.9m | ▼ −99% |
| Net assets | £13.5m | £3m | ▲ +347% |
| Dividends paid | £22.7m | — | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 10 | 18 | ▼ −44% |
| Staff cost | £761k | £1m | ▼ −24% |
A similar pattern of contraction and dividend payouts plays out at this sister company. Turnover, which the filing notes is primarily royalty income, fell 16% to £21.3m, while operating profit fell 28% to £12.1m. High competition in the generics arena is noted alongside average headcount nearly halving to just 10 staff. As with its sibling, the entity distributed a £22.7m dividend to its parent.
Proof that whether a business is selling generic pills or university degrees, substantial capital often flows up to the parent company.
Sources
- Aphl 2 Limited
- Aspire Pharma Limited
- Elizabeth School Of London Limited
- Morningside Pharmaceuticals Limited
- Morningside Healthcare Limited