The Accounts · daily brief
2 September 2026
Prefere Resins doubles profit on falling sales
The takeaways
- Manormaker (Nominee No.1) files on a break-up basis ahead of a planned dissolution of the property vehicle
- Prefere Resins UK nearly doubled operating profit to £4.0m despite an 8% drop in turnover
- A £1.1m spike in other operating income lifted the bottom line at newly demerged CID Trading
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Ajt Engineering Limited 114 → 124 staff ▲ +9% staff cost +13%
- Jaltek Systems Limited 93 → 101 staff ▲ +9% staff cost +14%
Cutting
- Switch Electrical Wholesale Limited 55 → 41 staff ▼ −25% staff cost −17%
- Wimbledon School Of English Limited 72 → 58 staff ▼ −19% staff cost −11%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Manormaker (Nominee No.1) Limited
The entity serves as a nominee vehicle associated with an Ipswich-based property development enterprise.
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up.
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £0 | £0 | |
| Admin expenses | £529 | £480 | ▲ +10% |
| Profit before tax | £529 | £480 | ▲ +10% |
| Net profit | £529 | £480 | ▲ +10% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £0 | £14,918 | ▼ −100% |
| Net assets | −£31,278 | −£30,749 | ▼ −2% |
| Dividends paid | £0 | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 0 | 0 | |
| Staff cost | £0 | £0 | |
| Director pay | £0 | £0 | |
| Highest-paid director | £0 | £0 | |
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up. This zero-turnover nominee vehicle booked a negligible £529 profit ahead of a planned dissolution within the year to transfer its net assets at book value. The sort of quiet exit you can set your watch by.
H & S Restaurants Ltd [1]
The company operates as an independent McDonald's franchisee managing quick-service restaurants in the United Kingdom.
Estate trimmed
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £84m | £82.6m | ▲ +2% |
| Gross profit | £36.4m | £35.1m | ▲ +4% |
| Admin expenses | £31.1m | £33.3m | ▼ −7% |
| Operating profit | £5.3m | £1.8m | ▲ +199% |
| Finance costs | £40,233 | £13,391 | ▲ +200% |
| Profit before tax | £5.4m | £1.8m | ▲ +199% |
| Net profit | £4.5m | £1.3m | ▲ +258% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £8.8m | £6.9m | ▲ +27% |
| Net assets | £12.8m | £9.4m | ▲ +36% |
| Dividends paid | £1.1m | — | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 1,644 | 1,758 | ▼ −6% |
| Staff cost | £22.2m | £22.2m | ▲ +0% |
| Director pay | £12,500 | £12,500 | ▲ −0% |
Average headcount at this McDonald's franchisee fell by 114 over the year, yet the total wage bill held steady. Operating profit tripled, with the filing noting the result included a gain on the sale of three restaurants. A smaller estate leaves a slightly tidier bowl.
Sylvagen Limited [2]
Associated with A.W. Jenkinson Forest Products, Sylvagen is a waste recycling and recovery business that processes forestry, construction, and municipal waste into renewable biomass fuels and recyclable materials.
Heavy dividend
| Line | FY26 | FY25 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £65.8m | £54.5m | ▲ +21% |
| Gross profit | £8m | £7.1m | ▲ +12% |
| Admin expenses | £4m | £3.9m | ▲ +2% |
| Operating profit | £4m | £3.2m | ▲ +24% |
| Finance costs | £339 | £606 | ▼ −44% |
| Profit before tax | £4m | £3.2m | ▲ +25% |
| Net profit | £3m | £2.4m | ▲ +22% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £2.9m | £2.3m | ▲ +24% |
| Net assets | £5.5m | £6.5m | ▼ −16% |
| Dividends paid | £4m | £800k | ▲ +400% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 39 | 38 | ▲ +3% |
| Staff cost | £2.2m | £2.2m | ▲ +0% |
| Director pay | £325k | £239k | ▲ +36% |
| Highest-paid director | £181k | £173k | ▲ +5% |
A highly productive consolidated set from this waste recycling group, where 39 staff generate nearly £66m in sales. Strong top-line growth filtered cleanly down to the bottom line, with a declared £4.0m dividend payout, up from £800k in the prior year. Total director remuneration climbed 36% alongside it.
Prefere Resins Uk Limited [3]
Prefere Resins UK Limited is the British manufacturing subsidiary of Germany-based Prefere Resins Holding GmbH, producing phenolic, amino, and melamine resins for industrial applications such as construction and coatings.
Margin expansion
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £43.7m | £47.7m | ▼ −8% |
| Gross profit | £5.6m | £3.5m | ▲ +58% |
| Admin expenses | £1.6m | £1.5m | ▲ +3% |
| Operating profit | £4m | £2.1m | ▲ +90% |
| Finance costs | £79,000 | £42,000 | ▲ +88% |
| Profit before tax | £4m | £2.1m | ▲ +86% |
| Net profit | £3.7m | £2.1m | ▲ +75% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £1.7m | £2.8m | ▼ −37% |
| Net assets | £17.1m | £13.4m | ▲ +27% |
| Dividends paid | — | £6m | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 45 | 46 | ▼ −2% |
| Staff cost | £2.7m | £2.7m | ▼ −1% |
A textbook margin expansion from the UK manufacturing arm of this German resins group. Turnover shrank 8%, but operating profit nearly doubled to £4.0m as gross profit expanded. The filing credits favourable exchange rates and leaner inventory management for the wider margins.
Friden Group Holdings Limited [4]
Operating from Leeds, the company is a non-store retail business previously known as CID Group Holdings Limited and Tenacity Global Limited.
Admin drag
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £42.8m | £38.4m | ▲ +11% |
| Gross profit | £15.4m | £13m | ▲ +19% |
| Admin expenses | £9.8m | £7.6m | ▲ +28% |
| Operating profit | £2.1m | £2m | ▲ +2% |
| Finance costs | £203k | £186k | ▲ +9% |
| Profit before tax | £1.9m | £1.9m | ▲ +0% |
| Net profit | £1.3m | £1.6m | ▼ −18% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £1.9m | £2.7m | ▼ −28% |
| Net assets | £9.2m | £9.5m | ▼ −3% |
| Dividends paid | £1.6m | £734k | ▲ +116% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 118 | 117 | ▲ +1% |
| Staff cost | £6.9m | £5.6m | ▲ +23% |
| Director pay | £46,000 | £59,000 | ▼ −22% |
Top-line growth failed to reach the bottom line at this non-store retail holding company. Turnover rose 11%, but operating profit was broadly flat as administrative expenses expanded by £2.1m to £9.7m. Note the post-year-end demerger of its main trading arm, CID Trading Limited.
Cid Trading Limited [5]
One-off boost
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £41.6m | £36.1m | ▲ +15% |
| Gross profit | £14.9m | £12.1m | ▲ +24% |
| Admin expenses | £8.5m | £6.3m | ▲ +35% |
| Operating profit | £4m | £2.5m | ▲ +63% |
| Finance costs | £158k | £157k | ▲ +1% |
| Profit before tax | £3.8m | £2.3m | ▲ +65% |
| Net profit | £3.3m | £1.9m | ▲ +69% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £1.8m | £2m | ▼ −11% |
| Net assets | £6.9m | £3.6m | ▲ +90% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 112 | 104 | ▲ +8% |
| Staff cost | £6.7m | £5.4m | ▲ +24% |
| Director pay | £45,500 | £59,417 | ▼ −23% |
The trading arm that just demerged from Friden Group above. Operating profit jumped 62% to £3.9m, but that headline figure was lifted by a £1.1m injection of other operating income. Excluding that item, underlying trading growth was more modest.
Sometimes the easiest way to double your profit is to sell a few restaurants.
Sources
- H & S Restaurants Ltd
- Sylvagen Limited
- Prefere Resins Uk Limited
- Friden Group Holdings Limited
- Cid Trading Limited