The Accounts · daily brief
11 September 2026
esure's board pay reaches £38m as Bain exits
The takeaways
- esure's highest-paid director received £16.4m as Bain Capital sold the business to Ageas
- Tarmac Trading swung to a £5m net loss and notes reliance on a letter of support from parent CRH
- Smurfit Westrock will close two manufacturing sites as cost inflation compressed its operating profit
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- Hatcliffe Holdings Limited 301 → 484 staff ▲ +61% staff cost +67%
- Montash Limited 46 → 59 staff ▲ +28% staff cost +32%
Cutting
- Ndy Consulting Limited 75 → 53 staff ▼ −29% staff cost −22%
- Premium Restaurants Limited 1,426 → 1,124 staff ▼ −21% staff cost −13%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Xtralis Security Holdings Limited
Operating as part of Honeywell Building Technologies, the company acts as a UK holding and manufacturing entity for the Xtralis brand, producing early-warning smoke, fire, and gas detection systems.
Filed on a break-up (non-going-concern) basis.
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Operating profit | −£254k | — | |
| Profit before tax | £33,000 | £316k | ▼ −90% |
| Net profit | £33,000 | £316k | ▼ −90% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £6.9m | £6.9m | ▲ +0% |
The day's most unusual filing comes from this Honeywell subsidiary, which has drawn up its accounts on a break-up basis. The holding entity generated no turnover and booked a £254k operating loss. A £287k finance credit was enough to nudge the bottom line into the black, while the non-going-concern note reflects the entity's changing status.
Bmw (Uk) Limited [1]
The company is the British import and distribution arm of the German automotive manufacturer BMW AG, responsible for supplying BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles to a nationwide dealer network.
Margin expansion
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £5.9bn | £5.8bn | ▲ +2% |
| Gross profit | £281.7m | £323.2m | ▼ −13% |
| Admin expenses | £181.1m | £169.1m | ▲ +7% |
| Operating profit | £142.1m | £112.6m | ▲ +26% |
| Finance costs | £78.3m | £61.3m | ▲ +28% |
| Profit before tax | £137.8m | £65.4m | ▲ +111% |
| Net profit | £83.4m | £23.9m | ▲ +248% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £334.8m | £344.8m | ▼ −3% |
| Dividends paid | £113.4m | £13.9m | ▲ +714% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 470 | 481 | ▼ −2% |
| Staff cost | £46.2m | £46m | ▲ +0% |
| Director pay | £1.1m | £543k | ▲ +103% |
Turnover rose modestly to £5.94bn, while net profit more than tripled to £83.4m. A £113.4m dividend was paid to the parent company, up from £13.9m the year before. Directors' remuneration also doubled to £1.1m. A substantial return for Munich.
Tarmac Trading Limited [2]
Operating as the principal UK building materials and construction solutions business of the Tarmac group, the entity is ultimately owned by the multinational building materials group CRH plc.
Parent reliant
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £2.0bn | £1.9bn | ▲ +3% |
| Operating profit | £36.4m | £42.2m | ▼ −14% |
| Profit before tax | £7.6m | £51.8m | ▼ −85% |
| Net profit | −£5m | £44.2m | ▼ −111% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £27.6m | £20.8m | ▲ +33% |
| Net assets | £506.5m | £756.2m | ▼ −33% |
| Dividends paid | −£240m | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 2,240 | 2,413 | ▼ −7% |
| Staff cost | £141.2m | £145.7m | ▼ −3% |
| Director pay | £4m | £3.4m | ▲ +18% |
Sales crept up to £1.96bn, but operating profit slipped to £36.4m and the bottom line swung to a £5m loss. Average headcount fell by 173 staff, as total staff costs decreased to £141.2m. The accounts are prepared on a going concern basis, noting reliance on a letter of support from ultimate parent CRH.
Esure Insurance Limited [3]
Operating as the principal underwriting entity for the unlisted esure Group, the company provides direct personal motor and home insurance in the UK under the esure, Sheilas' Wheels, and First Alternative brands, and is ultimately owned by the Belgian insurance group Ageas.
Remuneration jump
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.0bn | £1.0bn | ▲ +4% |
| Admin expenses | £72.9m | £90.7m | ▼ −20% |
| Finance costs | £39.9m | £35.9m | ▲ +11% |
| Profit before tax | £118.4m | £87.8m | ▲ +35% |
| Net profit | £85m | £67.7m | ▲ +26% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £19.3m | £4.5m | ▲ +329% |
| Dividends paid | £64m | £15m | ▲ +327% |
| People & pay | |||
| Director pay | £38.3m | £6.7m | ▲ +472% |
| Highest-paid director | £16.4m | £3.7m | ▲ +343% |
A change of control coincides with rising remuneration. Bain Capital's sale of the group to Ageas occurred alongside a sharp increase in board pay, where total directors' remuneration leapt from £6.7m to £38.3m. The highest-paid director alone received £16.4m. The underlying business remained steady, with profit before tax climbing to £118.4m on £1.04bn of turnover.
Smurfit Westrock Uk Limited [4]
The company serves as the British manufacturing and trading arm of Smurfit Westrock plc, an Irish-headquartered and NYSE-listed global provider of corrugated paper and packaging solutions.
Margin squeeze
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.0bn | £1.0bn | ▲ +0% |
| Gross profit | £253.7m | £265.3m | ▼ −4% |
| Admin expenses | £225.2m | £216.3m | ▲ +4% |
| Operating profit | £31.1m | £53.3m | ▼ −42% |
| Finance costs | £12m | £14.5m | ▼ −18% |
| Profit before tax | £20.5m | £42.2m | ▼ −51% |
| Net profit | £12.6m | £34.6m | ▼ −64% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £3.5m | £4.5m | ▼ −21% |
| Net assets | £318.6m | £334.9m | ▼ −5% |
| Dividends paid | £28m | £60m | ▼ −53% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 3,757 | 3,828 | ▼ −2% |
| Staff cost | £228.6m | £221.1m | ▲ +3% |
| Director pay | £2.3m | £1.8m | ▲ +29% |
| Highest-paid director | £1.4m | £1.1m | ▲ +35% |
Top-line revenue held steady at £1.01bn, but operating profit fell to £31.1m. The filing attributes the margin contraction to cost inflation that proved difficult to pass on to customers. This dynamic precedes structural changes, with the planned closure of the Chelmsford and Abercarn sites announced before the end of 2026.
Marshalls Mono Limited [5]
Operating as a subsidiary of Marshalls Group Limited, the company manufactures concrete products for the construction industry.
Swung to loss
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £437.1m | £431.9m | ▲ +1% |
| Operating profit | −£3.9m | £21.9m | ▼ −118% |
| Finance costs | £5.2m | £5.2m | ▲ +0% |
| Profit before tax | −£9.1m | £16.7m | ▼ −155% |
| Net profit | −£7.2m | £12.4m | ▼ −158% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £207.8m | £230.3m | ▼ −10% |
| Dividends paid | £15m | £10m | ▲ +50% |
| People & pay | |||
| Staff cost | £97.7m | £93.9m | ▲ +4% |
The concrete manufacturer swung to a £3.9m operating loss while turnover ticked up to £437.1m. Staff costs rose to £97.7m, as the bottom line fell to a £7.2m net loss. It marks a sharp reversal from the prior year's £12.4m profit.
A reminder that while margins may thin and sites may close, a timely acquisition can still coincide with a sharp rise in directors' remuneration.
Sources
- Bmw (Uk) Limited
- Tarmac Trading Limited
- Esure Insurance Limited
- Smurfit Westrock Uk Limited
- Marshalls Mono Limited