The Accounts · daily brief
19 September 2026
Shell winds down Clair, Asda losses deepen, Spire in play
The takeaways
- Shell Clair UK files on a break-up basis after combining its offshore operations into an Equinor joint venture
- Asda operating losses widen to £1.4bn as staff costs rise despite a two thousand headcount reduction
- Spire Healthcare posts a material uncertainty note triggered by a non-binding buyout proposal from Toscafund
Hiring signals · who grew, who shrank
Hiring
- 4site Recruitment Limited 99 → 230 staff ▲ +132% staff cost −8%
- Bechtel Enka Uk 2 Limited 714 → 1,603 staff ▲ +125% staff cost +93%
Cutting
- Brightwell Dosing Limited 160 → 43 staff ▼ −73% staff cost −65%
- Curtis Banks Limited 63 → 28 staff ▼ −56% staff cost −62%
Average headcount from the accounts filed yesterday — a look back at last year's payroll, not a live hiring tracker.
Filing of note
Shell Clair Uk Limited
Shell Clair UK Limited is a crude petroleum extraction subsidiary of the global energy major Shell plc (shell.com).
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up.
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £81.7m | £113.2m | ▼ −28% |
| Gross profit | £51.6m | £33.9m | ▲ +52% |
| Operating profit | £51.6m | £33.9m | ▲ +52% |
| Finance costs | £2m | £1.7m | ▲ +22% |
| Profit before tax | −£87.5m | £44.4m | ▼ −297% |
| Net profit | £333k | −£8.1m | ▲ +104% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Net assets | £532.7m | £532.3m | ▲ +0% |
| Dividends paid | — | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 0 | 0 | |
Filed on a break-up basis — the business is being wound up. The entity has ceased trading following the combination of its UK offshore operations into a new joint venture with Equinor. Turnover dropped to £81.7m, but the real action is below the line: a £146.2m exceptional charge dragged profit before tax to a £87.5m loss, only for an £87.8m tax credit to pull the net result back into the black. A tidy end to a spent asset.
Asda Stores Limited [1]
Trading as Asda, the private company is a British supermarket and petrol station chain majority-owned by TDR Capital, with minority stakes held by Mohsin Issa and former parent Walmart, offering groceries and general merchandise via asda.com.
Deepening losses
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £24.1bn | £23.8bn | ▲ +1% |
| Operating profit | −£1.4bn | −£571.1m | ▼ −149% |
| Finance costs | £504.6m | £471m | ▲ +7% |
| Profit before tax | −£1.7bn | −£834.4m | ▼ −105% |
| Net profit | −£1.3bn | −£763.1m | ▼ −69% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £49.4m | — | |
| Net assets | £1.0bn | £2.4bn | ▼ −56% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 129,158 | 131,027 | ▼ −1% |
| Staff cost | £3.1bn | £2.9bn | ▲ +5% |
| Director pay | £2m | £1m | ▲ +100% |
| Highest-paid director | £1.4m | £800k | ▲ +75% |
The operating loss widened materially to £1.42bn while the supermarket integrated its acquired convenience businesses into the group structure. Total turnover ticked up slightly to £24.05bn, but the filing notes that revenue excluding fuel actually fell 2.7%. Meanwhile, average headcount dropped by nearly 2,000, yet total staff costs rose to £3.08bn, underlining the wage pressure across the aisles. The accounts affirm the going-concern basis despite carrying £1.53bn in net current liabilities.
Perkins Engines Company Limited [2]
Operating via perkins.com, the company manufactures off-highway diesel and gas engines for industrial, agricultural, and construction machinery as a subsidiary of the US-listed heavy equipment group Caterpillar Inc.
Geared recovery
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.5bn | £1.3bn | ▲ +18% |
| Gross profit | £396.8m | £290.7m | ▲ +37% |
| Admin expenses | £416.6m | £338.4m | ▲ +23% |
| Operating profit | £58.8m | £2.4m | ▲ +2349% |
| Finance costs | £14.2m | £17.9m | ▼ −21% |
| Profit before tax | £45m | −£13.9m | ▲ +425% |
| Net profit | £37.7m | −£2m | ▲ +1948% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £964k | £4.2m | ▼ −77% |
| Net assets | £166.1m | £125.2m | ▲ +33% |
| Dividends paid | £0 | £0 | |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 2,931 | 2,917 | ▲ +0% |
| Staff cost | £250.2m | £229.3m | ▲ +9% |
| Director pay | £1.5m | £1.4m | ▲ +6% |
| Highest-paid director | £479k | £453k | ▲ +6% |
A robust year for Caterpillar's engine subsidiary, with turnover climbing 18% to £1.50bn. The filing credits an electric power market recovery for the volume growth, which is noted as the primary driver for a leap in operating profit from £2.4m to £58.8m. It is a textbook operational gearing story, turning a prior-year pre-tax loss into a £45m profit without materially stretching the headcount.
Spire Healthcare Limited [3]
Operating as the principal trading subsidiary of London-listed Spire Healthcare group plc, the company—formerly known as Bupa Hospitals Limited prior to its 2007 rebranding—runs a network of private hospitals and clinics across the UK providing diagnostics, inpatient, and outpatient care (spirehealthcare.com).
Buyout uncertainty
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.4bn | £1.3bn | ▲ +4% |
| Gross profit | £644.1m | £615.8m | ▲ +5% |
| Admin expenses | £403.3m | £389.1m | ▲ +4% |
| Operating profit | £73.5m | £88.3m | ▼ −17% |
| Finance costs | £151m | £163.5m | ▼ −8% |
| Profit before tax | −£32.1m | −£41.3m | ▲ +22% |
| Net profit | −£19.5m | −£35.3m | ▲ +45% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £18.8m | £30.8m | ▼ −39% |
| Net assets | £29.3m | £50.2m | ▼ −42% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 10,405 | 10,489 | ▼ −1% |
| Staff cost | £495m | £476.1m | ▲ +4% |
| Director pay | £3.5m | £4m | ▼ −13% |
| Highest-paid director | £505k | £733k | ▼ −31% |
Turnover grew 4% to £1.37bn as improving private patient trends offset a late-year drop in NHS commissioning. Despite operating profit remaining healthy at £73.5m, a hefty £150.9m in finance costs kept the hospital group in the red before tax. The accounts carry a material uncertainty flag on going concern, but it is not one of distress: the filing points to a non-binding cash buyout proposal from Toscafund that casts technical doubt on the current corporate structure.
Adidas (U.K.) Limited [4]
This entity is the principal British subsidiary of the Frankfurt-listed German sportswear group Adidas AG, operating as the wholesale and retail distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, and sporting equipment across the United Kingdom (adidas.com).
Margin squeeze
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.4bn | £1.3bn | ▲ +6% |
| Gross profit | £263.8m | £269.7m | ▼ −2% |
| Admin expenses | £109.2m | £190.2m | ▼ −43% |
| Operating profit | £40.6m | £50.4m | ▼ −19% |
| Finance costs | £5.7m | £6.5m | ▼ −13% |
| Profit before tax | £37.2m | £45.9m | ▼ −19% |
| Net profit | £27.6m | £33.5m | ▼ −18% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £3.6m | £3.9m | ▼ −8% |
| Net assets | £74m | £69m | ▲ +7% |
| Dividends paid | −£17m | −£10m | ▼ −70% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 1,715 | 1,646 | ▲ +4% |
| Staff cost | £88.8m | £80.6m | ▲ +10% |
| Director pay | £1.1m | £909k | ▲ +22% |
| Highest-paid director | £950.3m | £625.5m | ▲ +52% |
The top line expanded 6% to £1.36bn, but higher costs weighed on the margins at the UK arm of the sportswear group. Operating profit fell to £40.6m as the gross profit margin slipped from 21% to 19%. It is a classic tale of moving more boxes for less reward, though the entity remains comfortably profitable and distributed a £17m dividend to its Dutch parent.
Wfl (Uk) Limited [5]
Trading as Watson Fuels, the business is the UK land transportation fuel and lubricants distribution arm of the US-based World Kinect Corporation (formerly World Fuel Services Corporation) (watsonfuels.co.uk).
Refinancing wait
| Line | FY26 | FY24 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & loss | |||
| Turnover | £1.3bn | £1.4bn | ▼ −4% |
| Gross profit | £39.8m | £23.3m | ▲ +71% |
| Admin expenses | £33.1m | £29.1m | ▲ +14% |
| Operating profit | £2.9m | −£5.8m | ▲ +150% |
| Finance costs | £2.2m | £2.4m | ▼ −8% |
| Profit before tax | £691k | −£7.1m | ▲ +110% |
| Net profit | £329k | −£3.4m | ▲ +110% |
| Cash & balance sheet | |||
| Cash | £850k | £104k | ▲ +717% |
| Net assets | £55.7m | £51.3m | ▲ +9% |
| People & pay | |||
| Avg. headcount | 515 | 608 | ▼ −15% |
| Staff cost | £35.2m | £30.8m | ▲ +14% |
| Director pay | £928k | £724k | ▲ +28% |
| Highest-paid director | £366k | £296k | ▲ +24% |
A 15-month extended reporting period makes direct year-on-year comparisons misleading, but the fuel distributor booked £1.32bn in turnover over its 455 days. Operating profit sat at a thin £2.88m, a marginal return on that kind of volume. The accounts carry a material uncertainty flag over going concern as the business seeks to secure the refinancing of its current borrowing facility.
Until tomorrow, keep your margins thick and your exceptional items thin.
Sources
- Asda Stores Limited
- Perkins Engines Company Limited
- Spire Healthcare Limited
- Adidas (U.K.) Limited
- Wfl (Uk) Limited