THE BOOK SERVICE LIMITED
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Cash
£110k
-85.3% lowest in 4 filed years
Net assets
-£19m
+2.4% highest in 4 filed years
Employees
0
-100% lowest in 4 filed years
Profit before tax
£826k
-80.2% first positive since 2023
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Negative shareholders' funds
Net assets
4-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
4-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £46,209,382 | £46,468,918 | £42,610,130 | £32,453,299 | -23.8% | |
| Operating profit | -£2,133,974 | -£6,466,821 | -£3,751,316 | -£6,165,977 | -64.4% | |
| Profit before tax | -£1,056,315 | -£1,175,462 | £4,159,731 | £825,574 | -80.2% | |
| Net profit | -£805,324 | -£1,007,938 | £3,119,893 | £463,593 | -85.1% | |
| Cash | £128,488 | £6,635,440 | £745,060 | £109,505 | -85.3% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | -£21,328,707 | -£22,019,616 | -£18,244,930 | -£17,205,568 | +5.7% | |
| Net assets | — | -£22,451,537 | -£19,331,644 | -£18,868,051 | +2.4% | |
| Equity | -£21,443,599 | -£22,451,537 | -£19,331,644 | -£18,868,051 | +2.4% | |
| Average employees | 541 | 525 | 525 | 0 | -100% | |
| Wages | £14,154,338 | £15,300,871 | £15,490,064 | £12,566,587 | -18.9% | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | £0 | £0 | £0 | — | |
| Directors' pension contributions | — | £0 | £0 | — | — | |
| Highest paid director | — | £0 | £0 | — | — |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. The Δ column is the change from the prior filed period as a percentage of |prior|; lines a company doesn't report show —. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -4.6% | -13.9% | -8.8% | -19.0% | |
| Net margin | -1.7% | -2.2% | 7.3% | 1.4% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | — | 105.4% | 104.6% | 104.5% | |
| Current ratio | — | 0.93x | 0.94x | 0.94x |
Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.
Name history
Renamed 1 time since incorporation
- THE BOOK SERVICE LIMITED 1997-03-10 → present
- TIPTREE BOOK SERVICES LIMITED 1948-04-26 → 1997-03-10
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Based on the Company's current trading performance, the sensitivity and reverse stress testing scenarios performed, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”
Significant events
- “exit from our third-party distribution business which concluded in 2025.”
- “Redundancy costs relate to the closure of the Grantham site.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
3 active · 16 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARTIN, Sinead Mary | Secretary | 2016-06-30 | — | — |
| GARDINER, Mark William | Director | 2000-07-03 | Apr 1961 | British |
| WELDON, Thomas Daryl | Director | 2014-10-20 | Aug 1963 | British |
Show 16 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEACOCK, Helena Caroline | Secretary | 2014-10-20 | 2016-06-30 |
| SMITH, Roger Ling | Secretary | — | 2014-10-20 |
| BINGLEY, Alan Bradley | Director | — | 1993-11-01 |
| BOWRON, Peter David | Director | 2008-10-31 | 2009-01-17 |
| DAVIES, Brian John | Director | 2009-01-19 | 2015-09-30 |
| FARNELL, Ian | Director | — | 2001-12-31 |
| FURNISH, John | Director | — | 1994-05-24 |
| HUDSON, Ian Michael | Director | 1998-05-13 | 2008-10-31 |
| JOHNSON, Maralyn | Director | 1991-12-13 | 2001-12-31 |
| LLEWELLYN, Brian Hugh | Director | — | 1993-01-29 |
| LLEWELLYN, Kelvin John | Director | — | 1994-05-24 |
| MCCONNELL, Anthony Sudlow | Director | 1992-12-07 | 2001-06-29 |
| MOTTRAM, John Michael | Director | — | 1993-07-09 |
| PEMBERTON, David Charles | Director | 1994-02-01 | 1999-05-07 |
| ROBERTSON, Antony Brian | Director | 1991-12-12 | 1993-07-09 |
| ROCHE, Peter Charles Kenneth | Director | — | 1991-12-31 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Random House Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 143 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-15 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-01-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-09-18 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-25 | AAMD | accounts | Accounts amended with accounts type full | |
| 2024-09-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-01-22 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-09-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-01-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-10-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-01-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-12-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-02-10 | AUD | auditors | Auditors resignation company | |
| 2021-01-21 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2020-11-13 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2020-01-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2019-09-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2019-06-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2018-10-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2018-06-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 2
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 0
- Officers resigned
- 0
last 12 months
last 24 months
last 12 months
last 12 months
Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.