HOWLETTS AND PORT LYMPNE ESTATES LIMITED
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Cash
£51k
-83.3% lowest in 6 filed years
Net assets
£2.8m
-32.5% lowest in 6 filed years
Employees
357
-2.2% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£5.8m
+4.6% highest in 6 filed years
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Material uncertainty over going concern
We draw attention to the company's net current liabilities on page 11 which amount to £4,843,558 (2024: £2,606,042k)... indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern.
-
Going-concern uncertainty disclosed
Net assets
6-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
6-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £8,180,910 | £15,357,159 | £17,110,650 | £17,838,067 | £19,842,781 | £21,214,732 | +6.9% | |
| Operating profit | £1,367,068 | £4,695,724 | £4,444,958 | £4,111,818 | £5,690,612 | £5,943,824 | +4.4% | |
| Profit before tax | £1,235,285 | £4,653,828 | £4,360,357 | £3,926,046 | £5,510,850 | £5,764,343 | +4.6% | |
| Net profit | £1,235,285 | £4,653,828 | £4,360,357 | £3,926,046 | £5,510,850 | £5,764,343 | +4.6% | |
| Cash | £464,267 | £712,982 | £178,450 | £326,216 | £306,333 | £51,162 | -83.3% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £6,669,236 | £7,339,598 | £7,994,310 | £8,216,405 | £5,859,142 | £3,082,468 | -47.4% | |
| Net assets | £4,090,451 | £4,644,279 | £5,699,636 | £6,228,682 | £4,097,669 | £2,767,012 | -32.5% | |
| Equity | £4,090,451 | £4,644,279 | £5,699,636 | £6,228,682 | £4,097,669 | £2,767,012 | -32.5% | |
| Average employees | 260 | 299 | 314 | 337 | 365 | 357 | -2.2% | |
| Wages | £4,187,362 | £5,864,587 | £6,316,045 | £6,549,220 | £6,824,309 | £7,291,112 | +6.8% | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | — | — | £200,000 | £200,000 | £200,000 | 0% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | — | — | — | — | £0 | £0 | — | |
| Highest paid director | — | — | — | £200,000 | £270,850 | £324,510 | +19.8% |
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 | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 16.7% | 30.6% | 26.0% | 23.1% | 28.7% | 28.0% | |
| Net margin | 15.1% | 30.3% | 25.5% | 22.0% | 27.8% | 27.2% | |
| Return on capital employed | 20.5% | 64.0% | 55.6% | 50.0% | 97.1% | 192.8% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 66.9% | 65.3% | 58.0% | 55.8% | 64.0% | 72.2% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | 0.85x | 0.53x | 0.30x | |
| Interest cover | 10.37x | — | 52.54x | 22.13x | 31.66x | 33.12x |
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
- HOWLETTS AND PORT LYMPNE ESTATES LIMITED 1976-12-31 → present
- GUGIS SECURITIES LIMITED 1973-06-29 → 1976-12-31
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Azets Audit Services
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Material uncertainty disclosed
“We draw attention to the company's net current liabilities on page 11 which amount to £4,843,558 (2024: £2,606,042k)... indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 11 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MORRISSEY, Charlotte | Secretary | 2014-09-19 | — | — |
| ASPINALL, John Damian Androcles | Director | — | May 1960 | British |
| HULME, Daniel Ward | Director | 2024-04-15 | May 1989 | British |
| KELLY, Anthony Brian | Director | 2019-04-29 | May 1966 | British |
Show 11 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEATTY, Jeremy | Secretary | 2005-08-11 | 2014-09-19 |
| LEATHERS, Michael Russell | Secretary | — | 2005-08-11 |
| ASPINALL, John Victor | Director | — | 2000-06-29 |
| BOUTWOOD, Robert Andrew | Director | — | 2005-07-29 |
| FURLEY, Christopher Willis | Director | — | 2004-10-22 |
| LITCHFIELD, Peter Albert | Director | 2004-10-22 | 2005-07-29 |
| LITCHFIELD, Peter Albert | Director | 2000-10-30 | 2004-10-22 |
| LOCKYER, Frederick Michael | Director | — | 2004-07-31 |
| MCKELVEY, Russel Graeme | Director | 2008-01-01 | 2010-02-28 |
| O'CONNOR, Robert Alan | Director | 2005-02-07 | 2019-04-29 |
| OSBORNE, James Francis | Director | 1997-01-23 | 2010-12-31 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall | Individual | Appoints directors (as trust), Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2022-07-06 |
| Mr Robert Alan O'Connor | Individual | Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2019-04-29 |
| The Howletts Wild Animal Trust Ltd | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 183 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2023-07-04 MA Memorandum articles
- 2023-07-04 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-01-13 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2026-01-12 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-01-17 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-05-30 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-03-12 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-01-15 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2023-09-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-07-04 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2023-07-04 | SH10 | capital | Capital variation of rights attached to shares | |
| 2023-07-04 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2023-07-04 | SH08 | capital | Capital name of class of shares | |
| 2023-01-17 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2023-01-16 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2022-10-31 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-07-08 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2022-01-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 3
- 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.