AFTON CHEMICAL LIMITED
Operating as the UK subsidiary of NYSE-listed NewMarket Corporation, the company researches and manufactures speciality chemical additives for fuels, engine oils, and industrial lubricants.
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Cash
£6.2m
-35.3% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£199m
-2.9% lowest in 3 filed years
Employees
187
-5.6% lowest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£85m
+5% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £665,577,000 | £643,323,000 | £637,641,000 | -0.9% | |
| Operating profit | £46,587,000 | £69,814,000 | £77,383,000 | +10.8% | |
| Profit before tax | £48,537,000 | £81,042,000 | £85,077,000 | +5% | |
| Net profit | £38,073,000 | £64,004,000 | £61,379,000 | -4.1% | |
| Cash | £9,857,000 | £9,588,000 | £6,199,000 | -35.3% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £233,568,000 | £226,779,000 | — | — | |
| Net assets | £215,626,000 | £204,581,000 | £198,732,000 | -2.9% | |
| Equity | £215,626,000 | £204,581,000 | £198,732,000 | -2.9% | |
| Average employees | 211 | 198 | 187 | -5.6% | |
| Wages | £14,728,000 | £12,325,000 | £13,764,000 | +11.7% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £1,109,000 | £116,000 | £1,234,000 | +963.8% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £86,125 | £93,900 | £185,100 | +97.1% | |
| Highest paid director | £422,000 | £474,000 | £536,000 | +13.1% |
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 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 7.0% | 10.9% | 12.1% | |
| Net margin | 5.7% | 9.9% | 9.6% | |
| Return on capital employed | 19.9% | 30.8% | — | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 29.8% | 32.8% | 38.9% | |
| Current ratio | 3.11x | 2.67x | 2.11x | |
| Interest cover | 41.26x | 59.47x | 85.70x |
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 2 times since incorporation
- AFTON CHEMICAL LIMITED 2004-06-30 → present
- ETHYL PETROLEUM ADDITIVES LIMITED 1984-08-24 → 2004-06-30
- EDWIN COOPER & COMPANY LIMITED 1975-05-19 → 1984-08-24
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The Company therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.”
Group structure
- AFTON CHEMICAL LIMITED · parent
- Afton Cooper Limited 100%
- Afton Chemical North Africa SARL 100%
- Afton Chemical GmbH 100%
Significant events
- “In March 2026, conflict arose in the Middle East which led to Iran's blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. This has not only caused an impact on raw material availability, surging crude oil prices and consequently, petrochemical prices and supply chain disruption for us, our customers and suppliers.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 16 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CARTER, Lee Anthony | Director | 2023-09-30 | Sep 1978 | British |
| MARTIN, Catherine Charlotte | Director | 2018-06-04 | Apr 1976 | British |
| POOLE, Thomas | Director | 2022-03-01 | Jun 1975 | British |
| WALKER, Andrew David | Director | 2014-02-11 | Feb 1970 | British |
Show 16 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| COATES-EVANS, Mark | Secretary | 2012-07-01 | 2014-02-11 |
| GIGG, Trevor John | Secretary | — | 2012-06-30 |
| BURNS, John | Director | 2019-06-01 | 2022-02-22 |
| COATES-EVANS, Mark | Director | 2011-09-01 | 2014-02-11 |
| CROFT, Michael John Francis | Director | 2014-11-27 | 2016-08-08 |
| DONLAN, Kenneth J | Director | 1992-12-16 | 1996-02-29 |
| ELLIS, David Richard | Director | 2010-04-01 | 2023-09-30 |
| ELMORE, Edward Whitehead | Director | — | 1997-11-11 |
| FAGAN, Anthony Francis | Director | 1996-11-01 | 2001-10-01 |
| GIGG, Trevor John | Director | — | 2012-06-30 |
| GOTTWALD, Thomas Edward | Director | — | 2004-06-30 |
| HEATH, Michael John | Director | — | 1992-12-16 |
| KOLLMAN, Ronald Edward | Director | 1996-03-01 | 1996-11-01 |
| LEWIS, Michael Arnost | Director | 2001-10-01 | 2015-04-30 |
| NEW, Particia Eileen | Director | 2004-06-30 | 2010-03-31 |
| WATSON, Harvey | Director | 2016-08-10 | 2018-05-24 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton Chemical Uk Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 167 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-03-02 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-08-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-02-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-09-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-02-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-11-28 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2023-10-13 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-10-13 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-08-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-02-27 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-01-10 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-08-25 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-03-03 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-03-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-03-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2021-09-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-04-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2020-11-06 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2020-03-18 | 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.