NHBS LTD.
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Next accounts due
2027-03-31 (in 10mo)
Last filed for 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement due
2026-12-01 (in 7mo)
Last made up 2025-11-17
Watchouts
Cash
£908K
-11.9% vs 2024
Net assets
£1M
-4.1% vs 2024
Employees
54
-5.3% vs 2024
Profit before tax
-£74K
-180.4% vs 2024
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
3 officer resignations in last 12 months
Multiple officers have left the board recently — see the People section for who.
Net assets
6-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
6-year trend · latest reflected 2025-06-30
| Metric | Trend | 2020-06-30 | 2021-06-30 | 2022-06-30 | 2023-06-30 | 2024-06-30 | 2025-06-30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | — | — | — | £7,470,381 | £6,933,303 | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | £95,318 | -£77,386 | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | £91,505 | -£73,601 | |
| Net profit | £16,295 | £209,959 | £114,383 | £60,658 | £67,387 | -£49,094 | |
| Cash | £859,845 | £941,801 | £932,369 | £889,089 | £1,030,536 | £907,904 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £964,541 | £1,272,694 | £1,332,550 | £1,340,257 | £1,427,755 | £1,259,776 | |
| Net assets | £684,787 | £894,745 | £1,009,127 | £1,069,785 | £1,174,557 | £1,126,117 | |
| Equity | £684,787 | £894,745 | £1,009,127 | £1,069,785 | £1,174,557 | £1,126,117 | |
| Average employees | 49 | 55 | 59 | 62 | 57 | 54 | |
| Wages | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. About these numbers
Year-on-year
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-06-30 vs 2024-06-30
-
Turnover
-7.2%
£7,470,381 £6,933,303
-
Cash
-11.9%
£1,030,536 £907,904
-
Net assets
-4.1%
£1,174,557 £1,126,117
-
Employees
-5.3%
57 54
-
Operating profit
-181.2%
£95,318 -£77,386
-
Profit before tax
-180.4%
£91,505 -£73,601
Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. The comparison is only shown when the latest and prior accounts cover broadly equal-length periods — short or long stubs (typical around incorporation or a year-end change) are suppressed rather than misrepresented. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2020-06-30 | 2021-06-30 | 2022-06-30 | 2023-06-30 | 2024-06-30 | 2025-06-30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | 1.3% | -1.1% | |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | 0.9% | -0.7% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | 6.7% | -6.1% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | 1.92x | 1.92x | |
| Interest cover | — | — | — | — | 5.33x | -8.30x |
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
- NHBS LTD. 1996-10-24 → present
- NATURAL HISTORY BOOK SERVICE LIMITED 1985-01-03 → 1996-10-24
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102 §1A
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- PJM Accountancy
- Audit opinion
- Unaudited (audit-exempt)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.”
Group structure
- NHBS LTD. · parent
- NHBS GmbH 1%
- Natural History Book Service Ltd 1%
- Biodiversity Press Ltd 1%
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 15 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCAUGHEY, Peter John | Secretary | 2025-10-24 | — | — |
| EDGCUMBE, Gemma Whitlock Kitchener | Director | 2025-03-01 | Mar 1978 | British |
| MERCER, Bernard John | Director | — | Dec 1955 | British |
| ROBINS, David Anthony | Director | 2014-10-03 | Sep 1949 | British |
Show 15 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| HINE, Alan Edgar | Secretary | — | 2005-11-04 |
| MCAUGHEY, Peter | Secretary | 2005-11-04 | 2020-02-10 |
| WHITE, Sarah | Secretary | 2020-02-10 | 2025-10-24 |
| BINYON, Claire Margaret | Director | 2019-12-06 | 2025-09-09 |
| BISHOP, Mark Trevanyon | Director | 1996-03-31 | 2004-08-31 |
| BURTON, John Andrew | Director | — | 1995-12-31 |
| CROOM, David Halliday | Director | 1996-09-02 | 1999-11-08 |
| EXLEY, Peter Alan | Director | 1996-03-31 | 1997-02-20 |
| HINE, Alan Edgar | Director | — | 1995-12-31 |
| MARTIN, Alan John | Director | 2004-07-02 | 2008-02-20 |
| MASSEN, Nigel Alexander, Dr | Director | 2007-05-07 | 2015-05-05 |
| MCAUGHEY, Peter John | Director | 2020-02-02 | 2025-09-09 |
| MERCER, Isobel Ruth | Director | 2021-07-01 | 2023-11-29 |
| REYNOLDS, William Simon George | Director | 1996-03-31 | 1997-03-11 |
| RUMSEY, Stephen John Raymond | Director | 2008-04-30 | 2019-11-25 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Bernard John Mercer | Individual | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 155 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-11-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-10-28 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2025-10-28 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2025-09-12 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-09-12 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-03-05 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-02-25 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-11-18 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-03-14 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-11-30 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-11-29 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-01-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-11-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-03-31 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-03-09 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-03-09 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2021-11-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-07-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2021-04-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 6
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- Officers resigned
- 3
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.