COTTON TRADERS LIMITED
Get an alert when COTTON TRADERS LIMITED files next
Leroy will email you the moment a new filing lands at Companies House — one short note per filing, nothing else.
Cash
£8.5m
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
£46m
highest in 3 filed years
Employees
866
highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£9.8m
Period ending 2025-12-27
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-27
| Metric | Trend | 2023-12-30 | 2024-12-28 | 2025-12-27 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £109,525,000 | £107,875,000 | £113,510,000 | — | |
| Operating profit | £9,148,000 | £9,461,000 | £10,262,000 | — | |
| Profit before tax | £8,422,000 | £9,005,000 | £9,781,000 | — | |
| Net profit | £6,313,000 | £7,520,000 | £7,454,000 | — | |
| Cash | £6,151,000 | £9,372,000 | £8,495,000 | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £40,964,000 | £45,895,000 | £60,922,000 | — | |
| Net assets | £32,611,000 | £40,613,000 | £46,200,000 | — | |
| Equity | £32,611,000 | £40,613,000 | £46,200,000 | — | |
| Average employees | 845 | 848 | 866 | — | |
| Wages | £16,123,000 | £17,062,000 | £18,295,000 | — | |
| Directors' remuneration | £1,707,000 | £540,000 | £572,000 | — | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £15,000 | £17,000 | £17,000 | — | |
| Highest paid director | £484,000 | £319,000 | £346,000 | — |
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 —. Year-on-year comparison hidden: this filing covers about 12 months versus 12 months prior. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-12-30 | 2024-12-28 | 2025-12-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 8.4% | 8.8% | 9.0% | |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 7.0% | 6.6% | |
| Return on capital employed | 22.3% | 20.6% | 16.8% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 43.8% | 39.8% | 44.1% | |
| Current ratio | 3.12x | 2.92x | 3.51x | |
| Interest cover | 9.09x | 11.37x | 13.91x |
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
- COTTON TRADERS LIMITED 1987-07-02 → present
- SPOTPERK LIMITED 1987-04-24 → 1987-07-02
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Deloitte LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Having performed the assessment on going concern, the directors determined It appropriate to prepare the financial statements of the company on a going concern basis. The company has sufficient financial resources and liquidity and is well placed to manage business risks in the current economic environment and can continue operations for a period of at least 12 months from the date of issue of these financial statements.”
Group structure
- COTTON TRADERS LIMITED · parent
- Cotswold Collections Group Limited 100%
Significant events
- “In August 2026 the outstanding loan was repaid by CorpAcq Limited and was replaced with an intercompany loan.”
- “The company utilised surplus cash to acquire 100% of the share capital of Cotswold Collections Group Limited on 1st October 2025.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
7 active · 8 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTTON, Francis Edward | Director | — | Jan 1947 | British |
| HAMBLIN, Nicholas Anthony | Director | 2022-09-09 | Aug 1962 | British |
| HOWLINGS, Mark Steven | Director | 2022-09-09 | Mar 1964 | British |
| MILLWARD, Phillip Robert | Director | 2026-02-10 | Jun 1962 | British |
| SMITH, Steven James | Director | — | Jul 1951 | British |
| STEWART, Kyle | Director | 2026-02-10 | Dec 1987 | British |
| TURNER, Nicholas James | Director | 2026-02-10 | Mar 1977 | British |
Show 8 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BARNES, William Robert | Secretary | 1997-08-16 | 2003-10-31 |
| COTTON, Francis Edward | Secretary | — | 1993-02-01 |
| COTTON, Patricia | Secretary | 2011-02-01 | 2018-05-21 |
| DEVALL, Philip Frank | Secretary | 1993-02-01 | 1997-06-05 |
| HOWLINGS, Mark Steven | Secretary | 2003-10-31 | 2011-01-31 |
| DEVALL, Philip Frank | Director | 1993-02-01 | 1997-06-05 |
| DORSETT, Jonathan Paul | Director | 2018-05-21 | 2022-09-01 |
| NEARY, Anthony | Director | — | 1993-08-10 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton Traders Group Finance Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2018-05-21 | Ceased 2018-05-21 |
| Cotton Traders Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100% | 2018-05-21 | Active |
| Mr Francis Edward Cotton | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2017-06-01 | Ceased 2018-05-21 |
| Mr Steven James Smith | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2017-06-01 | Ceased 2018-05-21 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 172 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-19 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-06-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-06-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-05-15 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-02-10 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-02-10 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-02-10 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-10-20 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2025-10-07 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2025-09-30 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-09-30 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-07-17 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-06-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-07-17 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-06-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-02 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-06-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-09-09 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-09-09 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-09-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 9
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 3
- 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.