VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED
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Cash
£589k
-7.1% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£117m
+71.1% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
3,873
+6.9% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£59m
+51.4% highest in 3 filed years
Watch the reel
Our short-form breakdown of VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED's latest filing
Vision Express saw sales rise to £476m this year, but higher costs squeezed high street margins. A £23m investment boost saved the bottom line. 👓📈
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Industrials 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 | £384,567,000 | £429,710,000 | £476,308,000 | +10.8% | |
| Operating profit | £7,586,000 | £35,724,000 | £31,071,000 | -13% | |
| Profit before tax | £7,920,000 | £38,887,000 | £58,872,000 | +51.4% | |
| Net profit | £5,521,000 | £28,518,000 | £48,806,000 | +71.1% | |
| Cash | £1,061,000 | £634,000 | £589,000 | -7.1% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £43,631,000 | £73,926,000 | £126,030,000 | +70.5% | |
| Net assets | £40,101,000 | £68,619,000 | £117,425,000 | +71.1% | |
| Equity | £40,101,000 | £68,619,000 | £117,425,000 | +71.1% | |
| Average employees | 3,638 | 3,623 | 3,873 | +6.9% | |
| Wages | £126,375,000 | £133,403,000 | £148,395,000 | +11.2% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £1,209,000 | £1,160,000 | — | — | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £17,000 | £10,000 | — | — | |
| Highest paid director | £675,450 | £687,651 | — | — |
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 | 2.0% | 8.3% | 6.5% | |
| Net margin | 1.4% | 6.6% | 10.2% | |
| Return on capital employed | 17.4% | 48.3% | 24.7% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 75.7% | 65.7% | 52.5% | |
| Current ratio | 0.64x | 0.87x | 1.34x | |
| Interest cover | 47.41x | — | — |
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
- VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED 1988-07-14 → present
- COOLPACT LIMITED 1987-11-06 → 1988-07-14
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The company meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through its bank facilities which are managed centrally by the EssilorLuxottica group.”
Group structure
- VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED · parent
- Abbeyfield V.E. Limited 100%
- GrandVision Tech Centre UK Limited 100%
- Vision Express (CLS) Limited 100%
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 53 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTON, Nicholas David | Secretary | 2019-04-29 | — | — |
| HYDE, Philip Martin | Director | 2017-10-01 | Apr 1966 | British |
| MCGHEE, Daniel | Director | 2019-12-01 | Mar 1986 | British |
| VISION EXPRESS GROUP LIMITED | Corporate Director | 2025-03-01 | — | — |
Show 53 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALLEN, Nicholas Dermott Vance | Secretary | 2018-04-09 | 2019-04-24 |
| HESKETH, Carolyn Lesley | Secretary | 2010-10-14 | 2013-03-08 |
| HOPE, Simon Richard | Secretary | 2013-03-08 | 2018-04-09 |
| HOPWOOD, Joseph William | Secretary | 1995-01-03 | 1996-12-27 |
| REED, Rosaleen | Secretary | 1996-12-27 | 2010-10-01 |
| TILLMAN, Gary Lee | Secretary | — | 1995-01-03 |
| ADKINS, Adrian | Director | 1996-02-01 | 2000-06-07 |
| ALLAN, Ranald George | Director | 2017-10-01 | 2025-02-28 |
| ALLEN, Nicholas Dermott Vance | Director | 2018-04-09 | 2019-04-24 |
| BRUSTIO, Marco Umberto | Director | 1994-02-28 | 1996-02-01 |
| BUTLER, Edward Dean | Director | — | 1996-02-01 |
| CEZAR, Marcel Nicolas Gustave | Director | 2003-09-30 | 2006-04-18 |
| CEZAR, Marcel Nicolas Gustave | Director | 2001-09-10 | 2003-07-01 |
| COTON, Nicholas David | Director | 2019-04-29 | 2025-02-28 |
| DOUGLAS, Brian Archibald Speedie | Director | 2000-04-19 | 2001-03-08 |
| ERNEST, Pamela Barbara | Director | 1994-03-28 | 1995-05-12 |
| FAHS, Leonard Reade | Director | 1998-08-27 | 1999-02-01 |
| HAMLEY, Nicholas | Director | 1994-11-15 | 1995-12-21 |
| HARRIS, Albert Edward | Director | 1994-02-28 | 1996-02-01 |
| HASSAN, Omar | Director | 2012-07-09 | 2017-09-30 |
| HOLT, Andrew | Director | 1999-07-27 | 2001-03-08 |
| HOPE, Simon Richard | Director | 2017-10-01 | 2018-04-09 |
| HOPWOOD, Joseph William | Director | — | 1996-12-27 |
| HYDE, Philip Martin | Director | 2006-02-03 | 2012-07-09 |
| INNES, Simon Campbell | Director | 2000-04-03 | 2003-09-30 |
| KHAN, Graham | Director | 1993-10-28 | 1995-04-21 |
| KÖKSAL, Onur | Director | 2018-11-01 | 2024-12-31 |
| LAWSON, Jonathan Mark | Director | 2017-10-01 | 2018-11-01 |
| LAWSON, Jonathan Mark | Director | 2017-10-01 | 2025-02-28 |
| LAWSON, Jonathan Robert | Director | 2011-05-26 | 2018-11-01 |
| LEWIS, Jeremy George | Director | 2000-04-19 | 2001-03-08 |
| MAGRATH, Bryan Robert | Director | 2008-03-01 | 2010-05-19 |
| MILLER, Jacqueline | Director | 2008-11-17 | 2011-11-22 |
| MOYLES, Tim James | Director | 2010-05-19 | 2011-05-26 |
| NOBLE, Stephen Mark | Director | 2011-11-22 | 2017-09-30 |
| NUESSER, Bernhard | Director | 2003-07-01 | 2008-03-01 |
| O'LEARY, Stephen | Director | 2000-03-20 | 2006-02-03 |
| POUTON, Derek | Director | — | 1994-04-25 |
| SHEARWOOD, Michael | Director | 1998-08-27 | 2000-03-18 |
| SMITH, John Anthony | Director | 1996-12-27 | 1999-12-31 |
| SPEEDIE, James | Director | 1997-06-03 | 2001-03-08 |
| SPIETTE, Philippe Roger | Director | 2000-12-13 | 2001-09-10 |
| TABACCHI, Ermenegildo Dino | Director | 1994-02-28 | 1996-02-01 |
| TAYLOR, Desmond Francis | Director | 1999-07-27 | 2000-09-30 |
| TAYLOR, Desmond Francis | Director | 1996-02-01 | 1999-02-01 |
| TILLMAN, Gary Lee | Director | 1995-01-03 | 1997-10-30 |
| TOMISON, Glenn Andrew | Director | 1996-02-01 | 2007-01-11 |
| TOMMY MARTIN, Francois Jean Marie | Director | 2000-12-13 | 2001-03-08 |
| TRAPANI, Antonio | Director | 1999-12-31 | 2000-12-13 |
| VANNIER, Elie | Director | 2006-04-18 | 2007-01-11 |
| WATSON, Peter Leighton Bruce | Director | 1996-02-01 | 2000-04-03 |
| WINDSOR, James Keith | Director | 1996-02-01 | 2008-11-17 |
| WORBOYS, Steven | Director | 2025-01-01 | 2025-02-28 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision Express Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 305 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2024-12-05 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-02-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-13 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-06-06 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-03-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-03-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-03-03 | AP02 | officers | Appoint corporate director company with name date | |
| 2025-03-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-03-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-02-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-01-06 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-01-05 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-01-02 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-12-05 | SH20 | capital | Legacy | |
| 2024-12-05 | SH19 | capital | Capital statement capital company with date currency figure | |
| 2024-12-05 | CAP-SS | insolvency | Legacy | |
| 2024-12-05 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2024-12-05 | SH08 | capital | Capital name of class of shares | |
| 2024-08-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-05-23 | RP04CS01 | confirmation-statement | Second filing of confirmation statement with made up date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 3
- Capital events
- 3
- 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.