VIRGIN BOOKS LIMITED
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Cash
—
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
£11m
+15.1% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
0
-100% lowest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£1.9m
+70.8% highest in 3 filed years
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Confirmation statement overdue
Due 2026-07-15.
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2024-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £4,983,180 | £5,349,518 | £6,240,333 | +16.7% | |
| Operating profit | £1,340,324 | £1,027,970 | £1,788,224 | +74% | |
| Profit before tax | £1,381,259 | £1,095,631 | £1,870,943 | +70.8% | |
| Net profit | £1,219,841 | £827,874 | £1,402,760 | +69.4% | |
| Cash | — | — | — | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £8,905,254 | £9,820,693 | £11,002,216 | +12% | |
| Net assets | £8,486,671 | £9,314,545 | £10,717,305 | +15.1% | |
| Equity | £8,486,671 | £9,314,545 | £10,717,305 | +15.1% | |
| Average employees | 7 | 7 | 0 | -100% | |
| Wages | £371,602 | £386,022 | £367,637 | -4.8% | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | £15,722 | £16,677 | +6.1% |
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 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 26.9% | 19.2% | 28.7% | |
| Net margin | 24.5% | 15.5% | 22.5% | |
| Return on capital employed | 15.1% | 10.5% | 16.3% | |
| Current ratio | — | 6.12x | 7.38x |
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
- VIRGIN BOOKS LIMITED 2001-09-04 → present
- VIRGIN PUBLISHING LIMITED 1991-07-24 → 2001-09-04
- MYREALM LIMITED 1991-06-18 → 1991-07-24
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Based on the Company's current trading performance, the sensitivity and reverse stress testing scenarios performed, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, being a period of no less than twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.”
Group structure
- VIRGIN BOOKS LIMITED · parent
- WH Allen General Books Limited 100%
Significant events
- “The increase in turnover was partly driven by the success of titles such as 'How They Broke Britain'. The Company also experienced growth in audio sales.”
- “The changing book market and particularly the transition to digital is creating both challenges and opportunities for the Company”
- “In the year, we have continued our 'WriteNow' programme which seeks and nurtures writers from under-represented communities as well as providing books in formats to support visually impaired readers.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
3 active · 29 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARTIN, Sinead Mary | Secretary | 2016-06-30 | — | — |
| GARDINER, Mark William | Director | 2007-03-02 | Apr 1961 | British |
| WELDON, Thomas Daryl | Director | 2013-07-01 | Aug 1963 | British |
Show 29 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAYLISS, Joshua | Secretary | 2006-08-31 | 2007-03-02 |
| FLYNN, Roger Patrick | Secretary | — | 1995-03-31 |
| GARDINER, Mark William | Secretary | 2007-03-02 | 2014-10-20 |
| GRAM, Peter Gerardus | Secretary | 2000-03-10 | 2006-08-31 |
| LEGGE, Diana Patricia | Secretary | 1996-06-28 | 2000-03-10 |
| PEACOCK, Helena Caroline | Secretary | 2014-10-20 | 2016-06-30 |
| ZAMET, Naomi Rae | Secretary | 1995-03-31 | 1996-06-28 |
| ZIPRIN, Geoffrey Charles | Nominee Secretary | 1991-06-18 | 1991-07-03 |
| BRANSON, Richard Charles Nicholas, Sir | Director | 1991-07-03 | 2004-04-15 |
| BRIDGE, Matthew Downie | Director | 2012-03-27 | 2014-08-06 |
| CABLE, Richard Hamilton | Director | 2007-03-02 | 2010-01-04 |
| DEVEREUX, Robert Harold Ferrers | Director | 2004-05-24 | 2004-11-24 |
| DEVEREUX, Robert Harold Ferrers | Director | 1997-01-27 | 2000-09-29 |
| FISHER, Mark Grenville | Director | 2000-06-29 | 2002-02-01 |
| FORSTER, Karen Elizabeth | Director | 2000-09-29 | 2007-12-31 |
| FUSSELL, Thomas Cyrus | Director | 2009-03-19 | 2009-12-08 |
| HUDSON, Ian Michael | Director | 2007-03-02 | 2008-10-31 |
| IBBETT, Kenneth Richard Andre | Director | 1996-12-10 | 2000-06-29 |
| IBBETT, Kenneth Richard Andre | Director | 1996-01-11 | 2004-04-15 |
| MACINTYRE, Fiona Bell | Director | 2010-01-04 | 2014-09-30 |
| MCCALL, Patrick Charles Kingdon | Director | 2002-02-01 | 2007-03-02 |
| MOORHEAD, John Patrick | Director | 2007-10-01 | 2012-03-27 |
| MOORHEAD, John Patrick | Director | 2006-01-24 | 2007-03-02 |
| PEACHEY, Jonathan James | Director | 2002-03-13 | 2006-01-24 |
| POTTER, Irene | Nominee Director | 1991-06-18 | 1991-07-03 |
| REBUCK, Gail Ruth, Baroness | Director | 2007-03-02 | 2013-07-01 |
| SHREEVE, Robert Allan | Director | 1991-07-03 | 2000-09-29 |
| SINGTON, Adrian | Director | 2004-05-24 | 2006-04-03 |
| WHITEHORN, William Elliott | Director | 2004-04-15 | 2007-10-01 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Random House Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors, Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 237 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2025-12-18 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-18 | SH19 | capital | Capital statement capital company with date currency figure | |
| 2025-12-18 | SH20 | capital | Legacy | |
| 2025-12-18 | CAP-SS | insolvency | Legacy | |
| 2025-12-18 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2025-09-18 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-07-01 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-11-25 | ANNOTATION | miscellaneous | Legacy | |
| 2024-10-30 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2024-09-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-07-04 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-07-03 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-10-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-07-04 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-12-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-07-02 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-02-10 | AUD | auditors | Auditors resignation company | |
| 2020-12-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2020-07-02 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2019-09-25 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 6
- Capital events
- 2
- 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.