ESSENTIAL CUISINE LIMITED
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Cash
£5.7m
+16.2% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£13m
+9.2% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
80
+8.1% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£6.8m
+4.8% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Staples 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 | £26,392,000 | £28,776,000 | £30,738,000 | +6.8% | |
| Operating profit | £5,814,000 | £6,340,000 | £6,720,000 | +6% | |
| Profit before tax | £5,898,000 | £6,523,000 | £6,838,000 | +4.8% | |
| Net profit | £5,952,000 | £5,419,000 | £5,618,000 | +3.7% | |
| Cash | £4,272,000 | £4,926,000 | £5,724,000 | +16.2% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £13,140,000 | £12,401,000 | £13,542,000 | +9.2% | |
| Net assets | £12,831,000 | £12,100,000 | £13,218,000 | +9.2% | |
| Equity | £12,831,000 | £12,100,000 | £13,218,000 | +9.2% | |
| Average employees | 76 | 74 | 80 | +8.1% | |
| Wages | £2,726,000 | £2,743,000 | £2,977,000 | +8.5% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £110,853 | £0 | £0 | — | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £4,827 | £5,250 | — | — |
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 | 22.0% | 22.0% | 21.9% | |
| Net margin | 22.6% | 18.8% | 18.3% | |
| Return on capital employed | 44.2% | 51.1% | 49.6% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 21.9% | 25.1% | 25.6% | |
| Current ratio | 4.33x | 3.74x | 3.68x |
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.
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The directors believe that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future (being a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements). Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting”
Significant events
- “After the year end dividends of £2,500,000 were paid, which have not been provided for in these financial statements.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 13 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HARTLEY, Lorraine Alexandra | Secretary | 2026-04-27 | — | — |
| FRANCHETERRE, Antony Xavier | Director | 2019-09-20 | Mar 1970 | French |
| MULLER, Lorraine | Director | 2026-02-20 | May 1979 | British |
| VAN TROYS, Maria Elza Marleen | Director | 2022-03-25 | Oct 1965 | Belgian |
Show 13 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| CORLETT, Neil Lingham | Secretary | 2006-03-15 | 2018-05-04 |
| CRANE, Evelyn Valerie Kathleen | Secretary | 1996-03-07 | 2006-03-14 |
| NEWTON, John | Secretary | 2018-05-04 | 2026-04-27 |
| FIRST SECRETARIES LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 1996-03-07 | 1996-03-07 |
| CORLETT, Neil Lingham | Director | 2001-04-30 | 2018-05-04 |
| CRANE, Nigel Stephen | Director | 1996-03-07 | 2018-05-04 |
| JONES, Adam | Director | 2018-05-04 | 2026-02-20 |
| MCGREGOR, Jamie Buchanan | Director | 2013-01-02 | 2018-05-04 |
| METCALF, Alan David Howard | Director | 2004-02-01 | 2016-07-01 |
| PASCHALIDIS, Stylianos | Director | 2019-05-16 | 2019-09-20 |
| SCOTT, Nigel George | Director | 2010-07-12 | 2014-03-13 |
| VAZ, Bertrand Marie | Director | 2018-05-04 | 2022-03-25 |
| WEBER, Laurent | Director | 2018-05-04 | 2019-05-16 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solina Uk Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2018-05-04 | Active |
| Mr Nigel Stephen Crane | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50%, Appoints directors | 2018-04-04 | Ceased 2018-05-04 |
| Mr Neil Lingham Corlett | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50%, Appoints directors | 2018-04-04 | Ceased 2018-05-04 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 149 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-04-29 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2026-04-29 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2026-04-02 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-03-30 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2026-03-04 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-03-04 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-08-06 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-04-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-04-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-07-08 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-04-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-08-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-04-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-03-25 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-03-25 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-01-26 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2021-09-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-05-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 7
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 2
- Officers resigned
- 2
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.