TOPPING & COMPANY BOOKSELLERS LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-12-31 (in 7mo)
Last filed for 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement due
2026-06-25 (in 1mo)
Last made up 2025-06-11
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£2M
+107.2% highest in 5 filed years
Net assets
£6M
+29.1% highest in 5 filed years
Employees
93
+19.2% highest in 5 filed years
Profit before tax
£2M
+15.1% vs 2024
Net assets
7-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
7-year trend · latest reflected 2025-03-31
| Metric | Trend | 2019-04-01 | 2020-03-31 | 2021-03-31 | 2022-03-31 | 2023-03-31 | 2024-03-31 | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | £8,915,590 | £9,290,997 | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | — | £1,755,884 | £2,040,711 | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | — | £1,624,424 | £1,869,874 | |
| Net profit | — | £563,556 | — | — | — | £1,105,879 | £1,522,192 | |
| Cash | — | £76,289 | £60,150 | £556,117 | — | £1,130,016 | £2,340,867 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | — | £2,198,161 | £3,321,555 | £4,809,947 | — | £6,897,082 | £8,888,666 | |
| Net assets | — | £1,730,767 | £2,104,194 | £3,163,879 | — | £4,661,544 | £6,017,736 | |
| Equity | £1,215,978 | £1,730,767 | £2,104,194 | £3,163,879 | £3,722,665 | £4,661,544 | £6,017,736 | |
| Average employees | — | 57 | 65 | 76 | — | 78 | 93 | |
| Wages | — | — | — | — | — | £1,902,530 | £2,058,889 | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | — | — | — | — | £317,256 | £340,818 |
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 2025-03-31 vs 2024-03-31
-
Turnover
+4.2%
£8,915,590 £9,290,997
-
Cash
+107.2%
£1,130,016 £2,340,867
highest in 5 filed years
-
Net assets
+29.1%
£4,661,544 £6,017,736
highest in 5 filed years
-
Employees
+19.2%
78 93
highest in 5 filed years
-
Operating profit
+16.2%
£1,755,884 £2,040,711
-
Profit before tax
+15.1%
£1,624,424 £1,869,874
-
Wages
+8.2%
£1,902,530 £2,058,889
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 | 2019-04-01 | 2020-03-31 | 2021-03-31 | 2022-03-31 | 2023-03-31 | 2024-03-31 | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | — | 19.7% | 22.0% | |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | — | 12.4% | 16.4% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | — | 25.5% | 23.0% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — | 1.55x | 1.82x | |
| Interest cover | — | — | — | — | — | 11.77x | 10.40x |
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
- Whitings LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant”
Significant events
- “At the accounting reporting date, the company had committed a further £3,300,000 to the purchase of new freehold and investment property.”
- “After the year end, the company completed the acquisition of investment and freehold properties for total consideration of approximately £3.3 million. These transactions were financed through a combination of internal resources and external borrowings.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
7 active · 1 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BARRETT, Cornelia Jane Somerville | Secretary | 2023-06-23 | — | — |
| BARRETT, Cornelia Jane Somerville | Director | 2017-04-21 | Aug 1993 | British |
| BARRETT, George William Gibson | Director | 2021-06-20 | Oct 1992 | British |
| TOPPING, Hugh Alexander | Director | 2017-04-21 | Mar 1991 | British |
| TOPPING, Louise Mclennan | Director | 2002-06-11 | Jun 1963 | British |
| TOPPING, Robert George | Director | 2002-06-11 | Oct 1956 | British |
| TOPPING, Saskia Molly | Director | 2025-01-10 | Jul 1995 | British |
Show 1 resigned officer
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOPPING, Robert George | Secretary | 2002-06-11 | 2023-06-23 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Louise Mclennan Topping | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
| Mr Robert George Topping | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 81 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-31 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-12-05 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2025-10-09 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2025-10-02 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2025-06-27 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-01-23 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-12-20 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-12-18 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2024-06-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-12-21 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2023-12-21 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2023-06-26 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-06-24 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2023-06-23 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2023-04-04 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2022-12-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2022-12-17 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-06-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-05-11 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2022-02-15 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 5
- Capital events
- 0
- 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.