THE HOWLETTS WILD ANIMAL TRUST
Operating as a registered charity supported by The Aspinall Foundation, the organisation manages the Howletts and Port Lympne wild animal parks in Kent to promote wildlife conservation, captive breeding, and public zoological exhibition.
Get an alert when THE HOWLETTS WILD ANIMAL TRUST files next
Leroy will email you the moment a new filing lands at Companies House — one short note per filing, nothing else.
Cash
£9k
0% vs 2024
Net assets
£220k
+144.2% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
624
+2.8% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
—
Period ending 2025-12-31
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Material uncertainty over going concern
indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company and group's ability to continue as a going concern.
-
Going-concern uncertainty disclosed
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | £24,288,000 | £26,963,000 | £30,799,000 | +14.2% | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | |
| Net profit | -£1,028,000 | £19,000 | £718,000 | +3,678.9% | |
| Cash | £327,000 | £9,000 | £9,000 | 0% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £1,773,000 | £1,583,000 | £556,000 | -64.9% | |
| Net assets | -£517,000 | -£498,000 | £220,000 | +144.2% | |
| Equity | -£517,000 | -£498,000 | £220,000 | +144.2% | |
| Average employees | 400 | 607 | 624 | +2.8% | |
| Wages | £11,563,000 | £12,168,000 | £13,780,000 | +13.2% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £0 | £0 | £0 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -4.2% | 0.1% | 2.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 104.1% | 104.2% | 98.2% | |
| Current ratio | 0.17x | 0.15x | 0.13x |
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
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- Azets Audit Services
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Material uncertainty disclosed
“indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company and group's ability to continue as a going concern.”
Group structure
- THE HOWLETTS WILD ANIMAL TRUST · parent
- Howletts and Port Lympne Estates Limited 100%
Significant events
- “After the balance sheet date, the charity completed a refinance of the bank loans disclosed in Notes 17 and 18. The refinance consolidated and repaid the existing loan, bank overdraft and the Covid loan from The Aspinall Foundation.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
6 active · 10 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MORRISSEY, Charlotte | Secretary | 2014-09-19 | — | — |
| ASPINALL, John Damian Androcles | Director | 2004-12-16 | May 1960 | British |
| ASPINALL, Tansy | Director | 2017-03-30 | Nov 1989 | British |
| BLACKMAN, Heather Frances | Director | 2022-02-21 | Feb 1963 | British |
| FARLEY, Guy James | Director | 2021-03-08 | Feb 1963 | British |
| HULME, Daniel Ward | Director | 2022-02-02 | May 1989 | British |
Show 10 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEATTY, Jeremy | Secretary | 2005-08-30 | 2014-09-19 |
| LEATHERS, Michael Russell | Secretary | 2003-03-26 | 2005-08-30 |
| COURAGE, Amos | Director | 2011-01-01 | 2021-03-08 |
| HARREL, David Terence Digby | Director | 2003-03-26 | 2010-12-31 |
| JENKS, Maurice Arthur Brian, Sir | Director | 2003-03-26 | 2004-10-02 |
| MARX, Nicholas Paul | Director | 2011-07-19 | 2017-03-30 |
| O'CONNOR, Robert Alan | Director | 2007-02-01 | 2007-12-31 |
| ODRISCOLL, Patrick Colin | Director | 2021-03-08 | 2021-11-15 |
| OSBORNE, James Francis | Director | 2003-03-26 | 2010-12-31 |
| ROMER, Charles John | Director | 2007-02-01 | 2007-05-31 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Tansy Aspinall | Individual | Voting 25–50% | 2022-01-28 | Active |
| Mr Guy James Farley | Individual | Voting 25–50% | 2022-01-28 | Active |
| Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall | Individual | Voting 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 100 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2023-03-09 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
- 2023-03-09 MA Memorandum articles
- 2022-09-02 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
- 2022-09-02 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
- 2022-09-02 MA Memorandum articles
- 2022-09-02 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-29 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-08-12 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2026-04-18 | RP01PSC01 | miscellaneous | Legacy | |
| 2026-03-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-04-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-04-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2024-03-12 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2023-10-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-04-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2023-04-24 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2023-04-24 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2023-03-09 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2023-03-09 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2022-11-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-09-02 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2022-09-02 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2022-09-02 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2022-09-02 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution |
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.