CHILDREN'S CHARACTER BOOKS LIMITED

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Next accounts due

2026-09-30 (in 4mo)

Last filed for 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement due

2027-02-17 (in 9mo)

Last made up 2026-02-03

Watchouts

None on the register

Cash

£512K

+99.4% vs 2023

Net assets

-£605K

-379.2% lowest in 3 filed years

Employees

Average over period

Profit before tax

-£638K

-9.8% lowest in 3 filed years

Net assets

5-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median

CHILDREN'S CHARACTER BOOKS LIMITED·Consumer Discretionary median · n=21268

Accounts

5-year trend · latest reflected 2024-12-31

Metric	2022-01-01	2022-12-31	2023-01-01	2023-12-31	2024-12-31
Turnover	—	£2,667,869	—	£1,718,728	£1,094,093
Operating profit	—	-£212,311	—	-£581,412	-£638,197
Profit before tax	—	-£212,311	—	-£581,412	-£638,197
Net profit	—	-£149,837	—	-£262,317	-£478,648
Cash	—	£1,133,538	—	£256,770	£512,025
Total assets less current liabilities	—	£136,079	—	-£114,033	-£591,585
Net assets	—	—	—	-£126,238	-£604,886
Equity	£285,916	£136,079	£136,079	-£126,238	-£604,886
Average employees	—	0	—	0	0
Wages	—	—	—	—	—
Directors' remuneration	—	—	—	£18,971	£18,624

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

FY2023 → FY2024 · period ending 2024-12-31 vs 2023-12-31

Turnover

-36.3%

£1,718,728 £1,094,093

lowest in 3 filed years
Cash

+99.4%

£256,770 £512,025
Net assets

-379.2%

-£126,238 -£604,886
Employees

—

Not reported
Operating profit

-9.8%

-£581,412 -£638,197

lowest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax

-9.8%

-£581,412 -£638,197

lowest in 3 filed years

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	2022-01-01	2022-12-31	2023-01-01	2023-12-31	2024-12-31
Operating margin	—	-8.0%	—	-33.8%	-58.3%
Net margin	—	-5.6%	—	-15.3%	-43.7%
Return on capital employed	—	-156.0%	—	509.9%	107.9%
Current ratio	—	—	—	0.93x	0.74x

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

CHILDREN'S CHARACTER BOOKS LIMITED 2004-04-23 → present
PENGUIN CHARACTER BOOKS LIMITED 2004-03-26 → 2004-04-23
BLUEYELLOW LIMITED 2004-02-03 → 2004-03-26

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 and the written confirmation of support from Penguin Books Limited, 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.”

Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers

People

7 active · 33 resigned

Name	Role	Appointed	Born	Nationality
EVANS, Nicola Isabel	Secretary	2007-08-03	—	British
DAVIES, Stephen Thomas	Director	2019-11-14	Nov 1968	British
DOW, Francesca	Director	2010-12-31	Aug 1963	British
MCBRIDE, Geraldine	Director	2023-01-31	Apr 1985	British
MCMULLAN, James Thomas	Director	2025-07-07	Feb 1984	British
TWYNAM, Nancy	Director	2019-11-14	Apr 1979	British
WELDON, Thomas Daryl	Director	2010-10-29	Aug 1963	British

Show 33 resigned officers

Name	Role	Appointed	Resigned
PEACOCK, Helena Caroline	Secretary	2004-03-25	2007-08-03
INGLEBY NOMINEES LIMITED	Corporate Nominee Secretary	2004-02-03	2004-03-25
ARTHUR, Marcus Peter	Director	2015-06-08	2019-11-14
BARTON, Stephanie	Director	2008-01-25	2010-12-31
BOWRON, Peter David	Director	2004-03-25	2005-10-07
BRENNAN, Suzanne Margaret	Director	2009-07-31	2014-03-31
BRETT, Nicholas Richard John	Director	2013-08-05	2015-06-08
DAVIES, Stephen Thomas	Director	2011-05-27	2013-08-05
DUHIGG, John William	Director	2005-11-02	2006-01-24
FIDLER, Naomi	Director	2012-07-02	2017-06-15
FIELD, Peter	Director	2006-12-31	2010-10-29
FLOYER, Sally Margaret Doris	Director	2004-03-25	2008-01-25
FORBES WATSON, Anthony David	Director	2004-03-25	2005-02-28
GIBSON, Nicholas	Director	2014-03-31	2015-05-22
KING, David	Director	2004-04-30	2005-01-19
LANDERS, Brian James	Director	2004-03-25	2009-07-31
LANGFORD, Kevin Donald	Director	2008-09-26	2010-04-27
MCALEER, Helen	Director	2005-01-19	2006-06-30
MISTRY-SADDUL, Vanisha	Director	2015-10-23	2019-02-07
MOORE, Ian Christopher	Director	2006-01-24	2009-09-01
MOULTRIE, Andrew David	Director	2017-11-30	2019-10-18
NOAKES, Jon	Director	2013-08-05	2017-06-27
PRITCHARD, Gill	Director	2007-10-23	2008-08-11
ROSCOE, Sarah Elaine	Director	2017-06-15	2023-01-30
ROSS RUSSELL, Neil	Director	2008-08-11	2011-12-31
SHEPHERD, Daniel Peter	Director	2009-09-01	2012-02-24
STARLING, Andrew Paul	Director	2012-01-01	2013-08-05
TURNER, Christopher	Director	2023-01-31	2023-08-31
WELHAM, Andrew Peter	Director	2005-04-18	2006-12-31
WELLAND, Grant James	Director	2010-04-27	2011-05-27
WELLER, Christopher Charles	Director	2007-03-30	2008-09-26
YOUNG, Mark Christopher	Director	2004-04-30	2007-03-30
INGLEBY HOLDINGS LIMITED	Corporate Nominee Director	2004-02-03	2004-03-25

Ownership

Persons with significant control

Name	Kind	Nature of control	Notified	Status
Penguin Books Limited	Corporate entity	Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors	2016-04-06	Active

Filing timeline

Last 20 of 143 total filings

Date	Type	Category	Description
2026-02-04	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2025-09-17	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full	PDF
2025-07-11	AP01	officers	Appoint person director company with name date	PDF
2025-02-04	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2024-11-04	AD01	address	Change registered office address company with date old address new address	PDF
2024-09-23	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full	PDF
2024-02-09	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2023-10-11	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full
2023-09-05	TM01	officers	Termination director company with name termination date	PDF
2023-02-14	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2023-02-13	AP01	officers	Appoint person director company with name date	PDF
2023-02-10	AP01	officers	Appoint person director company with name date	PDF
2023-02-10	TM01	officers	Termination director company with name termination date	PDF
2022-10-04	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full
2022-02-08	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2021-12-20	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full
2021-02-10	AUD	auditors	Auditors resignation company
2021-02-09	CS01	confirmation-statement	Confirmation statement with no updates	PDF
2020-11-13	AA	accounts	Accounts with accounts type full
2020-06-29	AD01	address	Change registered office address company with date old address new address	PDF

Public-record activity

Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months

Filings: 3
Capital events: 0
Officers appointed: 1
Officers resigned: 0

Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.

Official Companies House page