WH SMITH TRAVEL LIMITED
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Cash
£13M
+20.6% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£450M
+10.8% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
3,938
+5.2% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£62M
-40.3% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-08-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 | 2025-08-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £620,933,000 | £689,405,000 | £719,014,000 | +4.3% | |
| Operating profit | £92,178,000 | £103,360,000 | £62,968,000 | -39.1% | |
| Profit before tax | £92,614,000 | £103,262,000 | £61,678,000 | -40.3% | |
| Net profit | £73,457,000 | £73,051,000 | £44,362,000 | -39.3% | |
| Cash | £10,544,000 | £10,960,000 | £13,215,000 | +20.6% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £471,296,000 | £469,794,000 | £525,564,000 | +11.9% | |
| Net assets | £432,619,000 | £405,889,000 | £449,523,000 | +10.8% | |
| Equity | £432,619,000 | £405,889,000 | £449,523,000 | +10.8% | |
| Average employees | 3,668 | 3,742 | 3,938 | +5.2% | |
| Wages | £84,244,000 | £87,440,000 | £83,672,000 | -4.3% | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | — | — | — |
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 | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 | 2025-08-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 14.8% | 15.0% | 8.8% | |
| Net margin | 11.8% | 10.6% | 6.2% | |
| Return on capital employed | 19.6% | 22.0% | 12.0% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 54.9% | 72.6% | — | |
| Current ratio | 1.26x | 1.07x | 1.57x | |
| Interest cover | 86.47x | 56.14x | 19.94x |
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 1 time since incorporation
- WH SMITH TRAVEL LIMITED 2008-06-30 → present
- ALNERY NO. 2784 LIMITED 2008-04-09 → 2008-06-30
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Based on the above analysis, the directors have concluded that the Company will be able to continue to meet its obligations as they fall due and operate within the level of its facilities for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements.”
Group structure
- WH SMITH TRAVEL LIMITED · parent
- WH Smith (Qatar) Limited 100%
- WH Smith Australia Pty Limited 100%
- WH Smith Calais SAS 100%
- WH Smith - DFA Brasil Cafeteria, Livraria E Conveniencia Eireli 50%
- WH Smith Germany GmbH 100%
- WH Smith Ireland Limited 100%
- WH Smith Italia S.R.L 100%
- WH Smith LLC 49%
- WH Smith LLC 50%
- WH Smith Malaysia SDN BHD 50%
- WH Smith Nederland B.V. 100%
- WH Smith Singapore Pte. Limited 100%
- WH Smith Spain S.L. 100%
- WH Smith Norway 100%
- WH Smith Belgium 100%
- WH Smith Hungary 100%
- WH Smith Travel (Jersey) Limited 100%
- WH Smith Denmark APS 100%
- WH Smith Arabia LLC 100%
- WH Smith Sweden AB 100%
- Wild Retail Group Pty Limited 100%
- Newsrail Resources Limited 100%
Significant events
- “In November 2025, the Group entered into a £200,000,000 syndicated 12-month term loan. In March 2025, the Group entered into £200m of committed US private placement notes. The syndicated loan was subsequently cancelled on 11 March 2026.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
3 active · 8 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOUGHTON, Ian | Secretary | 2008-10-10 | — | British |
| HOUGHTON, Ian | Director | 2008-06-30 | Dec 1965 | British |
| IZZARD, Maxwell Leslie James | Director | 2024-11-19 | Jan 1980 | British |
Show 8 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALNERY INCORPORATIONS NO. 1 LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2008-04-09 | 2008-06-30 |
| CLARKE, Stephen Martin | Director | 2013-09-06 | 2019-10-31 |
| COWLING, Carl David | Director | 2019-09-19 | 2025-11-19 |
| MOORHEAD, Robert James | Director | 2008-11-28 | 2024-11-19 |
| STEWART, Alan James | Director | 2008-06-30 | 2008-11-28 |
| SWANN, Kate Elizabeth | Director | 2008-08-08 | 2013-06-30 |
| ALNERY INCORPORATIONS NO. 1 LIMITED | Corporate Director | 2008-04-09 | 2008-06-30 |
| ALNERY INCORPORATIONS NO. 2 LIMITED | Corporate Director | 2008-04-09 | 2008-06-30 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wh Smith Travel 2008 Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 80 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2024-06-19 MA Memorandum articles
- 2024-05-31 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
- 2024-05-17 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-05-21 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2026-05-01 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2026-04-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-11-24 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-04-09 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-03-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-12-02 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-11-21 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-06-19 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2024-05-31 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2024-05-17 | SH19 | capital | Capital statement capital company with date currency figure | |
| 2024-05-17 | SH20 | capital | Legacy | |
| 2024-05-17 | CAP-SS | insolvency | Legacy | |
| 2024-05-17 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2024-04-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-04-09 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-04-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-03-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-04-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 5
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 0
- Officers resigned
- 1
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.