PORTALS PAPER LIMITED
Operating from a mill in Somerset, the company manufactures specialised paper for banknotes, passports, and other high-security applications.
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Cash
£2.2m
-27.8% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
-£4.2m
+15.2% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
118
+4.4% vs 2025
Profit before tax
£1m
-91.5% lowest in 3 filed years
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
1 PSC ceased in last 24 months
Significant control changed hands — see the Ownership section.
-
Negative shareholders' funds
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Basic Materials median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2026-02-28
| Metric | Trend | 2024-02-25 | 2025-02-23 | 2026-02-28 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £23,378,000 | £26,602,000 | £24,498,000 | -7.9% | |
| Operating profit | -£509,000 | £5,778,000 | £3,256,000 | -43.6% | |
| Profit before tax | £27,100,000 | £11,964,000 | £1,019,000 | -91.5% | |
| Net profit | £30,133,000 | £10,155,000 | £747,000 | -92.6% | |
| Cash | £6,597,000 | £3,110,000 | £2,244,000 | -27.8% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £30,331,000 | £9,135,000 | £13,055,000 | +42.9% | |
| Net assets | -£15,081,000 | -£4,926,000 | -£4,179,000 | +15.2% | |
| Equity | -£15,081,000 | -£4,926,000 | -£4,179,000 | +15.2% | |
| Average employees | 125 | 113 | 118 | +4.4% | |
| Wages | £6,724,000 | £5,455,000 | £5,529,000 | +1.4% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £985,000 | £559,000 | £710,000 | +27% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £37,000 | £42,000 | £27,000 | -35.7% | |
| Highest paid director | £377,000 | £209,000 | £397,000 | +90% |
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 | 2024-02-25 | 2025-02-23 | 2026-02-28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -2.2% | 21.7% | 13.3% | |
| Net margin | 128.9% | 38.2% | 3.0% | |
| Return on capital employed | -1.7% | 63.3% | 24.9% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 149.5% | — | 132.0% | |
| Current ratio | 2.82x | 1.15x | 2.17x | |
| Interest cover | -14.97x | 52.53x | 3.52x |
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
- PORTALS PAPER LIMITED 2021-02-24 → present
- PORTALS DE LA RUE LIMITED 2018-01-08 → 2021-02-24
- PORTALS DLR PAPER LIMITED 2017-10-09 → 2018-01-08
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 have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 10 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOLLIDAY, Ross, Dr | Director | 2018-03-29 | Jun 1978 | British |
| LEWIS, Rebecca | Director | 2024-02-22 | Feb 1984 | British |
| RAUHUT, Matthias | Director | 2024-12-31 | Apr 1965 | German |
| WALSH, Harriet Elizabeth | Director | 2024-08-15 | Aug 1992 | British |
Show 10 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| HICKMAN, Dominic Richard Bernard, Dr | Secretary | 2017-10-09 | 2018-03-29 |
| CHILD, Colin Charles | Director | 2018-04-12 | 2020-04-21 |
| GROVER, Jason | Director | 2018-06-27 | 2019-08-05 |
| JONES, Timothy William | Director | 2018-03-29 | 2021-12-14 |
| NASH, Andrew Simon | Director | 2023-08-04 | 2024-08-15 |
| PEPPIATT, Edward Hugh Davidson | Director | 2017-10-09 | 2018-03-29 |
| RANCON, Jean-Baptiste | Director | 2019-08-28 | 2024-02-22 |
| ROCHE, Lesley Sharon | Director | 2018-03-20 | 2018-03-29 |
| SODHA, Jitesh Himatlal | Director | 2017-10-09 | 2018-03-19 |
| WHEELER, Laura Jane | Director | 2018-03-29 | 2024-02-22 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drewsen Holding Gmbh & Co. Kg | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2024-12-31 | Active |
| Portals Finance 3 Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2018-03-29 | Ceased 2024-12-31 |
| De La Rue International Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2018-01-03 | Ceased 2018-03-29 |
| De La Rue Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2017-10-09 | Ceased 2018-01-03 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 72 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-09-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2026-09-04 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2025-11-12 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-09-11 | AA01 | accounts | Change account reference date company current extended | |
| 2025-09-05 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-07-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-21 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-01-21 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-01-14 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-12-24 | MR05 | mortgage | Mortgage charge part both with charge number | |
| 2024-12-24 | MR05 | mortgage | Mortgage charge part both with charge number | |
| 2024-09-16 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-09-02 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-08-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-08-15 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-08-15 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-08-15 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-08-08 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-05-13 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 4
- 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.