HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LIMITED
Operating as the UK division of News Corp's global publishing business, the private company publishes fiction, non-fiction, children's books, and educational materials under various imprints including Collins.
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Cash
£20M
-68.8% vs 2024
Net assets
£375M
-11.5% vs 2024
Employees
1,053
+2.6% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£37M
+27.8% vs 2024
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
2-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-06-30
| Metric | Trend | 2024-06-30 | 2025-06-30 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £270,957,000 | £289,687,000 | +6.9% | |
| Operating profit | £25,047,000 | £33,708,000 | +34.6% | |
| Profit before tax | £28,791,000 | £36,801,000 | +27.8% | |
| Net profit | £24,486,000 | £32,164,000 | +31.4% | |
| Cash | £63,791,000 | £19,908,000 | -68.8% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £445,846,000 | £396,948,000 | -11% | |
| Net assets | £423,546,000 | £374,729,000 | -11.5% | |
| Equity | £423,546,000 | £374,729,000 | -11.5% | |
| Average employees | 1,026 | 1,053 | +2.6% | |
| Wages | £53,634,000 | £57,943,000 | +8% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £1,469,000 | £1,998,000 | +36% |
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 | 2024-06-30 | 2025-06-30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 9.2% | 11.6% | |
| Net margin | 9.0% | 11.1% | |
| Return on capital employed | 5.6% | 8.5% | |
| Current ratio | 1.24x | 0.95x | |
| Interest cover | 34.55x | — |
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
- HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LIMITED 2015-09-29 → present
- HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS LIMITED 1990-02-01 → 2015-09-29
- WILLIAM COLLINS LIMITED 1949-11-29 → 1990-02-01
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The Directors have assessed a number of factors as set out below and have concluded there is a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate financial resources to continue to operate for the period to 28 February 2027. ... Based on the above Directors have concluded that the Company has adequate resources to continue operating for a period of 12 months to 28 February 2027 and therefore have adopted the Going Concern basis in preparing the Statutory Accounts.”
Group structure
- HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LIMITED · parent
- HCP Australia Pty Limited
- HCP India
- Egmont Books UK Limited
- Barrington Stoke Limited 100%
- Harlequin (UK) Limited
- Pavilion Books Limited
- Unwin Hyman Limited
- Harlequin Enterprises UK Limited
- Thorsons Publishers Limited
Significant events
- “HarperCollins's publishing highlights were as follows. In Fiction, Asako Yuzuki's Butter was an overall market No.1 and HarperCollins's bestselling book of the year. Laurie Gilmore's Dream Harbor series delivered 3 Sunday Times No.1s throughout the year: The Pumpkin Spice Café, The Christmas Tree Farm and The Strawberry Patch Pancake House (also an overall market No.1).”
- “After 50 years in Bishopbriggs, HarperCollins moved its Glasgow supply chain, offices and archive to a new, state-of-the-art facility in Robroyston. The 550,000 sq ft facility marked a major investment for HarperCollins and ensures its presence in the city for decades to come, supporting over 400 local jobs”
- “Over 300 aspiring writers from underrepresented communities have graduated from The HarperCollins Author Academy, a program designed to train and support students in becoming successful authors in the publishing sector.”
- “During the fiscal year, HarperCollins donated more than 60,000 books to various causes and charities both in the UK and internationally.”
- “HarperCollins planted 135 trees in collaboration with Trees for Life, following our commitment to plant a tree for each new employee across our sites, along with other native trees in Scotland.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
6 active · 31 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOWSON-COLLINS, Simon | Secretary | 2016-12-01 | — | — |
| ALFORD, David Peter, Mr. | Director | 2016-12-01 | May 1971 | British |
| DOWSON-COLLINS, Simon Richard Peter, Mr. | Director | 2014-10-22 | Nov 1963 | British |
| KELLY, Kathryn Susanna | Director | 2025-10-07 | Aug 1972 | British |
| MURRAY, Brian | Director | 2008-06-05 | Jul 1966 | American |
| SCHWARTZ, Daniel Arthur | Director | 2023-02-24 | Sep 1976 | American |
Show 31 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUFFY, Patric George Stephen | Secretary | 2001-07-26 | 2009-06-30 |
| FYFE, Andrew Towart Craig | Secretary | — | 1990-12-10 |
| KIELBASIEWICZ, Edmund Alexander | Secretary | 2009-06-30 | 2016-12-01 |
| LAING, Adrian Charles | Secretary | 1999-10-01 | 2001-07-13 |
| SLOWMAN, Douglas Ernest | Secretary | 1990-12-10 | 1999-10-01 |
| BAILLIE, John Andrew Main | Director | 2001-10-02 | 2006-01-08 |
| BARNSLEY, Victoria | Director | 2000-07-10 | 2013-08-16 |
| BELL, Edward | Director | 1991-12-06 | 2000-02-08 |
| CRAIG, George | Director | — | 1996-03-15 |
| DAGNES, Glenn | Director | 1996-08-14 | 2008-08-31 |
| DEVOE, David | Director | 1991-12-06 | 2013-06-28 |
| DISNEY, Anthea | Director | 1996-08-14 | 1999-06-17 |
| FRIEDMAN, Jane | Director | 1999-06-17 | 2008-06-05 |
| GERVASIO, Janet Ann | Director | 2002-11-04 | 2023-02-24 |
| HIGGINS, Leslie Thomas Richard | Director | 1999-10-28 | 2000-04-14 |
| HOUSTON, David | Director | 1991-10-01 | 1998-01-30 |
| JOHNSON, Simon Martin | Director | 2012-10-05 | 2014-10-02 |
| KIELBASIEWICZ, Edmund Alexander | Director | 2000-02-08 | 2016-12-01 |
| KITSON, Terence James | Director | 1990-04-09 | 1991-12-06 |
| KITSON, Terence James | Director | — | 1989-09-15 |
| KNIGHT, Andrew Stephen Bower | Director | 1991-12-06 | 1996-12-23 |
| LAND, Sonia | Director | — | 1990-04-09 |
| MCALPINE, John Calder | Director | — | 1993-08-09 |
| MULLOCK, Keith Howard Percival | Director | 2006-01-09 | 2012-10-05 |
| MURDOCH, Keith Rupert | Director | — | 2023-11-15 |
| PICKERING, Edward, Sir | Director | — | 2003-08-08 |
| REDMAYNE, Charles George Mariner, Mr. | Director | 2013-10-01 | 2025-10-07 |
| SLOWMAN, Douglas Ernest | Director | 1989-11-01 | 1991-12-06 |
| STEHRENBERGER, Peter Walter | Director | — | 1991-12-03 |
| TOPHAM, Neil | Director | 1991-12-06 | 1996-03-31 |
| WINSLOW, Peter Anthony | Director | 1990-08-22 | 1994-09-30 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Collins Holdings Ltd | Corporate entity | Significant influence | 2016-09-01 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 306 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-10-28 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-10-13 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-10-13 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-09-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-03-05 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2024-12-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-09-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-01-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-12-21 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-09-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-04-05 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-02-24 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-02-24 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-09-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-06-29 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-09-01 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-06-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2020-09-04 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2020-07-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 5
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- 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.