MARK BIRKBECK & SONS LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-10-29 (in 5mo)
Last filed for 2025-01-29
Confirmation statement due
2027-04-03 (in 11mo)
Last made up 2026-03-20
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£10M
+188% highest in 5 filed years
Net assets
£45M
+2.1% highest in 5 filed years
Employees
334
+12.1% highest in 5 filed years
Profit before tax
£3M
+1,876% vs 2024
Net assets
6-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
6-year trend · latest reflected 2025-01-29
| Metric | Trend | 2020-01-31 | 2021-01-31 | 2022-01-31 | 2023-01-31 | 2024-01-31 | 2025-01-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | — | — | — | £44,759,596 | £51,188,964 | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | £2,120,845 | £2,570,528 | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | -£167,798 | £2,980,040 | |
| Net profit | £3,281,000 | £935,129 | £2,112,974 | — | -£603,987 | £1,540,402 | |
| Cash | £6,776 | £2,140 | £229,460 | — | £3,579,479 | £10,308,316 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £42,119,763 | £43,624,858 | — | — | £45,510,931 | £45,962,454 | |
| Net assets | £39,496,348 | £39,798,566 | £41,278,629 | — | £43,722,977 | £44,643,062 | |
| Equity | — | — | — | £38,663,651 | £43,722,977 | £44,643,062 | |
| Average employees | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 298 | 334 | |
| Wages | £0 | £0 | £0 | — | £7,220,387 | £8,256,992 | |
| Directors' remuneration | — | — | — | — | £30,000 | £30,130 |
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
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-01-29 vs 2024-01-31
-
Turnover
+14.4%
£44,759,596 £51,188,964
-
Cash
+188%
£3,579,479 £10,308,316
highest in 5 filed years
-
Net assets
+2.1%
£43,722,977 £44,643,062
highest in 5 filed years
-
Employees
+12.1%
298 334
highest in 5 filed years
-
Operating profit
+21.2%
£2,120,845 £2,570,528
-
Profit before tax
+1,876%
-£167,798 £2,980,040
-
Wages
+14.4%
£7,220,387 £8,256,992
highest in 5 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 | Trend | 2020-01-31 | 2021-01-31 | 2022-01-31 | 2023-01-31 | 2024-01-31 | 2025-01-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | 4.7% | 5.0% | |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | -1.3% | 3.0% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | 4.7% | 5.6% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | — | — | — | — | 12.8% | 20.2% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | 4.05x | 2.77x | |
| Interest cover | — | — | — | — | 29.01x | 22.65x |
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
- Affirmed
“In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's and parent company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.”
Group structure
- MARK BIRKBECK & SONS LIMITED · parent
- M & L Birkbeck Property Limited 100%
- The House of Bruar Limited 100%
Significant events
- “The turnover for the company exceeded £50m for the first time achieving £51m, which is 15% higher than the previous year.”
- “Increase in direct shopping was larger than the growth for on site, resulting in direct shopping attributing nearly 60% of the overall turnover.”
- “The company printed its first USA focussed catalogue in the autumn of 2024, which was successful, and is now venturing into other countries.”
- “The future planning for the A9 dualling continues, although it would appear the start dates for the sections that cover The House of Bruar shop and the Ballinluig Distribution Centre have been delayed.”
- “The business needs to expand the direct shopping elements of the operation. The core of mail order fulfilment moved from the main site to Ballinluig.”
- “Plans to create a charging hub at Bruar, which will incorporate chargers of various speeds, facing network capacity and extreme costs to improve the network.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 1 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIRKBECK, Patrick Mark | Director | 2012-03-20 | Dec 1972 | British |
| BIRKBECK, Tom Mackenzie | Director | 2020-07-01 | Mar 1985 | British |
| MEIKLE, Gordon Cantley | Director | 2023-11-21 | Apr 1982 | British |
| MEIKLE, Lorna Kathleen | Director | 2023-11-21 | Jan 1976 | British |
Show 1 resigned officer
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIRKBECK, Mark Nigel Thomas | Director | 2012-03-20 | 2023-11-21 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Tom Mackenzie Birkbeck | Individual | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75%, Appoints directors | 2022-04-06 | Ceased 2022-04-06 |
| Mr Mark Nigel Thomas Birkbeck | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2022-04-06 | Active |
| Mr Mark Nigel Thomas Birkbeck | Individual | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2022-04-06 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 62 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-02 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-04-01 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-01-09 | AA01 | accounts | Change account reference date company previous shortened | |
| 2025-10-14 | AA01 | accounts | Change account reference date company previous shortened | |
| 2025-04-16 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-02-11 | DISS40 | gazette | Gazette filings brought up to date | |
| 2025-02-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-12-31 | GAZ1 | gazette | Gazette notice compulsory | |
| 2024-03-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2024-03-12 | DISS40 | gazette | Gazette filings brought up to date | |
| 2024-03-11 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-01-30 | GAZ1 | gazette | Gazette notice compulsory | |
| 2023-12-21 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-12-04 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-12-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-05-09 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-01-31 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-05-12 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2022-05-12 | PSC01 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2022-04-26 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change 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.