COGNITA SCHOOLS LIMITED
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Cash
£109K
-99.8% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
-£11M
-471.8% lowest in 3 filed years
Employees
2,549
+4.5% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
-£18M
-228% lowest in 3 filed years
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Annual accounts overdue
Due 2026-05-31.
-
Negative shareholders' funds
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2024-08-31
| Metric | Trend | 2022-08-31 | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £164,667,000 | £179,203,000 | £193,349,000 | +7.9% | |
| Operating profit | £8,012,000 | £2,340,000 | -£9,580,000 | -509.4% | |
| Profit before tax | £2,508,000 | -£5,478,000 | -£17,966,000 | -228% | |
| Net profit | £5,160,000 | -£4,540,000 | -£14,954,000 | -229.4% | |
| Cash | £11,610,000 | £53,573,000 | £109,000 | -99.8% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £171,653,000 | £184,082,000 | £181,645,000 | -1.3% | |
| Net assets | £23,160,000 | £2,939,000 | -£10,928,000 | -471.8% | |
| Equity | £23,160,000 | £2,939,000 | -£10,928,000 | -471.8% | |
| Average employees | 2,366 | 2,439 | 2,549 | +4.5% | |
| Wages | £73,684,000 | £78,287,000 | £85,112,000 | +8.7% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £1,754,000 | £871,000 | £882,000 | +1.3% |
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 | 2022-08-31 | 2023-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.9% | 1.3% | -5.0% | |
| Net margin | 3.1% | -2.5% | -7.7% | |
| Return on capital employed | 4.7% | 1.3% | -5.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 91.3% | 99.0% | 103.5% | |
| Current ratio | 0.84x | 0.58x | 0.74x | |
| Interest cover | 1.45x | 0.30x | -1.14x |
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 3 times since incorporation
- COGNITA SCHOOLS LIMITED 2005-09-14 → present
- ASQUITH COURT SCHOOLS LIMITED 1992-04-28 → 2005-09-14
- ASQUITH COURT LIMITED 1988-12-30 → 1992-04-28
- FIXEQUAL LIMITED 1988-11-04 → 1988-12-30
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The directors have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the Company or to cease its operations, and as they have concluded that the Company's financial position means that this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over its ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements ('the going concern period').”
Group structure
- COGNITA SCHOOLS LIMITED · parent
- Super Camps Limited 100%
- St Nicholas Preparatory School Limited 100%
Significant events
- “A collaboration between Cognita and Alleyn's will see North Bridge House Regent's Park Preparatory School become Alleyn's Regents Park, due to open in September 2025 and North Bridge House School Hampstead will open a junior section in addition to its nursery, pre-prep, senior and sixth form divisions to become Alleyn's Hampstead, scheduled to open in September 2026. Cognita will be investing in the development and renovation of both campuses.”
- “Under the newly elected UK Government, it was announced that VAT would need to be applied to private school fees from 1 January 2025. The technical note provided, covered the following main points: As of 1 January 2025, all education services supplied by a private school for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.”
- “Towards the end of FY24, the Group initiated a strategic review of its UK schools portfolio. The outcome of the review was that, as a Global schools network, Cognita is best placed to serve our larger schools operating in the Greater London area... After much consideration, in January 2025, it was proposed that Oxford House School would be closed... In May 2025, Cognita proposed to close a further 3 schools... Two schools (Long Close School and Polam School) were sold on 1 September 2025... The Company also sold a further 14 schools in the UK portfolio to Blenheim Schools... On 1 May 2026 an agreement to sell a further four schools... was signed with the transaction due to complete later in 2026.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 33 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMW SECRETARIES LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2005-02-07 | — | — |
| DRAKE, Michael John | Director | 2022-02-01 | Oct 1963 | British |
| PINCHBECK, Jayne Koh | Director | 2018-12-10 | Dec 1980 | British |
| WILLIAMS, Oliver Charles William | Director | 2023-02-08 | Apr 1983 | British |
Show 33 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| HARVEY, Neil | Secretary | 1994-08-25 | 1995-03-27 |
| HENDRIE, Neal Malcolm | Secretary | 2004-10-31 | 2004-11-29 |
| MARTIN, Gillian Carol | Secretary | 1995-03-27 | 1999-07-09 |
| MERCER, Kevin | Secretary | 2016-03-02 | 2017-07-31 |
| NARUNSKY, Gary Howard | Secretary | 2004-11-29 | 2005-02-07 |
| PENNELL, Sara Lilian | Secretary | — | 1994-08-25 |
| RING, Ronald Arthur | Secretary | 1999-07-09 | 2004-10-31 |
| AUGHTERSON, Peter William | Director | 1994-01-07 | 2002-11-11 |
| BEAUMONT, Mark | Director | — | 1993-06-13 |
| CROSS, Jean | Director | 1999-06-04 | 2004-11-29 |
| DRAKE, Michael John | Director | 2020-05-06 | 2021-09-30 |
| ELLIS, Roger Wykeham | Director | — | 1999-05-08 |
| HENDRIE, Neal | Director | 2003-10-03 | 2004-11-29 |
| HOARE, David Alexander | Director | — | 1994-01-07 |
| HUDSON, James Kingsley | Director | 2005-04-20 | 2011-02-28 |
| HYSLOP, Edward James | Director | 2015-02-05 | 2015-03-18 |
| JANSEN, Christopher Trevor Peter | Director | 2015-12-14 | 2021-09-30 |
| JEFFERY, Nigel Trevor | Director | 1992-10-01 | 1993-09-01 |
| MABBUTT, Ian Porter | Director | 2004-06-15 | 2004-11-29 |
| MILLMAN, Stuart Paul | Director | 2020-05-06 | 2021-09-28 |
| NARUNSKY, Gary Howard | Director | 2004-11-29 | 2015-01-06 |
| PEARCE, David | Director | 2015-11-02 | 2016-04-28 |
| RATCLIFFE, Daniel Peter | Director | 2021-09-30 | 2022-02-01 |
| RHODES, Phillip Baverstock | Director | 2002-11-11 | 2004-11-29 |
| RING, Ronald Arthur | Director | 1999-06-04 | 2004-10-06 |
| ROLLAND, Stuart Stacy | Director | 2016-04-04 | 2022-02-01 |
| SMITH, Lindsay Alexandra, Mrs | Director | 2022-02-01 | 2022-10-28 |
| SMITH, Lindsay Alexandra, Mrs | Director | 2020-05-06 | 2021-09-24 |
| SOSKIN, David Gideon Frank Aurele Xavier | Director | — | 1999-05-04 |
| UZIELLI, Michael | Director | 2016-06-17 | 2022-06-01 |
| VIALOU-CLARK, Henry Max | Director | 2015-09-01 | 2016-03-10 |
| VILLA, Dean Vincent John | Director | 2004-11-29 | 2018-12-10 |
| WITHERS, Rees | Director | 2004-11-29 | 2015-12-14 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognita Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2018-02-12 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 419 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-05-29 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-05-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-02-04 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-06-19 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-05-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-25 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2023-06-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-05-24 | AA01 | accounts | Change account reference date company previous extended | |
| 2023-05-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-02-10 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-11-15 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2022-11-02 | DISS40 | gazette | Gazette filings brought up to date | |
| 2022-11-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-11-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-10-25 | GAZ1 | gazette | Gazette notice compulsory | |
| 2022-10-22 | DISS16(SOAS) | dissolution | Dissolved compulsory strike off suspended | |
| 2022-09-23 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-06-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-06-14 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 2
- 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.