AUTOMATIC RETAILING (NORTHERN) LIMITED
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Cash
£3.9m
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
£23m
highest in 3 filed years
Employees
86
Average over period
Profit before tax
£8.3m
Period ending 2025-12-31
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
3 officer resignations in last 12 months
Multiple officers have left the board recently — see the People section for who.
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-10-31 | 2024-10-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £124,784,000 | £126,928,000 | £152,541,000 | — | |
| Operating profit | £6,839,000 | £6,793,000 | £9,245,000 | — | |
| Profit before tax | £6,247,000 | £6,104,000 | £8,349,000 | — | |
| Net profit | £4,845,000 | £4,569,000 | £6,271,000 | — | |
| Cash | — | £670,000 | £3,875,000 | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £20,415,000 | £23,173,000 | £23,525,000 | — | |
| Net assets | £18,167,000 | £20,736,000 | £23,008,000 | — | |
| Equity | £18,167,000 | £20,736,000 | £23,008,000 | — | |
| Average employees | 86 | 86 | 86 | — | |
| Wages | £3,621,000 | £3,755,000 | £4,199,000 | — | |
| 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 —. Year-on-year comparison hidden: this filing covers about 14 months versus 12 months prior. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-10-31 | 2024-10-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 5.5% | 5.4% | 6.1% | |
| Net margin | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.1% | |
| Return on capital employed | 33.5% | 29.3% | 39.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 51.9% | 56.9% | 54.3% | |
| Current ratio | 1.94x | 1.74x | 1.78x | |
| Interest cover | 11.55x | 9.86x | 10.32x |
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 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The directors believe it remains appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis based on their inquiries. The parent undertaking (Kitwave Group Ltd) has confirmed their intention to provide financial support to the company as needed to pay their liabilities for at least 12 months.”
Significant events
- “On 22 January 2026, the boards of Kitwave and OEP Capital Advisors (via Kite UK BidCo Limited 'BidCo') announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition to which BidCo would acquire the entire issued share capital of Kitwave.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
3 active · 15 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EARL, Mark | Secretary | 2026-03-12 | — | — |
| EARL, Mark | Director | 2026-03-12 | Nov 1985 | British |
| MAXTED, Ben | Director | 2022-01-03 | Dec 1983 | British |
Show 15 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRIND, David | Secretary | 2022-08-22 | 2026-03-12 |
| BURCH, Quentin Slade | Secretary | 1992-01-27 | 1993-08-02 |
| MOFFAT, Julie Catherine | Secretary | 2001-02-28 | 2008-09-30 |
| TEMPLEMAN, Wendy Margaret | Secretary | 2008-09-30 | 2011-09-30 |
| TEMPLEMAN, William Neil | Secretary | 1993-08-02 | 2001-02-28 |
| TILLARD, Richard | Secretary | — | 1992-01-27 |
| BRIND, David Leonard | Director | 2011-09-30 | 2026-03-12 |
| BURCH, Quentin Slade | Director | — | 1993-08-02 |
| HOPE, John Frederick | Director | 2016-11-14 | 2026-06-05 |
| NEAL, Gary Philip | Director | 2006-03-24 | 2007-11-26 |
| RICE, Patricia Ada | Director | 2011-09-30 | 2022-08-22 |
| RUDGE, Damien Wladyslaw Joseph | Director | — | 2008-04-03 |
| TEMPLEMAN, Wendy Margaret | Director | 2008-10-09 | 2011-09-30 |
| TEMPLEMAN, William Neil | Director | — | 2011-09-30 |
| YOUNG, Paul Victor | Director | 2011-09-30 | 2024-03-22 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Paul Victor Young | Individual | Significant influence, Significant influence (as firm) | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2016-04-06 |
| Kitwave Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 176 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-07-29 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-07-27 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2026-06-08 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-04-01 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2026-04-01 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2026-03-12 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-03-12 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2026-03-12 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2026-03-12 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-11-14 | AA01 | accounts | Change account reference date company current extended | |
| 2025-09-01 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-03-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-10-03 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-07-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-04-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-03-28 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-08-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-05-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-12-14 | 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
- 11
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 2
- Officers resigned
- 3
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.