CARLTON BOOKS LIMITED
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Cash
—
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
£1.8m
-59.2% lowest in 3 filed years
Employees
28
+12% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£2m
-51.3% first positive since 2023
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.
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 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £23,455,100 | £25,959,624 | £20,838,007 | -19.7% | |
| Operating profit | -£1,779,463 | £4,629,921 | £2,431,108 | -47.5% | |
| Profit before tax | -£2,676,753 | £4,154,033 | £2,022,108 | -51.3% | |
| Net profit | -£1,924,542 | £2,481,112 | £1,725,623 | -30.4% | |
| Cash | £39,445 | — | — | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £14,149,689 | — | — | — | |
| Net assets | £1,950,845 | £4,431,957 | £1,807,580 | -59.2% | |
| Equity | £1,950,845 | £4,431,957 | £1,807,580 | -59.2% | |
| Average employees | — | 25 | 28 | +12% | |
| Wages | — | £1,405,514 | £1,402,180 | -0.2% | |
| 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 —. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -7.6% | 17.8% | 11.7% | |
| Net margin | -8.2% | 9.6% | 8.3% | |
| Return on capital employed | -12.6% | — | — | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 92.1% | 75.0% | 78.8% | |
| Current ratio | 2.29x | 1.27x | 1.32x | |
| Interest cover | -1.98x | 9.73x | 5.94x |
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
- CARLTON BOOKS LIMITED 1995-03-08 → present
- CARLTON BOOKS LTD. 1991-11-29 → 1995-03-08
- CARLTONCO FORTY-ONE LIMITED 1991-06-28 → 1991-11-29
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Constantin
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“In assessing going concern, there was consideration of the potential impacts of high inflation on the Company's forecasts; the directors are satisfied that Company will be able to meet its obligations as they fall due and therefore that the going concern basis of preparation remains appropriate.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 26 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRIGHT, Dylan Matthew | Secretary | 2026-04-01 | — | — |
| KITSON, Richard David | Director | 2022-12-02 | Jun 1977 | British |
| SHELLEY, David Richard | Director | 2022-12-02 | Apr 1976 | British |
| WRIGHT, Dylan Matthew | Director | 2026-04-01 | Mar 1973 | British |
Show 26 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABDOO, David | Secretary | — | 2004-01-30 |
| DE CACQUERAY, Pierre | Secretary | 2022-12-02 | 2026-04-01 |
| RUGGIERO, Peter Alexander | Secretary | 2018-10-15 | 2019-12-31 |
| TAUTZ, Helen Jane | Secretary | 2004-01-30 | 2004-08-17 |
| WHITTON, Adrian Matthew | Secretary | 2004-08-17 | 2016-04-29 |
| ABDOO, David | Director | — | 1998-07-22 |
| ALLEN-JONES, Keith Ian | Director | 1995-11-13 | 2003-02-28 |
| CHAMBERS, Frank Robert | Director | 2013-12-09 | 2015-10-31 |
| CHANCE, Dean | Director | 2017-07-17 | 2019-04-01 |
| CORTEEL, Sarah Anne | Director | 2015-04-24 | 2019-04-01 |
| CRAGG, Bernard Anthony | Director | — | 1998-07-22 |
| DE CACQUERAY, Pierre | Director | 2022-12-02 | 2026-04-01 |
| EDELMAN, Keith Graeme | Director | — | 1993-06-29 |
| GOODMAN, Jonathan Richard | Director | — | 2019-04-01 |
| GOUGH, Jeremy David Erle | Director | 2015-06-01 | 2019-04-01 |
| GREENHOUGH, James Shanks | Director | 2002-11-01 | 2017-09-04 |
| INMAN, David Michael | Director | 2007-04-02 | 2008-12-09 |
| JENSEN, Anette Dal | Director | 2015-09-01 | 2017-09-08 |
| LEAVER, Marcus Edward | Director | 2019-04-01 | 2022-12-02 |
| MAYNARD, John Roger Martin | Director | — | 2007-06-30 |
| MURRAY HILL, Piers Auriol | Director | — | 2018-01-31 |
| PORTER, Russell James | Director | — | 2019-04-01 |
| RASMUSSEN, Belinda Ioni | Director | 2008-07-21 | 2011-10-14 |
| ROLLASON, William Peter | Director | 1998-07-22 | 1999-12-10 |
| SMITH, Mark Alexander | Director | 2019-04-01 | 2022-12-02 |
| WHITTON, Adrian Matthew | Director | 1993-06-08 | 2016-04-29 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Hachette Group Sa | Corporate entity | Shares 50–75% | 2024-12-16 | Active |
| Vivendi Se | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2023-12-01 | Ceased 2024-12-16 |
| Hachette Uk Ltd | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2022-12-02 | Active |
| Lagardère Sa | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2022-12-02 | Active |
| Hachette Uk (Holdings) Ltd | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2022-12-02 | Active |
| Welbeck Publishing Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors, Appoints directors (as firm) | 2019-04-01 | Active |
| Mortimer Books Ltd | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 195 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-04-07 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-04-01 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2026-04-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2026-04-01 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2025-10-31 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-31 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-10-31 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-08-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-15 | RP04CS01 | confirmation-statement | Second filing of confirmation statement with made up date | |
| 2024-11-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-25 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2024-10-25 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2024-10-25 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2024-10-25 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2024-08-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-01-23 | AD03 | address | Move registers to sail company with new address | |
| 2024-01-23 | AD02 | address | Change sail address company with new address | |
| 2024-01-22 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2023-10-31 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 8
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 2
- Officers resigned
- 2
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.