EAST SUSSEX PRESS LIMITED
East Sussex Press Limited is a commercial printing and publishing business operating as part of the Pureprint Group.
Get an alert when EAST SUSSEX PRESS LIMITED files next
Leroy will email you the moment a new filing lands at Companies House — one short note per filing, nothing else.
Cash
£1.3m
+57.4% vs 2024
Net assets
£474k
-42.3% lowest in 3 filed years
Employees
542
+26% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£19k
-98.2% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Industrials 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 | £71,892,484 | £72,919,425 | £82,098,096 | +12.6% | |
| Operating profit | £4,221,947 | £1,939,114 | £1,055,150 | -45.6% | |
| Profit before tax | £3,591,488 | £1,076,592 | £19,083 | -98.2% | |
| Net profit | £2,641,694 | £589,551 | £1,881 | -99.7% | |
| Cash | £1,491,742 | £822,659 | £1,294,462 | +57.4% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £8,186,823 | £8,484,110 | £8,079,664 | -4.8% | |
| Net assets | £2,420,320 | £821,335 | £474,216 | -42.3% | |
| Equity | £2,420,320 | £821,335 | £474,216 | -42.3% | |
| Average employees | 412 | 430 | 542 | +26% | |
| Wages | £18,139,656 | £20,021,868 | £22,991,330 | +14.8% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £947,584 | £1,301,472 | £1,327,748 | +2% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £71,505 | £121,208 | £132,393 | +9.2% | |
| Highest paid director | £340,075 | £355,325 | £290,000 | -18.4% |
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 | 5.9% | 2.7% | 1.3% | |
| Net margin | 3.7% | 0.8% | 0.0% | |
| Return on capital employed | 51.6% | 22.9% | 13.1% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 91.1% | 97.5% | 98.6% | |
| Current ratio | 0.97x | 0.84x | 0.82x | |
| Interest cover | 6.70x | 2.25x | 1.02x |
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
- Hazlewoods LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“After reviewing the company's forecasts and projections, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”
Group structure
- EAST SUSSEX PRESS LIMITED · parent
- Pureprint Group Limited 100%
- Screaming Colour Limited 100%
- Imprint Creative Print Solutions Limited 100%
- Perfect Screen Print Limited 100%
- Headford Digital Limited 51%
- Ashford Colour Limited 100%
Significant events
- “During the year, the Group acquired the business and assets of the former Simpson Print operation from administration.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
8 active · 14 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMITH, Brian Derek | Secretary | 2021-09-10 | — | — |
| BULLIVANT, David John | Director | 2019-02-25 | Nov 1968 | British |
| HANDFORD, Mark William | Director | 1993-11-18 | May 1965 | British |
| KASMANI, Zahir | Director | 2021-07-09 | Jul 1989 | British |
| NASH, Andrew John | Director | 2014-12-19 | May 1957 | British |
| OSBORNE, Richard James | Director | 2014-12-19 | Feb 1962 | British |
| SMITH, Brian Derek | Director | 2021-09-10 | Nov 1975 | British |
| TUCKER, Bridget Mary | Director | 1993-11-18 | Jan 1967 | British |
Show 14 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| TUCKER, Bridget Mary | Secretary | 1993-11-18 | 2021-09-10 |
| WATKINS, Margaret Mary | Nominee Secretary | 1993-11-17 | 1993-11-18 |
| BROWN, Ian | Director | 2014-12-19 | 2020-08-31 |
| BRYANT, Mark Gunnar | Director | 2017-08-04 | 2020-08-26 |
| COCKBURN, Laura Frances | Director | 2020-08-26 | 2021-07-06 |
| ERICKSON, Alex Francis | Director | 2020-01-28 | 2021-09-10 |
| FROGBROOK, Nicholas Edward | Director | 2019-03-27 | 2020-01-28 |
| HANDFORD, Edward Frederick | Director | 1993-11-18 | 2002-05-24 |
| HANDFORD, Georgina | Director | 1993-11-18 | 1993-12-21 |
| MCCOLLUM, Angela Jean | Nominee Director | 1993-11-17 | 1993-11-18 |
| SIMON, Jonathan Marc | Director | 2014-12-19 | 2016-06-02 |
| THIRLBY, Anthony Dennis | Director | 2015-08-06 | 2016-03-22 |
| VINSON, Jane Elizabeth | Director | 2017-05-02 | 2017-08-04 |
| WILSON, Joseph Patrick | Director | 2016-06-02 | 2017-05-02 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bgf Investment Management Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2017-10-04 | Active |
| Bgf Investment Management Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2017-10-04 |
| Mr Mark William Handford | Individual | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 167 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-25 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-09-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-06-20 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2026-01-21 | ANNOTATION | miscellaneous | Legacy | |
| 2026-01-21 | ANNOTATION | miscellaneous | Legacy | |
| 2026-01-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2026-01-14 | RP01AP01 | officers | Replacement filing of director appointment with name | |
| 2025-11-19 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-09-29 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-11-18 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-09-25 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-11-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-06-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-03-28 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2023-03-27 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2023-03-08 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2023-03-08 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2023-03-08 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2022-11-30 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-11-30 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 8
- 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.