ESP COLOUR LIMITED
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Cash
£1.2m
+477.6% highest in 6 filed years
Net assets
£1.8m
+40.7% vs 2024
Employees
141
-2.8% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£716k
+14.8% highest in 6 filed years
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
Insolvency history on file
Companies House holds prior insolvency events for this company. Detail and outcome on the official register.
Net assets
6-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
6-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £15,849,316 | £18,345,476 | £20,484,824 | £20,128,519 | £21,953,951 | £19,793,850 | -9.8% | |
| Operating profit | £265,382 | £654,136 | £442,525 | £747,172 | £1,041,876 | £685,995 | -34.2% | |
| Profit before tax | £127,807 | £495,502 | £213,763 | £443,676 | £623,240 | £715,630 | +14.8% | |
| Net profit | £127,807 | £407,505 | £213,763 | £237,061 | £532,505 | £516,063 | -3.1% | |
| Cash | £654,739 | £748,954 | £837,843 | £178,121 | £203,348 | £1,174,493 | +477.6% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £3,605,137 | £4,572,886 | £4,088,740 | £4,150,750 | £3,795,751 | £4,548,733 | +19.8% | |
| Net assets | £1,286,255 | £1,807,885 | £856,648 | £1,093,709 | £1,267,214 | £1,783,277 | +40.7% | |
| Equity | £1,286,255 | £1,807,885 | £856,648 | £1,093,709 | £1,267,214 | £1,783,277 | +40.7% | |
| Average employees | 136 | 141 | 140 | 133 | 145 | 141 | -2.8% | |
| Wages | £4,411,548 | £4,627,453 | £4,653,863 | £4,462,266 | £5,533,063 | £5,384,153 | -2.7% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £300,292 | £464,060 | £403,150 | £309,395 | £309,420 | £332,882 | +7.6% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | — | — | — | £23,792 | £24,200 | £25,133 | +3.9% | |
| Highest paid director | — | — | — | £106,484 | £105,034 | £109,681 | +4.4% |
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 | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 1.7% | 3.6% | 2.2% | 3.7% | 4.7% | 3.5% | |
| Net margin | 0.8% | 2.2% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 2.4% | 2.6% | |
| Return on capital employed | 7.4% | 14.3% | 10.8% | 18.0% | 27.4% | 15.1% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 83.0% | 82.3% | 91.3% | 88.8% | 87.5% | 81.0% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | 1.14x | 1.13x | 1.36x | |
| Interest cover | 1.93x | 4.74x | 1.93x | 2.46x | 2.97x | 1.76x |
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
- ESP COLOUR LIMITED 1999-10-19 → present
- SWINDON PRESS LIMITED 1999-01-12 → 1999-10-19
- SWINDON PRESS (MEDIA) LIMITED 1998-05-11 → 1999-01-12
- PREMIER FORM LIMITED 1998-02-19 → 1998-05-11
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Azets Audit Services
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”
Group structure
- ESP COLOUR LIMITED · parent
- Kingfisher Print and Design Limited 100%
Significant events
- “During September 2025, a fire destroyed one of the properties in use by the company, causing a loss on disposal of fixed assets of £279,105, lost stock of £540,930 and other exceptional costs of £257,356. Total insurance receipts of £1,500,000 were recognized.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 23 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORSEY, Ben Simeon | Secretary | 2021-12-20 | — | — |
| FORSEY, Ben | Director | 2022-11-17 | Jan 1982 | British |
| PURCHASE, Samuel Richard William | Director | 2021-01-28 | Sep 1984 | British |
| SMOGUR, Simon John | Director | 2015-01-01 | Dec 1986 | British |
Show 23 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUDSON, Paul Andrew | Secretary | 2018-10-26 | 2021-12-20 |
| O'CONNELL, Stephen James | Secretary | 2002-08-12 | 2014-12-31 |
| POSTLETHWAITE, Timothy John | Secretary | 1999-12-15 | 2002-03-19 |
| REDDAWAY, Neil Anthony | Secretary | 1998-03-05 | 1999-12-15 |
| SMOGUR, Simon John | Secretary | 2015-01-01 | 2018-10-26 |
| WAGSTAFF, Robert James | Secretary | 2002-03-19 | 2002-08-12 |
| CO FORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 1998-02-19 | 1998-03-05 |
| BRADLEY, Emma Jane | Director | 2018-11-05 | 2022-10-21 |
| BRADLEY, Paul Andrew | Director | 1998-03-05 | 2022-10-21 |
| BRADLEY, Sally | Director | 2008-06-24 | 2011-12-15 |
| JEFFERIES, Paul John | Director | 2000-11-14 | 2001-06-14 |
| LEE, Nick | Director | 2017-03-21 | 2020-09-15 |
| LOWNDES, John William | Director | 1998-06-01 | 2007-01-18 |
| LUCAS, Peter Andrew | Director | 2002-04-19 | 2009-09-18 |
| MULLIS, Geoffrey Stuart | Director | 2001-06-14 | 2009-09-18 |
| O'CONNELL, Stephen James | Director | 2003-02-14 | 2014-12-31 |
| POSTLETHWAITE, Timothy John | Director | 1999-11-18 | 2002-03-19 |
| REDDAWAY, Neil Anthony | Director | 1998-03-05 | 1999-10-03 |
| TESTER, Christopher Roger | Director | 1999-11-18 | 2002-01-31 |
| THIRLBY, Anthony | Director | 2006-05-18 | 2014-12-18 |
| WARRINGTON, Michael Anthony | Director | 1998-03-05 | 2009-09-18 |
| WELLS, Brian William | Director | 1998-04-27 | 2012-01-11 |
| CO FORM (NOMINEES) LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Director | 1998-02-19 | 1998-03-05 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esp Co Holdings Ltd | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100% | 2019-05-07 | Active |
| Mr Simon John Smogur | Individual | Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2019-05-07 |
| Mr Paul Andrew Bradley | Individual | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2019-05-07 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 209 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-06-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-12-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-06-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-12-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-06-27 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-09-29 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-06-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-11-30 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2022-11-17 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-11-07 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-11-07 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-09-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-06-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-01-03 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2022-01-03 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2021-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-06-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-01-28 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2021-01-28 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 3
- 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.