COLUMBUS TOPCO LIMITED
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Cash
—
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
—
Equity attributable
Employees
2,901
-11.5% lowest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
-£2m
-41.6% vs 2024
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.
-
Negative shareholders' funds
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 | £37,661,000 | £42,093,000 | £42,457,000 | +0.9% | |
| Operating profit | -£606,000 | £1,434,000 | £693,000 | -51.7% | |
| Profit before tax | -£3,160,000 | -£1,388,000 | -£1,966,000 | -41.6% | |
| Net profit | -£2,749,000 | -£1,528,000 | -£1,931,000 | -26.4% | |
| Cash | £644,000 | £1,745,000 | — | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £6,675,000 | -£2,779,000 | — | — | |
| Net assets | -£23,812,000 | -£25,341,000 | — | — | |
| Equity | — | — | — | — | |
| Average employees | 3,234 | 3,278 | 2,901 | -11.5% | |
| Wages | £22,182,000 | £24,566,000 | £24,794,000 | +0.9% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £904,000 | £1,095,000 | £1,154,000 | +5.4% | |
| Directors' pension contributions | £43,000 | £57,000 | £62,000 | +8.8% | |
| Highest paid director | £290,000 | £306,000 | £306,000 | 0% |
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 | -1.6% | 3.4% | 1.6% | |
| Net margin | -7.3% | -3.6% | -4.5% | |
| Return on capital employed | -9.1% | — | — | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 277.7% | 291.9% | — | |
| Current ratio | 0.59x | 0.29x | — | |
| Interest cover | -0.24x | 0.50x | 0.26x |
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
- Crowe U.K. LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis... the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements”
Group structure
- COLUMBUS TOPCO LIMITED · parent
- Columbus Midco Limited 100%
- Columbus Bidco Limited 100%
- Explore Learning Limited 100%
- Explore Horizons Incorporated 100%
Significant events
- “On 28 March 2025, the end date of all unsecured notes was extended to 31 October 2029.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
7 active · 10 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TITCOMB, Paul Andrew | Secretary | 2025-07-29 | — | — |
| CANDOLFI, Yaelle | Director | 2024-06-13 | Jan 1979 | Swiss |
| HAYCOX, Lisa Marie | Director | 2016-01-26 | Apr 1981 | British |
| KELLY, David Thomas | Director | 2021-07-19 | Sep 1963 | British,Irish |
| LIGHT, Craig Jonathan | Director | 2014-04-01 | Jun 1979 | British |
| MILLS, William Stabb | Director | 2012-08-15 | Oct 1966 | British |
| REYNOLDS, Richard Zak | Director | 2023-03-29 | Oct 1988 | British |
Show 10 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTIN, Toby Warwick | Secretary | 2019-07-24 | 2025-07-29 |
| COTTERILL, Susan | Secretary | 2014-01-17 | 2015-12-31 |
| EVERARD, Lucy Jane | Secretary | 2017-10-13 | 2019-07-24 |
| GILES, Simon Kenneth | Secretary | 2012-08-22 | 2014-01-17 |
| OSBORN, Matthew John | Secretary | 2016-01-01 | 2017-07-27 |
| RICHARDS, Hayleigh Claire | Secretary | 2017-07-27 | 2017-10-13 |
| GILES, Simon Kenneth | Director | 2012-08-15 | 2014-01-17 |
| HICKS, Robert Cerdic William | Director | 2012-08-15 | 2017-12-31 |
| KELSEY, Alan | Director | 2013-09-24 | 2020-12-31 |
| SCOTT, Catriona Jane | Director | 2018-07-01 | 2023-08-03 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr William Stabb Mills | Individual | Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2026-08-31 |
| Graphite Capital General Partner Vii Llp | Corporate entity | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75%, Appoints directors, Significant influence | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 103 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2025-09-22 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
- 2025-09-22 MA Memorandum articles
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-09 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2026-09-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-08-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-09-22 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2025-09-22 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2025-09-12 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2025-08-22 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-08-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-08-06 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2025-08-06 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2025-04-07 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-08-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2024-06-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-06-20 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-06-20 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-06-20 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-06-20 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-06-20 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-08-21 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 4
- 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.