George Bence & Sons Limited
Registered name: GEORGE BENCE & SONS LIMITED
George Bence & Sons Limited made £19.2m revenue and a £292k loss in the year to 31 Dec 2025.
George Bence & Sons Limited’s revenue fell 7% to £19.2m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with a loss of £292k and 95 employees. The company is classified under “agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials” and is based in Cheltenham; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Cheltenham, South West
- Age
- 127 yrs · since 1899
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Dec 2022 | 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £20.6m | £19.8m | £20.7m | £19.2m |
| Cost of sales | £14.8m | £14.3m | £15.4m | £14.4m |
| Gross profit | £5.8m | £5.5m | £5.3m | £4.7m |
| Operating profit | £519k | £213k | −£144k | −£700k |
| Profit before tax | £495k | £184k | −£150k | −£732k |
| Profit after tax | £384k | £113k | −£143k | −£292k |
| Profit (best available) | £384k | £113k | −£143k | −£292k |
| Staff costs | £3.7m | £3.7m | £3.7m | £3.8m |
| Employees (average) | 100 | 98 | 99 | 95 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.9% | 0.6% | −0.7% | −1.5% |
| Gross margin | 28.2% | 27.7% | 25.7% | 24.7% |
| Revenue per employee | £206k | £202k | £209k | £202k |
| Profit per employee | £3.8k | £1.2k | −£1.4k | −£3.1k |
| Cash conversion | −77.2% | 158.6% | — | — |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼3.8% | ▲4.5% | ▼7.3% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼70.6% | ▼226.8% | — |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼2% | ▲1% | ▼4% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £200k | £296k | £39.2k | £26.9k |
| Net assets | £7.2m | £7.3m | £7.1m | £6.8m |
| Fixed assets | £7m | £6.9m | £7.6m | £7.4m |
| Current assets | £1.4m | £1.3m | £660k | £521k |
| Debtors | £2.3m | £2.8m | £2.8m | £2.4m |
| Cash from operations | −£400k | £337k | −£320k | £223k |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −1.5%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 24.7%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £202k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£3.1k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 38.6%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 12.5%
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▼4%
- Now £6.8m
- Cash at bank
- ▼31%
- Now £26.9k
- Headcount
- ▼4%
- Now 95
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- ▼2%
- Now £7.4m
Group structure
Subsidiaries (3)
- George Bence & Sons (Cheltenham) LimitedRev. £19.2m · Profit −£284k
- George Bence & Sons (Properties) LimitedFigures not disclosed
- George Bence & Sons (Tewkesbury) LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- D McNair (Builders Merchants) LimitedGlasgow · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £19.2m
- Profit
- £673k
- Staff
- 70
- Gardner & Scardifield LimitedWest Sussex · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £19.3m
- Profit
- £140k
- Staff
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- Independent Slate Supplies LimitedSaltash · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £18.8m
- Profit
- £968k
- Staff
- 28
- All About Bricks LimitedAlfreton · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £19.8m
- Profit
- £1.5m
- Staff
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- Hughes Forrest LimitedSouth Wales · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £19.9m
- Profit
- £754k
- Staff
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- Blue Bay Building Products LimitedWarwick · Agents involved in the sale of timber and building materials
- Revenue
- £18.4m
- Profit
- £1.1m
- Staff
- 46
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit −£292k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.