McLean & Appleton Limited
Registered name: MCLEAN & APPLETON LIMITED
Part of Lithia Motors, Inc. groupMcLean & Appleton Limited made £3.8m revenue and £7.6m profit in the year to 31 Jan 2025. read from filing text
McLean & Appleton Limited’s revenue grew 2% to £3.8m in the year to 31 Jan 2025, with £7.6m profit and 25 employees. The company is classified under “activities of head offices” and is based in Nottingham; we hold 2 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Nottingham, East Midlands
- Age
- 102 yrs · since 1924
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Pass-through vehicle. This looks like a holding, staffing or umbrella company. Its revenue and profit may largely pass through to or from other entities, so the figures may not reflect a standalone operating business. It is excluded from our opportunity lists.
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently. From the filing: “The company's parent is McLean”
Key figures
Unusual figures. Profit is higher than revenue in this filing. That usually means investment income, dividends from subsidiaries or one-off gains — or a mis-tagged figure. Check the original filing before drawing conclusions.
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Jan 2024 | 31 Jan 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||
| Revenue (turnover) | £3.7m | £3.8m |
| Cost of sales | £2.6m | £2.8m |
| Gross profit | £1.1m | £942k |
| Operating profit | £62.8k | −£1.1m |
| Profit before tax | £11.2m | £7.6m |
| Profit (best available) | £11.2m | £7.6m |
| Staff costs | £1.8m | £2.1m |
| Employees (average) | 23 | 25 |
| Ratios | ||
| Profit margin | 302% | 203.5% |
| Gross margin | 29.5% | 25.1% |
| Revenue per employee | £161k | £150k |
| Profit per employee | £485k | £305k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲1.6% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼31.6% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲8.7% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||
| Cash at bank | £3.1m | £302k |
| Net assets | £17.5m | £24.9m |
| Debtors | £28.8m | £35.3m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 203.5%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 25.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £150k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £305k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 940.1%
- 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
- ▲42%
- Now £24.9m
- Cash at bank
- ▼90%
- Now £302k
- Headcount
- ▲9%
- Now 25
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Lithia Motors, Inc. (registered outside the UK register)ultimate parent75–100%
- Lithia UK Holding Limited75–100%
- Pendragon Newco 2 Limited75–100%
- Stratstone Motor Holdings Limited75–100%
- Stratstone Limited75–100%
- McLean & Appleton (Holdings) Limited75–100%
- McLean & Appleton Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (4)
- Warrington Garages LimitedRev. £365m · Profit £9.8m
- Ernest W.hatfield,limitedFigures not disclosed
- Hatfields Garages LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Nationwide Motor Contracts LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Jan 2025 (profit £7.6m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jun 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 11 Oct 2026
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.