Ovenden Papers Limited
Registered name: OVENDEN PAPERS LIMITED
Ovenden Papers Limited made £37.9m revenue and a £1.3m loss in the year to 31 Mar 2025.
Ovenden Papers Limited’s revenue fell 17% to £37.9m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with a loss of £1.3m and 54 employees. The company is classified under “wholesale of other intermediate products” and is based in Brighton; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- In Administration
- Location
- Brighton, South East
- Age
- 82 yrs · since 1943
- 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 Mar 2022 | 31 Mar 2023 | 31 Mar 2024 | 31 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £34.1m | £45.2m | £45.8m | £37.9m |
| Cost of sales | £27.9m | £37.6m | £38.7m | −£32.6m |
| Gross profit | £6.1m | £7.6m | £7.1m | £5.4m |
| Operating profit | £703k | £1.4m | £879k | −£688k |
| Profit before tax | £560k | £884k | £40k | −£1.3m |
| Profit after tax | £586k | £931k | £28.4k | −£1.3m |
| Profit (best available) | £586k | £931k | £28.4k | −£1.3m |
| Staff costs | £3m | £3.1m | £2.8m | — |
| Employees (average) | 55 | 55 | 52 | 54 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.7% | 2.1% | 0.1% | −3.3% |
| Gross margin | 18% | 16.8% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
| Revenue per employee | £620k | £822k | £881k | £702k |
| Profit per employee | £10.6k | £16.9k | £547 | −£23.2k |
| Cash conversion | 276.6% | 257.4% | −410.3% | — |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲32.6% | ▲1.4% | ▼17.3% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲58.9% | ▼97% | ▼4514% |
| Headcount growth | — | 0% | ▼5.5% | ▲3.9% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £105k | £59k | £50.1k | — |
| Net assets | £3.6m | £4.5m | £4.6m | — |
| Fixed assets | £259k | £234k | £139k | — |
| Current assets | £14m | £21.3m | £16.5m | — |
| Debtors | £9.7m | £14m | £11.2m | — |
| Deferred income | £378k | £390k | £134k | — |
| Cash from operations | £1.9m | £3.7m | −£3.6m | — |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Apr 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −3.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 14.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £702k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£23.2k
- 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
- —
- 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
- —
- Now —
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- ▲4%
- Now 54
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Subsidiaries (2)
- Davies Harvey and Murrell Group LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Ovendens UK LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit −£1.3m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Apr 2026. 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.