Fine Lady Bakeries Limited
Registered name: FINE LADY BAKERIES LIMITED
Part of Heygate & Sons Limited groupFine Lady Bakeries Limited made £164m revenue and £117k profit in the year to 29 Mar 2025.
Fine Lady Bakeries Limited’s revenue fell 12% to £164m in the year to 29 Mar 2025, with £117k profit and 739 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes” and is based in Northampton; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Northampton, East Midlands
- Age
- 78 yrs · since 1948
- Type
- Private Limited Company
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.
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 1 Apr 2023 | 30 Mar 2024 | 29 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £182m | £185m | £164m |
| Cost of sales | £157m | £160m | £140m |
| Gross profit | £25.2m | £25.2m | £23.8m |
| Operating profit | £4.8m | £3m | £2.6m |
| Profit before tax | £4.1m | £1.6m | £822k |
| Profit after tax | £3.7m | £1.1m | £117k |
| Profit (best available) | £3.7m | £1.1m | £117k |
| Employees (average) | 715 | 763 | 739 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | 2% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| Gross margin | 13.8% | 13.6% | 14.5% |
| Revenue per employee | £255k | £243k | £222k |
| Profit per employee | £5.2k | £1.5k | £158 |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲1.6% | ▼11.6% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼70% | ▼89.5% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲6.7% | ▼3.1% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Cash at bank | £414 | £546 | £242 |
| Net assets | £14.7m | £14.1m | £15.2m |
| Fixed assets | £31m | £34.7m | £43.9m |
| Current assets | £31m | £34.2m | £30.1m |
| Debtors | £22.3m | £21.7m | £18.1m |
| Deferred income | £2.6m | £2.4m | £3.3m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 0.1%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 14.5%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £222k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £158
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 26.8%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 2%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 11%
- 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
- ▲8%
- Now £15.2m
- Cash at bank
- ▼56%
- Now £242
- Headcount
- ▼3%
- Now 739
- Deferred income
- ▲34%
- Now £3.3m
- Fixed assets
- ▲26%
- Now £43.9m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Heygate & Sons Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Fine Lady Bakeries Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (1)
- Chiltern Bakeries LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (8)
- Heygates LimitedRev. £250m · Profit £10.8m
- Heygate Grain LimitedRev. £113m · Profit £248k
- Heygates Country Feeds LimitedRev. £37.4m · Profit £1.1m
- Heygate Engineering Company Limited(The)Rev. £15.2m · Profit £35.6k
- F.a.bird,(Downham Mills),limitedFigures not disclosed
- Heygate Animal Feeds LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Heygate Leasing Ltd.Figures not disclosed
- Warburton Estate Company LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 29 Mar 2025 (profit £117k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Dec 2025. 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.