James Lister & Sons Limited
Registered name: JAMES LISTER & SONS LIMITED
Part of James Lister Holdings Limited groupJames Lister & Sons Limited made £14.1m revenue and a £720 loss in the year to 30 Sep 2025.
James Lister & Sons Limited’s revenue fell 5% to £14.1m in the year to 30 Sep 2025, with a loss of £720 and 94 employees. The company is classified under “non-specialised wholesale trade” and is based in Smethwick Warley; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Smethwick Warley, West Midlands
- Age
- 69 yrs · since 1957
- 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 | 30 Sep 2022 | 30 Sep 2023 | 30 Sep 2024 | 30 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £14.3m | £15.4m | £14.9m | £14.1m |
| Cost of sales | £8.7m | £9.4m | £8.8m | £8.2m |
| Gross profit | £5.5m | £6m | £6.1m | £5.9m |
| Operating profit | £273k | £508k | £88k | −£1.6k |
| Profit before tax | £275k | £514k | £104k | £16.4k |
| Profit after tax | £247k | £414k | £59.1k | −£720 |
| Profit (best available) | £247k | £414k | £59.1k | −£720 |
| Staff costs | £3.1m | £3.2m | £3.4m | £3.4m |
| Employees (average) | 98 | 94 | 95 | 94 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.7% | 2.7% | 0.4% | 0% |
| Gross margin | 38.6% | 39.1% | 40.9% | 42% |
| Revenue per employee | £145k | £164k | £157k | £150k |
| Profit per employee | £2.5k | £4.4k | £622 | −£8 |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲8% | ▼3% | ▼5.4% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲67.8% | ▼85.7% | ▼101.2% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼4.1% | ▲1.1% | ▼1.1% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £685k | £1.3m | £815k | £612k |
| Net assets | £4.1m | £4.3m | £4.1m | £4.1m |
| Fixed assets | £390k | £414k | £752k | £682k |
| Current assets | £6.6m | £6.9m | £6.3m | £6m |
| Debtors | £3m | £2.9m | £2.9m | £2.9m |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Jan 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Jan 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data May 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Mar 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 0%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 42%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £150k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£8
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 4.8%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 20.7%
- 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
- ▼1%
- Now £4.1m
- Cash at bank
- ▼25%
- Now £612k
- Headcount
- ▼1%
- Now 94
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- ▼9%
- Now £682k
Group structure
Ownership chain
- James Lister Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- James Lister & Sons Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (3)
- JLS (Smethwick) Engineering LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Lister Supplies LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Lister Tube LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 30 Sep 2025 (profit −£720), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Mar 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.