Penguin Books Limited
Registered name: PENGUIN BOOKS LIMITED
Part of Bertelsmann UK Limited groupPenguin Books Limited made £280m revenue and £50.8m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025.
Penguin Books Limited’s revenue grew 13% to £280m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £50.8m profit and 870 employees. The company is classified under “book publishing” and is based in London; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 61 yrs · since 1965
- 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 | 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) | £241m | £231m | £247m | £280m |
| Cost of sales | £112m | £109m | £109m | £133m |
| Gross profit | £128m | £122m | £138m | £147m |
| Operating profit | £41.2m | £29.1m | £39m | £44.2m |
| Profit before tax | £38.9m | £51m | £56.5m | £62.9m |
| Profit after tax | £30.5m | £43.3m | £45.8m | £50.8m |
| Profit (best available) | £30.5m | £43.3m | £45.8m | £50.8m |
| Staff costs | £58.6m | £61.1m | £54.5m | £56m |
| Employees (average) | 928 | 869 | 792 | 870 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 12.7% | 18.8% | 18.5% | 18.2% |
| Gross margin | 53.3% | 52.8% | 55.9% | 52.4% |
| Revenue per employee | £259k | £266k | £312k | £322k |
| Profit per employee | £32.8k | £49.9k | £57.8k | £58.4k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼4.1% | ▲7% | ▲13.2% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲42.2% | ▲5.6% | ▲11.1% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼6.4% | ▼8.9% | ▲9.8% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £46k | £549k | £7.2m | £124k |
| Net assets | £139m | £143m | £139m | £145m |
| Fixed assets | £25.5m | £22.7m | £11.3m | £10.6m |
| Current assets | £251m | £262m | £243m | £243m |
| Debtors | £3.5m | £4m | £243k | £251k |
| Deferred income | £34.6m | £34.1m | £27.6m | £22.5m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 18.2%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 52.4%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £322k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £58.4k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 3.8%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 8%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 0.1%
- 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
- ▲4%
- Now £145m
- Cash at bank
- ▼98%
- Now £124k
- Headcount
- ▲10%
- Now 870
- Deferred income
- ▼18%
- Now £22.5m
- Fixed assets
- ▼7%
- Now £10.6m
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
- Bertelsmann UK Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Penguin Random House Limited75–100%
- Penguin Books Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (9)
- Ladybird Books LimitedRev. £35m · Profit £4.2m
- Frederick Warne & Co LimitedRev. £16.5m · Profit £6.9m
- Ventura Publishing LimitedRev. £2.5m · Profit £977k
- Children's Character Books LimitedRev. £881k · Profit −£676k
- Snowman Enterprises LimitedRev. £757k · Profit £541k
- Allen Lane the Penguin Press LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Hamish Hamilton LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Michael Joseph LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Penguin Pension Trustee LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (18)
- The Random House Group LimitedRev. £275m · Profit £19.4m
- Dorling Kindersley LimitedRev. £116m · Profit −£8.7m
- Little Tiger Press LimitedRev. £31.5m · Profit £1.9m
- Hay House UK LimitedRev. £15.6m · Profit £2m
- PRH International Services LimitedRev. £4.3m · Profit £155k
- Caterpillar Books LtdFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 0 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 1 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 2 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 3 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 4 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 5 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 6 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 7 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 8 LimitedRev. — · Profit −£63.4k
- Hugo's Language Books LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Stripes Publishing LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Yeti Bidco LimitedRev. — · Profit −£1.5m
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £50.8m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 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.