James Hall and Company Limited
Registered name: JAMES HALL AND COMPANY LIMITED
Part of James Hall and Company (Holdings) Limited groupJames Hall and Company Limited made £700m revenue and £12m profit in the year to 24 Mar 2025. read from filing text
James Hall and Company Limited’s revenue fell 6% to £700m in the year to 24 Mar 2025, with £12m profit and 998 employees. The company is classified under “non-specialised wholesale trade” and is based in Preston; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Preston, North West
- Age
- 55 yrs · since 1971
- 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. From the filing: “The immediate and ultimate parent company of James Hall and Company Limited is James Hall and Company (Holdings) Limited, a company registered in England and Wales.”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 24 Mar 2022 | 24 Mar 2023 | 24 Mar 2024 | 24 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £627m | £724m | £742m | £700m |
| Cost of sales | £533m | £612m | £618m | £583m |
| Gross profit | £94.1m | £112m | £124m | £117m |
| Operating profit | £7.5m | £10.7m | £10.3m | £1.2m |
| Profit before tax | £10.1m | £14.2m | £12.9m | £12.4m |
| Profit after tax | £9.1m | £12.5m | £10.5m | £12m |
| Profit (best available) | £9.1m | £12.5m | £10.5m | £12m |
| Staff costs | £31m | £34m | £37.3m | £38.7m |
| Employees (average) | 971 | 976 | 1,017 | 998 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.7% |
| Gross margin | 15% | 15.5% | 16.8% | 16.7% |
| Revenue per employee | £646k | £742k | £730k | £702k |
| Profit per employee | £9.4k | £12.8k | £10.3k | £12.1k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲15.5% | ▲2.5% | ▼5.6% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲36.7% | ▼15.6% | ▲14.4% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲0.5% | ▲4.2% | ▼1.9% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £7.6m | £14.6m | £20.5m | £18.8m |
| Net assets | £92.2m | £105m | £115m | £127m |
| Fixed assets | £78.1m | £80.8m | £82.7m | £83.3m |
| Current assets | £156m | £182m | £181m | £196m |
| Debtors | £17.7m | £16.6m | £11.5m | £13.2m |
| Deferred income | £16.8m | £19.1m | £26.1m | £37.6m |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 1.7%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 16.7%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £702k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £12.1k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 11.9%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 5.4%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 1.9%
- 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
- ▲10%
- Now £127m
- Cash at bank
- ▼8%
- Now £18.8m
- Headcount
- ▼2%
- Now 998
- Deferred income
- ▲44%
- Now £37.6m
- Fixed assets
- ▲1%
- Now £83.3m
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
- James Hall and Company (Holdings) Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- James Hall and Company Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (23)
- G.& E.murgatroyd LimitedRev. £25.7m · Profit £0
- G&e Murgatroyd North East Convenience Stores LimitedRev. £24.6m · Profit £0
- Gap Convenience Distribution LimitedRev. £22.1m · Profit £936k
- Clayton Park Bakery LimitedRev. £18.8m · Profit £1m
- Alston Dairy LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Cheeky Coffee LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Clayton Bakeries LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Evergreen General Partner LimitedRev. — · Profit £400
- Fazila Foods LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Fazila Frozen Foods LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Fill N' Go LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Food N' Go LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Gap Convenience LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Graham Eyes High Class Butchers LtdFigures not disclosed
- James Hall and Company (Southport) LimitedFigures not disclosed
- James Hall LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Marine Supplies Direct LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Marine Supplies LimitedFigures not disclosed
- North East Convenience Stores LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Straight 2 You U.K. LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Straight to You LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Surge Fuel LimitedFigures not disclosed
- The Great Northern Sandwich Company LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (3)
- Evergreen Pension Trustees LimitedFigures not disclosed
- James Hall and Company (Services) LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Telspar 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 24 Mar 2025 (profit £12m), 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.