J.L. Priestley & Co. Limited
Registered name: J.L. PRIESTLEY & CO. LIMITED
Part of Kings Owen (Derbyshire) Ltd groupJ.L. Priestley & Co. Limited made £15.1m revenue and £855k profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025. read from filing text
J.L. Priestley & Co. Limited’s revenue fell 17% to £15.1m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £855k profit and 27 employees. The company is classified under “other processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables” and is based in Sleaford; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Sleaford, East Midlands
- Age
- 52 yrs · since 1974
- 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 company's immediate parent is Wilson & Bradford Limited. Re”
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&Lread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £18.9m | £21.6m | £18.2m | £15.1m |
| Cost of sales | £14.8m | £16.4m | £13.6m | £12m |
| Gross profit | £4m | £5.1m | £4.6m | £3.1m |
| Operating profit | £1.4m | £2.9m | £2.3m | £1.1m |
| Profit before tax | £1.2m | £2.7m | £2.1m | £990k |
| Profit after tax | £930k | £2.1m | £1.7m | £855k |
| Profit (best available) | £930k | £2.1m | £1.7m | £855k |
| Staff costs | £912k | £1m | £995k | £942k |
| Employees (average) | 19 | 21 | 25 | 27 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 4.9% | 9.9% | 9.3% | 5.6% |
| Gross margin | 21.4% | 23.8% | 25.3% | 20.5% |
| Revenue per employee | £993k | £1m | £729k | £561k |
| Profit per employee | £48.9k | £102k | £67.4k | £31.6k |
| Cash conversion | −109.5% | −118% | — | — |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲14.3% | ▼15.6% | ▼16.8% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲129.3% | ▼21% | ▼49.3% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲10.5% | ▲19.1% | ▲8% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £61.6k | £1.8k | £7.8k | £2k |
| Net assets | £1.7m | £3m | £4m | £4.4m |
| Fixed assets | £280k | £334k | £286k | £219k |
| Current assets | £6.7m | £8.3m | £10.2m | £12.4m |
| Debtors | £3.3m | £3.4m | £2.8m | £2.6m |
| Deferred income | — | — | £169k | £67.7k |
| Cash from operations | −£1.5m | −£3.4m | — | — |
| 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
- 5.6%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 20.5%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £561k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £31.6k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 1.5%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 0.4%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 16.9%
- 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
- ▲9%
- Now £4.4m
- Cash at bank
- ▼75%
- Now £2k
- Headcount
- ▲8%
- Now 27
- Deferred income
- ▼60%
- Now £67.7k
- Fixed assets
- ▼24%
- Now £219k
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
- Kings Owen (Derbyshire) Ltdultimate parent50–75%
- Wilson & Bradford Ltd75–100%
- J.L. Priestley & Co. Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (3)
- JLP Food Group LtdFigures not disclosed
- Tru Foods LtdRev. — · Profit −£179k
- Truology LtdFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
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- TCK Fresh Produce LimitedHayes · Other processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables
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- Staff
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £855k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 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.