Charles Wilson Engineers Limited
Registered name: CHARLES WILSON ENGINEERS LIMITED
Part of Gallagher Investments Limited groupCharles Wilson Engineers Limited made £81.9m revenue and £10.1m profit in the year to 30 Apr 2025. read from filing text
Charles Wilson Engineers Limited’s revenue grew 4% to £81.9m in the year to 30 Apr 2025, with £10.1m profit and 385 employees. The company is classified under “renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment” and is based in ST Albans; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- ST Albans, East of England
- Age
- 48 yrs · since 1978
- 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 Directors consider that the immediate parent undertaking of the Company is Matthew Investments Limited and the ultimate parent undertaking to be Shrewsbury Holdings Limited, a company incorporated”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Apr 2022 | 30 Apr 2023 | 30 Apr 2024 | 30 Apr 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) | £67.7m | £83.8m | £78.9m | £81.9m |
| Cost of sales | £38.1m | £38.9m | £35.3m | £46.6m |
| Gross profit | £29.6m | £44.9m | £43.6m | £35.4m |
| Operating profit | £16.4m | £25.3m | £22m | £13.5m |
| Profit before tax | £16.1m | £25.1m | £22.1m | £13.8m |
| Profit after tax | £12.8m | £19.4m | £16.5m | £10.1m |
| Profit (best available) | £12.8m | £19.4m | £16.5m | £10.1m |
| Staff costs | £12.7m | £17.7m | £17.8m | £17.1m |
| Employees (average) | 279 | 390 | 386 | 385 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 18.9% | 23.2% | 20.9% | 12.3% |
| Gross margin | 43.8% | 53.6% | 55.3% | 43.2% |
| Revenue per employee | £243k | £215k | £204k | £213k |
| Profit per employee | £45.9k | £49.9k | £42.7k | £26.3k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲23.7% | ▼5.8% | ▲3.9% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲51.8% | ▼15.1% | ▼38.7% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲39.8% | ▼1% | ▼0.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £4.8m | £10.8m | £14m | £12.2m |
| Net assets | £85m | £104m | £120m | £130m |
| Fixed assets | £94.7m | £109m | £123m | £139m |
| Current assets | £21.9m | £32.8m | £35.6m | £32.1m |
| Debtors | £13.1m | £17.2m | £16.2m | £14.6m |
| Deferred income | £1.8m | £2.5m | £3.1m | £3.3m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 12.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 43.2%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £213k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £26.3k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 169.4%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 4.1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 17.8%
- 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 £130m
- Cash at bank
- ▼13%
- Now £12.2m
- Headcount
- ▼0%
- Now 385
- Deferred income
- ▲8%
- Now £3.3m
- Fixed assets
- ▲13%
- Now £139m
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
- Gallagher Investments Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Gallagher Holdings Limited75–100%
- Matthew Investments Limited75–100%
- Charles Wilson Engineers Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (1)
- Charles Gallagher LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- Keltbray Plant LimitedThames Ditton · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £66.7m
- Profit
- £1.3m
- Staff
- 118
- M.G.F. (Trench Construction Systems) LimitedAshton in Makerfield Wigan · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £65.9m
- Profit
- £15m
- Staff
- 422
- Summit Platforms LtdMaidenhead · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £65.5m
- Profit
- £5m
- Staff
- 250
- London Tower Crane Hire & Sales LimitedBorehamwood · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £57.7m
- Profit
- £5.5m
- Staff
- 105
- Hire Safe Solutions LimitedBromsgrove · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £43.2m
- Profit
- £7.5m
- Staff
- 100
- M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd.Bedford · Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment
- Revenue
- £40.8m
- Profit
- £5.5m
- Staff
- 78
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 30 Apr 2025 (profit £10.1m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jan 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.