Metro Shipping Limited
Registered name: METRO SHIPPING LIMITED
Part of GB Europe Holdings Limited groupMetro Shipping Limited made £170m revenue and £15.6m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2024.
Metro Shipping Limited’s revenue grew 4% to £170m in the year to 31 Dec 2024, with £15.6m profit and 189 employees. The company is classified under “sea and coastal freight water transport” and is based in Birmingham; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Birmingham, West Midlands
- Age
- 46 yrs · since 1980
- 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 2021 | 31 Dec 2022 | 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £236m | £284m | £163m | £170m |
| Cost of sales | £196m | £231m | £123m | £137m |
| Gross profit | £39.5m | £53.9m | £40.9m | £33.1m |
| Operating profit | £25.3m | £36.6m | £25.3m | £16.9m |
| Profit before tax | £25.4m | £37.1m | £28.7m | £20.9m |
| Profit after tax | £20.5m | £30.2m | £21.9m | £15.6m |
| Profit (best available) | £20.5m | £30.2m | £21.9m | £15.6m |
| Staff costs | £12.2m | £15.7m | £11.8m | £13m |
| Employees (average) | 173 | 201 | 194 | 189 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 8.7% | 10.6% | 13.4% | 9.2% |
| Gross margin | 16.8% | 18.9% | 25% | 19.5% |
| Revenue per employee | £1.4m | £1.4m | £843k | £898k |
| Profit per employee | £119k | £150k | £113k | £82.6k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | — | ▼42.5% | ▲3.8% |
| Profit growth | — | — | ▼27.4% | ▼28.8% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | ▼3.5% | ▼2.6% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £28m | £74m | £70.5m | £85.3m |
| Net assets | £44.9m | £75.1m | £77m | £92.6m |
| Fixed assets | £609k | £76.1k | £53.1k | £25.5k |
| Current assets | £73.3m | £106m | £93.6m | £111m |
| Debtors | £41.7m | £25.1m | £15.8m | £18.1m |
| Deferred income | £650k | £1.4m | £207k | £162k |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2026 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 9.2%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 19.5%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £898k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £82.6k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 0%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 0.1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 10.7%
- 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
- ▲20%
- Now £92.6m
- Cash at bank
- ▲21%
- Now £85.3m
- Headcount
- ▼3%
- Now 189
- Deferred income
- ▼21%
- Now £162k
- Fixed assets
- ▼52%
- Now £25.5k
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
- GB Europe Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- GB Global Management Limited75–100%
- Metro Global Holdings Limited75–100%
- Metro Shipping Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (1)
- Metro Global LtdFigures 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 31 Dec 2024 (profit £15.6m), 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.