John Cox Cold Stores and Distribution Services Limited
Registered name: JOHN COX COLD STORES AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES LIMITED
Part of J. C. (Holdings) Limited groupJohn Cox Cold Stores and Distribution Services Limited made £64.3m revenue and £331k profit in the year to 31 Mar 2025. read from filing text
John Cox Cold Stores and Distribution Services Limited’s revenue grew 10% to £64.3m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with £331k profit and 179 employees. The company is classified under “production of meat and poultry meat products” and is based in Walsall; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Walsall, West Midlands
- Age
- 44 yrs · since 1981
- 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 is a wholly owned subsidiary undertaking of J.C. (Holdings) Limited, a company incorporated 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 | 31 Mar 2022 | 31 Mar 2023 | 31 Mar 2024 | 31 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) | £41.4m | £47.6m | £58.2m | £64.3m |
| Cost of sales | £35m | £41.4m | £49.2m | £53.9m |
| Gross profit | £6.4m | £6.2m | £9m | £10.4m |
| Operating profit | £1.9m | £1.3m | £509k | £542k |
| Profit before tax | £1.9m | £1.2m | £459k | £454k |
| Profit after tax | £1.4m | £1.1m | £321k | £331k |
| Profit (best available) | £1.4m | £1.1m | £321k | £331k |
| Staff costs | £6.4m | £6.4m | £9.4m | £11.2m |
| Employees (average) | 166 | 152 | 166 | 179 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 3.4% | 2.2% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Gross margin | 15.5% | 12.9% | 15.5% | 16.2% |
| Revenue per employee | £249k | £313k | £351k | £359k |
| Profit per employee | £8.5k | £7k | £1.9k | £1.9k |
| Cash conversion | −115.2% | −196% | −113.3% | −378.9% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲15% | ▲22.4% | ▲10.4% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼24.8% | ▼69.6% | ▲3.3% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼8.4% | ▲9.2% | ▲7.8% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £68.5k | £54.7k | £41.1k | £129k |
| Net assets | £3.3m | £3.6m | £4m | £4.3m |
| Fixed assets | £4.6m | £5m | £5m | £4.8m |
| Current assets | £6.4m | £8.3m | £10m | £12.4m |
| Debtors | £4m | £4.8m | £5.9m | £6.6m |
| Deferred income | £143k | £300k | £2.5m | £368k |
| Cash from operations | −£2.2m | −£2.5m | −£576k | −£2.1m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 0.5%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 16.2%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £359k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £1.9k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- −378.9%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 7.5%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 0.6%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 10.2%
- 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 £4.3m
- Cash at bank
- ▲214%
- Now £129k
- Headcount
- ▲8%
- Now 179
- Deferred income
- ▼85%
- Now £368k
- Fixed assets
- ▼4%
- Now £4.8m
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
- J. C. (Holdings) Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- John Cox Cold Stores and Distribution Services Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (1)
- Midland Bacon Company LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- Ralph Pearson Wholesale Butchers LimitedBradford · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £62.1m
- Profit
- £1m
- Staff
- 33
- Smithfield Murray LimitedPontefract · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £69m
- Profit
- £6.6m
- Staff
- 138
- Warrendale Wagyu LimitedYork · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £59.8m
- Profit
- £175k
- Staff
- 30
- Jack Brand LimitedLondon · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £58.8m
- Profit
- £6.5m
- Staff
- 134
- Vivers Scotlamb LimitedAnnan · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £48.4m
- Profit
- £348k
- Staff
- 67
- Paragon Quality Foods LtdDoncaster · Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Revenue
- £46.2m
- Profit
- £2.5m
- Staff
- 118
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit £331k), 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.