Bluebell Railway PLC
Registered name: BLUEBELL RAILWAY PLC
Part of Bluebell Railway Preservation Society groupBluebell Railway PLC made £5.3m revenue and £67.2k profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025. read from filing text
Bluebell Railway PLC’s revenue grew 10% to £5.3m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £67.2k profit and 109 employees. The company is classified under “other passenger land transport” and is based in Sussex; we hold 2 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Sussex, South East
- Age
- 40 yrs · since 1985
- Type
- Public 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 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||
| Revenue (turnover) | £4.8m | £5.3m |
| Cost of sales | £1.5m | £1.6m |
| Gross profit | £3.3m | £3.7m |
| Operating profit | −£588k | £68.7k |
| Profit before tax | −£618k | £43.5k |
| Profit after tax | −£618k | £67.2k |
| Profit (best available) | −£618k | £67.2k |
| Staff costs | £1.8m | £2m |
| Employees (average) | 127 | 109 |
| Ratios | ||
| Profit margin | −13% | 1.3% |
| Gross margin | 68.5% | 69.7% |
| Revenue per employee | £37.6k | £48.2k |
| Profit per employee | −£4.9k | £616 |
| Cash conversion | — | −287.8% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲9.9% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼14.2% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||
| Cash at bank | £165k | £225k |
| Net assets | £22.3m | £23m |
| Fixed assets | £23m | £23.5m |
| Current assets | £908k | £857k |
| Debtors | £38.2k | £138k |
| Deferred income | £330k | £316k |
| Cash from operations | −£94.1k | −£198k |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data May 2026 | FullAccounts · bulk data May 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 1.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 69.7%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £48.2k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £616
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- −287.8%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 447.5%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 6%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 2.6%
- 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
- ▲3%
- Now £23m
- Cash at bank
- ▲36%
- Now £225k
- Headcount
- ▼14%
- Now 109
- Deferred income
- ▼4%
- Now £316k
- Fixed assets
- ▲2%
- Now £23.5m
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
- Bluebell Railway Preservation Societyultimate parent75–100%
- Bluebell Railway PLCthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (2)
- Bluebell Extension Railway LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bluebell Railway Operating LimitedFigures 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 2025 (profit £67.2k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published May 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.