How much does R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. make?

R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. reported revenue of £7.5m and a loss of £489k in the year to 31 May 2025, according to its accounts filed at Companies House.

How many employees does R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. have?

R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. reported an average of 50 employees in the year to 31 May 2025.

Is R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. profitable?

No — R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. reported a loss of £489k in the year to 31 May 2025.

Company No. 02745517 · Incorporated 7 Sep 1992

R. Thornton & Co. Ltd.

Registered name: R. THORNTON & CO. LTD.

Part of M.J. Hickey Plant Hire & Contracts Limited group

R. Thornton & Co. Ltd. made £7.5m revenue and a £489k loss in the year to 31 May 2025. read from filing text

R. Thornton & Co. Ltd.’s revenue grew 4% to £7.5m in the year to 31 May 2025, with a loss of £489k and 50 employees. The company is classified under “site preparation” and is based in Ashington; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.

Full P&L filedSection F · ConstructionSIC 43120Site preparation SIC 77320Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment

Status: Active
Location: Ashington, North East
Age: 34 yrs · since 1992
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: “During the year the immediate parent company was M.J. Hickey Plant Hire & Contracts Limited”

Latest accounts · year to 31 May 2025

Key figures

Doing more with less

Revenue

£7.5m

Growth ▲3.5%

Profit

−£489k

Growth —

Profit margin

−6.5%

Gross 1.8%

Employees

Change ▼2%

Profit / employee

−£9.8k

Revenue/employee £150k

Profitable streak

0yrs

Consecutive profitable years in our data

Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.

4 filed years

Financial history

Multi-year financials, oldest to newest
Year to	31 May 2022	31 May 2023	31 May 2024	31 May 2025
Disclosure	No P&L	Full P&L	Full P&L	Full P&Lread from filing text
Profit & loss
Revenue (turnover)	—	£8.8m	£7.2m	£7.5m
Cost of sales	—	£8.6m	£7.2m	£7.4m
Gross profit	—	£261k	£81.2k	£134k
Operating profit	—	−£470k	−£507k	−£411k
Profit before tax	—	−£630k	−£693k	−£645k
Profit after tax	—	−£658k	−£693k	−£489k
Profit (best available)	—	−£658k	−£693k	−£489k
Staff costs	—	£2m	£1.9m	£1.9m
Employees (average)	43	44	51	50
Ratios
Profit margin	—	−7.4%	−9.6%	−6.5%
Gross margin	—	2.9%	1.1%	1.8%
Revenue per employee	—	£201k	£142k	£150k
Profit per employee	—	−£15k	−£13.6k	−£9.8k
Growth (year on year)
Revenue growth	—	—	▼18.2%	▲3.5%
Headcount growth	—	▲2.3%	▲15.9%	▼2%
Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue
Cash at bank	£202k	£0	—	—
Net assets	£675k	£257k	−£204k	−£693k
Fixed assets	£2.3m	£3.1m	£3m	£2.6m
Current assets	£2m	£1.8m	£1.9m	£1.8m
Debtors	£1.1m	£1.4m	£1.3m	£968k
Deferred income	—	£0	£76.8k	£318k
Source	FullAccounts · bulk data Jul 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Jul 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2025	FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2026

Derived from the latest filing

How the business works

Profit margin: −6.5%; Profit ÷ revenue.
Gross margin: 1.8%; Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
Revenue per employee: £150k; Revenue ÷ average employees.
Profit per employee: −£9.8k; Profit ÷ average employees.
Cash conversion: —; Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
Fixed assets ÷ revenue: 35%; Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
Deferred income ÷ revenue: 4.3%; Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
Debtors ÷ revenue: 12.9%; Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.

Indirect — not revenue

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: —; Now −£693k
Cash at bank: —; Now —
Headcount: ▼2%; Now 50
Deferred income: ▲314%; Now £318k
Fixed assets: ▼13%; Now £2.6m

Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.

Corporate ownership

Group structure

Ownership chain

M.J. Hickey Plant Hire & Contracts Limitedultimate parent75–100%
R. Thornton & Co. Ltd.this company

Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.

Subsidiaries (1)

Emmex Freight Services Ltd.Figures not disclosed

Sister companies (1)

Lynefield Park LimitedFigures not disclosed

From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).

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Sources

Companies House profile Filing history & original accounts

Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 May 2025 (profit −£489k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jun 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.