Challenger Solutions Limited
Registered name: CHALLENGER SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Part of Challenger Solutions Holdings Limited groupChallenger Solutions Limited made £7.8m revenue and a £79.9k loss in the year to 31 Mar 2025. read from filing text
Challenger Solutions Limited’s revenue fell 25% to £7.8m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with a loss of £79.9k and 81 employees. The company is classified under “other engineering activities” and is based in South Woodham Ferrers; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- South Woodham Ferrers, East of England
- Age
- 32 yrs · since 1994
- 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 immediate parent and ultimate parent company is Challenger Solutions Holding Limited and the registered office is 85 Haltwhistle Road, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford, Essex, England, CM3 5ZA. D”
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) | £8.4m | £13.6m | £10.5m | £7.8m |
| Cost of sales | £6.1m | £10.1m | £6.7m | £5.3m |
| Gross profit | £2.4m | £3.5m | £3.7m | £2.5m |
| Operating profit | £165k | £851k | −£176k | −£174k |
| Profit before tax | £152k | £831k | −£217k | −£209k |
| Profit after tax | £141k | £743k | −£150k | −£79.9k |
| Profit (best available) | £141k | £743k | −£150k | −£79.9k |
| Staff costs | £2.2m | £2.5m | £3m | £2.9m |
| Employees (average) | 71 | 74 | 85 | 81 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.7% | 5.4% | −1.4% | −1% |
| Gross margin | 27.9% | 25.8% | 35.7% | 32% |
| Revenue per employee | £119k | £184k | £123k | £96.5k |
| Profit per employee | £2k | £10k | −£1.8k | −£987 |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲61.8% | ▼23.2% | ▼25.4% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲427.3% | ▼120.2% | — |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲4.2% | ▲14.9% | ▼4.7% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £13.7k | £22.6k | £167k | £90.6k |
| Net assets | £3.1m | £3.7m | £3.4m | £2.4m |
| Fixed assets | £871k | £844k | £902k | £950k |
| Current assets | £6m | £6.9m | £5.5m | £4.3m |
| Debtors | £2.7m | £2.5m | £1.6m | £1.2m |
| Deferred income | £85.5k | £57.7k | £0 | £89.7k |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Nov 2023 | Accounts · bulk data Nov 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −1%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 32%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £96.5k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£987
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 12.2%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 1.1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 15.9%
- 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
- ▼28%
- Now £2.4m
- Cash at bank
- ▼46%
- Now £90.6k
- Headcount
- ▼5%
- Now 81
- Deferred income
- —
- Now £89.7k
- Fixed assets
- ▲5%
- Now £950k
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
- Challenger Solutions Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Challenger Solutions Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (1)
- Challenger Solutions Aerospace & Defence LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (2)
- Challenger Solutions Eco LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Csi Electronic Manufacturing Services LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- John Robertson Architects LtdOther engineering activities
- Revenue
- £7.6m
- Profit
- £621k
- Staff
- 81
- Thornton Tomasetti Defence LimitedLondon · Other engineering activities
- Revenue
- £7.5m
- Profit
- £1.1m
- Staff
- 42
- Eastwood and Partners (Consulting Engineers) LimitedSheffield · Other engineering activities
- Revenue
- £8.3m
- Profit
- £148k
- Staff
- 95
- Aquabio LimitedWorcester · Other engineering activities
- Revenue
- £8.4m
- Profit
- £420k
- Staff
- 22
- Deepwater EU LtdCamberley · Other engineering activities
- Revenue
- £8.5m
- Profit
- £1.5m
- Staff
- 21
- Hoare Lea Europe LimitedBristol · Other engineering activities
- Revenue
- £6.9m
- Profit
- £33.7k
- Staff
- —
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit −£79.9k), 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.