Chess ICT Limited
Registered name: CHESS ICT LIMITED
Part of Chess Limited groupChess ICT Limited made £31.4m revenue and £1.9m profit in the year to 30 Apr 2025.
Chess ICT Limited’s revenue fell 2% to £31.4m in the year to 30 Apr 2025, with £1.9m profit and 266 employees. The company is classified under “other service activities” and is based in Macclesfield; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Macclesfield, North West
- Age
- 24 yrs · since 2002
- 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: “Chess Limited”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Apr 2022 | 30 Apr 2023 | 30 Apr 2024 | 30 Apr 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £36m | £33.4m | £31.9m | £31.4m |
| Cost of sales | £19.9m | £17.9m | £17.6m | £16.7m |
| Gross profit | £16.1m | £15.5m | £14.3m | £14.7m |
| Operating profit | £8.5m | £2.3m | £4.6m | £3.1m |
| Profit before tax | £8.4m | £2.3m | £1m | £1.8m |
| Profit after tax | £8.3m | £2.1m | £834k | £1.9m |
| Profit (best available) | £8.3m | £2.1m | £834k | £1.9m |
| Staff costs | £0 | £9.4m | £13.7m | £12.8m |
| Employees (average) | 0 | 330 | 255 | 266 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 23.1% | 6.4% | 2.6% | 6% |
| Gross margin | 44.7% | 46.4% | 44.8% | 46.9% |
| Revenue per employee | — | £101k | £125k | £118k |
| Profit per employee | — | £6.4k | £3.3k | £7k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼7.2% | ▼4.4% | ▼1.6% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼74.5% | ▼60.7% | ▲124.5% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | ▼22.7% | ▲4.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £224k | £612k | £482k | £4.1m |
| Net assets | £24.3m | £26.4m | £27.2m | £29.1m |
| Fixed assets | £24.6m | £25.5m | £20.2m | £21.8m |
| Current assets | £9.5m | £12.2m | £15.7m | £22.6m |
| Debtors | £4.9m | £4.6m | £2.6m | £4.9m |
| Deferred income | £4.1m | £4.5m | £4.7m | £5.3m |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Feb 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Feb 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2026 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 6%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 46.9%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £118k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £7k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 69.3%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 16.8%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 15.6%
- 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
- ▲7%
- Now £29.1m
- Cash at bank
- ▲760%
- Now £4.1m
- Headcount
- ▲4%
- Now 266
- Deferred income
- ▲13%
- Now £5.3m
- Fixed assets
- ▲8%
- Now £21.8m
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
- Chess Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Chess ICT Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (8)
- Callagenix LimitedRev. — · Profit −£15k
- Chess Digital LimitedRev. — · Profit £429k
- Chess ICT Burnley LimitedRev. — · Profit £110k
- Chess People LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Chess Wholesale LimitedRev. — · Profit £25.9k
- Commi Holdings LimitedRev. — · Profit £197k
- TM Solutions LimitedRev. — · Profit £116k
- TTNC LimitedRev. — · Profit £593k
Sister companies (5)
- AI Digital Connect LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Chess Eot LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Chess Partner LimitedRev. — · Profit £643k
- Chess Telecom LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Smartflush 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 30 Apr 2025 (profit £1.9m), 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.