Orbital Education Limited
Registered name: ORBITAL EDUCATION LIMITED
Orbital Education Limited made £40.2m revenue and a £837k loss in the year to 31 Aug 2024.
Orbital Education Limited’s revenue grew 21% to £40.2m in the year to 31 Aug 2024, with a loss of £837k. The company is classified under “activities of head offices” and is based in Cheadle; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Cheadle
- Age
- 18 yrs · since 2008
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Key figures
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Aug 2022 | 31 Aug 2023 | 31 Aug 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £33.6m | £33.4m | £40.2m |
| Cost of sales | −£12.5m | −£12.7m | −£18m |
| Gross profit | £21.1m | £20.7m | £22.2m |
| Operating profit | £7m | £4.6m | £3.2m |
| Profit before tax | £5.7m | £844k | −£165k |
| Profit after tax | £4.6m | −£87.3k | −£837k |
| Profit (best available) | £4.6m | −£87.3k | −£837k |
| Employees (average) | 468 | 500 | — |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | 13.6% | −0.3% | −2.1% |
| Gross margin | 62.9% | 62.1% | 55.1% |
| Revenue per employee | £71.7k | £66.8k | — |
| Profit per employee | £9.7k | −£175 | — |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼0.5% | ▲20.5% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼101.9% | — |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲6.8% | — |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Net assets | — | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Jun 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Jun 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −2.1%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 55.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- —
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- —
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- —
- 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
- —
- Now —
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- —
- Now —
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Subsidiaries (10)
- Orbital Qatar LimitedRev. £1.6m · Profit £409k
- Strategic Schools Partnership LimitedRev. £1.2m · Profit £427k
- Orbital Doha LimitedRev. £1m · Profit £530k
- Overseas School Placement LimitedRev. £0 · Profit £271k
- Orbital Balkans LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Orbital Eastern Europe LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Orbital Hispania LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Orbital Iberia LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Solaplus LtdFigures not disclosed
- Statham Sites LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 31 Aug 2024 (profit −£837k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 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.