Compass Associates Limited
Registered name: COMPASS ASSOCIATES LIMITED
Part of Cow Corner Nominees Limited groupCompass Associates Limited made £6.6m revenue and a £657k loss in the year to 31 Mar 2025.
Compass Associates Limited’s revenue fell 28% to £6.6m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with a loss of £657k and 105 employees. The company is classified under “human resources provision and management of human resources functions” and is based in Portsmouth; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Portsmouth, South East
- Age
- 16 yrs · since 2009
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Pass-through vehicle. This looks like a holding, staffing or umbrella company. Its revenue and profit may largely pass through to or from other entities, so the figures may not reflect a standalone operating business. It is excluded from our opportunity lists.
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 Mar 2023 | 31 Mar 2024 | 31 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £9.6m | £9.1m | £6.6m |
| Cost of sales | £5.7m | £5.6m | £5.5m |
| Gross profit | £3.9m | £3.5m | £1.1m |
| Operating profit | £2.4m | £1.4m | −£1.1m |
| Profit before tax | £2.4m | £1.4m | −£1.1m |
| Profit after tax | £1.9m | £1.1m | −£657k |
| Profit (best available) | £1.9m | £1.1m | −£657k |
| Staff costs | £5.5m | £5.6m | £5.4m |
| Employees (average) | 102 | 112 | 105 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | 20.2% | 11.9% | −10% |
| Gross margin | 40.7% | 38.8% | 16.9% |
| Revenue per employee | £93.7k | £81.4k | £62.7k |
| Profit per employee | £18.9k | £9.7k | −£6.3k |
| Cash conversion | −73% | 249.2% | — |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼4.6% | ▼27.9% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼43.8% | ▼160.5% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲9.8% | ▼6.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Cash at bank | £4.1m | £484k | £359k |
| Net assets | £5.6m | £6.7m | £1.9m |
| Fixed assets | £271k | £219k | £198k |
| Current assets | £6.6m | £8m | £3.7m |
| Debtors | £1.5m | £1.5m | £789k |
| Deferred income | £259k | £193k | £311k |
| Cash from operations | −£1.7m | £3.6m | — |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −10%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 16.9%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £62.7k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£6.3k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 3%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 4.7%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 12%
- 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
- ▼71%
- Now £1.9m
- Cash at bank
- ▼26%
- Now £359k
- Headcount
- ▼6%
- Now 105
- Deferred income
- ▲61%
- Now £311k
- Fixed assets
- ▼10%
- Now £198k
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
- Cow Corner Nominees Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Cow Corner Investments (No. 7) Limited75–100%
- Compass Recruitment Solutions Limited75–100%
- Compass Associates Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (2)
- Carrot Pharma Recruitment LtdFigures not disclosed
- Consult Search & Selection LtdFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit −£657k), 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.