Canal & River Trust
Registered name: CANAL & RIVER TRUST
Canal & River Trust made £237m revenue and a £42.3m loss in the year to 31 Mar 2025.
Canal & River Trust’s revenue was £237m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with a loss of £42.3m and 1,739 employees. The company is classified under “water collection, treatment and supply” and is based in Ellesmere Port; we hold 2 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Ellesmere Port
- Age
- 15 yrs · since 2011
- Type
- PRI/LBG/NSC (Private, Limited by guarantee, no share capital, use of 'Limited' exemption)
Key figures
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Mar 2024 | 31 Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||
| Revenue (turnover) | £237m | £237m |
| Operating profit | −£252m | −£29.4m |
| Profit before tax | −£252m | −£29.4m |
| Profit after tax | −£42.3m | −£42.3m |
| Profit (best available) | −£42.3m | −£42.3m |
| Employees (average) | 1,727 | 1,739 |
| Ratios | ||
| Profit margin | −17.8% | −17.8% |
| Revenue per employee | £137k | £136k |
| Profit per employee | −£24.5k | −£24.3k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||
| Revenue growth | — | 0% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲0.7% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||
| Net assets | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −17.8%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- —
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £136k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£24.3k
- 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
- ▲1%
- Now 1,739
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Subsidiaries (6)
- Canal & River Pension Partner LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Canal & River Trading CICFigures not disclosed
- Limehouse Basin Management LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Ribble Link Construction and Operation LimitedFigures not disclosed
- The Waterways TrustFigures not disclosed
- Waterways Pension Trustees LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit −£42.3m), 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.