The Cardinal Partnership Limited
Registered name: THE CARDINAL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED
Part of CGL Trustee Limited groupThe Cardinal Partnership Limited made £336m revenue and £14.1m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025.
The Cardinal Partnership Limited’s revenue fell 3% to £336m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £14.1m profit and 624 employees. The company is classified under “activities of distribution holding companies” and is based in Manchester; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Manchester, North West
- Age
- 8 yrs · since 2018
- 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 Dec 2022 | 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £468m | £219m | £347m | £336m |
| Cost of sales | £382m | −£170m | −£272m | −£265m |
| Gross profit | £85.9m | £49.3m | £74.4m | £70.5m |
| Operating profit | £50.4m | £11m | £30.9m | £20.6m |
| Profit before tax | £50.9m | £11.2m | £31.2m | £20.6m |
| Profit after tax | £41.3m | £8.4m | £23.2m | £14.1m |
| Profit (best available) | £41.3m | £8.4m | £23.2m | £14.1m |
| Employees (average) | 468 | 518 | 551 | 624 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 8.8% | 3.8% | 6.7% | 4.2% |
| Gross margin | 18.4% | 22.5% | 21.4% | 21% |
| Revenue per employee | £999k | £423k | £629k | £538k |
| Profit per employee | £88.1k | £16.3k | £42k | £22.6k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼53.1% | ▲58.2% | ▼3.2% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼79.6% | ▲175% | ▼39.2% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲10.7% | ▲6.4% | ▲13.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Net assets | £23.3m | £59.9m | — | — |
| Fixed assets | £29.1m | £64.6m | — | — |
| Debtors | £0 | £138k | — | — |
| Deferred income | £0 | £1.6k | — | — |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Jan 2026 | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 4.2%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 21%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £538k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £22.6k
- 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
- ▲13%
- Now 624
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- CGL Trustee Limitedultimate parent50–75%
- The Cardinal Partnership Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (1)
- Cardinal Maritime Holdings LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £14.1m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 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.