Fern Trading Limited
Registered name: FERN TRADING LIMITED
Part of Octopus Group Holdings Ltd groupFern Trading Limited made £685m revenue and a £437m loss in the year to 30 Jun 2025.
Fern Trading Limited’s revenue grew 8% to £685m in the year to 30 Jun 2025, with a loss of £437m and 1,752 employees. The company is classified under “activities of head offices” and is based in London; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 6 yrs · since 2020
- 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 | 30 Jun 2023 | 30 Jun 2024 | 30 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £800m | £634m | £685m |
| Cost of sales | −£526m | −£376m | −£472m |
| Gross profit | £274m | £258m | £213m |
| Operating profit | −£105m | −£170m | −£376m |
| Profit before tax | −£149m | −£185m | −£420m |
| Profit after tax | −£132m | −£165m | −£437m |
| Profit (best available) | −£132m | −£165m | −£437m |
| Employees (average) | — | 1,900 | 1,752 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | −16.4% | −26% | −63.7% |
| Gross margin | 34.2% | 40.7% | 31.1% |
| Revenue per employee | — | £334k | £391k |
| Profit per employee | — | −£86.7k | −£249k |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼20.8% | ▲8.1% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | ▼7.8% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Net assets | — | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Jan 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Jan 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Feb 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −63.7%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 31.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £391k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£249k
- 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
- ▼8%
- Now 1,752
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Octopus Group Holdings Ltdultimate parent75–100%
- Octopus Capital Limited75–100%
- Octopus Investments Limited75–100%
- Octopus Investments Nominees Limited75–100%
- Fern Trading Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (3)
- Bracken Trading LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Fern Infrastructure LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Fern Trading Group LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (6)
- Foreman Trading LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLCFigures not disclosed
- Spinney Services LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Ticketus Holdings 5 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Ticketus Services 6 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- TM Trading LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 30 Jun 2025 (profit −£437m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Feb 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.