Merchant Gourmet Limited
Registered name: MERCHANT GOURMET LIMITED
Part of Premier Foods PLC groupMerchant Gourmet Limited made £23.8m revenue and £2m profit in the year to 30 Apr 2025.
Merchant Gourmet Limited’s revenue grew 24% to £23.8m in the year to 30 Apr 2025, with £2m profit and 27 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of prepared meals and dishes” and is based in ST Albans; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- ST Albans, East of England
- Age
- 5 yrs · since 2021
- Type
- Private Limited Company
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. From the filing: “Merchant Gourmet Holdings Limited”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Apr 2022 | 30 Apr 2023 | 30 Apr 2024 | 30 Apr 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £13.2m | £16.1m | £19.1m | £23.8m |
| Cost of sales | £10.5m | £12m | −£13.3m | −£16.3m |
| Gross profit | £2.7m | £4.1m | £5.8m | £7.5m |
| Operating profit | £214k | £425k | £1.5m | £2.5m |
| Profit before tax | £193k | £361k | £1.5m | £2.5m |
| Profit after tax | £174k | £285k | £1.1m | £2m |
| Profit (best available) | £174k | £285k | £1.1m | £2m |
| Staff costs | £1.3m | £1.7m | — | — |
| Employees (average) | 11 | 13 | 26 | 27 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 1.3% | 1.8% | 6% | 8.2% |
| Gross margin | 20.7% | 25.7% | 30.2% | 31.5% |
| Revenue per employee | £1.2m | £1.2m | £735k | £880k |
| Profit per employee | £15.8k | £21.9k | £44k | £72.3k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | — | ▲18.8% | ▲24.3% |
| Profit growth | — | — | ▲301.7% | ▲70.4% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | ▲100% | ▲3.9% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £1.3m | £1.7m | — | — |
| Net assets | £2.1m | £2.3m | — | — |
| Fixed assets | £65.6k | £45.3k | — | — |
| Current assets | £6.1m | £6m | — | — |
| Debtors | £1.9m | £2.5m | — | — |
| Deferred income | £959k | £648k | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | Accounts · bulk data Oct 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Aug 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 8.2%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 31.5%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £880k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £72.3k
- 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
- ▲4%
- Now 27
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Premier Foods PLCultimate parent75–100%
- Premier Foods Investments Limited75–100%
- Premier Foods Group Limited75–100%
- Merchant Gourmet Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (9)
- Merchant Gourmet Holdings LimitedRev. £23.8m · Profit £1.8m
- Centura Foods LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Fuel 10K LtdFigures not disclosed
- Knighton Foods LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Premier Foods (Holdings) LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Premier Foods Group Life Plan Trustees LimitedFigures not disclosed
- RH Oldco LimitedFigures not disclosed
- RHM Pension Trust LimitedFigures not disclosed
- The Spice Tailor LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- Summit Foods LimitedPreston · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
- Revenue
- £17.8m
- Profit
- £243k
- Staff
- 176
- Kingasia Foods LimitedDoncaster · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
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- £18.4m
- Profit
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- Scheff Foods LimitedSmethwick · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
- Revenue
- £13.3m
- Profit
- £59.5k
- Staff
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- Ready Foods LimitedOswestry · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
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- £12.6m
- Profit
- £77.3k
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- Theos Food Co. LimitedAldridge · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
- Revenue
- £23.2m
- Profit
- £265k
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- 9 Cuisines LimitedLondon · Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
- Revenue
- £10.9m
- Profit
- £130k
- Staff
- 116
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 30 Apr 2025 (profit £2m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Aug 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 23 Oct 2026
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.