How much does Canongate Books Limited make?

Canongate Books Limited reported revenue of £17.9m and £860k profit in the year to 31 Mar 2025, according to its accounts filed at Companies House.

How many employees does Canongate Books Limited have?

Canongate Books Limited reported an average of 64 employees in the year to 31 Mar 2025.

Is Canongate Books Limited profitable?

Yes — Canongate Books Limited reported a profit of £860k in the year to 31 Mar 2025.

Company No. SC152259 · Incorporated 2 Aug 1994

Canongate Books Limited

Registered name: CANONGATE BOOKS LIMITED

Canongate Books Limited made £17.9m revenue and £860k profit in the year to 31 Mar 2025. read from filing text

Canongate Books Limited’s revenue fell 1% to £17.9m in the year to 31 Mar 2025, with £860k profit and 64 employees. The company is classified under “book publishing”; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.

Full P&L filedSection J · Information and communicationSIC 58110Book publishing

Status: Active
Location: Scotland
Age: 32 yrs · since 1994
Type: Private Limited Company

Latest accounts · year to 31 Mar 2025

Key figures

IndependentCapital-lightCash flow filed

Revenue

£17.9m

Growth ▼1.3%

Profit

£860k

Growth ▲118.1%

Profit margin

4.8%

Gross 47.9%

Employees

Change ▼3%

Profit / employee

£13.4k

Revenue/employee £280k

Profitable streak

3yrs

Consecutive profitable years in our data

Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.

3 filed years

Financial history

Multi-year financials, oldest to newest
Year to	31 Mar 2023	31 Mar 2024	31 Mar 2025
Disclosure	Full P&Lread from filing text	Full P&Lread from filing text	Full P&Lread from filing text
Profit & loss
Revenue (turnover)	£19.8m	£18.2m	£17.9m
Cost of sales	£10.8m	£10.6m	£9.3m
Gross profit	£9m	£7.6m	£8.6m
Operating profit	£1.7m	£634k	£1.2m
Profit before tax	£1.6m	£678k	£1.3m
Profit after tax	£1.3m	£394k	£860k
Profit (best available)	£1.3m	£394k	£860k
Staff costs	£3.3m	£3.3m	£3.7m
Employees (average)	62	66	64
Ratios
Profit margin	6.4%	2.2%	4.8%
Gross margin	45.6%	41.9%	47.9%
Revenue per employee	£319k	£275k	£280k
Profit per employee	£20.3k	£6k	£13.4k
Cash conversion	—	−126.9%	−43.2%
Growth (year on year)
Revenue growth	—	▼8.1%	▼1.3%
Profit growth	—	▼68.7%	▲118.1%
Headcount growth	—	▲6.5%	▼3%
Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue
Cash at bank	£4.3m	£4.5m	£4.5m
Net assets	£9.7m	£9.6m	£10m
Fixed assets	£2.2m	£1.8m	£1.4m
Current assets	£13.8m	£13.7m	£13.4m
Debtors	£5.3m	£5.2m	£4.2m
Deferred income	£1.4m	£1.7m	£1.5m
Cash from operations	—	−£805k	−£503k
Source	FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Oct 2025

Derived from the latest filing

How the business works

Profit margin: 4.8%; Profit ÷ revenue.
Gross margin: 47.9%; Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
Revenue per employee: £280k; Revenue ÷ average employees.
Profit per employee: £13.4k; Profit ÷ average employees.
Cash conversion: −43.2%; Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
Fixed assets ÷ revenue: 7.6%; Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
Deferred income ÷ revenue: 8.1%; Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
Debtors ÷ revenue: 23.2%; Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.

Indirect — not revenue

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: ▲4%; Now £10m
Cash at bank: ▲0%; Now £4.5m
Headcount: ▼3%; Now 64
Deferred income: ▼16%; Now £1.5m
Fixed assets: ▼25%; Now £1.4m

Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.

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Sources

Companies House profile Filing history & original accounts

Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2025 (profit £860k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Oct 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.