H.L. HUTCHINSON LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2026-11-20 (in 6mo)
Last made up 2025-11-06
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£56M
+78.5% vs 2023
Net assets
£85M
-3% vs 2023
Employees
473
+4% vs 2023
Profit before tax
£11M
-22.1% vs 2023
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Consumer Staples median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2024-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £276,137,000 | £262,484,000 | |
| Operating profit | £10,777,000 | £8,157,000 | |
| Profit before tax | £14,114,000 | £11,001,000 | |
| Net profit | £10,462,000 | £7,999,000 | |
| Cash | £31,125,000 | £55,554,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £80,111,000 | £78,360,000 | |
| Net assets | £87,239,000 | £84,626,000 | |
| Equity | £87,239,000 | £84,626,000 | |
| Average employees | 455 | 473 | |
| Wages | £26,737,000 | £27,404,000 |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 3.9% | 3.1% | |
| Net margin | 3.8% | 3.0% | |
| Return on capital employed | 13.5% | 10.4% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 38.1% | 42.0% | |
| Current ratio | 2.12x | 1.95x | |
| Interest cover | 673.56x | 18.54x |
Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- Wheelers
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The group has considerable financial resources and the directors believe that the group is well placed to manage business risks successfully despite the current uncertain economic outlook. The directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”
Group structure
- H.L. HUTCHINSON LIMITED · parent
- Gardiner ICM Limited 51%
- HL Hutchinson Systems (Private) Limited 100%
- Innavisions Developments Limited 100%
- DKB Crop Protection Limited 100%
- Produce Packaging Limited 100%
- Brown Butlin Group Pension Trust Limited 100%
- Sustainable Soil Management Limited 100%
- Chemical and Agricultural Services Limited 100%
Significant events
- “On the 6 February 2025 the group acquired a further 132 shares in Matford Arable Systems (Holdings) Limited resulting in the company becoming a subsidiary. On 15 May 2025, the group acquired the entire share capital of Crop Solutions Limited. The total consideration for these acquisitions amounted to £4,036k.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
8 active · 13 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILSON, Edward James Andrew | Secretary | 2023-10-16 | — | — |
| CROSSMAN, David Howell | Director | 2008-09-16 | May 1962 | British |
| HUTCHINSON, David Antony | Director | — | Apr 1962 | British |
| HUTCHINSON, Michael Leslie | Director | 1994-10-24 | Oct 1964 | British |
| MCKECHNIE, Gordon Douglas | Director | 2020-10-01 | May 1977 | British |
| MCSHANE, Andrew | Director | 2004-01-19 | Jul 1963 | British |
| TYLER, Christopher Patric | Director | 2021-07-23 | May 1962 | British |
| WILSON, Edward James Andrew | Director | 2023-10-16 | Mar 1983 | British |
Show 13 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUTCHINSON, David Anthony | Secretary | 2008-12-31 | 2012-06-06 |
| HUTCHINSON, Jean Mary | Secretary | — | 1998-01-01 |
| HUTCHINSON, Melanie Jane | Secretary | 1998-01-01 | 2008-12-31 |
| JOHNSON, Richard Keith | Secretary | 2012-06-06 | 2020-12-16 |
| MCKECHNIE, Gordon Douglas | Secretary | 2020-12-16 | 2023-10-16 |
| HARRIS, John Robert Cawdron | Director | 2008-09-16 | 2021-04-15 |
| HUTCHINSON, Colin Herbert, Executors Of | Director | — | 2018-02-16 |
| HUTCHINSON, Jean Mary | Director | — | 2008-12-31 |
| HUTCHINSON, Melanie Jane | Director | 1998-10-01 | 2008-12-31 |
| JOHNSON, Richard Keith | Director | 2009-09-01 | 2020-12-16 |
| MACKLIN, Alastair Jeremy | Director | 2013-06-20 | 2017-03-31 |
| MATTHEWS, Kenneth John | Director | 2008-09-16 | 2009-12-17 |
| ORME, Andrew Richard | Director | 2018-01-04 | 2023-12-31 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 154 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-10 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-11-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-01-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-11-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-20 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2023-10-20 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2023-10-20 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-10-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-11-10 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-10-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2021-11-23 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2021-11-23 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2021-11-19 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2021-11-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2021-07-28 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2021-06-11 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2021-04-27 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 2
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 0
- Officers resigned
- 0
last 12 months
last 24 months
last 12 months
last 12 months
Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.
Year-on-year
FY2023 → FY2024 · period ending 2024-12-31 vs 2023-12-31
-
Turnover
-4.9%
£276,137,000 £262,484,000
-
Cash
+78.5%
£31,125,000 £55,554,000
-
Net assets
-3%
£87,239,000 £84,626,000
-
Employees
+4%
455 473
-
Operating profit
-24.3%
£10,777,000 £8,157,000
-
Profit before tax
-22.1%
£14,114,000 £11,001,000
-
Wages
+2.5%
£26,737,000 £27,404,000
Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. The comparison is only shown when the latest and prior accounts cover broadly equal-length periods — short or long stubs (typical around incorporation or a year-end change) are suppressed rather than misrepresented. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers