F.C. BROWN (STEEL EQUIPMENT) LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2027-04-30 (in 11mo)
Last filed for 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement due
2027-02-19 (in 9mo)
Last made up 2026-02-05
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£6M
-23.6% vs 2024
Net assets
£25M
-6% vs 2024
Employees
335
-8.7% vs 2024
Profit before tax
-£2M
-206.1% vs 2024
Net assets
7-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
7-year trend · latest reflected 2025-07-31
| Metric | Trend | 2019-07-31 | 2020-07-31 | 2021-07-31 | 2022-07-31 | 2023-07-31 | 2024-07-31 | 2025-07-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | £42,834,000 | £36,835,000 | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | — | £1,139,000 | -£1,684,000 | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | — | £1,553,000 | -£1,647,000 | |
| Net profit | — | — | — | — | — | £1,430,000 | -£1,621,000 | |
| Cash | — | — | — | — | — | £7,463,000 | £5,700,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | — | — | — | — | — | £27,053,000 | £25,425,000 | |
| Net assets | — | — | — | — | — | £27,046,000 | £25,425,000 | |
| Equity | £29,267,000 | £17,863,000 | £18,218,000 | £18,791,000 | £25,616,000 | £27,046,000 | £25,425,000 | |
| Average employees | — | — | — | — | — | 367 | 335 | |
| Wages | — | — | — | — | — | £13,620,000 | £11,762,000 |
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 | 2019-07-31 | 2020-07-31 | 2021-07-31 | 2022-07-31 | 2023-07-31 | 2024-07-31 | 2025-07-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | — | 2.7% | -4.6% | |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | — | 3.3% | -4.4% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | — | 4.2% | -6.6% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | — | — | — | — | — | 30.6% | 25.8% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — | 2.15x | 3.48x | |
| Interest cover | — | — | — | — | — | 36.74x | -26.31x |
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
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- UHY Hacker Young
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The Board has prepared forecasts for the foreseeable future. The Board has factored in the restructuring work already done, a focus on rigorous cost control, the adoption of new purchasing strategies and the passing on of costs where possible. The Board is satisfied that the group will have the resources to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future and hence the directors believe that it remains appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis.”
Significant events
- “Turnover decreased by 14% in the year from £42.8m to £36.8m.”
- “The company reported a loss before taxation of £1.6m (2024: profit of £1.6m - £3.1m of which was an exceptional profit on the disposal of a surplus building).”
- “In response to increasing costs, responsive cost saving measures including redundancies and overhead cost reductions have been implemented.”
- “our order book strengthened throughout the year with rising orders from our connected companies in the US and Ireland.”
- “secured our biggest ever contract in the UK, primarily for wood product, which is scheduled to begin delivery in August 2025.”
- “During the year the company incurred redundancy costs of £273,000 (2024: £225,000) as part of its restructuring of operations.”
- “During the year the company received exceptional income relating to profit on disposal of buildings of £nil (2024: £3,154,000).”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
7 active · 21 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COSTIN, Richard David | Director | 2020-01-01 | Apr 1967 | British |
| HOWELLS, Nigel | Director | 2024-07-03 | Aug 1966 | British |
| JONES, Emily Elizabeth | Director | 2026-03-25 | Mar 1981 | British |
| OSTROLENK, Paul | Director | 2026-03-24 | Jan 1964 | British |
| PIERLEONI, Marco | Director | 2023-03-01 | Feb 1965 | British |
| REDMOND, John Robert | Director | 2026-03-24 | Apr 1964 | British |
| REEVES, Lee Thomas | Director | 2025-11-20 | Sep 1969 | British |
Show 21 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASHDOWN, Philip Roy | Secretary | — | 2024-10-31 |
| APPLEBY, David | Director | 2019-02-08 | 2020-10-23 |
| ATKIN, John Dudley | Director | 2007-08-01 | 2020-03-11 |
| BAYLISS, Robin | Director | 2018-10-01 | 2024-07-30 |
| BLACKWELL, Henry Richard | Director | — | 2019-12-31 |
| BOTTERILL, David William | Director | 2018-10-01 | 2023-03-01 |
| BROWN, Anthony Charles | Director | — | 2023-04-04 |
| CHAPLAIN, Neil Stuart | Director | 2005-09-01 | 2006-11-30 |
| CRUTCHER, Paul Alan | Director | 2013-04-01 | 2023-08-21 |
| GILES, Richard Ivor | Director | — | 1996-09-30 |
| HEARNSHAW, Ralph Ernest James | Director | 1998-07-13 | 2018-06-18 |
| IRWIN, John David | Director | 2006-05-30 | 2015-09-01 |
| MATTHEWS, Brian Keith | Director | 1996-03-11 | 2005-08-03 |
| MCADAM, James | Director | — | 2010-11-30 |
| OSTROLENK, Paul | Director | 2012-05-01 | 2023-01-31 |
| OWEN, Helen | Director | 2018-10-01 | 2020-09-05 |
| REDMOND, John Robert | Director | 2018-10-01 | 2023-01-30 |
| RICHARDS, Bernard John | Director | — | 1993-03-01 |
| STAPLETON, Christopher Ross | Director | 1993-05-03 | 2013-03-31 |
| STEEL, Robert John | Director | 1994-08-01 | 1996-08-22 |
| STRANG, William George | Director | — | 2007-08-01 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Richard David Costin | Individual | Significant influence | 2023-04-04 | Active |
| Mr Anthony Charles Brown | Individual | Shares 50–75% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2023-04-04 |
| Bisley Office Equipment Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 188 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-27 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-04-07 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-03-31 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-03-30 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-02-05 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-11-20 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-03-14 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-02-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-11-06 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2024-07-30 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-07-03 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-04-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-03-06 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-03-01 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-02-05 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-02-02 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-02-02 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-02-02 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-01-22 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2024-01-18 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 6
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 4
- 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
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-07-31 vs 2024-07-31
-
Turnover
-14%
£42,834,000 £36,835,000
-
Cash
-23.6%
£7,463,000 £5,700,000
-
Net assets
-6%
£27,046,000 £25,425,000
-
Employees
-8.7%
367 335
-
Operating profit
-247.8%
£1,139,000 -£1,684,000
-
Profit before tax
-206.1%
£1,553,000 -£1,647,000
-
Wages
-13.6%
£13,620,000 £11,762,000
Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. Periods don't have to be exactly 12 months apart — a long or short period (typical around incorporation or year-end changes) will distort the comparison. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers