W.E. DOWDS (SHIPPING) LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2027-05-07 (in 1y)
Last made up 2026-04-23
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£1M
-56.8% vs 2023
Net assets
£5M
-42.3% vs 2023
Employees
31
-35.4% vs 2023
Profit before tax
£1M
+67.5% vs 2023
Name history
Renamed 1 time since incorporation
- W.E. DOWDS (SHIPPING) LIMITED 1989-10-04 → present
- W.E. DOWDS (COLLIERIES) LIMITED 1963-08-12 → 1989-10-04
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2024-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £8,948,092 | £8,353,230 | |
| Operating profit | £746,662 | £1,223,799 | |
| Profit before tax | £788,412 | £1,320,846 | |
| Net profit | £587,274 | £979,753 | |
| Cash | £3,435,986 | £1,483,180 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £7,964,473 | £4,615,058 | |
| Net assets | £7,872,815 | £4,542,568 | |
| Equity | £7,872,815 | £4,542,568 | |
| Average employees | 48 | 31 | |
| Wages | — | — |
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 | 8.3% | 14.7% | |
| Net margin | 6.6% | 11.7% | |
| Return on capital employed | 9.4% | 26.5% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 19.7% | 25.2% | |
| Current ratio | 4.86x | 3.63x |
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 §1A
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Abridged
- Yes — abridged accounts (limited disclosure)
- Auditor
- McGuire + Farry Limited
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The directors deem that the company has adequate financial resources to meet the needs of the company for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements. The company therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.”
Group structure
- W.E. DOWDS (SHIPPING) LIMITED · parent
- W.E.D. (Services) Limited 100%
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 13 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABP SECRETARIAT SERVICES LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2018-01-31 | — | — |
| CURNOW, Ashley | Director | 2024-02-01 | Apr 1992 | British |
| SIVAPALAN, Anogen, Mr | Director | 2019-07-31 | Feb 1986 | British |
| WINDEATT, Ralph | Director | 2018-01-31 | Aug 1984 | British |
Show 13 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOWDS, William Ernest | Secretary | — | 2006-03-16 |
| GILFILLAN, Barbara Frances Caroline | Secretary | 2006-03-16 | 2018-01-31 |
| AGER, Paul Edward | Director | 2023-02-01 | 2024-01-31 |
| BROWN, Simon Martyn Antony | Director | 2020-12-15 | 2022-09-14 |
| DAVIES, Anthony Clive, Mr | Director | 2006-09-01 | 2024-01-31 |
| DAVIES, David | Director | 2018-01-31 | 2019-06-30 |
| DOWDS, Charles William Frederick | Director | — | 2018-06-30 |
| DOWDS, Lorraine Mary | Director | — | 2018-01-31 |
| DOWDS, William Ernest | Director | — | 2006-03-16 |
| GILFILLAN, Barbara Frances Caroline | Director | — | 2018-01-31 |
| HARSTON, Andrew Francis | Director | 2019-07-31 | 2023-06-30 |
| KENNERLEY, Matthew Brandon | Director | 2018-01-31 | 2019-06-07 |
| THOMAS, Rhys Michael | Director | 2022-01-01 | 2025-03-03 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associated British Ports | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2018-02-01 | Active |
| Mr Charles William Frederick Dowds | Individual | Shares 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2018-03-07 |
| Mr Charles William Frederick Dowds | Individual | Shares 25–50%, ownership-of-shares-25-to-50-percent-as-firm, Voting 50–75% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2018-03-07 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 153 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-29 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-07-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-04-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-03-05 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-07-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-04-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-04-15 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-02-06 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-02-06 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-09-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-07-05 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-04-18 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-02-01 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-10-06 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-09-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-04-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-01-12 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2021-10-04 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2021-08-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-04-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates |
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
-6.6%
£8,948,092 £8,353,230
-
Cash
-56.8%
£3,435,986 £1,483,180
-
Net assets
-42.3%
£7,872,815 £4,542,568
-
Employees
-35.4%
48 31
-
Operating profit
+63.9%
£746,662 £1,223,799
-
Profit before tax
+67.5%
£788,412 £1,320,846
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