THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2027-02-04 (in 9mo)
Last made up 2026-01-21
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£196K
-77.6% lowest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£110M
+3.4% vs 2023
Employees
1,616
+2.5% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£32M
+7.9% vs 2023
Name history
Renamed 5 times since incorporation
- THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP LIMITED 1999-07-02 → present
- RANDOM HOUSE UK LIMITED 1992-05-27 → 1999-07-02
- THE RANDOM CENTURY GROUP LIMITED 1989-11-06 → 1992-05-27
- RANDOM HOUSE U.K. LTD. 1988-02-01 → 1989-11-06
- CHATTO, VIRAGO, BODLEY HEAD & JONATHAN CAPE LTD. 1985-01-01 → 1988-02-01
- CHATTO, BODLEY HEAD & JONATHAN CAPE LIMITED 1969-05-12 → 1985-01-01
Net assets
5-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
5-year trend · latest reflected 2024-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2022-01-01 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | £231,644,201 | — | £262,304,038 | £255,133,870 | |
| Operating profit | — | £39,244,203 | — | £33,861,015 | £37,668,550 | |
| Profit before tax | — | £38,942,242 | — | £29,249,949 | £31,558,869 | |
| Net profit | — | £31,935,603 | — | £20,490,142 | £22,625,559 | |
| Cash | — | £956,286 | — | £877,423 | £196,339 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | — | £243,922,837 | — | £200,422,598 | £229,198,123 | |
| Net assets | — | £158,059,690 | — | £106,216,874 | £109,851,570 | |
| Equity | £215,943,222 | £158,059,690 | £158,059,690 | £106,216,874 | £109,851,570 | |
| Average employees | — | 1,523 | — | 1,576 | 1,616 | |
| Wages | — | £72,446,761 | — | £80,340,269 | £79,383,545 |
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 | 2022-01-01 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | 16.9% | — | 12.9% | 14.8% | |
| Net margin | — | 13.8% | — | 7.8% | 8.9% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | 16.1% | — | 16.9% | 16.4% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | 1.38x | 1.30x | |
| Interest cover | — | 28.58x | — | 7.51x | 3.46x |
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 101
- Reporting scope
- Standalone (parent only)
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Based on the Company's current trading performance, the sensitivity and reverse stress testing scenarios performed and the written confirmation of support from Bertelsmann UK Limited, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, being a period of no less than twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.”
Group structure
- THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP LIMITED · parent
- Arrow Books Limited 100%
- Bantam Books Limited 100%
- Barrie & Jenkins Limited 98%
- Bartlett Bliss Productions Limited 100%
- Bellew & Higton Publishers Limited 100%
- Business Books Limited 100%
- Bodley Head Limited (The) 100%
- Carousel Books Limited 100%
- Century Benham Limited 100%
- Century Hutchinson Limited 100%
- Century Hutchinson Publishing Limited 100%
- Century Publishing Co. Limited 100%
- Chatto and Windus Limited 100%
- Corgi Books Limited 100%
- Hammond, Hammond and Company, Limited 100%
- Herbert Jenkins Limited 100%
- Hurst & Blackett Limited 100%
- Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Limited 100%
- Hutchinson Books Limited 100%
- Hutchinson Childrens Books Limited 100%
- Jackdaw Publications Limited 100%
- Jonathan Cape Limited 100%
- Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Limited 100%
- Martin Secker and Warburg Limited 100%
- Penguin Random House Ireland Limited 100%
- Penguin Random House South Africa Proprietary Limited 53.7%
- Plane Tree Publishers Limited 100%
- Quadrille Publishing Limited 100%
- Random House Properties Limited 100%
- Random House Publishing Group Limited 100%
- Random House UK Ventures Limited 100%
- RHA Holdings Pty Limited 100%
- Sinclair - Stevenson Limited 100%
- Stanley Paul & Company Limited 100%
- T. Werner Laurie, Limited 100%
- Tamarind Limited 100%
- The Book Service Limited 100%
- The Cresset Press Limited 100%
- The Harvill Press Limited 100%
- The Hogarth Press Limited 100%
- Transworld Publishers Limited 100%
- Virgin Books Limited 100%
- Woodlands Books Limited 85%
Significant events
- “The Company entered into additonal leases for the full occupation of all floors at Embassy Gardens ("EG"), whilst granting occupancy agreements to fellow Bertelsmann group companies to utilise space at Vauxhall Bridge Road.”
- “The Company's subsidiary The Book Service Limited continued to wind down its third party distribution operations during the year. All such operations will fully cease in 2025.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
5 active · 26 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARTIN, Sinead Mary | Secretary | 2016-06-30 | — | — |
| GARDINER, Mark William | Director | 2000-07-03 | Apr 1961 | British |
| MALAVIYA, Nihar | Director | 2023-01-01 | Nov 1974 | Indian,American |
| WADDINGTON, Robert Angus | Director | 2017-01-31 | Apr 1970 | British |
| WELDON, Thomas Daryl | Director | 2013-07-01 | Aug 1963 | British |
Show 26 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| GARDINER, Mark William | Secretary | 2000-07-03 | 2011-08-04 |
| MCCONNELL, Anthony Sudlow | Secretary | 1993-07-09 | 2000-07-03 |
| PEACOCK, Helena Caroline | Secretary | 2014-10-20 | 2016-06-30 |
| ROBERTSON, Antony Brian | Secretary | — | 1993-07-09 |
| SMITH, Roger Ling | Secretary | 2011-08-04 | 2014-10-20 |
| BARTY-KING, Mark Baxter | Director | 1999-06-21 | 2003-06-30 |
| BOWRON, Peter David | Director | 2008-10-31 | 2009-01-17 |
| CALLIL, Carmen Therese | Director | — | 1994-03-21 |
| CRANE, Edmund David | Director | — | 1992-12-31 |
| DAVIES, Brian John | Director | 2009-07-03 | 2015-09-30 |
| DOHLE, Markus Franz-Joseph | Director | 2008-05-31 | 2022-12-31 |
| GODWIN, David John | Director | — | 1993-06-18 |
| HEMPSTEAD, Barry William | Director | 1999-06-21 | 2002-08-09 |
| HUDSON, Ian Michael | Director | 1997-08-01 | 2008-10-31 |
| JANSON-SMITH, Peter Patrick | Director | 1999-06-21 | 2005-09-27 |
| KING, Simon | Director | — | 1999-04-05 |
| MASTER, Simon Harcourt | Director | — | 2011-09-13 |
| MCCONNELL, Anthony Sudlow | Director | 1992-12-07 | 1999-04-05 |
| MOTTRAM, John Michael | Director | — | 1994-01-14 |
| OLSON, Peter | Director | 1998-07-01 | 2008-05-31 |
| REBUCK, Gail Ruth, Baroness | Director | — | 2013-07-01 |
| ROBERTSON, Antony Brian | Director | — | 1993-07-09 |
| SNYMAN, Pieter Gert Wessel | Director | — | 1997-07-24 |
| SYMONS, Michael John | Director | 2015-12-09 | 2017-01-31 |
| THORPE, Amelia | Director | — | 1999-04-05 |
| VITALE, Alberto | Director | — | 2002-09-30 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penguin Random House Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 240 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-16 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-09-18 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-21 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-11-25 | ANNOTATION | miscellaneous | Legacy | |
| 2024-10-30 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2024-09-23 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-01-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-09-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-01-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-01-05 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-01-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-10-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-01-26 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-12-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2021-02-10 | AUD | auditors | Auditors resignation company | |
| 2021-01-22 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2020-11-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2020-01-21 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2019-09-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2019-06-13 | 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
-2.7%
£262,304,038 £255,133,870
-
Cash
-77.6%
£877,423 £196,339
lowest in 3 filed years
-
Net assets
+3.4%
£106,216,874 £109,851,570
-
Employees
+2.5%
1,576 1,616
highest in 3 filed years
-
Operating profit
+11.2%
£33,861,015 £37,668,550
-
Profit before tax
+7.9%
£29,249,949 £31,558,869
-
Wages
-1.2%
£80,340,269 £79,383,545
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