HORSTMAN DEFENCE SYSTEMS LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2026-06-21 (in 1mo)
Last made up 2025-06-07
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£10M
+163.8% vs 2023
Net assets
£32M
+22.6% vs 2023
Employees
192
+16.4% vs 2023
Profit before tax
£8M
-1.3% vs 2023
Name history
Renamed 1 time since incorporation
- HORSTMAN DEFENCE SYSTEMS LIMITED 1980-12-31 → present
- STOVETONE LIMITED 1980-08-11 → 1980-12-31
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 | £42,866,000 | £54,749,000 | |
| Operating profit | £7,888,000 | £7,732,000 | |
| Profit before tax | £7,887,000 | £7,784,000 | |
| Net profit | £6,371,000 | £5,917,000 | |
| Cash | £3,635,000 | £9,588,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £33,198,000 | £37,678,000 | |
| Net assets | £26,188,000 | £32,105,000 | |
| Equity | £26,188,000 | £32,105,000 | |
| Average employees | 165 | 192 | |
| Wages | £8,427,000 | £9,720,000 |
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 | 18.4% | 14.1% | |
| Net margin | 14.9% | 10.8% | |
| Return on capital employed | 23.8% | 20.5% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 37.6% | 36.1% | |
| Current ratio | 3.81x | 3.37x | |
| Interest cover | 25.36x | 24.47x |
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
- Cooper Parry Group Limited
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.”
Significant events
- “Horstman experienced another year of growth in 2024, underpinned by strong customer demand and continued investment in capability. Turnover increased to £54.7m (2023: £42.9m), reflecting the strength of our order intake and execution.”
- “In 2024, The Company's management team finalised the integration of Horstman Holdings Limited's 2023 acquisition of General Kinetics, now known as Horstman Canada. This acquisition has strengthened the Group's global footprint, enhanced its engineering capabilities and broadened its customer base across North America. This integration has also delivered operational synergies, enabling greater collaboration across our UK, US and Canadian businesses.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 23 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAKWOOD CORPORATE SECRETARY LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2019-06-06 | — | — |
| ELWELL, Gareth David | Director | 2022-11-16 | Oct 1982 | British |
| EVERETT, Jonathan Mark | Director | 2026-04-01 | Feb 1966 | British |
| MASUR, Michael | Director | 2019-12-31 | Jun 1975 | German |
Show 23 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| BARRETT, Paul Francis | Secretary | — | 2001-11-12 |
| HINDLE, Howard John | Secretary | 2001-11-12 | 2005-01-31 |
| MAYCOCK, Stephen Robert | Secretary | 2013-06-14 | 2014-08-19 |
| HORSTMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2014-08-19 | 2019-06-06 |
| HW MACHINERY LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2011-05-23 | 2013-06-14 |
| WATERLINKS INVESTMENTS LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2005-01-31 | 2011-05-23 |
| ALLEMBY, Mark Colin | Director | 2024-12-01 | 2025-12-31 |
| BARRETT, Paul Francis | Director | — | 1999-06-03 |
| BINNS, Peter John | Director | — | 1999-06-03 |
| BRIGGS, Paul Gerard | Director | 1994-07-01 | 1999-06-03 |
| BROOKS, Alan John | Director | — | 2001-11-12 |
| EDWARDS, John Ralph | Director | 1999-06-03 | 2001-11-12 |
| HARRIS, John Graham | Director | 2001-11-12 | 2019-04-16 |
| HASLEHURST, Peter Joseph Kinder | Director | — | 1998-12-31 |
| HOBBS, Jeffrey Jacques | Director | — | 1998-07-23 |
| HOFBAUER, Florian | Director | 2019-04-16 | 2021-04-30 |
| HOFFMANN, Frank | Director | 2019-04-16 | 2019-12-31 |
| HOLMAN, Timothy John | Director | — | 1999-06-03 |
| MORRIS, Roy | Director | — | 1994-12-31 |
| NORRIS, Guy Mervyn | Director | 1999-06-03 | 2001-11-12 |
| PAIN, Ian | Director | 2019-04-16 | 2024-11-30 |
| WOOD, Malcolm Kenneth | Director | — | 1995-02-02 |
| WORMSLEY, Bertram Howard | Director | — | 1993-10-03 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr John Graham Harris | Individual | Shares 25–50% | 2017-04-05 | Ceased 2017-04-05 |
| Horstman Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 207 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-09 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2026-04-08 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-10-06 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-06-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-01-17 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-01-17 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-06-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-05-21 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2024-05-14 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-04-18 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-04-18 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-04-18 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-04-18 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-03-27 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2023-10-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-06-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-11-25 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-06-21 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-07-15 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 4
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- Officers resigned
- 1
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
+27.7%
£42,866,000 £54,749,000
-
Cash
+163.8%
£3,635,000 £9,588,000
-
Net assets
+22.6%
£26,188,000 £32,105,000
-
Employees
+16.4%
165 192
-
Operating profit
-2%
£7,888,000 £7,732,000
-
Profit before tax
-1.3%
£7,887,000 £7,784,000
-
Wages
+15.3%
£8,427,000 £9,720,000
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