COSTAIN ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2027-09-30 (in 1y)
Last filed for 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2027-01-26 (in 8mo)
Last made up 2026-01-12
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
—
Latest balance sheet
Net assets
£112M
-24.7% vs 2024
Employees
2,837
-3.8% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£2M
-92% vs 2024
Name history
Renamed 2 times since incorporation
- COSTAIN ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION LIMITED 1991-08-05 → present
- COSTAIN E & C LIMITED 1990-01-10 → 1991-08-05
- QUESTEARN LIMITED 1989-11-07 → 1990-01-10
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £279,405,000 | £290,537,000 | |
| Operating profit | £22,947,000 | £21,426,000 | |
| Profit before tax | £27,126,000 | £2,181,000 | |
| Net profit | £21,233,000 | -£3,439,000 | |
| Cash | — | — | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £162,457,000 | £126,965,000 | |
| Net assets | £148,862,000 | £112,024,000 | |
| Equity | £148,862,000 | £112,024,000 | |
| Average employees | 2,950 | 2,837 | |
| Wages | £206,191,000 | £212,381,000 |
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 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 8.2% | 7.4% | |
| Net margin | 7.6% | -1.2% | |
| Return on capital employed | 14.1% | 16.9% | |
| Interest cover | 16.69x | 18.91x |
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
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“In determining the appropriate basis of preparation of the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, the directors are required to consider whether the company can continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The directors have concluded, due to reliance on the operations of the Group, that after having received an undertaking from Costain Group PLC that for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements, it will continue to make available such funds as they are needed by the company, it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.”
Group structure
- COSTAIN ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION LIMITED · parent
- CLM Engineering (Overseas) Limited 0%
- Costain Alcaidesa Limited 0%
- Costain Building & Civil Engineering Limited 100%
- Costain Construction Limited 0%
- Costain de Venezuela C.A. 100%
- Costain Energy Solutions Limited 100%
- Costain Engineering & Construction (Overseas) Limited 100%
- Costain International Limited 0%
- Costain Management Design Limited 0%
- COGAP (Middle East) Limited 100%
- Costain Oil, Gas & Process (Nigeria) Limited 95%
- Costain Oil, Gas & Process (Overseas) Limited 100%
- Costain Oil, Gas & Process Limited 100%
- Costain Process Construction Limited 0%
- Westminster Plant Co Limited 0%
Significant events
- “Revenue for the year was £290.5m (2024: £279.4m) driven by an increase in payroll recharges to other group companies as a result of annual pay rises. The company recorded a loss after taxation for the financial year of £3.4m (2023: profit of £21.2m) predominantly as a result of writing down an investment in a subsidiary company (see note 6).”
- “On 20 March 2025, Costain Engineering & Construction Limited subscribed for 2,300,000,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in its subsidiary Costain Oil, Gas & Process Limited resulting in an investment of £23,000,000. The investment was subsequently fully provided for.”
- “In August and December 2025, CLM Engineering (Overseas) Limited, Costain Alcadesia Limited, Costain International Limited, Costain Management Design Limited, Costain Process Construction Limited, Westminster Plant Co Limited and Westminster Plant Co Limited were voluntarily struck off. The company's investments in these companies, as well as the corresponding provisions against these investments, have been disposed of accordingly in 2025.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 35 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEOGHEGAN, Nicole Ann | Secretary | 2022-07-05 | — | — |
| DUFFY, Catherine | Director | 2023-07-03 | Feb 1979 | British |
| MORRIS, Paul Anthony | Director | 2024-07-08 | Apr 1974 | British |
| WILLIS, Helen Margaret | Director | 2020-11-30 | Jan 1964 | British |
Show 35 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| FRANKS, Clive Leonard | Secretary | 1998-04-30 | 2011-05-31 |
| HARRIS, Sharon | Secretary | 2020-09-01 | 2022-07-05 |
| RACE, Brian William | Secretary | — | 1998-04-30 |
| SEYMOUR, Charmaine Alex | Secretary | 2006-09-01 | 2012-05-18 |
| STARKEY, Paul Michael | Secretary | 2012-09-03 | 2013-05-20 |
| WOOD, Tracey Alison | Secretary | 2011-06-01 | 2020-09-01 |
| ADAMS, Peter Richard | Director | 1998-04-01 | 2003-08-31 |
| ARMITT, John Alexander | Director | 1997-04-09 | 2001-06-30 |
| ATKINSON, Stewart Martin | Director | 1998-06-30 | 1999-12-31 |
| BEVAN, John David | Director | 1994-11-01 | 2002-09-30 |
| BICKERSTAFF, Anthony Oliver | Director | 2006-06-05 | 2020-11-30 |
| BRUCE, Robert Kenneth James | Director | 1998-04-01 | 2002-10-31 |
| CAMPBELL, John Richmond | Director | — | 2000-06-02 |
| CHARLES, Colin Scott | Director | — | 1994-10-31 |
| CLARK, Ian Robertson | Director | — | 1993-11-30 |
| DOUGHTY, Stuart John | Director | 2001-07-01 | 2005-09-12 |
| GERRETSEN, Wolbert | Director | — | 1995-09-26 |
| HANDFORD, Alistair John | Director | 1998-04-01 | 2013-03-26 |
| HUNTER, Martin David | Director | 2007-12-11 | 2022-03-18 |
| JONES, Roger Martyn | Director | 1998-04-01 | 1999-01-31 |
| LEE, Stephen Warwick | Director | 1994-11-01 | 1999-02-12 |
| LOVELL, Alan Charles | Director | 1993-04-19 | 1994-10-31 |
| MAY, George Victor | Director | — | 1997-06-30 |
| MCCOLE, Charles Joseph | Director | 2002-04-26 | 2006-06-04 |
| MINASSIAN, Michael Minas | Director | 1994-11-01 | 1995-09-30 |
| O'REILLY, Cormac John Jerome Conway | Director | — | 1995-06-01 |
| QUIRKE, Michael John | Director | — | 1998-07-31 |
| ROBERTS, Miles William | Director | 2000-06-02 | 2001-12-31 |
| SIVEY, Graham Paul | Director | 1994-11-01 | 1996-08-31 |
| SMETHURST, Ronald | Director | — | 1995-09-30 |
| SPERRY, William | Director | — | 1998-04-30 |
| TAYLOR, David Roy | Director | 2020-09-01 | 2024-07-08 |
| WESTMAN, Timothy Nigel Christopher | Director | 1994-11-01 | 1997-10-03 |
| WOOD, Tracey Alison | Director | 2013-04-08 | 2020-09-01 |
| WYLLIE, Andrew | Director | 2005-09-12 | 2019-05-07 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costain Group Plc | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2026-01-12 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-11-20 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2025-04-14 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-01-13 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-08-06 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-08-05 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2024-08-05 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2024-07-18 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-07-18 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-05-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-01-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-08-15 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2023-07-06 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-06-06 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-01-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-11-10 | RP04CS01 | confirmation-statement | Second filing of confirmation statement with made up date | |
| 2022-08-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-07-15 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2022-07-15 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 3
- 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
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31
-
Turnover
+4%
£279,405,000 £290,537,000
-
Cash
—
Not reported
-
Net assets
-24.7%
£148,862,000 £112,024,000
-
Employees
-3.8%
2,950 2,837
-
Operating profit
-6.6%
£22,947,000 £21,426,000
-
Profit before tax
-92%
£27,126,000 £2,181,000
-
Wages
+3%
£206,191,000 £212,381,000
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