GREAT BEAR DISTRIBUTION LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2027-03-03 (in 10mo)
Last made up 2026-02-17
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£109K
-50.9% vs 2023
Net assets
£113M
+10.8% vs 2023
Employees
4,310
-2.3% vs 2023
Profit before tax
£15M
-48.8% vs 2023
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 | £525,195,000 | £513,382,000 | |
| Operating profit | £54,954,000 | £40,959,000 | |
| Profit before tax | £29,942,000 | £15,332,000 | |
| Net profit | £23,838,000 | £10,988,000 | |
| Cash | £222,000 | £109,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £441,207,000 | £442,526,000 | |
| Net assets | £101,670,000 | £112,658,000 | |
| Equity | £101,670,000 | £112,658,000 | |
| Average employees | 4,412 | 4,310 | |
| Wages | £144,889,000 | £138,935,000 |
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 | 10.5% | 8.0% | |
| Net margin | 4.5% | 2.1% | |
| Return on capital employed | 12.5% | 9.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 84.0% | 81.5% | |
| Current ratio | 1.21x | 1.07x | |
| Interest cover | 2.05x | 1.52x |
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
- BDO LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“On this basis, the directors of the Company believe it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements.”
Significant events
- “The transfer of warehousing operations from Eddie Stobart Limited (ESL), a fellow group undertaking, is considered by management to be a business combination under common control.”
- “Culina Group is in the process of setting group-level climate related goals and targets, including setting science-based targets through SBTi by October 2025.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 24 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HELD, Thierry Patrick | Director | 2025-06-12 | Jun 1970 | Swiss |
| ISBISTER, Alastair William | Director | 2018-02-01 | Oct 1965 | British |
| KOEHLER, Fabian | Director | 2025-03-15 | May 1988 | German |
| MCELROY, Liam James | Director | 2025-03-13 | Jul 1964 | British |
Show 24 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAVIES, Glanfor | Secretary | 1994-04-06 | 2001-04-02 |
| JURY, Nigel Stephen | Secretary | 2016-02-29 | 2021-11-05 |
| MORGAN JONES, Richard Arthur | Secretary | 2001-05-03 | 2016-02-29 |
| BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 1994-02-17 | 1994-04-11 |
| CHURCH, Michael | Director | 2013-09-01 | 2017-03-31 |
| GEALL, Richard Henry | Director | 2002-10-01 | 2013-08-29 |
| GOODSON, Paul Andrew | Director | 2012-01-03 | 2016-02-29 |
| JURY, Nigel Stephen | Director | 2016-02-29 | 2021-11-05 |
| KELLY, Peter | Director | 2013-09-01 | 2014-01-08 |
| LINDFIELD, Glenn Jonathan | Director | 2013-02-04 | 2016-10-31 |
| LOCKHART, James | Director | 1994-05-09 | 2012-05-31 |
| MCDAVID, Colin James | Director | 1994-05-09 | 2015-04-21 |
| MURDOCH, Colin Ian | Director | 1996-02-19 | 2016-02-29 |
| NUTTALL, Philip James | Director | 2006-10-01 | 2013-09-01 |
| PARKHOUSE, Robin Rex | Director | 1995-09-01 | 2004-09-30 |
| PITKIN, Mark Robert | Director | 2003-01-02 | 2013-08-29 |
| PRICE, Christian Lee | Director | 2016-02-29 | 2025-09-30 |
| ROBERTS, Mark Ronald | Director | 2010-01-01 | 2016-12-31 |
| SMITH, Ian Stuart | Director | 2024-10-01 | 2025-03-13 |
| VAN MOURIK, Thomas | Director | 2016-02-29 | 2024-10-01 |
| WARD, Liesl Janet | Director | 2013-09-01 | 2022-03-31 |
| WILLIAMS, Thomas David | Director | 1994-04-06 | 2016-02-29 |
| YARWOOD, Peter John | Director | 2015-09-29 | 2018-09-30 |
| DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Director | 1994-02-17 | 1994-04-11 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culina Group Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 193 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-24 | AD01 | address | Change registered office address company with date old address new address | |
| 2026-03-12 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2026-03-03 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-10-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-06-13 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-03-28 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-03-27 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-03-26 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-02-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-10-18 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-10-18 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-10-03 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-02-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-05-11 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2023-02-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-10-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-05-12 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2022-05-12 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 6
- 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
-2.2%
£525,195,000 £513,382,000
-
Cash
-50.9%
£222,000 £109,000
-
Net assets
+10.8%
£101,670,000 £112,658,000
-
Employees
-2.3%
4,412 4,310
-
Operating profit
-25.5%
£54,954,000 £40,959,000
-
Profit before tax
-48.8%
£29,942,000 £15,332,000
-
Wages
-4.1%
£144,889,000 £138,935,000
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