DAUNT BOOKS LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-09-30 (in 4mo)
Last filed for 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement due
2026-06-30 (in 1mo)
Last made up 2025-06-16
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£6M
+33.9% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£8M
+20.4% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
86
+4.9% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£3M
-1.6% vs 2023
Net assets
7-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
7-year trend · latest reflected 2024-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2018-12-31 | 2019-12-31 | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | £15,730,329 | £17,520,295 | |
| Operating profit | — | — | — | — | — | £2,591,218 | £2,516,762 | |
| Profit before tax | — | — | — | — | — | £2,645,138 | £2,603,741 | |
| Net profit | — | — | — | — | — | £1,985,258 | £1,875,574 | |
| Cash | — | — | £701 | — | — | £4,227,595 | £5,661,808 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | — | — | £1,976 | — | — | £6,861,472 | £8,238,183 | |
| Net assets | — | — | — | — | — | £6,728,037 | £8,103,611 | |
| Equity | £1,976 | £1,976 | £1,976 | £1,976 | £1,976 | £6,728,007 | £8,103,572 | |
| Average employees | — | — | 65 | — | — | 82 | 86 | |
| Wages | — | — | — | — | — | £2,178,779 | £2,935,454 |
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 | 2018-12-31 | 2019-12-31 | 2020-12-31 | 2021-12-31 | 2022-12-31 | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | — | 16.5% | 14.4% | |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | — | 12.6% | 10.7% | |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | — | 37.8% | 30.5% | |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — | 3.41x | 3.70x |
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
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- Sproull & Co.
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the director's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 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 group's and the parent 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.”
Group structure
- DAUNT BOOKS LIMITED · parent
- Travel Buff Limited 100%
Significant events
- “The business has had a good year, benefiting from good publishing and the continued excellence of its booksellers. The bookshops continue to have a strong reputation within their communities, and to have good relations with their suppliers and landlords.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
2 active · 5 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAUNT, Katherine Mary | Secretary | 1995-07-05 | — | British |
| DAUNT, Achilles James | Director | 1995-07-05 | Oct 1963 | British |
Show 5 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 1995-06-16 | 1995-07-05 |
| DAUNT, Timothy Lewis Achilles, Sir | Director | 1995-09-06 | 1996-09-30 |
| KEATLEY, William Halliday | Director | 1995-09-06 | 1998-02-18 |
| O'SULLIVAN, Kevin Patrick | Director | 1995-09-06 | 1998-02-18 |
| WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Director | 1995-06-16 | 1995-07-05 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Katherine Mary Daunt | Individual | Shares 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
| Mr Achilles James Daunt | Individual | Shares 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 77 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-07-17 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-11-13 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-07-24 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-07-25 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-12-09 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-07-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-12-24 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2021-07-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2020-12-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2020-08-18 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2019-09-30 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2019-07-16 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2018-09-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2018-07-31 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2017-09-13 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type total exemption full | |
| 2017-06-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2016-10-04 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2016-06-28 | AR01 | annual-return | Annual return company with made up date full list shareholders |
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
+11.4%
£15,730,329 £17,520,295
-
Cash
+33.9%
£4,227,595 £5,661,808
highest in 3 filed years
-
Net assets
+20.4%
£6,728,037 £8,103,611
-
Employees
+4.9%
82 86
highest in 3 filed years
-
Operating profit
-2.9%
£2,591,218 £2,516,762
-
Profit before tax
-1.6%
£2,645,138 £2,603,741
-
Wages
+34.7%
£2,178,779 £2,935,454
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