THE LITTLE GROUP LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-11-30 (in 6mo)
Last filed for 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement due
2026-09-19 (in 4mo)
Last made up 2025-09-05
Watchouts
Cash
£79M
+2.7% vs 2024
Net assets
£178M
+6.1% vs 2024
Employees
1,412
-1.5% vs 2024
Profit before tax
£24M
-11% vs 2024
Watchouts
Facts from the Companies House register and the latest accounts — not a rating
-
3 PSCs ceased in last 24 months
Significant control changed hands — see the Ownership section.
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Consumer Discretionary median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2025-02-28
| Metric | Trend | 2024-02-29 | 2025-02-28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £489,319,058 | £488,149,511 | |
| Operating profit | £24,560,322 | £20,775,453 | |
| Profit before tax | £27,325,389 | £24,308,301 | |
| Net profit | £20,516,672 | £18,226,917 | |
| Cash | £76,701,036 | £78,743,393 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £170,810,777 | £181,261,756 | |
| Net assets | £167,347,702 | £177,527,143 | |
| Equity | £167,347,702 | £177,527,143 | |
| Average employees | 1,434 | 1,412 | |
| Wages | £34,864,108 | £36,683,877 |
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 | 2024-02-29 | 2025-02-28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 5.0% | 4.3% | |
| Net margin | 4.2% | 3.7% | |
| Return on capital employed | 14.4% | 11.5% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 29.7% | 30.3% | |
| Current ratio | 3.09x | 2.99x | |
| Interest cover | 3431.65x | — |
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
- Honey Barrett (Audit) Limited
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The directors therefore consider the group remains well placed to continue to deliver the sustainable growth set out as part of the directors' plan.”
Group structure
- THE LITTLE GROUP LIMITED · parent
- Gardners Books Limited 100%
- A T Little & Sons Limited 100%
- Askews and Holts Library Services Ltd 100%
- Book Protectors & Co. Limited 100%
- Hive Store Limited 100%
- Lasgo Chrysalis Limited 100%
- All Media Supply LLC 100%
- Gardners EU SAS 100%
- Baker & Taylor (UK) Limited 100%
- Gardners US LLC 100%
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
2 active · 6 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LITTLE, Jonathan James | Director | 1996-09-05 | Jan 1965 | British |
| LITTLE, Nicola Gail | Director | 2025-11-07 | May 1968 | British |
Show 6 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| LITTLE, Jean Barbara | Secretary | 1996-09-05 | 2009-10-05 |
| SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 1996-09-05 | 1996-09-05 |
| LITTLE, Alan Thomas | Director | 1996-09-05 | 2013-10-31 |
| LITTLE, Andrew Thomas | Director | 1996-09-05 | 2025-11-20 |
| LITTLE, Jean Barbara | Director | 1996-09-05 | 2013-10-31 |
| STAFFORD, Yvette Jane | Director | 1996-09-05 | 2025-11-20 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Group Holdings Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2025-11-20 | Active |
| Mr Andrew Thomas Little | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2025-11-20 |
| Mr Jonathan James Little | Individual | Shares 25–50%, Voting 25–50% | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2025-11-20 |
| Mrs Yvette Jane Stafford | Individual | ownership-of-shares-25-to-50-percent-as-trust, voting-rights-25-to-50-percent-as-trust | 2016-04-06 | Ceased 2025-11-20 |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 109 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-21 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-11-21 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-11-21 | PSC07 | persons-with-significant-control | Cessation of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-11-21 | PSC02 | persons-with-significant-control | Notification of a person with significant control | |
| 2025-11-21 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-11-21 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-11-11 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-11-07 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-09-11 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2024-11-15 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-09-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2023-11-28 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-09-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2023-07-25 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2023-07-25 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-12-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2022-11-22 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2022-11-22 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2022-11-08 | PSC04 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2022-09-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 9
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- Officers resigned
- 2
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 2025-02-28 vs 2024-02-29
-
Turnover
-0.2%
£489,319,058 £488,149,511
-
Cash
+2.7%
£76,701,036 £78,743,393
-
Net assets
+6.1%
£167,347,702 £177,527,143
-
Employees
-1.5%
1,434 1,412
-
Operating profit
-15.4%
£24,560,322 £20,775,453
-
Profit before tax
-11%
£27,325,389 £24,308,301
-
Wages
+5.2%
£34,864,108 £36,683,877
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