JAMES CROPPER SPECIALITY PAPERS LIMITED
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Next accounts due
2026-12-31 (in 7mo)
Last filed for 2025-03-29
Confirmation statement due
2027-03-09 (in 10mo)
Last made up 2026-02-23
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£65K
-86.1% vs 2024
Net assets
-£33M
-30% vs 2024
Employees
295
-8.4% vs 2024
Profit before tax
-£10M
+17.8% vs 2024
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Basic Materials median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2025-03-29
| Metric | Trend | 2024-03-30 | 2025-03-29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £55,389,000 | £53,429,000 | |
| Operating profit | -£11,263,000 | -£9,039,000 | |
| Profit before tax | -£12,022,000 | -£9,885,000 | |
| Net profit | -£10,560,000 | -£7,721,000 | |
| Cash | £468,000 | £65,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | -£25,597,000 | -£21,354,000 | |
| Net assets | -£25,745,000 | -£33,466,000 | |
| Equity | -£25,745,000 | -£33,466,000 | |
| Average employees | 322 | 295 | |
| Wages | £13,921,000 | £13,203,000 |
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 | 2024-03-30 | 2025-03-29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -20.3% | -16.9% | |
| Net margin | -19.1% | -14.5% | |
| Return on capital employed | 44.0% | 42.3% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 175.5% | 226.2% | |
| Current ratio | 0.45x | 0.40x | |
| Interest cover | -14.84x | -10.68x |
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
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The Directors have concluded that the company will have sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and that it is therefore appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements, based on the letter of support from James Cropper plc to the company, and the underlying James Cropper plc Group going concern review that includes cash flows for James Cropper Speciality Papers Limited.”
Group structure
- JAMES CROPPER SPECIALITY PAPERS LIMITED · parent
- James Cropper (Guangzhou) Trading Co. Ltd 100%
Significant events
- “Subsequent to the period end, the Company received notice that a significant merchant customer would no longer source certain coloured paper ranges from the company, effective from that date.”
- “As part of the announced Paper & Packaging improvement plan the Company is expected to incur restructuring costs of £450k in FY26. This figure could increase and is subject to future developments as set out in the going concern disclosure.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
4 active · 12 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RATCLIFFE, Matthew Adam | Secretary | 2023-09-26 | — | — |
| BARBER, Paul James | Director | 2025-03-30 | Dec 1979 | British |
| GOODY, Andrew John | Director | 2023-11-27 | Oct 1966 | British |
| STIRLING, David Burns | Director | 2025-03-30 | May 1966 | British |
Show 12 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALDRIDGE, James Francis | Secretary | 2015-11-05 | 2023-05-26 |
| CAREY, David Roderick | Secretary | 2003-03-07 | 2015-11-05 |
| SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Secretary | 2003-03-07 | 2003-03-07 |
| ADAMS, Stephen Anthony Adrian | Director | 2017-01-31 | 2025-03-30 |
| BRACEWELL, Richard Alastair | Director | 2023-08-23 | 2024-12-31 |
| BROWN, Christopher Thomas | Director | 2014-03-31 | 2016-05-20 |
| LEWIS, Alun Idris | Director | 2003-03-07 | 2012-08-14 |
| MADDOCK, Isabelle Marguerite | Director | 2014-01-01 | 2023-06-13 |
| READ, Nigel Anthony | Director | 2003-03-07 | 2014-05-02 |
| WILD, Philip Ian | Director | 2012-10-08 | 2022-08-09 |
| WILLINK, Patrick John | Director | 2003-03-07 | 2014-01-01 |
| INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED | Corporate Nominee Director | 2003-03-07 | 2003-03-07 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Cropper Plc | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 82 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-23 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-12-29 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2025-04-15 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-04-14 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-04-14 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-02-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2025-01-07 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-12-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2024-02-28 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with updates | |
| 2024-01-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2023-12-06 | AP03 | officers | Appoint person secretary company with name date | |
| 2023-12-06 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-08-23 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-08-21 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-08-21 | TM02 | officers | Termination secretary company with name termination date | |
| 2023-03-06 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-11-22 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full | |
| 2022-08-10 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2022-03-14 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2021-12-16 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type full |
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
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-03-29 vs 2024-03-30
-
Turnover
-3.5%
£55,389,000 £53,429,000
-
Cash
-86.1%
£468,000 £65,000
-
Net assets
-30%
-£25,745,000 -£33,466,000
-
Employees
-8.4%
322 295
-
Operating profit
+19.7%
-£11,263,000 -£9,039,000
-
Profit before tax
+17.8%
-£12,022,000 -£9,885,000
-
Wages
-5.2%
£13,921,000 £13,203,000
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