Waterfields (Leigh) Limited
Registered name: WATERFIELDS (LEIGH) LIMITED
Part of Davies Enterprise Holdings Limited groupWaterfields (Leigh) Limited made £14.8m revenue and a £228k loss in the year to 5 Apr 2025. read from filing text
Waterfields (Leigh) Limited’s revenue fell 5% to £14.8m in the year to 5 Apr 2025, with a loss of £228k and 369 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes” and is based in Leigh; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Leigh, North West
- Age
- 88 yrs · since 1938
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently. From the filing: “From 6 April 2024 until 10 January 2025, A R Waterfield was the ultimate controlling party.”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 5 Apr 2022 | 5 Apr 2023 | 5 Apr 2024 | 5 Apr 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Profit & lossread from filing text | Profit & lossread from filing text | Profit & lossread from filing text | Profit & lossread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £12.4m | £13.6m | £15.5m | £14.8m |
| Cost of sales | £6.4m | £7.3m | £8.3m | £7.9m |
| Gross profit | £6m | £6.3m | £7.3m | £6.8m |
| Operating profit | £304k | £54.1k | −£248k | −£604k |
| Profit before tax | £302k | £52.3k | −£259k | −£626k |
| Profit after tax | £368k | £37.8k | −£195k | −£228k |
| Profit (best available) | £368k | £37.8k | −£195k | −£228k |
| Staff costs | £5.8m | £6.2m | £7.3m | £7.4m |
| Employees (average) | 366 | 382 | 375 | 369 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 3% | 0.3% | −1.3% | −1.5% |
| Gross margin | 48.4% | 46.6% | 46.8% | 46.3% |
| Revenue per employee | £33.9k | £35.6k | £41.4k | £40.1k |
| Profit per employee | £1k | £99 | −£520 | −£618 |
| Cash conversion | −113.4% | −519.7% | — | — |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲9.6% | ▲14.4% | ▼4.9% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼89.7% | ▼615.9% | — |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲4.4% | ▼1.8% | ▼1.6% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £732k | £617k | £318k | £210k |
| Net assets | £1.8m | £1.8m | £1.6m | £1.4m |
| Fixed assets | £1.1m | £1.5m | £1.5m | £1.4m |
| Current assets | £1.7m | £1.6m | £1.5m | £1.6m |
| Debtors | £261k | £297k | £402k | £390k |
| Deferred income | £308k | £306k | £311k | £347k |
| Cash from operations | −£345k | −£281k | £4k | £25.9k |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2023 | FullAccounts · bulk data Mar 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −1.5%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 46.3%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £40.1k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£618
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 9.3%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 2.4%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 2.6%
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▼14%
- Now £1.4m
- Cash at bank
- ▼34%
- Now £210k
- Headcount
- ▼2%
- Now 369
- Deferred income
- ▲12%
- Now £347k
- Fixed assets
- ▼8%
- Now £1.4m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Davies Enterprise Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Waterfields (Leigh) Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (2)
- Hilltop Food Group LimitedRev. £45.4m · Profit £1.4m
- Patchwork Foods LimitedLiquidationRev. — · Profit −£911k
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 5 Apr 2025 (profit −£228k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Dec 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 11 Oct 2026