Swains International Limited
Registered name: SWAINS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Part of DWKC Group Holdings Limited groupSwains International Limited made £13.9m revenue and £389k profit in the year to 31 Mar 2024.
Swains International Limited’s revenue grew 3% to £13.9m in the year to 31 Mar 2024, with £389k profit and 30 employees. The company is classified under “photographic activities not elsewhere classified” and is based in King's Lynn; we hold 2 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- King's Lynn, East of England
- Age
- 73 yrs · since 1953
- 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: “The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of CWS Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. Its registered address is 26 Rollesby Road, Hardwick Industrial Estate, King's Lynn, Norf”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Mar 2023 | 31 Mar 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||
| Revenue (turnover) | £13.5m | £13.9m |
| Cost of sales | £11.1m | £11.6m |
| Gross profit | £2.4m | £2.3m |
| Operating profit | £695k | £526k |
| Profit before tax | £689k | £524k |
| Profit after tax | £560k | £389k |
| Profit (best available) | £560k | £389k |
| Staff costs | £899k | £1.1m |
| Employees (average) | 29 | 30 |
| Ratios | ||
| Profit margin | 4.1% | 2.8% |
| Gross margin | 18% | 16.7% |
| Revenue per employee | £466k | £464k |
| Profit per employee | £19.3k | £12.9k |
| Cash conversion | 136.4% | 249.9% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲2.9% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼30.7% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲3.5% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||
| Cash at bank | £513k | £475k |
| Net assets | £3.9m | £3.1m |
| Fixed assets | £144k | £159k |
| Current assets | £5.3m | £4.5m |
| Debtors | £4m | £2.9m |
| Deferred income | £166k | £282k |
| Cash from operations | £948k | £1.3m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Dec 2024 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 2.8%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 16.7%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £464k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £12.9k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- 249.9%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 1.1%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 2%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 20.9%
- 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
- ▼20%
- Now £3.1m
- Cash at bank
- ▼8%
- Now £475k
- Headcount
- ▲3%
- Now 30
- Deferred income
- ▲70%
- Now £282k
- Fixed assets
- ▲10%
- Now £159k
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
- DWKC Group Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- CWS Holdings Limited75–100%
- Swains International Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
- Dobedo Represents LtdMaidenhead · Photographic activities not elsewhere classified
- Revenue
- £14.8m
- Profit
- £423k
- Staff
- 6
- Art Partner Productions LimitedLondon · Photographic activities not elsewhere classified
- Revenue
- £7.6m
- Profit
- £10.8k
- Staff
- 34
- David Yarrow Photography LimitedLondon · Other specialist photography
- Revenue
- £26.1m
- Profit
- £5.8m
- Staff
- 8
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Mar 2024 (profit £389k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Dec 2024. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 15 Oct 2026
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.