L.J. Fairburn and Son Limited
Registered name: L.J. FAIRBURN AND SON LIMITED
L.J. Fairburn and Son Limited made £116m revenue and £2.1m profit in the year to 30 Sep 2025.
L.J. Fairburn and Son Limited’s revenue fell 3% to £116m in the year to 30 Sep 2025, with £2.1m profit and 260 employees. The company is classified under “growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds” and is based in Alford; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Alford, East Midlands
- Age
- 52 yrs · since 1974
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Sep 2022 | 30 Sep 2023 | 30 Sep 2024 | 30 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £101m | £109m | £119m | £116m |
| Cost of sales | £96.5m | £96.2m | £107m | £103m |
| Gross profit | £4.4m | £13m | £12.7m | £12.9m |
| Operating profit | −£421k | £4.9m | £4.1m | £4m |
| Profit before tax | −£1m | £3.8m | £3.4m | £3.1m |
| Profit after tax | −£1.7m | £3.1m | £2.3m | £2.1m |
| Profit (best available) | −£1.7m | £3.1m | £2.3m | £2.1m |
| Staff costs | £7.6m | £10.8m | £11.7m | £12.5m |
| Employees (average) | 235 | 238 | 254 | 260 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | −1.7% | 2.9% | 2% | 1.8% |
| Gross margin | 4.4% | 11.9% | 10.6% | 11.1% |
| Revenue per employee | £429k | £459k | £470k | £448k |
| Profit per employee | −£7.2k | £13.2k | £9.2k | £8k |
| Cash conversion | — | −161.2% | −184.6% | −146% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲8.3% | ▲9.4% | ▼2.6% |
| Profit growth | — | — | ▼25.4% | ▼11.3% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲1.3% | ▲6.7% | ▲2.4% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £9.1k | £2.6k | £6.7k | £7.2k |
| Net assets | £15m | £18.1m | £20.4m | £22.5m |
| Fixed assets | £32.8m | £33.7m | £34.4m | £40.7m |
| Current assets | £17.7m | £21.7m | £21m | £22.5m |
| Debtors | £10.2m | £11.8m | £11.6m | £12.4m |
| Deferred income | £1.2m | £4.1m | £4m | £1.1m |
| Cash from operations | −£953k | −£7.8m | −£7.6m | −£5.8m |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jun 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 1.8%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 11.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £448k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £8k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- −146%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 34.9%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 10.7%
- 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
- ▲10%
- Now £22.5m
- Cash at bank
- ▲8%
- Now £7.2k
- Headcount
- ▲2%
- Now 260
- Deferred income
- ▼72%
- Now £1.1m
- Fixed assets
- ▲18%
- Now £40.7m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Similar profitable businesses
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- Profit
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- J.B Shropshire & Sons LimitedEly · Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
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- S.M. Bayne & Company LimitedFife · Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
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- Stewarts of Tayside LimitedPerth · Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 30 Sep 2025 (profit £2.1m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jun 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 25 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.