Colchester Zoo Enterprises Limited
Registered name: COLCHESTER ZOO ENTERPRISES LIMITED
Part of Colchester Zoological Society groupColchester Zoo Enterprises Limited made £7.4m revenue and £2.2m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025.
Colchester Zoo Enterprises Limited’s revenue was £7.4m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £2.2m profit and 169 employees. The company is classified under “botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities” and is based in Stanway; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Stanway, East of England
- Age
- 50 yrs · since 1976
- 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.
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Jun 2022 | 30 Jun 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £21.3m | £18.8m | £29.5m | £7.4m |
| Cost of sales | £3.4m | £4.1m | £6.2m | £2.7m |
| Gross profit | £17.9m | £14.7m | £23.4m | £4.7m |
| Operating profit | £7.6m | £4m | £1.1m | £1.4m |
| Profit before tax | £7.7m | £4.1m | −£517k | £1.4m |
| Profit after tax | £6.2m | £3.2m | −£832k | £2.2m |
| Profit (best available) | £6.2m | £3.2m | −£832k | £2.2m |
| Staff costs | £5.8m | £6.6m | £11.3m | £2.8m |
| Employees (average) | 312 | 344 | 358 | 169 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 29.1% | 17.2% | −2.8% | 30.2% |
| Gross margin | 84.1% | 78.3% | 79.1% | 63.6% |
| Revenue per employee | £68.2k | £54.7k | £82.4k | £44k |
| Profit per employee | £19.8k | £9.4k | −£2.3k | £13.3k |
| Cash conversion | −14.4% | −26.9% | 317.1% | −58.8% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼11.5% | — | — |
| Profit growth | — | ▼47.8% | — | — |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲10.3% | — | — |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £9.8m | £8.5m | £3.3m | £704k |
| Net assets | £13.9m | £12.2m | £8.3m | £50k |
| Fixed assets | £5.6m | £5.9m | £6m | £24.6k |
| Current assets | £12.2m | £10.4m | £5.2m | £1.3m |
| Debtors | £2.1m | £1.5m | £1.6m | £190k |
| Deferred income | — | £811k | £709k | £227k |
| Cash from operations | −£1.1m | −£1.1m | £3.5m | −£830k |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Mar 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Mar 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 30.2%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 63.6%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £44k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £13.3k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- −58.8%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 0.3%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 3%
- 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
- —
- Now £50k
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now £704k
- Headcount
- —
- Now 169
- Deferred income
- —
- Now £227k
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now £24.6k
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
- Colchester Zoological Societyultimate parent75–100%
- Colchester Zoo Enterprises 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
- Wingham Wildlife Park (2008) LimitedSittingbourne · Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities
- Revenue
- £6.5m
- Profit
- £831k
- Staff
- 104
- Scottish African Safari Park LimitedStaines-Upon-Thames · Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities
- Revenue
- £9.8m
- Profit
- £715k
- Staff
- 226
- The Real Live Leisure Company LimitedBournemouth · Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities
- Revenue
- £4.6m
- Profit
- £146k
- Staff
- 83
- Grant Leisure Group LimitedBlackpool · Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities
- Revenue
- £12.1m
- Profit
- £2.4m
- Staff
- 183
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £2.2m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 22 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.