Merlin Diesel Systems Ltd
Registered name: MERLIN DIESEL SYSTEMS LTD
Part of Merlin Diesel Holdings Limited groupMerlin Diesel Systems Ltd made £64.3m revenue and £5.6m profit in the year to 31 Jul 2025.
Merlin Diesel Systems Ltd’s revenue fell 7% to £64.3m in the year to 31 Jul 2025, with £5.6m profit and 148 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of other special-purpose machinery” and is based in Preston; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Preston, North West
- Age
- 36 yrs · since 1990
- 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 | 31 Jul 2022 | 31 Jul 2023 | 31 Jul 2024 | 31 Jul 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £52.8m | £63m | £69m | £64.3m |
| Cost of sales | £39.1m | £47m | £52.5m | £46.9m |
| Gross profit | £13.7m | £16m | £16.6m | £17.4m |
| Operating profit | £5.6m | £6.5m | £6.8m | £7.3m |
| Profit before tax | £5.6m | £6.5m | £6.9m | £7.2m |
| Profit after tax | £4.6m | £5.3m | £5.3m | £5.6m |
| Profit (best available) | £4.6m | £5.3m | £5.3m | £5.6m |
| Staff costs | £5.5m | £6.3m | £6.7m | £6.7m |
| Employees (average) | 141 | 157 | 155 | 148 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 8.7% | 8.4% | 7.6% | 8.6% |
| Gross margin | 26% | 25.5% | 24% | 27.1% |
| Revenue per employee | £375k | £401k | £445k | £434k |
| Profit per employee | £32.7k | £33.8k | £34k | £37.5k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲19.4% | ▲9.5% | ▼6.9% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲15.2% | ▼0.7% | ▲5.4% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲11.3% | ▼1.3% | ▼4.5% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £139k | £206k | £1m | £504k |
| Net assets | £21.4m | £25.5m | £29.6m | £33.9m |
| Fixed assets | £1.5m | £1.7m | £1.7m | £1.5m |
| Current assets | £30.1m | £37.1m | £42.6m | £44m |
| Debtors | £6.5m | £6.7m | £7.8m | £6.3m |
| Deferred income | £89.6k | £86.6k | £81.2k | £92.6k |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Apr 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Apr 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Feb 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Apr 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 8.6%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 27.1%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £434k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £37.5k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 2.4%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 0.1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 9.7%
- 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
- ▲15%
- Now £33.9m
- Cash at bank
- ▼50%
- Now £504k
- Headcount
- ▼5%
- Now 148
- Deferred income
- ▲14%
- Now £92.6k
- Fixed assets
- ▼10%
- Now £1.5m
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
- Merlin Diesel Holdings Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Merlin Diesel Systems Ltdthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (3)
- Colchester Fuel Injection LimitedRev. — · Profit £199k
- Feather Diesel Services LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Tyne Electro Diesel LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Jul 2025 (profit £5.6m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Apr 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.