LWC Drinks Limited
Registered name: LWC DRINKS LIMITED
Part of Licensed Wholesale Company Limited groupLWC Drinks Limited made £737m revenue and £13m profit in the year to 30 Sep 2025. read from filing text
LWC Drinks Limited’s revenue grew 4% to £737m in the year to 30 Sep 2025, with £13m profit and 1,480 employees. The company is classified under “wholesale of wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic beverages” and is based in Manchester; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Manchester, North West
- Age
- 15 yrs · since 2011
- 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: “Licensed Wholesale Company Limited is considered to be the ultimate parent 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&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text | Full P&Lread from filing text |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £530m | £610m | £711m | £737m |
| Cost of sales | £427m | £481m | £566m | £583m |
| Gross profit | £103m | £129m | £145m | £154m |
| Operating profit | £29.4m | £38.1m | £20m | £19.7m |
| Profit before tax | £28.2m | £38m | £18.3m | £18.3m |
| Profit after tax | £22.2m | £28.5m | £14.9m | £13m |
| Profit (best available) | £22.2m | £28.5m | £14.9m | £13m |
| Staff costs | £44.2m | £52.3m | £78.6m | £85.3m |
| Employees (average) | 1,199 | 1,344 | 1,444 | 1,480 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 4.2% | 4.7% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Gross margin | 19.5% | 21.1% | 20.4% | 20.9% |
| Revenue per employee | £442k | £454k | £492k | £498k |
| Profit per employee | £18.5k | £21.2k | £10.3k | £8.8k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲15.1% | ▲16.6% | ▲3.7% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲28.4% | ▼47.8% | ▼13.1% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▲12.1% | ▲7.4% | ▲2.5% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £16.4m | £969k | £9.6m | £11.6m |
| Net assets | £82.3m | £111m | £126m | £139m |
| Fixed assets | £63.7m | £133m | £157m | £156m |
| Current assets | £103m | £115m | £121m | £133m |
| Debtors | £36.7m | £48.8m | £50.2m | £56.8m |
| Deferred income | £7.3m | £7m | £26.7m | £12.2m |
| 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
- 20.9%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £498k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £8.8k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 21.1%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 1.7%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 7.7%
- 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 £139m
- Cash at bank
- ▲21%
- Now £11.6m
- Headcount
- ▲2%
- Now 1,480
- Deferred income
- ▼54%
- Now £12.2m
- Fixed assets
- ▼0%
- Now £156m
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
- Licensed Wholesale Company Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- LWC Drinks Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (5)
- GBC Topco LimitedRev. £0 · Profit −£5.3m
- Hills Prospect Holdings LtdRev. £0 · Profit £0
- Clarke Jones Holdings LimitedRev. — · Profit £380k
- Expressmode LimitedFigures not disclosed
- H.t.white & Company,limitedActive - Proposal to Strike offFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (2)
- Licensed Wholesale Company Property LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Robinrate LimitedRev. — · Profit £0
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 30 Sep 2025 (profit £13m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jun 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.