How much does Optical Express Limited make?

Optical Express Limited reported revenue of £97m and £12.9m profit in the year to 28 Dec 2024, according to its accounts filed at Companies House.

How many employees does Optical Express Limited have?

Optical Express Limited reported an average of 549 employees in the year to 28 Dec 2024.

Is Optical Express Limited profitable?

Yes — Optical Express Limited reported a profit of £12.9m in the year to 28 Dec 2024.

Company No. SC161469 · Incorporated 3 Nov 1995

Optical Express Limited

Registered name: OPTICAL EXPRESS LIMITED

Part of Moulsdale Investments Limited group

Optical Express Limited made £97m revenue and £12.9m profit in the year to 28 Dec 2024. read from filing text

Optical Express Limited’s revenue grew 4% to £97m in the year to 28 Dec 2024, with £12.9m profit and 549 employees. The company is classified under “other human health activities” and is based in Glasgow; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.

Full P&L filedSection Q · Human health and social workSIC 86900Other human health activities

Status: Active
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Age: 30 yrs · since 1995
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 immediate controlling party is DCM (Optical Holdings) Limited, a company incorporated in Scotland.”

Latest accounts · year to 28 Dec 2024

Key figures

Operating leverageDoing more with less

Revenue

£97m

Growth ▲4.1%

Profit

£12.9m

Growth ▲20.5%

Profit margin

13.3%

Gross 83.9%

Employees

549

Change ▼5.7%

Profit / employee

£23.6k

Revenue/employee £177k

Profitable streak

3yrs

Consecutive profitable years in our data

Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.

3 filed years

Financial history

Multi-year financials, oldest to newest
Year to	31 Dec 2022	30 Dec 2023	28 Dec 2024
Disclosure	Full P&L	Full P&L	Full P&Lread from filing text
Profit & loss
Revenue (turnover)	£109m	£93.2m	£97m
Cost of sales	£15.9m	£15m	£15.6m
Gross profit	£93.2m	£78.1m	£81.3m
Operating profit	£27.1m	£14m	£17m
Profit before tax	£27.1m	£14m	£17.1m
Profit after tax	£21.5m	£10.7m	£12.9m
Profit (best available)	£21.5m	£10.7m	£12.9m
Staff costs	£22.9m	£20m	£20.6m
Employees (average)	705	582	549
Ratios
Profit margin	19.7%	11.5%	13.3%
Gross margin	85.4%	83.9%	83.9%
Revenue per employee	£155k	£160k	£177k
Profit per employee	£30.5k	£18.4k	£23.6k
Growth (year on year)
Revenue growth	—	▼14.6%	▲4.1%
Profit growth	—	▼50%	▲20.5%
Headcount growth	—	▼17.4%	▼5.7%
Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue
Cash at bank	£1.6m	£2.4m	£1.9m
Net assets	£38.2m	£48.9m	£61.9m
Fixed assets	£13.9m	£15.6m	£15.7m
Current assets	£55.9m	£70.3m	£87.2m
Debtors	£595k	£699k	£612k
Deferred income	£4.1m	£6.3m	£6m
Source	Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024	Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025

Derived from the latest filing

How the business works

Profit margin: 13.3%; Profit ÷ revenue.
Gross margin: 83.9%; Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
Revenue per employee: £177k; Revenue ÷ average employees.
Profit per employee: £23.6k; Profit ÷ average employees.
Cash conversion: —; Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
Fixed assets ÷ revenue: 16.2%; Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
Deferred income ÷ revenue: 6.2%; Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
Debtors ÷ revenue: 0.6%; Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.

Indirect — not revenue

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: ▲26%; Now £61.9m
Cash at bank: ▼22%; Now £1.9m
Headcount: ▼6%; Now 549
Deferred income: ▼6%; Now £6m
Fixed assets: ▲0%; Now £15.7m

Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.

Corporate ownership

Group structure

Ownership chain

Moulsdale Investments Limitedultimate parent75–100%
DCM (Optical Holdings) Limited75–100%
Optical Express Limitedthis company

Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.

Sister companies (4)

Optical Express (Westfield) LimitedRev. £18.7m · Profit −£41k
Cruach Capital LimitedFigures not disclosed
Optical Express (Holdings) LimitedFigures not disclosed
The Frame Zone LimitedFigures not disclosed

From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).

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Sources

Companies House profile Filing history & original accounts

Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 28 Dec 2024 (profit £12.9m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2025. 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.