MARSTON BOOK SERVICES LIMITED
Company number 01186721 · Monitor this company
Executive summary
Marston Book Services Limited is in critical condition and has entered administration following a sustained period of financial deterioration characterised by deepening insolvency, declining cash reserves, and structural operating losses. The company's net asset position has collapsed from positive £1 million in 2019 to negative £7.3 million in 2022, with total liabilities nearly tripling to £17.8 million over the same period. The fundamental pathology is a business model where overhead costs exceed gross profit, compounded by a £2.3 million provision on intercompany debt that signals fracturing support from the corporate parent. Recovery as a going concern in its current form is extremely unlikely, and the most probable outcomes involve either a pre-pack sale of assets or formal liquidation.
Shareholders' funds
-£7,530,956
Balance sheet as at 2022-12-30
Overview
- Company type
- Private Limited Company
- Incorporated
- 1974-10-10
- Registered office
- 5th Floor Grove House 248a Marylebone Road, London, NW1 6BB
- Postcode
- NW1 6BB
- Capital
- 250,000 GBP
- Accounts category
- Full
- Charges
- 3 outstanding
Accounts
- Last made up to
- 2022-12-30
- Next due by
- 2024-09-30
- Financial year end
- 30 December
Confirmation statement
- Last statement dated
- 2023-12-23
- Next due by
- 2025-01-06
Nature of business (SIC)
- 46180 Agents specialized in the sale of other particular products
Officers 3 current · 16 resigned
Group structure 1 subsidiary
Controlled by UNITED INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTORS LTD — since 2023-04-28
Controlled by VIOLIA MEDIA SERVICES LIMITED — since 2016-04-06
-
ORCA BOOK SERVICES LIMITED In Administration
From persons-with-significant-control filings on the public register.
Contact details
- Website
- marston.co.uk
Previous company names
| Name | Date changed |
|---|---|
| BASIL BLACKWELL (STORAGE) LIMITED | 1977-12-31 |
Previous registered addresses 2
| Address | Changed on |
|---|---|
| 160 MILTON PARK, ABINGDON, OXFORDSHIRE, OX14 4SD | 2013-01-17 |
| 108 COWLEY ROAD, OXFORD OX4 1JF | 1995-11-10 |
The class of 1974
54%
of the 5,336 companies incorporated in 1974 are still active today; 39% have since been dissolved.
A fact about the year, not a forecast for this company.
Property in England & Wales 1 title
- Leasehold
- 1
- Most recent registration
- 2022-04-08
- Where
- Oxfordshire
| Title number | County | Tenure | Registered | Price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON372199 | Oxfordshire | Leasehold | 2022-04-08 | — |
For addresses and the authoritative register entry, use HM Land Registry's official search (£3 per title).
Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Dataset as at 2026-08.