H.TEMPEST LIMITED

Company number 00374510 ·

Active

Executive summary

H. Tempest Limited stands at an inflection point: an 82-year heritage business with an exceptionally strong balance sheet but deteriorating operational performance, where the £22.5M cash reserve provides both a strategic cushion and an imperative for more aggressive capital deployment. The path forward requires pivoting from cost containment to strategic reinvestment—particularly in cruise ship expansion, yearbook cross-selling, and digital product innovation—while honestly confronting the structural challenges in the school photography core that margin discipline alone cannot solve.

Read the full AI analysis →

Shareholders' funds

£27,426,130

Balance sheet as at 2024-12-31

View full accounts →

What it does

The principal activity of the Company during the financial year continued to be that of nationwide portrait and group photographers.

The company's own description, from its latest filed accounts.

Overview

Company type
Private Limited Company
Incorporated
1942-06-16
Employees
521 (2025 accounts · was 565 in 2024)
Registered office
The Colour Laboratory, Lelant, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 3HU
Postcode
TR26 3HU
Capital
472,489 GBP
Accounts category
Full
Charges
0 outstanding

Accounts

Last made up to
2025-12-31
Next due by
2027-09-30
Financial year end
31 December

Confirmation statement

Last statement dated
2026-06-30
Next due by
2027-07-14
View filing history →

Nature of business (SIC)

  • 74201 Portrait photographic activities

Officers 8 current · 9 resigned

Appointed 2024-01-01
John Hugh TEMBY Director
Appointed 2024-01-01
Appointed 2011-07-11
MR Bryan BUCK Secretary
Accountant Appointed 2008-04-01
MR Bryan BUCK Director
Appointed 2008-04-01

View all officers and resignations →

Group structure 6 subsidiaries

From persons-with-significant-control filings on the public register.

Public contracts won 1

£413,000 total awarded value where published.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Contracts Finder).

Patents 2

Patent publications naming * H TEMPEST LIMITED as applicant.

Patent data from the European Patent Office (Open Patent Services).

Gender pay gap

3.3%

Women's median hourly pay below men's, 2025/26 · around the middle of the pack for parity

View pay gap →

Contact details

Website
http://www.htempest.co.uk

Previous registered addresses 2

AddressChanged on
3 PELHAM COURT, PELHAM ROAD, SHERWOOD RISE, NOTTINGHAM, NG5 1AP2011-09-05
MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, 1A CRANMER STREET, NOTTINGHAM1988-04-12

Among its peers

Top 1%

by shareholders' funds, of 492 similar companies in TR — measured against the wider sector

The largest employer among its local peers (521 staff).

The oldest of its local peers, trading since 1942.

Property in England & Wales 5 titles

Freehold
3
Leasehold
2
Most recent registration
2019-03-13
Where
Cornwall (5)
Title numberCounty Tenure RegisteredPrice paid
CL142 Cornwall Freehold 2019-03-13 —
CL46 Cornwall Freehold 2019-03-05 —
CL317625 Cornwall Leasehold 2015-09-16 —
CL317626 Cornwall Leasehold 2015-09-16 —
CL11436 Cornwall Freehold 1993-10-19 —

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.