RICARDO UK LIMITED

Active
Company number 02815682Private limited companyIncorporated 1993

Key figures

£73,246,000-19.0%
Net assets 2024/25
-19.0%
Average annual change 2023/24–2024/25
025 m50 m75 m100 m2023/242024/25

† RICARDO UK LIMITED filed these accounts on paper, so Companies House publishes them only as a scanned image. The figures for the years marked † were read automatically from the scan and kept only where the statements add up (for example net assets equal total equity), but a reading error is still possible — check the original accounts at Companies House.

Ratios

2024/25

Sector comparison

SIC 28150

Where the company stands among the 245 active companies whose first SIC code is 28150 (Manufacture of bearings, gears, gearing and driving elements).

Net assets£73,246,000
Higher than 97% · median £356,303
Total assets£108,983,000
Higher than 98% · median £607,454
Cash£2,563,000
Higher than 95% · median £178,839
Company age33.5 years
Older than 81% · median 11.8 years
Largest in this sector by net assets
  1. SKF (U.K.) LIMITED£291.8m
  2. XTRAC LIMITED£113.3m
  3. SCHAEFFLER (UK) LIMITED£77.2m
  4. RICARDO UK LIMITED£73.2m
  5. JCB TRANSMISSIONS£70.2m
  6. NMB-MINEBEA UK LTD£52.8m
  7. DAVID BROWN SANTASALO UK LIMITED£43.7m
  8. IDEM SAFETY SWITCHES LIMITED£31.4m
  9. MICHELL BEARINGS LIMITED£23.3m
  10. RADICON TRANSMISSION UK LIMITED£22.9m

Positions are approximate. Figures come from each company's latest accounts; money and employee figures are compared only with companies that filed accounts in pounds for a period ending in the last two and a half years and are not dormant, so those groups are smaller than 245. The line on each bar marks the median.

Summary: RICARDO UK LIMITED

What kind of company is it?

RICARDO UK LIMITED is a private limited company registered with Companies House under company number 02815682. It was incorporated on 6 May 1993. Its status is active. The registered office is in Shoreham-by-sea (BN43). Its nature of business (SIC 2007) is manufacture of bearings, gears, gearing and driving elements (28150), engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities (71122).

How is the company doing financially?

The latest accounts in the database are for 2024/25 (period ending 30 Jun 2025); the company files full accounts. Turnover was £67,837,000. Loss for the year was £17,128,000. Net assets were £73,246,000, down 19% on the previous year. Cash at bank and in hand was £2,563,000. Total assets were £108,983,000 and total liabilities £35,737,000. Figures are available for 2 financial years (2023/24–2024/25).

How does it compare with similar companies?

Compared with 245 active companies whose first SIC code is 28150: By net assets it ranks higher than 97% of them (median £356,303). By total assets it ranks higher than 98% of them (median £607,454). By cash it ranks higher than 95% of them (median £178,839). It is older than 81% of them (median age 11.8 years).

Does it supply the public sector?

The company is named as a supplier in 24 public contract award notices from 17 public sector buyers since 2015. Contracts awarded to it alone have a combined published value of £325.2m. Its most frequent buyer is Ministry of Defence (6 contracts). 3 of the awards are shared with other suppliers, typically framework agreements. It is recorded as the recipient of 36 central government grants worth £6.3m, mainly from Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

What do public registers and reports show?

HMRC lists it as an importer of goods, mainly machinery, vehicles, optical, medical and measuring instruments. HMRC lists it as an exporter of goods, mainly machinery, optical, medical and measuring instruments, vehicles. In its latest payment practices report it took an average of 23 days to pay suppliers, and 60% of invoices were not paid within agreed terms. Its gender pay gap report for 2025/26 shows median hourly pay for women 6.3% lower than for men. It has modern slavery statements on the government registry for 6 years.

Who runs and controls the company?

One person with significant control is registered.

When are its next filings due?

The next accounts are due by 31 Mar 2027. The next confirmation statement is due by 6 Oct 2027.

Filed accounts2023/24–2024/25
2023/24 †2024/25 †
Turnover105,520,00067,837,000
Profit for the year1,059,000-17,128,000
Cash at bank and in hand1,754,0002,563,000
Total assets131,257,000108,983,000
Total liabilities40,883,00035,737,000
Net assets / total equity90,374,00073,246,000

A dash (—) means no accounts were filed for that year or the item is not in the accounts; 0 is a zero stated in the accounts. Small companies usually file only a balance sheet, so the profit and loss account is often missing.

Public contracts

24 contracts

RICARDO UK LIMITED is named as a supplier in 24 public contract award notices from 17 public sector buyers since 2015. The 16 contracts awarded to it alone with a published value add up to £325.2m. 3 awards are shared with other suppliers and not counted in that total.

Contracts per year
Main buyers17
Ministry of Defence
6 contracts · £10.5m
UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
3 contracts · £2.8m
Babcock Land Defence Ltd
1 contract · £310.8m
Office of the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner
1 contract · £420.1k
Business Energy and Industrial Strategy
1 contract · £249.7k
Contracts
  1. Purchase of Standard and Specialist Vehicles (PSSV)Government Commercial Agency · shared by 57 suppliers, up to £750,000,000 in total · runs until Oct 2029
  2. GMCA1786 Chemdata LicenceGreater Manchester Combined Authority · £27,790 · runs until Mar 2027
  3. *FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES ONLY* Protected and Modified Civilian Profile Vehicles (PaMCPV) Procurement Framework Agreement Contract Award NoticeDEFENCE EQUIPMENT & SUPPORT · £1 · runs until Sep 2030
  4. Protected and Modified Civilian Profile Vehicles (PaMCPV) Procurement Framework Agreement‡Ministry of Defence · shared by 11 suppliers, up to £76,000,000 in total
  5. Appraisal of Carbon Negative Challenge Fund Capital ApplicationsYork and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Show 19 more
  1. Vehicle Emissions TesterDepartment for Transport · £16,880
  2. CO-Services- Environmental Clerk of Works - Western Isles- 0631‡Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc
  3. PS23341 - The UK Electric motors capability - ITQUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £69,892
  4. FEW1330 - Leicester Station -Approved Body assessment relating to interoperability‡Leicester City Council · £76,600 · runs until Apr 2027
  5. GB-Swindon: UKRI-3331 IUK Transition to clean and digital maritime - UK Capability and Competitiveness‡UK Research & Innovation · £93,531
  6. Hotplates Modification and Thermal Testing‡Ministry of Defence · £129,986
  7. Sussex Police Protected Response Vehicle‡Office of the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner · £420,090
  8. Contract Award to Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co. LtdBrunel University London · shared by 3 suppliers, up to £233,832 in total
  9. Armoured personnel protected carriersThe Metropolitan Police Service · £1
  10. Armoured personnel protected carriersThe Metropolitan Police Federation · £1 · runs until Dec 2028
  11. UK SBS - PS21151 - Biomass Resource Availability Calculator Model UpdateUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £222,842
  12. IRM21/7568 - THE SUPPLY OF LIGHT & HEAVY PROTECTED MOBILITY VEHICLE SPARES‡Babcock Land Defence Ltd · £310,800,000
  13. 702669450‡Ministry of Defence · £355,000
  14. Scheme Administration for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1 competitionUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £2,493,011
  15. SMarT Administering Body Contract‡MCA - Maritime and Coastguard Agency · £229,657
  16. SBRI Greenhouse Gas Removals Innovation Competition - Phase 1 [Design Study]‡Business Energy and Industrial Strategy · £249,742
  17. Gasket 1CMINISTRY OF DEFENCE · £6,399,381
  18. Independent Technical Support FE245‡MINISTRY OF DEFENCE · £66,327
  19. Supply of Light Protected Personnel Vehicle (LPPV) Spares‡MINISTRY OF DEFENCE · £3,571,000

From contract award notices on Contracts Finder (since 2016) and Find a Tender (since 2021), published by the Cabinet Office under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Values are as published by the buyer and usually cover the whole contract term; the total leaves out awards shared between several suppliers, where the published figure is a ceiling for all of them, placeholder values and single figures of £1 billion or more. Notices marked ‡ do not state a company number and were linked by an exact match on the registered name. Contracts below the publication thresholds and those of devolved buyers that publish elsewhere are not included.

Government grants

36 grants

RICARDO UK LIMITED is recorded as the recipient of 36 central government grants since 2020, together worth £6.3m.

Funders
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
20 grants · £3.5m
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
16 grants · £2.7m
Grants
  1. XL-Connect Large scale system approach for advanced charging solutionsDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £45,019 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  2. XL-Connect Large scale system approach for advanced charging solutionsDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £39,605 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  3. Zero Emission flexible vehicle platforms with modular powertrains serving the long-haul Freight Eco System (ZEFES)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £286,200 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  4. Zero Emission flexible vehicle platforms with modular powertrains serving the long-haul Freight Eco System (ZEFES)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £65,122 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  5. Vehicle Emission Retrofit Activities (VERA)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £37,265 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
Show 31 more
  1. Vehicle Emission Retrofit Activities (VERA)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £54,258 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  2. Towards a European-wide harmonised, transport specific LCA Approach (TranSensus LCA)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £4,438 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  3. Towards a European-wide harmonised, transport specific LCA Approach (TranSensus LCA)Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · £5,389 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  4. sHYps Sustainable HYdrogen powered ShippingDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £502,479 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  5. sHYps Sustainable HYdrogen powered ShippingDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £85,117 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme
  6. AlCoVes - Alumotor for Commercial VehiclesDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £71,850 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme 22/23
  7. UK-Alumotor-2 for LCVDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £98,306 · UKRI - ISCF - Scheme 22/23
  8. Hilux FCDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £349,733 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme 22/23
  9. sHYps Sustainable HYdrogen powered ShippingDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £256,119 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme 22/23
  10. Zero Emission flexible vehicle platforms with modular powertrains serving the long-haul Freight Eco System (ZEFES)Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £15,392 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme 22/23
  11. Vehicle Emission Retrofit Activities (VERA)Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £6,014 · UKRI - HEG - Scheme 22/23
  12. STEPCO2Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · −£17,951 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme 22/23
  13. UK-Alumotor-2 for LCVDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £351,313 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  14. Hilux FCDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £663,706 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme
  15. CLEAN: Clean Logistics for Emerging African NationsDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £430,835 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme
  16. UK-Alumotor-2 for LCVDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £175,017 · UKRI - ISCF - Scheme
  17. UK-Alumotor-2 for LCVDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £324,842 · UKRI - ISCF - Scheme
  18. HYRBUS - Hybrid fuel cell powertrain retrofit for busesDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £430,275 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  19. NEPTUNEDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £94,454 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  20. Hydrogen in an Integrated Maritime Energy Transition (HIMET)Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £311,923 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  21. TOBEV: Thermally Optimised Battery Electric VehicleDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £210,994 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  22. HiVE4HD - High Voltage E-powertrain for Heavy Duty Road FreightDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £88,000 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  23. Optimising Geofencing - Phase 2Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £498,108 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  24. AlCoVes - Alumotor for Commercial VehiclesDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £103,200 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  25. Feasibility study to quantify the opportunity for niche volume battery pack manufacturing in the UK, including consideration of second life processing.Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £166,300 · UKRI - Innovate - Scheme 21/22
  26. InCEPTion: Integrated flight Control, Energy storage and Propulsion Technologies for electric aviationDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £310,450 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21
  27. Optimising Geo-fencingDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £72,703 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21
  28. UK-AlumotorDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £88,096 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21
  29. InCEPTion: Integrated flight Control, Energy storage and Propulsion Technologies for electric aviationDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £3,139 · UKRI - Innovate UK - Scheme
  30. InCEPTion: Integrated flight Control, Energy storage and Propulsion Technologies for electric aviationDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology · £5,535 · UKRI-ATI-Scheme
  31. Powering communities with distributed energy fuelled by local wasteDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy · £14,214 · ALB - UKRI - Innovate UK grant awards in 20-21

From the Government Grants Register published by the Cabinet Office (financial years 2016/17 onwards, Open Government Licence v3.0). It covers grants from central government departments and their agencies where the register states the recipient's company number and the recipient name matches this company; grants from local authorities, lottery distributors and devolved governments are not included.

Statutory reporting

Payment practices1 Jan 2026 – 30 Jun 2026
Average time taken to pay invoices
23 days
Invoices not paid within agreed terms
60%
Member of a payment code
No
  • Within 30 days 70%
  • 31 to 60 days 24%
  • After 60 days 6%
Earlier periods (7)
Period ending
Days to pay
Within 30 days
Late
31 Dec 2025
27
58%
46%
30 Jun 2025
24
60%
59%
31 Dec 2024
26
60%
71%
30 Jun 2024
23
64%
70%
31 Dec 2023
36
52%
31%
30 Jun 2023
36
50%
33%
31 Dec 2022
36
49%
38%

View the latest report on GOV.UK

Gender pay gap2025/26
Median hourly pay
women 6.3% lower
Mean hourly pay
women 10.2% lower
Median bonus pay
women 4.3% higher
Employer size
250 to 499 employees
Lower pay quarter23% womenLower middle10% womenUpper middle11% womenUpper pay quarter12% women
Earlier years (8)
Year
Median hourly pay
Mean hourly pay
2024/25
women 12.3% lower
women 7.6% lower
2023/24
women 5.8% lower
women 2.1% lower
2022/23
women 0.4% lower
women 3.4% lower
2021/22
women 9.4% lower
women 5.2% lower
2020/21
women 11.6% lower
women 8.8% lower
2019/20
women 13.3% lower
women 15.4% lower
2018/19
women 12.9% lower
women 18.8% lower
2017/18
women 12.3% lower
women 24.7% lower

A positive gap means women's average hourly pay is lower than men's across the whole employer; it is not a comparison of pay for the same work. View on the Gender pay gap service

Modern slavery statements6
2025
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)
2024
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)
2023
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)
Earlier years (3)
2022
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)
2021
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)
2020
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (RICARDO LIMITED)

Figures the company reported itself to the government's Check payment practices service, Gender pay gap service and Modern slavery statement registry (Open Government Licence v3.0). Only large companies and employers with 250 or more staff have to report, so most companies have nothing here.

Registers and licences

International trade‡

Listed by HMRC as an importer of goods in 12 of the last 12 months on record, most recently August 2026. Main goods: machinery, vehicles, optical, medical and measuring instruments, electrical equipment and iron and steel articles.

Listed by HMRC as an exporter of goods in 12 of the last 12 months on record, most recently August 2026. Main goods: machinery, optical, medical and measuring instruments, vehicles, iron and steel articles and electrical equipment.

From HMRC's monthly lists of importers and exporters. Traders can ask to be left off the lists, so absence does not mean a company does not trade.

Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Care Quality Commission, Home Office and HM Revenue & Customs, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Entries marked ‡ come from lists that do not state a company number and were linked by an exact match on the registered name.

History

6 events
  1. Ricardo Limited registered as a person with significant control
  2. Ricardo Investments Limited ceased to be a person with significant control
  3. Financial year 2024/25 endedAccounts: turnover £67.8m, net assets £73.2m
  4. Financial year 2023/24 endedAccounts: turnover £105.5m, net assets £90.4m
  5. Ricardo Investments Limited registered as a person with significant control
  6. Company incorporatedPrivate limited company

Dates as recorded at Companies House: incorporation, name changes, officer appointments and resignations, current and former persons with significant control, and the end of each financial year with figures in the database.