LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

Active
Company number SC083107Private limited companyIncorporated 1983

Key figures

£3,707,299,000-12.3%
Net assets 2025
-12.3%
Average annual change 2024–2025
02 bn4 bn6 bn20242025

† LIFE TECHNOLOGIES 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

2025

Sector comparison

SIC 32990

Where the company stands among the 16,354 active companies whose first SIC code is 32990 (Other manufacturing n.e.c.).

Turnover£1,773,490,000
Higher than 99% · median £12,491,047 among 756 that publish turnover
Net assets£3,707,299,000
Higher than 99% · median £45,188
Total assets£4,306,021,000
Higher than 99% · median £157,459
Cash£370,000
Higher than 75% · median £73,979
Company age43.5 years
Older than 92% · median 13.6 years
Largest in this sector by net assets
  1. MATRIX MICROSCIENCE LIMITED£11.5bn
  2. LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED£3.7bn
  3. GKN LIMITED£1.9bn
  4. CCL INDUSTRIES (U.K.) LIMITED£550.4m
  5. THE VALSPAR (UK) HOLDING CORPORATION LIMITED£496.6m
  6. HEALTH AND HAPPINESS (H&H) UK LIMITED£448.7m
  7. GOODRICH CONTROL SYSTEMS£408.6m
  8. MBDA UK LIMITED£371.2m
  9. VOLUTION GROUP PLC£309.8m
  10. ALGECO UK LIMITED£250.5m

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 16,354. The line on each bar marks the median.

Summary: LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

What kind of company is it?

LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED is a private limited company registered with Companies House under company number SC083107. It was incorporated on 13 May 1983. Its status is active. The registered office is in Paisley (PA4). Its nature of business (SIC 2007) is other manufacturing n.e.c. (32990).

How is the company doing financially?

The latest accounts in the database are for 2025 (period ending 31 Dec 2025); the company files full accounts. Turnover was £1,773,490,000. Net assets were £3,707,299,000, down 12.3% on the previous year. Cash at bank and in hand was £370,000. Total assets were £4,306,021,000 and total liabilities £593,363,000. Figures are available for 2 financial years (2024–2025).

How does it compare with similar companies?

Compared with 16,354 active companies whose first SIC code is 32990: By turnover it ranks higher than 99% of the 756 that publish turnover (median £12,491,047). By net assets it ranks higher than 99% of them (median £45,188). By total assets it ranks higher than 99% of them (median £157,459). By cash it ranks higher than 75% of them (median £73,979). It is older than 92% of them (median age 13.6 years).

Does it supply the public sector?

The company is named as a supplier in 281 public contract award notices from 71 public sector buyers since 2015. Contracts awarded to it alone have a combined published value of £1.8bn. Its most frequent buyer is UK Health Security Agency (33 contracts). 22 of the awards are shared with other suppliers, typically framework agreements.

What do public registers and reports show?

It appears on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker, Skilled Worker). HMRC lists it as an importer of goods, mainly optical, medical and measuring instruments, electrical equipment, glass. HMRC lists it as an exporter of goods, mainly optical, medical and measuring instruments, sugar and confectionery, salt, stone and cement. In its latest payment practices report it took an average of 24 days to pay suppliers, and 16% of invoices were not paid within agreed terms. Its gender pay gap report for 2025/26 shows median hourly pay for women 6.7% lower than for men. It has a modern slavery statement on the government registry.

Who runs and controls the company?

One person with significant control is registered. 2 of 2 registered charges are outstanding.

When are its next filings due?

The next accounts are due by 30 Sep 2027. The next confirmation statement is due by 17 May 2027.

Filed accounts2024–2025
2024 †2025 †
Turnover1,801,244,0001,773,490,000
Profit for the year323,869,000—
Cash at bank and in hand68,000370,000
Total assets4,517,069,0004,306,021,000
Total liabilities287,314,000593,363,000
Net assets / total equity4,227,305,0003,707,299,000

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

281 contracts

LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED is named as a supplier in 281 public contract award notices from 71 public sector buyers since 2015. The 245 contracts awarded to it alone with a published value add up to £1.8bn. 22 awards are shared with other suppliers and not counted in that total.

Contracts per year
Main buyers71
UK Health Security Agency
33 contracts · £178.1m
UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
28 contracts · £605.4k
Public Health England
26 contracts · £9.8m
UK Research and Innovation
14 contracts · £228.2k
Department of Health and Social Care (T&T)
12 contracts · £601.2m
Latest 100 contracts
  1. PHW-DIR-64120- Service and Maintenance of Quantstudio Laboratory Assets and associated Equipment within Public Health Wales‡Public Health Wales NHS Trust · £130,737 · runs until Sep 2028
  2. DNA Equipment Servicing (LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED)Metropolitan Police Service · £175,094
  3. CSP26894 - QuantStudio Service PlanUK Research and Innovation · £22,080 · runs until Sep 2027
  4. Procurement of VarioSkan Lux‡UK Health Security Agency · £28,898 · runs until Sep 2028
  5. Nucleic Acid Quality Control instruments‡UK Health Security Agency · £149,954 · runs until Sep 2028
Show 95 more
  1. UKHSA Diagnostics & Research Open Framework‡Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Heal… · shared by 81 suppliers, up to £6,250,000,000 in total · 2 lots · runs until Sep 2028
  2. CSP26796 - Label Reagents‡UK Research and Innovation · £10,122
  3. CSP26787 - SuperFi II PCR Master Mix‡UK Research and Innovation · £10,959 · runs until Nov 2026
  4. CSP26759 - Quantstudio Contract RenewalUK Research and Innovation · £24,910 · runs until Dec 2027
  5. ThermoFisher Workflow Consumables‡UK Health Security Agency · £100,000 · runs until Aug 2027
  6. Waiver - BWC_RQ3 - 06819 - Life Technologies Limited - Cancer Service PanelBirmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust · £45,727
  7. MFT-MT-0683 "2x 3500xL Genetic Analyzer 1x DNA Analyzer ABI PrManchester University NHS Foundation Trust · £58,429 · runs until Jul 2027
  8. STH Maintenance for Genexus Multiplex Platform 2026-27‡Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · £48,650 · runs until Jun 2027
  9. Waiver - BWC_RQ3 - 06798 - Life Technologies Ltd - Cancer service PanelBirmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust · £68,566 · runs until Jun 2027
  10. TCAT - Liver Ductal Project‡The Common Services Agency (more commonly known as Public Services Delivery Scotland) (PS… · shared by 7 suppliers, up to £117,846 in total
  11. Logistics feeCAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · £23,625
  12. BFWML - EBME - Life Technologies - MC0369Atlas BFW Management Limited · £48,650 · runs until May 2027
  13. CA17691 - MAINT7131-GOSH-Life Technologies Ltd‡Partners Procurement Service (PPS) · £27,519 · runs until Mar 2027
  14. Service engineer support and maintenance‡Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · £18,817 · runs until Apr 2027
  15. CEFAS26-64 Provision of Maintenance and Assurance Services‡CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE · £34,529 · runs until Apr 2027
  16. DNA Sequencers‡Scottish Police Authority · £157,195
  17. 96 well deep well plate‡CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · £25,417
  18. UKRI-5893 Service contract for Real Time PCR machines and plate loaderUK Research & Innovation (UKRI) · £35,940 · runs until Mar 2027
  19. CSP26251- replacement body for EVOS microscope‡UK Research and Innovation · £14,863
  20. Maintenance contract.‡CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · £19,330 · runs until Feb 2027
  21. Reagents, Consumables & Servicing‡NHS Grampian · £912,780
  22. Supply and Support of HLA Rapid Typing Systems (PA23)‡NHS Blood and Transplant · shared by 4 suppliers, up to £5,852,670 in total · 2 lots · runs until Feb 2034
  23. Waiver - BWC_RQ3 - Life Technologies Ltd - Medical EquipmentBirmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust · £64,665
  24. Purchase of TaqPath consumables‡UK Health Security Agency · £106,050
  25. Purchase of Superscript consumables‡UK Health Security Agency · £17,310
  26. Purchase of EVOS M5000 imaging microscopes and accessories‡UK Health Security Agency · £73,087
  27. Maintenance contract for 3500xL Genetic AnalyzerLeeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £19,330 · runs until Mar 2027
  28. Purchase of Genexus‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £251,985 · runs until Feb 2031
  29. Automated thermal cyclers‡CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · £18,767
  30. Purchase of advanced instruments for quantitative PCR‡Cardiff University · £82,312
  31. UKRI-5559 Maintenance contract for BIGFOOT 7 cell sorter‡UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) · £201,200 · runs until Mar 2030
  32. Maintenance contract for QUANTSTUDIO 6 PROLeeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £24,409 · runs until Dec 2027
  33. Purchase of Extraction Platforms‡UK Health Security Agency · £160,665 · runs until Dec 2030
  34. CSP25628 - Neon electroporatorUK Research and Innovation · £11,764
  35. Quibit Fleux‡CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · £10,228
  36. Service Contract‡University of Exeter · runs until Nov 2026
  37. CSP25500 - Quantstudio contract renewalUK Research and Innovation · £21,070 · runs until Dec 2026
  38. CSP25495 - Label Reagents‡UK Research and Innovation · £15,340
  39. CSP25507 - Platinum Superfi II Master Mix‡UK Research and Innovation · £12,402
  40. Genexus sequencing instruments and associated Bioinformatics support Maintenance Contract - Life TechnologiesBirmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust · £81,600
  41. APHA: Supply of 4 x Standard Thermal Cycler With Heated Lid‡ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY · £19,872
  42. CA16460 - MAINT7055-RFL- Genetic Analyzer‡Partners Procurement Service (PPS) · £47,583 · runs until Sep 2028
  43. Purchase of a real-time gradient PCR machine‡UK Health Security Agency · £14,245
  44. Equipment recommissioning 25/26‡UK Health Security Agency · £102,178
  45. Price Variation to 2025-2027 Life Technologies (Thermofisher) Maintenance contract‡UK Health Security Agency · £34,054 · runs until Aug 2027
  46. CSP25233 - Microscope & accessories‡UK Research and Innovation · £25,536
  47. Procurement of EVOS Imaging System (Capital 113864)‡Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Heal… · £36,764
  48. CSP25190 - QuantStudio PCR systems service contractUK Research and Innovation · £24,700
  49. Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 5 Quantitative PCR cycler & analysis system & a TaqMan RNase P Instrument Verification KitUNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND · £29,930
  50. Contract maintenance for FAST Real Time PCR System‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £14,038
  51. Replacement Workplan - Maintenance contract for ION GENEXUS & ION PLATFORM‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · shared by 2 suppliers, up to £95,052 in total · runs until Dec 2026
  52. QUB/2606/24 Supply of high content Imaging equipment, capable of temperature and humidity control using a minimum of 96-384 well throughput including consumabl…‡Queens University Belfast · £1,000,000
  53. UKHSA- Life Technologies Maintenance Contract‡UK Health Security Agency · £1,459,236 · runs until Mar 2027
  54. UKHSA Provision for a Sequencer‡UK Health Security Agency · £50,249
  55. RFL - QS5 0.2ML QPCR SYSTEM, NHSSC CONTRACT REF - Contract Reference Number: 2023/S 000-028831Partners Procurement Service · £34,724
  56. UKRI-4796 Preventative maintenance agreement for ViiA 7's, Quantstudio 7 Flex and StepOne Plus instruments‡UK Research and Innovation · runs until Jun 2028
  57. LUV01335 For the supply of arrays and/or the DNA extraction, quality control, randomized plating and genotyping of samples‡University of Leicester · £105,000
  58. Kingfisher Flex 96 Deep Well Smart System‡Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · £65,832
  59. Cell Sorter for Biological SciencesUniversity of Southampton · £532,017
  60. Support for qPCR QuantStudio Machines‡UK Health Security Agenc · £12,306
  61. GB-Harwell: UKRI-4648 Service Contract for Orbitor Robot & PCR Machine‡UK Research and Innovation · £34,430
  62. P-37177 Service Contract for DNA Analyser/KingFisher Ex robots/Thermal Cyclers‡Animal and Plant Health Agency · £396,000 · runs until Oct 2027
  63. Contract award - the supply of recombinant antibodies‡Defence Science and Technology Laboratory · £280,000 · runs until Nov 2028
  64. P-37177 Service Contract for DNA Analyser/KingFisher Ex robots/Thermal Cyclers‡Defra Network eTendering Portal · £367,242
  65. UKRI- GSS24774 Contract renewal for Quantstudios Competitive quotation‡UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £19,907
  66. GSS24728 - SuperFi II PCR kitUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £10,141
  67. CEFAS24-88 Contract for a QuantStudio 5 Real-Time PCR System‡Cefas · £30,180
  68. GSS23744 - UK Research and Innovation: Molecular Biology and Laboratory Chemicals FrameworkUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · shared by 11 suppliers · runs until Jul 2028
  69. UK Research and Innovation - Molecular Biology and Laboratory Chemicals FrameworkUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
  70. Provision of Specialist Reagents and Consumables from the UK HSA National Microb‡APHA · £2,700,000
  71. UKRI-GSS24601 QuantStudio service Competitive quotation‡UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £23,011
  72. Supply of CaptureSelect™ C-tagXL Affinity MatrixCENTRE FOR PROCESS INNOVATION LIMITED · £200,000
  73. 2126 Provision of Genetic Analyser (Further Competition using NEUPC Framework LAB2010, LOT 1) - AWARD‡De Montfort University
  74. Life Technologies Equipment Servicing‡NHS Grampian · £149,609
  75. GSS24380 - Platinum SuperFi II PolymeraseUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £13,914
  76. UKHSA Provision for TaqPath™ 1-Step Multiplex Master Mix‡UK Health Security Agency · £206,000
  77. GSS23564: UK Research and Innovation - Oligonucleotide Synthesis and Nucleic Acid Sequencing Services FrameworkUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · runs until Feb 2027
  78. UK Research and Innovation - Oligonucleotide Synthesis and Nucleic Acid Sequencing Services FrameworkUK Research and Innovation
  79. Thermo Life Tech - RFL Decommissioning‡UK Health Security Agency · £49,196
  80. CEFAS24-78 Contract for servicing and maintenance of molecular laboratory equipment at Cefas‡Cefas · £38,616
  81. GB-Cambridge: UKRI-4051 MRC LMB Servicing of a Spectral Cell Sorter‡UK Research & Innovation · £110,264 · runs until Mar 2028
  82. Purchase of Genetic Analyser‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £213,533 · runs until Mar 2029
  83. Provision for Three Molecular Extraction Platforms‡UK Health Security Agency · £54,176
  84. NCA21223 SeqStudio Flex‡University Of Edinburgh · £170,101
  85. UKRI- GSS24210 1 year service contract Competitive quotation‡UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £26,646
  86. GSS24131 - Lab Equipment Maintenance CoverUK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED · £11,870
  87. RapidHT CartridgesDefence Science and Technology Laboratory · £19,990
  88. Purchase of Genexus‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £351,575
  89. Purchase of thermal cycler‡Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · £19,453
  90. Automated Cell Processing System with Counterflow Centrifugation‡Cell Therapy Catapult Limited · £136,940 · runs until Dec 2028
  91. CEFAS23-170 Contract for provision of cGMP custom media cell cultures for Cefas laboratories‡Cefas · £10,316
  92. Molecular Diagnostics DPS [3350705]‡Procurement and Logistics Service · £1,957,625
  93. RapidHit PurchaseDefence Science and Technology Laboratory · £81,248
  94. C212041 Reagents used in the detection of SARS-CoV-2‡UKHSA · £13,494
  95. Provision of QuantStudio 5 PCR System for Ethiopian Public Health Institute‡UK Health Security Agency · £23,838

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.

Statutory reporting

Payment practices1 Jan 2026 – 30 Jun 2026
Average time taken to pay invoices
24 days
Invoices not paid within agreed terms
16%
Standard payment terms
0–90 days
Member of a payment code
No
  • Within 30 days 83%
  • 31 to 60 days 7%
  • After 60 days 10%
Earlier periods (7)
Period ending
Days to pay
Within 30 days
Late
31 Dec 2025
29
85%
15%
30 Jun 2025
14
89%
18%
31 Dec 2024
28
93%
8%
30 Jun 2024
38
43%
75%
31 Dec 2023
35
40%
72%
30 Jun 2023
42
45%
43%
31 Dec 2022
30
6%
40%

View the latest report on GOV.UK

Gender pay gap2025/26
Median hourly pay
women 6.7% lower
Mean hourly pay
women 5.3% lower
Median bonus pay
women 15% higher
Employer size
1000 to 4999 employees
Lower pay quarter51.4% womenLower middle46.8% womenUpper middle44.4% womenUpper pay quarter42.9% women
Earlier years (8)
Year
Median hourly pay
Mean hourly pay
2024/25
women 5.7% lower
women 7.7% lower
2023/24
women 5.4% lower
women 4.5% lower
2022/23
women 6.9% lower
women 6.1% lower
2021/22
women 7.1% lower
women 9.3% lower
2020/21
women 3.9% lower
women 7.3% lower
2019/20
women 4.5% lower
women 9.1% lower
2018/19
women 10.2% lower
women 9.9% lower
2017/18
women 5.9% lower
women 8.9% 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 statements1
2026
Statement · summary on GOV.UK · group statement (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc)

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

Sponsor licence‡
Licence type and rating
Worker (A rating)
Routes
Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker, Skilled Worker

On the Home Office register of licensed sponsors, which lists organisations licensed to sponsor workers from overseas.

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: optical, medical and measuring instruments, electrical equipment, glass, iron and steel articles and machinery.

Listed by HMRC as an exporter of goods in 12 of the last 12 months on record, most recently August 2026. Main goods: optical, medical and measuring instruments, sugar and confectionery, salt, stone and cement, inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals.

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

7 events
  1. Financial year 2025 endedAccounts: turnover £1.8bn, net assets £3.7bn
  2. Financial year 2024 endedAccounts: turnover £1.8bn, net assets £4.2bn
  3. Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings 2 Limited registered as a person with significant control
  4. Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited ceased to be a person with significant control
  5. Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited registered as a person with significant control
  6. Name changed to LIFE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITEDPreviously INVITROGEN LIMITED
  7. 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.