01 Company overview
Identity and registration
- Official name
- WATERSTONES BOOKSELLERS LIMITED
- Company number
- 00610095
- Company type
- Private Limited Company
- Status
- Active
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Dissolution date
- Not supplied
A registered office is not necessarily a trading location. The address is reproduced from the Companies House bulk record and should be interpreted in that legal context.
02 Filing dates
Accounts and statements
Last accounts made up to
3 May 2025Next accounts due
31 January 2027Last statement made up to
30 September 2025Next statement due
14 October 2026BritDB does not infer overdue status when the source does not state it.
03 Workforce reporting
Gender pay gap
- Median bonus gap
- 20.0%
- Mean bonus gap
- 36.0%
- Women receiving bonus
- 10.9%
- Men receiving bonus
- 17.9%
- Women in top quartile
- 46.2%
- Women in lower quartile
- 75.4%
Earlier reporting years (7)
- 1000 to 499910.5% median hourly gap
- 1000 to 49999.0% median hourly gap
- 1000 to 49997.0% median hourly gap
- 250 to 49911.8% median hourly gap
- 1000 to 49997.3% median hourly gap
- 1000 to 49994.7% median hourly gap
- 1000 to 49994.5% median hourly gap
Positive gaps mean men were paid more; negative gaps mean women were paid more. These figures are employer-reported and describe the workforce distribution, not equal pay for the same job. The company link uses the exact Companies House number supplied by the service.
04 Supplier payments
Payment practices and performance
- Reporting period
- 4 November 2025 – 2 May 2026
- Filed
- 26 May 2026
- Shortest standard term
- 0 days
- Longest standard term
- 90 days
- E-invoicing offered
- Yes
- Supply-chain finance
- Not offered
- Payment codes
- No
- Construction retentions
- No qualifying construction contracts
Reported terms and dispute process
- Standard payment terms
The standard payment terms for the supply of books is 60 days from the end of the month in which the invoice is received , with an additional 7 working days to ensure funds have cleared through BACs. However there are a number of suppliers who fall outside the standard terms.
The company does not have standard payment terms for the supply of non book products for resale. The most frequest terms for non coffee products are 60 days from the end of month, with payment made on the next working day. The most frequent terms for coffee projects is 30 days
For trade purchases of goods not for resale and services, the company has standard written terms of purchase, which can be found here:-à, and which contain standard terms of payment. However, in certain circumstances, a supplier will seek to impose its own payment terms, and in other circumstances, a bespoke contract will be agreed. The most frequently used payment terms used for suppliers to the company of goods not for resale and services sold in its shops is 30 days from the date of the invoice. - Dispute resolution process
Resolution of disputes will be handled on a specfic case by case basis. We always see to resolve disputes as soon as possible.
Earlier payment reports (11 shown)
- 69.0 average days to pay9.0% outside terms
- 69.0 average days to pay11.0% outside terms
- 69.0 average days to pay10.0% outside terms
- 73.0 average days to pay14.0% outside terms
- 76.0 average days to pay13.0% outside terms
- 77.0 average days to pay12.0% outside terms
- 75.0 average days to pay14.0% outside terms
- 73.0 average days to pay13.0% outside terms
- 77.0 average days to pay14.0% outside terms
- 84.0 average days to pay13.0% outside terms
- 89.0 average days to pay16.0% outside terms
This is a company-submitted statutory disclosure, not a credit rating. BritDB preserves the reporting period and links the report only through the Companies House number supplied by the official service. Percentages describe payments made during that period and may change in later reports.
05 Supply-chain transparency
Modern slavery statement
- Organisation
- WATERSTONES BOOKSELLERS LIMITED
- Group submission
- No
- Statement period
- 1 May 2024 – 30 April 2025
- Approved
- 30 September 2025
- Sectors
- Durable consumer goods, including electronics and appliances, home furnishings and other accessories
Organisation structure
Covered in the statement
Policies
Covered in the statement
Risk assessment
Covered in the statement
Due diligence
Covered in the statement
Training
Covered in the statement
Goals and KPIs
Not reported as covered
A registry entry records what the organisation declared in its statement. It is not an independent audit. Group statements can cover several companies; BritDB preserves each exact source-supplied company-number link and excludes approver names and email addresses.
06 Data protection
ICO fee-payer registration
Waterstones Booksellers Limited
Registration Z5320847
- Registered from
- 2 April 2001
- Current end date
- 1 April 2027
- Trading names
- Southwold Books, Hodges Figgis, The Rye Bookshop, The Deal Bookshop, The Weybridge Bookshop, Hatchards, Waterstones
This is a candidate association, not an official Companies House link. The ICO file supplies no company number. The organisation name and postcode uniquely matched this company in the current snapshot. BritDB excludes all DPO contact fields and does not publish unmatched personal entries.
07 Public procurement
Contracts Finder awards
Legal Publications Print & eBook 25/26 Call Offs
Ministry of Justice · ocds-b5fd17-445845f0-ea11-496f-94f2-8965d5f55c6e
- Award value
- £435,463,044
- Contract period
- 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
376E_24 Digital Library Content and Print Books
Espo · ocds-b5fd17-f8e49521-bcfd-491b-9baf-987e1620e8ac
- Award value
- £24,000,000
- Contract period
- 1 November 2024 – 31 October 2028
- Procedure
- Open procedure (above threshold)
Legal Publications Print & eBook 24-25 Call Offs
Ministry of Justice · ocds-b5fd17-93635f09-69f7-4fed-be5d-8e6fafb773ed
- Award value
- £4,462,373
- Contract period
- 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
Legal Publications Print & eBook 24-25 Call Offs
Ministry of Justice · ocds-b5fd17-93635f09-69f7-4fed-be5d-8e6fafb773ed
- Award value
- £4,462,373
- Contract period
- 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
Legal Publications Subscriptions
Ministry of Justice · ocds-b5fd17-ac9455c6-3e83-4562-8c39-eb3bc64c5adb
- Award value
- £72,831
- Contract period
- 2 February 2024 – 31 March 2024
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
Study Resource Card
UNIVERSITY OF DERBY · ocds-b5fd17-61465a8d-bc8b-40d0-8e9c-14695b67ad29
- Award value
- £800,000
- Contract period
- 8 December 2023 – 31 August 2024
- Procedure
- Other - Dispensation
Legal Publications Print & eBook Call Offs 2023/24
Ministry of Justice · ocds-b5fd17-76045526-84f4-49a0-9fb5-21e94e412d33
- Award value
- £5,050,000
- Contract period
- 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
The supplier link is exact, but the award remains buyer-published procurement data. BritDB requires the GB-COH identifier supplied in the Contracts Finder OCDS release and does not infer suppliers from similar names.
08 Ownership and control
People with significant control
Book Retail Bidco Limited
- Owns 75% or more of shares
- Controls 75% or more of voting rights
- Can appoint or remove directors
- Notified
- 1 June 2018
Mr Paul Elliot SingerSee 12 companies with this PSC name →
- Can appoint or remove directors
- Can appoint or remove directors (as a firm)
- Nationality
- American
- Country of residence
- United States
- Notified
- 1 June 2018
Waterstones Holdings Limited
- Owns 75% or more of shares
- Controls 75% or more of voting rights
- Can appoint or remove directors
- Notified
- 6 April 2016
- Ceased
- 1 June 2018
PSC records are company-filed public-register information. When the exact same displayed individual name occurs at multiple companies, BritDB offers a non-indexed cross-reference page. It is a name match only, not proof that the records describe the same person. Service addresses and partial dates of birth are deliberately omitted.
09 Charity register
Charity Commission links
No exact company-number link in this snapshot
The Charity Commission extract did not explicitly associate this Companies House number with a charity. BritDB does not use a name-only match to fill the gap.
This company-level check covers the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Links are accepted only when the official extract supplies this exact company registration number. Scottish charities now have separate OSCR profiles, but OSCR’s bulk fields do not provide a Companies House number, so BritDB does not infer a company link.
10 Northern Ireland charity register
CCNI exact company links
No unambiguous company-number link found
The CCNI source number did not resolve uniquely to this Companies House record. BritDB did not use a name or address match.
CCNI publishes company numbers without a jurisdiction prefix. BritDB links only when the plausible padded UK and NI candidates resolve to exactly one Companies House company.
11 Sanctions screening
UK Sanctions List
No exact business-registration-number link found
The imported UK Sanctions List did not supply this Companies House number as a UK-linked business identifier. BritDB did not attempt a name-only match.
No exact link is not sanctions clearance. UK restrictions can apply through ownership or control even where an entity is not separately named. Always use the current official list and obtain appropriate advice for a legally significant decision.
12 Public procurement
Find a Tender links
Procurement of Book Vouchers
ROTHERHAM DONCASTER AND SOUTH HUMBER NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · updated 10 June 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
376E_24 Digital Library Content and Print Books
ESPO · updated 21 November 2024
- Tender value
- £24,000,000
- Awards
- 7
These links use only the GB-COH identifier supplied in the procurement record. A company may have other public-sector work that is absent, older, below publication thresholds or published without a Companies House identifier.
13 Environmental register
Environment Agency waste registrations
WATERSTONES BOOKSELLERS LIMITED
Registration CBDU595025 · expires 22 July 2028
WATERSTONES BOOKSELLERS LIMITED trading as Waterstones
Registration CBDU530677 · expires 27 June 2027
This is a privacy-reduced, exact-company subset. The full official register also includes sole traders and applicants without a matching Companies House number. Check the current Environment Agency register before relying on registration status.
14 Nature of business
Standard Industrial Classification
Retail sale of books in specialised stores
15 Connected public record
Checks beyond the company register
Charity Commission
0 exact company-number links.
Northern Ireland charities
0 unambiguous company-number links.
Public contracts
2 procurement processes linked by exact GB-COH identifier.
Waste register
2 exact company-number registrations.
Corporate notices
The Gazette is not yet connected.
UK Sanctions List
No exact business-registration-number link in this report.
A checked source with no exact link is not a clean bill of health. Unchecked sources remain unknown, while sanctions may also apply through ownership or control of a listed person or entity.
16 Record timeline
Dates in the bulk record
- Confirmation statement
Latest confirmation statement made up to this date
- Accounts
Latest accounts made up to this date
- Company name
Previous name: WATERSTONE'S BOOKSELLERS LIMITED
- Incorporation
Company incorporated
17 Provenance
Sources for this profile
Identity, address, status, dates, SIC, previous names and mortgage totals.
Annual employer reports linked by the exact source-supplied Companies House number.
Statutory supplier-payment reports linked by the exact source-supplied Companies House number.
Annual statement summaries linked by exact source company number.
Privacy-reduced candidate associations based on a unique exact name-and-postcode match.
Historic awards linked by exact source-supplied GB-COH company identifier.
Current and ceased significant-control records joined by exact company number.
Daily England and Wales extract matched only by the official company registration number.
Daily CCNI export with company links only where the source number resolves unambiguously.
Complete FCDO list checked by exact UK-linked business registration number.
Procurement parties checked only through exact GB-COH identifiers.
Licensed subset linked only by exact Companies House number.
Financial regulation and licences.
Companies House, Charity Commission, OSCR and UK Sanctions List information is public-register data. BritDB reproduces and organises it with source-specific limits; official external links are kept on the dedicated source pages.