TXT In plain English
Company description
WAVEMAKER LIMITED is a UK company whose Companies House status is “Active” and whose registered company type is “Private Limited Company”. Incorporated on 26 September 2000; registered for 26 years; registered office reported in LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. Its primary declared activity is 73110 · Advertising agencies. In its latest electronically filed accounts for the period ended 31 December 2025, it reported turnover £169,482,000, profit after tax £42,921,000, net assets £229,640,000, average employees 285.
Among active companies with electronic accounts available to BritDB, it ranks 190 by latest disclosed GBP turnover; this is a dataset comparison, not a credit rating. This BritDB profile also contains linked public records: 3 PSC records, 36 procurement records. This description is assembled from public data, is not a reliability assessment, and should be checked against the cited sources before a legally significant decision.
Web facts are never added from a name match alone. Internet enrichment requires the exact Companies House ID in Wikidata, and ambiguous results are excluded.
01 Company overview
Identity and registration
- Official name
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Company number
- 04078547
- Company type
- Private Limited Company
- Status
- Active
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Dissolution date
- Not supplied
- Accounts category
- FULL
- Mortgage charges
- 0 total · 0 outstanding · 0 satisfied
- Limited partnership members
- 0 general · 0 limited
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
31 December 2025Next accounts due
30 September 2027Last statement made up to
23 June 2026Next statement due
7 July 2027BritDB does not infer overdue status when the source does not state it.
03 Filed financials
Latest electronic accounts
- Turnover
- £169,482,000
- Gross profit
- £71,812,000
- Operating profit
- £28,856,000
- Profit before tax
- £43,246,000
- Profit after tax
- £42,921,000
- Fixed assets
- £1,717,000
- Net assets
- £229,640,000
- Current assets
- £437,308,000
- Current liabilities
- £186,971,000
- Total assets less current liabilities
- £252,054,000
- Equity
- £229,640,000
Figures are taken from company-filed iXBRL/XBRL. Coverage is limited to electronic filings in the imported Companies House batch. Missing figures do not mean zero, and values have not been audited by BritDB.
04 Workforce reporting
Gender pay gap
- Median bonus gap
- -5.7%
- Mean bonus gap
- -48.0%
- Women receiving bonus
- 30.0%
- Men receiving bonus
- 34.5%
- Women in top quartile
- 53.0%
- Women in upper middle quartile
- 53.6%
- Women in lower middle quartile
- 59.0%
- Women in lower quartile
- 60.7%
Earlier reporting years (7)
- 250 to 49912.6% median hourly gap
- 250 to 49920.5% median hourly gap
- 250 to 49914.3% median hourly gap
- 250 to 4998.5% median hourly gap
- 500 to 9997.5% median hourly gap
- 500 to 99910.2% median hourly gap
- 500 to 99912.4% 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.
05 Supplier payments
Payment practices and performance
- Reporting period
- 1 January 2026 – 30 June 2026
- Filed
- 22 July 2026
- Shortest standard term
- 25 days
- Longest standard term
- 60 days
- E-invoicing offered
- Yes
- Supply-chain finance
- Not offered
- Payment codes
- No
- Construction retentions
- No qualifying construction contracts
Complete reported payment fields
- Policy regime
- Regime-3
- Financial period started
- 1 January 2026
- Qualifying contracts
- Yes
- Payments made
- Yes
- Invoice value paid within 30 days
- £46,258,113
- Invoice value paid in 31–60 days
- £43,741,467
- Invoice value paid after 60 days
- £31,208,759
- Invoice value paid outside agreed terms
- £5,649,050
- Invoices paid in 31–60 days
- 32.0%
- Invoices unpaid due to dispute
- 5.0%
- Maximum contractual payment period
- 60 days
- Supplier-list charging policy
- No
- Supplier-list charges made
- No
Reported terms and dispute process
- Standard payment terms
We pay our media vendors in line with industry standards, dependant on media type, which are between 25 and 60 days from receipt of a valid invoice following the end of the month of media activity. Where appropriate, vendors are required to also provide supporting documentation confirming media activity has run.
- Dispute resolution process
We have a defined dispute resolution process to ensure that all supplier invoices are processed as efficiently as possible.
Suppliers are provided with details of the issues that may affect the processing of their invoices and assistance by providing guidance on what is to be provided on their invoices to ensure payment can be made in a timely manner.
Our AP helpdesk offers suppliers support through to query resolution and can be contacted via a dedicated e-mail address or phone number. All invoices that are in query are logged and if unresolved at the time of supplier payment, details of the reasons for payment delay are communicated to the relevant suppliers.
Earlier payment reports (11 shown)
- 51.0 average days to pay3.0% outside terms
- 49.0 average days to pay12.0% outside terms
- 50.0 average days to pay31.0% outside terms
- Average time not suppliedLate-payment rate not supplied
- 69.0 average days to pay44.0% outside terms
- 58.0 average days to pay43.0% outside terms
- 89.0 average days to pay35.0% outside terms
- 98.0 average days to pay39.0% outside terms
- 77.0 average days to pay35.0% outside terms
- 58.0 average days to pay42.0% outside terms
- 51.0 average days to pay46.0% 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.
06 Supply-chain transparency
Modern slavery statement
- Organisation
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Group submission
- Yes
- Parent organisation
- WPP 2005 LIMITED
- Statement period
- 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025
- Approved
- 8 May 2026
- Sectors
- Media, publishing, arts and entertainment
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
Covered in the statement
Full statement information supplied to the registry
- Reported turnover band
- Over £500 million
- Years producing statements
- More than 5 years
- ILO indicators included
- Not answered
- Registry record updated
- 22 June 2026
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.
07 Data protection
ICO fee-payer registration
Wavemaker Limited
Registration Z7593593
- Registered from
- 23 January 2003
- Current end date
- 22 January 2027
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.
08 Public procurement
Contracts Finder awards
Media Planning and Buying Services for Pan MOD
Ministry of Defence · ocds-b5fd17-ae3f35bf-19fc-4405-a53d-cb658b39b11f
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £12,000,000
- Contract period
- 1 July 2026 – 14 June 2030
- Published
- 23 July 2026
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79341400
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-ae3f35bf-19fc-4405-a53d-cb658b39b11f-2026-07-23T14:31:52+01:00
Media Buying Services
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · ocds-b5fd17-feecd69e-e243-442a-ac82-8a602100eb16
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited t/a WPP 650
- Award value
- £26,000,000
- Contract period
- 15 June 2026 – 14 June 2029
- Published
- 2 June 2026
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79342000
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-feecd69e-e243-442a-ac82-8a602100eb16-2026-06-02T14:26:09+01:00
Media Strategy, Planning and Buying Services Business Case for Armed Forces Recruitment
Ministry of Defence · ocds-b5fd17-7686550d-7810-4403-ae52-dea5d58cf3a3
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £38,000,000
- Contract period
- 18 May 2026 – 17 May 2027
- Published
- 17 June 2026
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79341400
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-7686550d-7810-4403-ae52-dea5d58cf3a3-2026-06-17T14:40:53+01:00
Media Strategy Agency
National Highways · ocds-b5fd17-9d58c832-19d5-4752-88a7-12972735dfcd
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £300,000
- Contract period
- 5 August 2024 – 4 August 2026
- Published
- 14 August 2024
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79341100
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-9d58c832-19d5-4752-88a7-12972735dfcd-2024-08-14T17:48:25+01:00
Media Agency Get On Board Integrated Travel Campaign
Transport For Greater Manchester · ocds-b5fd17-c477880f-ca49-46ec-b5a9-cac6d04dbd8a
- Supplier named in award
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Award value
- £180,000
- Contract period
- 27 September 2022 – 27 September 2023
- Published
- 18 October 2022
- Procedure
- Competitive quotation (below threshold)
- Main CPV
- 79341200
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-c477880f-ca49-46ec-b5a9-cac6d04dbd8a-2022-10-18T11:57:58+01:00
RN and RAF Recruitment Strategic Marketing Planning Agency
Ministry of Defence · ocds-b5fd17-6c44471c-441f-400a-ad5a-99bfe8dca4e3
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £1,620,000
- Contract period
- 1 September 2022 – 31 August 2025
- Published
- 22 September 2022
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79340000
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-6c44471c-441f-400a-ad5a-99bfe8dca4e3-2022-09-22T21:20:28+01:00
Media Agency Get On Board Family Bus Campaign
Transport For Greater Manchester · ocds-b5fd17-a156272e-d6f7-4b4e-b892-38e78a8c5861
- Supplier named in award
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Award value
- £75,000
- Contract period
- 17 August 2022 – 16 August 2023
- Published
- 3 October 2022
- Procedure
- Competitive quotation (below threshold)
- Main CPV
- 79341200
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-a156272e-d6f7-4b4e-b892-38e78a8c5861-2022-10-03T14:57:32+01:00
Communications Media Planning - Exercise of Option
DfTc - Department for Transport · ocds-b5fd17-a9c4f667-c5b9-469d-b263-8d9ace576848
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £1,000,000
- Contract period
- 6 September 2018 – 5 September 2023
- Published
- 11 June 2021
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79341400
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-a9c4f667-c5b9-469d-b263-8d9ace576848-2021-06-11T15:41:36+01:00
Notice of Contract Award_Design Framework
Money and Pensions Service · ocds-b5fd17-4b235aa6-5f28-4135-832c-e38fee58b159
- Supplier named in award
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Award value
- £71,556
- Contract period
- 11 January 2021 – 31 January 2022
- Published
- 15 March 2021
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79342000
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-4b235aa6-5f28-4135-832c-e38fee58b159-2021-03-15T13:09:40Z
PHE Media Planning and Strategy Services
Public Health England · ocds-b5fd17-378e8cdf-3291-4215-893f-acccd90aa1ed
- Supplier named in award
- Wavemaker Limited
- Award value
- £2,500,000
- Contract period
- 1 July 2019 – 15 July 2022
- Published
- 29 March 2021
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79000000
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-378e8cdf-3291-4215-893f-acccd90aa1ed-2021-03-29T11:41:28+01:00
PHE - Corporate - Strategic Evaluation Services
Public Health England · ocds-b5fd17-de246598-8ad9-486d-88fd-0cfa55867597
- Supplier named in award
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Award value
- £200,000
- Contract period
- 1 June 2019 – 31 May 2021
- Published
- 21 January 2021
- Procedure
- Restricted procedure (above threshold)
- Main CPV
- 79300000
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-de246598-8ad9-486d-88fd-0cfa55867597-2021-01-21T12:57:07Z
Media Planning for the Department for Transport
Crown Commercial Service · ocds-b5fd17-03ca3cd7-71cd-4b54-9d97-afe937f7cc02
- Supplier named in award
- WAVEMAKER LIMITED
- Award value
- £1,000,000
- Contract period
- 6 September 2018 – 5 September 2021
- Published
- 5 October 2018
- Procedure
- Call-off from a framework agreement
- Main CPV
- 79341400
- Source release ID
- ocds-b5fd17-03ca3cd7-71cd-4b54-9d97-afe937f7cc02-2018-10-05T08:43:47+01:00
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.
09 Ownership and control
People with significant control
Wpp Toronto Ltd
- Owns 75% or more of shares
- Controls 75% or more of voting rights
- Can appoint or remove directors
- Legal authority
- Companies Act 2006
- Legal form
- Private Limited Company
- Notified
- 31 August 2021
Wpp Samson Limited
- Owns 75% or more of shares
- Controls 75% or more of voting rights
- Country registered
- England And Wales
- Legal authority
- Companies Act 2006
- Legal form
- Private Limited Company
- Place registered
- Companies House
- Registration number
- 10938469
- Notified
- 31 August 2017
- Ceased
- 31 August 2021
Mediaedge:Cia Uk Investments Ltd
- Owns 50% to 75% of shares
- Country registered
- Uk
- Legal authority
- Companies Act 1985
- Legal form
- Private Limited Company
- Place registered
- Companies House
- Registration number
- 02866278
- Notified
- 6 April 2016
- Ceased
- 31 August 2017
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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
13 Public procurement
Find a Tender links
Media Buying
NHS Blood and Transplant · updated 4 September 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
The Provision of Media and Marketing for HSE
Health and Safety Executive · updated 4 September 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Planning and Buying Service
Department for Culture, Media and Sport · updated 26 August 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
con_10007 DESNZ - COMMS - Media Strategy, Planning and Buying
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero · updated 19 August 2026
- Tender value
- £50,000,000
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying & Planning Services
Department for Work & Pensions · updated 7 August 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Planning and Buying Services
Financial Conduct Authority · updated 6 August 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying Services for National Highways
National Highways Limited · updated 30 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying Services
UK Export Finance · updated 21 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 3
Media Strategy, Planning and Buying
Department for Business & Trade · updated 20 July 2026
- Tender value
- £80,000,000
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying Contract
Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime · updated 17 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying Services
HM Revenue & Customs · updated 17 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying 2026 Design102 Lot 1
Ministry of Justice · updated 17 July 2026
- Tender value
- £20,000,000
- Awards
- 1
Safer Road Users Media
Kent County Council · updated 15 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
DSIT - COMMS - Media Buying and Planning
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology · updated 10 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Media Buying 2026 MoJ
Ministry of Justice · updated 10 July 2026
- Tender value
- £64,700,000
- Awards
- 1
PA23 UK6 - Contract award notice - Media buying
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office · updated 10 July 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Transitional Arrangement - Media Buying
Department for Work & Pensions · updated 22 June 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
DHSC: Media Buying and Planning (FY26-27)
Department of Health & Social Care · updated 19 June 2026
- Tender value
- £245,000,000
- Awards
- 1
Home Office Media Services 2026
Home Office · updated 18 June 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 2
Provision of Media and Creative Services for ONS
Office for National Statistics · updated 29 May 2026
- Tender value
- Not supplied
- Awards
- 1
Showing the first 20 of 24 linked procurement processes.
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.
14 Environmental register
Environment Agency waste registrations
No exact company-number registration linked
The licensed Environment Agency subset did not contain this exact Companies House number. BritDB did not attempt a name-only match.
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.
15 Nature of business
Standard Industrial Classification
16 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
24 procurement processes linked by exact GB-COH identifier.
Waste register
0 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.
17 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: MEDIAEDGE:CIA UK LIMITED
- Incorporation
Company incorporated
18 Provenance
Sources for this profile
Identity, address, status, dates, SIC, previous names and mortgage totals.
Company-filed electronic accounts and extracted headline financial facts.
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.