Port Lympne and Howletts: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall. In the year to December 2025 The Howletts Wild Animal Trust reported turnover of £31m.
- In the year to December 2025, Port Lympne and Howletts had turnover of £31m, up 14.2% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £0.7m, keeping £2.33 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 422 people, with staff costs of £15m.
- These figures are from The Howletts Wild Animal Trust's group accounts for the year to December 2025, filed at Companies House on 29 September 2026.
- Registered name
- THE HOWLETTS WILD ANIMAL TRUST
- Company number
- 04711904
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 26 March 2003
- Registered office area
- Canterbury
- Industry code on the register
- 91040: Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to December 2025, filed 29 September 2026
What does Port Lympne and Howletts do?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust runs Howletts and Port Lympne, two wild animal parks in Kent, in partnership with the Aspinall Foundation. The parks breed endangered species and return animals to protected habitats overseas. Income comes from park admissions, memberships, animal adoptions and donations, and from short breaks at Port Lympne, which offers a hotel, glamping and treehouse stays. Profits from the parks fund the foundation's conservation work.
In brief: wild animal parks · Kent · admissions and short breaks · conservation
Source: Port Lympne and Howletts' own website, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Who owns Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Companies House register records Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall as the person with significant control of The Howletts Wild Animal Trust, company number 04711904.
The register names an individual, not a company, as its controller.
The full ownership record is on the Companies House register. Control is given in the bands the register uses, not as exact shareholdings.
Who runs Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for The Howletts Wild Animal Trust.
All 6 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| John Damian Androcles Aspinall | 16 December 2004 |
| Charlotte Morrissey | 19 September 2014 |
| Tansy Aspinall | 30 March 2017 |
| Guy James Farley | 8 March 2021 |
| Daniel Ward Hulme | 2 February 2022 |
| Heather Frances Blackman | 21 February 2022 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Port Lympne and Howletts file?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust reported turnover of £31m in the year to December 2025. That was up 14.2% on £27m the year before.
It reported 422 employees. The year before it reported 409.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £0.7m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £19k the year before.
Staff costs came to £15m. That is an average of £37,000 a head. It ended the year with £9k at the bank and net assets of £0.2m.
| Measure | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £31m | £27m |
| Pre-tax profit | £0.7m (filed) | £19k (filed) |
| Employees | 422 | 409 |
| Staff costs | £15m | £13m |
| Average staff cost per head | £37,000 | £33,000 |
| Bank and cash | £9k | £9k |
| Net assets | £0.2m | -£0.5m |
Read the accounts to December 2025 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets · Group accounts
Are there any charges against Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust has registered 3 charges at Companies House, of which 3 are still outstanding. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
All 3 outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Barclays Bank PLC | 12 August 2026 |
| Barclays Bank PLC | 12 March 2024 |
| Caf Bank Limited | 16 June 2012 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Port Lympne and Howletts compares
Of the 8 zoos, Port Lympne and Howletts is 3rd on turnover, 2nd on profit margin and 3rd on growth. Twycross Zoo keeps the most of every £100 of sales: £18.22.
| Rank | Zoos | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | London Zoo and Whipsnade (ZSL) | £93m | £1.93 |
| 3rd | Port Lympne and Howletts | £31m | £2.33 |
| + 6 more zoos ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
Port Lympne and Howletts files as The Howletts Wild Animal Trust, whose person with significant control is Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall, with turnover of £31m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Port Lympne and Howletts
What does Port Lympne and Howletts do?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust runs Howletts and Port Lympne, two wild animal parks in Kent, in partnership with the Aspinall Foundation. The parks breed endangered species and return animals to protected habitats overseas. Income comes from park admissions, memberships, animal adoptions and donations, and from short breaks at Port Lympne, which offers a hotel, glamping and treehouse stays. Profits from the parks fund the foundation's conservation work.
How does Port Lympne and Howletts compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Port Lympne and Howletts is 3rd of the 8 companies in our battle of the zoos, behind London Zoo and Whipsnade (ZSL). The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the zoos →
Who owns Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Companies House register records Mr John Damian Androcles Aspinall as the person with significant control of The Howletts Wild Animal Trust.
How much does Port Lympne and Howletts make?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust reported turnover of £31m in the year to December 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £0.7m.
How many people work at Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Howletts Wild Animal Trust reported 422 employees in the year to December 2025.
Who runs Port Lympne and Howletts?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for The Howletts Wild Animal Trust. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from The Howletts Wild Animal Trust's filings at Companies House, company number 04711904, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are group accounts: they include the companies it owns.
- Pre-tax profit is the figure the company filed, for both years.
- A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d. A zero in the filing is treated as not disclosed, never as nil.
- Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, from £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, from £2m to the nearest million.
- Ownership is shown in the control bands the register of people with significant control uses, not as exact shareholdings.
- Officers' names and appointment dates come from the Companies House register. Job titles come from the company's own website. The description of what the company does comes from its website, or is marked Spark Intel editorial where it is written from stable, checked facts, with the date either way.
Spark Intel, “Port Lympne and Howletts: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 9 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/aspinall/. Figures from Companies House filings for THE HOWLETTS WILD ANIMAL TRUST (04711904).
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