Blacklock: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Understudy Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Bgf Investment Management Limited. In the year to December 2025 Understudy Limited reported turnover of £25m.
- In the year to December 2025, Blacklock had turnover of £25m, up 25.7% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £1.1m, keeping £4.66 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 298 people, with staff costs of £9m.
- Understudy Limited is controlled by Bgf Investment Management Limited, according to the Companies House register.
- These figures are from Understudy Limited's group accounts for the year to December 2025, filed at Companies House on 18 August 2026.
- Registered name
- UNDERSTUDY LIMITED
- Company number
- 08641225
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 7 August 2013
- Registered office area
- West London
- Industry code on the register
- 56101: Food and beverage service activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to December 2025, filed 18 August 2026
What does Blacklock do?
Blacklock is a chophouse restaurant group serving chops and steaks cooked over charcoal, trading through Understudy Limited. Its menus are built around meat on the bone offered at "butcher prices", and it also serves a Sunday roast. The idea comes from the chophouses of the 1690s, which served cuts of meat on the bone for extra flavour. It has restaurants in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
In brief: chophouse restaurants · chops and steaks over charcoal · Sunday roast · London, Manchester, Birmingham
Source: Blacklock's own website, retrieved 24 September 2026.
Who owns Blacklock?
The Companies House register records Bgf Investment Management Limited as the person with significant control of Understudy Limited, company number 08641225. Bgf Investment Management Limited is itself company number 10608481.
That places Understudy Limited inside a larger group. Its accounts are group accounts, covering the companies it owns as well.
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 Blacklock?
The Companies House register lists 5 current officers for Understudy Limited.
All 5 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Gordon James Ker | 7 August 2013 |
| Paul Adam Campbell | 4 November 2014 |
| David Patrick Roberts | 4 November 2014 |
| Alex McLauchlan | 4 October 2018 |
| Christopher Alan Morgan | 26 October 2024 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Blacklock file?
Understudy Limited reported turnover of £25m in the year to December 2025. That was up 25.7% on £20m the year before.
It reported 298 employees. The year before it reported 267.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £1.1m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £45k the year before.
Staff costs came to £9m. That is an average of £30,000 a head. It ended the year with £3m at the bank and net assets of £1.8m.
| Measure | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £25m | £20m |
| Pre-tax profit | £1.1m (filed) | £45k (filed) |
| Employees | 298 | 267 |
| Staff costs | £9m | £8m |
| Average staff cost per head | £30,000 | £30,000 |
| Bank and cash | £3m | £3m |
| Net assets | £1.8m | £0.8m |
| Interest paid | £0.2m | |
| Interest received | £25k | |
| Directors' pay | £0.2m |
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 Blacklock?
Understudy Limited has registered 5 charges at Companies House, of which 1 is 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.
The outstanding charge
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Hsbc UK Bank PLC | 27 September 2022 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Blacklock compares
Of the 4 steak restaurants, Blacklock is 2nd on turnover, 3rd on profit margin and 2nd on growth. Hawksmoor keeps the most of every £100 of sales: £19.42.
| Rank | Steak restaurants | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Flat Iron | £70m | £10.87 |
| 2nd | Blacklock | £25m | £4.66 |
| + 2 more steak restaurants ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
Blacklock files as Understudy Limited, whose person with significant control is Bgf Investment Management Limited, with turnover of £25m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Blacklock
What does Blacklock do?
Blacklock is a chophouse restaurant group serving chops and steaks cooked over charcoal, trading through Understudy Limited. Its menus are built around meat on the bone offered at "butcher prices", and it also serves a Sunday roast. The idea comes from the chophouses of the 1690s, which served cuts of meat on the bone for extra flavour. It has restaurants in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
How does Blacklock compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Blacklock is 2nd of the 4 companies in our battle of the steak restaurants, behind Flat Iron. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the steak restaurants →
Who owns Blacklock?
The Companies House register records Bgf Investment Management Limited as the person with significant control of Understudy Limited.
How much does Blacklock make?
Understudy Limited reported turnover of £25m in the year to December 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £1.1m.
How many people work at Blacklock?
Understudy Limited reported 298 employees in the year to December 2025.
Who runs Blacklock?
The Companies House register lists 5 current officers for Understudy Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Understudy Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 08641225, 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, “Blacklock: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 6 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/blacklock/. Figures from Companies House filings for UNDERSTUDY LIMITED (08641225).
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