Chester Zoo: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
North of England Zoological Society (The) has no person with significant control recorded on the Companies House register. In the year to December 2025 it reported turnover of £71m.
- In the year to December 2025, Chester Zoo had turnover of £71m, up 11.7% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax loss of £0.7m, losing £0.99 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 684 people, with staff costs of £30m.
- These figures are from North of England Zoological Society (The)'s group accounts for the year to December 2025, filed at Companies House on 21 September 2026.
- Registered name
- NORTH OF ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (THE)
- Company number
- 00287902
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 9 May 1934
- Registered office area
- Chester
- 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 21 September 2026
What does Chester Zoo do?
The North of England Zoological Society is the conservation charity that runs Chester Zoo. The zoo was opened by the Mottershead family in 1931 and houses animals from hundreds of species across a large site in Cheshire. The charity earns income from admission tickets, memberships, on-site accommodation, events and education programmes, and spends it on conservation breeding and field projects in the UK and overseas.
In brief: zoo charity · conservation breeding · tickets and memberships
Source: Chester Zoo's own website, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Who owns Chester Zoo?
North of England Zoological Society (The), company number 00287902, has no person with significant control recorded on the register. The full record is linked below.
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 Chester Zoo?
The Companies House register lists 17 current officers for North of England Zoological Society (The).
All 17 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Malcolm Stephen Ardron | 24 November 2006 |
| Aarco Services Limited | 1 May 2014 |
| Simon Peter Venables | 24 June 2014 |
| Professor Richard Alun Griffiths | 6 November 2015 |
| Lee Rawlinson | 25 June 2019 |
| Professor Rhys Edward Green | 4 March 2022 |
| David Wootton | 4 March 2022 |
| Dr Romain Pizzi | 8 July 2022 |
| Neill Jonathan Skinner | 15 June 2023 |
| Dr Simon Cripps | 15 June 2023 |
| Yvonne Emmett Cannell | 15 June 2023 |
| Gareth Edward Thomas | 5 July 2024 |
| Dr Vikas Sagar Shah | 5 July 2024 |
| Dr Stephanie Wray | 6 June 2025 |
| Tina Elizabeth Mitchell | 6 March 2026 |
| Jacob Samuel Thompson | 5 June 2026 |
| Emma Jane Degg | 5 June 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Chester Zoo file?
North of England Zoological Society (The) reported turnover of £71m in the year to December 2025. That was up 11.7% on £63m the year before.
It reported 684 employees. The year before it reported 664.
It filed a pre-tax loss of £0.7m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £2m the year before.
Staff costs came to £30m. That is an average of £44,000 a head. It ended the year with £5m at the bank and net assets of £65m.
| Measure | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £71m | £63m |
| Pre-tax profit | -£0.7m (filed) | £2m (filed) |
| Employees | 684 | 664 |
| Staff costs | £30m | £26m |
| Average staff cost per head | £44,000 | £39,000 |
| Bank and cash | £5m | £5m |
| Net assets | £65m | £66m |
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 Chester Zoo?
North of England Zoological Society (The) has registered 25 charges at Companies House, of which 2 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.
Both outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Barclays Bank PLC | 2 April 1982 |
| Barclays Bank PLC | 2 April 1982 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Chester Zoo compares
Of the 8 zoos, Chester Zoo is 2nd on turnover, 4th on profit margin and 4th 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 |
| 2nd | Chester Zoo | £71m | −£0.99 |
| + 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.
Chester Zoo files as North of England Zoological Society (The), with turnover of £71m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Chester Zoo
What does Chester Zoo do?
The North of England Zoological Society is the conservation charity that runs Chester Zoo. The zoo was opened by the Mottershead family in 1931 and houses animals from hundreds of species across a large site in Cheshire. The charity earns income from admission tickets, memberships, on-site accommodation, events and education programmes, and spends it on conservation breeding and field projects in the UK and overseas.
Is Chester Zoo bigger than Yorkshire Wildlife Park?
Yes, by turnover. Chester Zoo reported £71m in its latest accounts, against £24m at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Our Chester Zoo v Yorkshire Wildlife Park page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Chester Zoo v Yorkshire Wildlife Park →
How does Chester Zoo compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Chester Zoo is 2nd 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 Chester Zoo?
North of England Zoological Society (The) has no person with significant control recorded at Companies House.
How much does Chester Zoo make?
North of England Zoological Society (The) reported turnover of £71m in the year to December 2025. It filed a pre-tax loss of £0.7m.
How many people work at Chester Zoo?
North of England Zoological Society (The) reported 684 employees in the year to December 2025.
Who runs Chester Zoo?
The Companies House register lists 17 current officers for North of England Zoological Society (The). The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from North of England Zoological Society (The)'s filings at Companies House, company number 00287902, 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, “Chester Zoo: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 9 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/chester-zoo/. Figures from Companies House filings for NORTH OF ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (THE) (00287902).
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