Marwell Zoo: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Marwell Wildlife has no person with significant control recorded on the Companies House register. In the year to December 2025 it reported turnover of £12m.
- In the year to December 2025, Marwell Zoo had turnover of £12m, up 0.6% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax loss of £1.5m, losing £11.81 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 186 people, with staff costs of £6m.
- These figures are from Marwell Wildlife's group accounts for the year to December 2025, filed at Companies House on 2 July 2026.
- Registered name
- MARWELL WILDLIFE
- Company number
- 01355272
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 2 March 1978
- Registered office area
- Southampton
- Industry code on the register
- 72190: Scientific research and development
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to December 2025, filed 2 July 2026
What does Marwell Zoo do?
Marwell Wildlife is the conservation charity that runs Marwell Zoo near Winchester in Hampshire. Founded by John Knowles in 1972 as Marwell Preservation Trust, it runs field conservation programmes in the UK and Africa alongside the zoo. The charity earns income from admissions, memberships, animal adoptions, education programmes, events, weddings and retail, supported by donations and corporate partnerships.
In brief: zoo charity · Hampshire · conservation · admissions and memberships
Source: Marwell Zoo's own website, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Who owns Marwell Zoo?
Marwell Wildlife, company number 01355272, 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 Marwell Zoo?
The Companies House register lists 10 current officers for Marwell Wildlife.
All 10 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Francis McCaffrey | 24 May 2016 |
| Andrew Warren | 5 May 2020 |
| Diane Walkington | 5 May 2020 |
| Adrian Digby Neal | 10 May 2022 |
| Simon Jonathan Tonge | 9 May 2023 |
| Jacqueline Wearn | 14 May 2024 |
| Naomi Elise Mellor | 14 May 2024 |
| Kirsteen Brodie Leith Hook | 7 October 2025 |
| Robert James Christie | 7 October 2025 |
| Edward Whittington | 7 October 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Marwell Zoo file?
Marwell Wildlife reported turnover of £12m in the year to December 2025. That was up 0.6% on £12m the year before.
It reported 186 employees. The year before it reported 183.
It filed a pre-tax loss of £1.5m for the year, against a pre-tax loss of £0.4m the year before.
Staff costs came to £6m. That is an average of £35,000 a head. It ended the year with £3m at the bank and net assets of £16m.
| Measure | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £12m | £12m |
| Pre-tax profit | -£1.5m (filed) | -£0.4m (filed) |
| Employees | 186 | 183 |
| Staff costs | £6m | £6m |
| Average staff cost per head | £35,000 | £32,000 |
| Bank and cash | £3m | £4m |
| Net assets | £16m | £18m |
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 Marwell Zoo?
Marwell Wildlife has registered 4 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 |
|---|---|
| National Westminster Bank PLC | 13 December 2021 |
| National Westminster Bank PLC | 11 February 2019 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Marwell Zoo compares
Of the 8 zoos, Marwell Zoo is 6th on turnover, 8th on profit margin and 7th 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 |
| 6th | Marwell Zoo | £12m | −£11.81 |
| + 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.
Marwell Zoo files as Marwell Wildlife, with turnover of £12m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Marwell Zoo
What does Marwell Zoo do?
Marwell Wildlife is the conservation charity that runs Marwell Zoo near Winchester in Hampshire. Founded by John Knowles in 1972 as Marwell Preservation Trust, it runs field conservation programmes in the UK and Africa alongside the zoo. The charity earns income from admissions, memberships, animal adoptions, education programmes, events, weddings and retail, supported by donations and corporate partnerships.
How does Marwell Zoo compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Marwell Zoo is 6th 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 Marwell Zoo?
Marwell Wildlife has no person with significant control recorded at Companies House.
How much does Marwell Zoo make?
Marwell Wildlife reported turnover of £12m in the year to December 2025. It filed a pre-tax loss of £1.5m.
How many people work at Marwell Zoo?
Marwell Wildlife reported 186 employees in the year to December 2025.
Who runs Marwell Zoo?
The Companies House register lists 10 current officers for Marwell Wildlife. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Marwell Wildlife's filings at Companies House, company number 01355272, 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, “Marwell Zoo: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 9 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/marwell-zoo/. Figures from Companies House filings for MARWELL WILDLIFE (01355272).
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