By Carole Dennett
Here are two interesting facts about The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited. At 105 characters it sails under the longest operational business name in the UK. It is also the main operating company behind Red Funnel – and its 2025 accounts make for bracing reading.
The accounts finally docked on Wednesday, two days late. It’s not only their ferries that don’t stick to schedule. At least the company appears to have abandoned the accounting manoeuvre known as the “one day diddle”, where shifting the year end by a single day legally delays filing the accounts. Repeated use is a red flag to lenders that a business is in trouble. Red Funnel used it three times in two years.
Overall income crept up by 1.2 per cent to £60.4m, but adjusted profit (before debt costs and tax) plunged by more than a quarter to £7.8m. A £3.2m operating profit became a £1.4m operating loss. After tax, the company posted a £2 million deficit – despite paying £1.8m less in interest. Red Funnel is celebrating its 165th year – this isn’t the sort of logbook entry wanted in the anniversary brochure.
Reliability falls – pay rises
Vehicle ferry reliability fell from 94.9 to 91.2 per cent, and passenger numbers dropped despite more sailings. High speed and freight reliability improved slightly, offering a glimmer of better news, but these are Red Funnel’s own figures: they set the course and mark their own navigational skills. A falling reliability score is therefore particularly awkward. What would a stricter harbourmaster have concluded?
It’s a pretty dismal picture. However, one key measure surged, bringing good news for CEO Fran Collins. Her salary rose from £248,000 to £334,000 – more than a third – with pension contributions taking the total to £361,000. While profits and reliability drifted south, the captain’s pay took a very different course. More junior crew have not reported similar rises and, presumably unlike Ms Collins, are still struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. New PM Andy Burnham’s earns £174,039 – apparently keeping a once great institution off the rocks is considered much tougher than running the country – though some might see similarities.
The sale to Njord Partners completed in November, though Njord took the helm in September when the deal was announced. These results – and Ms Collin’s pay – are largely pre-takeover, but the final months cannot simply be dumped in the ‘previous owners’ file. There are new shareholders, but the same officers remain on the bridge, including executive directors, Debbie Reed and Lee Hudson, and performance and service continued to deteriorate.
Restructuring has bought some breathing space, with loans extended to 2030 and no cash interest due in 2026 or 2027. At least auditors have stepped back from questioning whether the company remains a “going concern”.
Powerpoint and promises
However, Islanders are still waiting for affordable fares, ferries that keep to timetable, and a replacement fleet which progresses beyond Powerpoint. Ms Collins announced three new ships in May 2024 costing £100m, with tenders “later” in the year. Yet in a recent internal memo, she confirmed “around 20 colleagues attended initial workshop sessions with experts to discuss what we need from our new fleet”. Clearly shipyards will have to wait a little longer for their tender invitations.
She also recently claimed the Artemis electric foiling ferries are delayed due to Southampton power supply issues. The contract supposedly entered the “construction and delivery stage” in February 2025 with vessels due on the Solent this year. At the time she said “The road ahead will bring learning and challenges, but that’s what it means to be brave, to innovate, and to lead”. If only she’d thought to check the electricity supply back then – a learning experience indeed! It’s like ordering a central heating system for your new house and then remembering you don’t have a gas supply. Could industry whispers saying the project is not simply delayed, but dead in the water, be true?
Islanders have heard enough speeches about innovation, transformation, and “brave” new fleets. What they want is far simpler: ferries that turn up on time, fair fares, and ships that actually exist. Until Red Funnel delivers something more substantial than workshop chats and endless promises, the company will remain stuck in the doldrums, with Islanders left scanning the horizon for signs of improvement.
Red Funnel has been approached for a comment.
