Battle · 4 companies

British activewear

Leggings on, gloves off

Represent leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Gymshark is the biggest by turnover at £647m, against £335m at Castore. Represent keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £13.55 as pre-tax profit.

The year ends are up to 7 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Castore's turnover growth looks like a one-off in the latest accounts (a gain inside a group, an acquisition or a longer accounting period), so it is shown but not counted when picking winners.

Spark Intel Research Desk·Last updated 28 September 2026·Source: Companies House filed accounts

Accounts compared: Gymshark to Jul 2025 · Castore to Aug 2025 · Tala to Mar 2025 · Represent to Dec 2024

Biggest by turnover

Gymshark

£647m

Highest profit margin

Represent

13.6%

Fastest-growing turnover

Represent

+16.2%

The Numbers

#	Company	Turnover	Change	Pre-tax profit	Margin	Employees	Pay per head	Turnover per head	Net assets	Bank and cash	Accounts to	Basis
1	GymsharkGymshark Topco Limited	£647m	+6.6%	£7m	1.1%	1,029	£68,000	£629,000	£101m	£37m	Jul 2025	Group
2	CastoreJ.Carter Sporting Club Limited	£335m	+75.8%	-£41m	-12.2%	776	£47,000	£431,000	£63m	£37m	Aug 2025	Group
3	RepresentRepresent Clothing Limited	£94m	+16.2%	£13m	13.6%	107	£71,000	£878,000	£28m	£19m	Dec 2024	Group
4	TalaWe Are Tala (Holdings) Limited	£20m	n/d	-£3m	-12.9%	n/d	n/d	n/d	£8m	£5m	Mar 2025	Group

Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).

Category winners

Biggest by turnover

Gymshark

£647m

Most pre-tax profit

Represent

£13m

Highest profit margin

Represent

13.6%

Fastest-growing turnover

Represent

+16.2%

Biggest employer

Gymshark

1,029 staff

Highest pay per head

Represent

£71,000

Most turnover per head

Represent

£878,000

Largest net assets

Gymshark

£101m

Most cash

Gymshark

£37m

The Takeaway

Represent converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £13.55 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £12.88 at Tala.
Gymshark is the largest on the top line, £647m of turnover, 1.9x Castore's £335m.
Represent is growing fastest, turnover +16.2% on its own prior year.
Gymshark is the biggest employer with 1,029 people; Represent pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £71,000.
Gymshark has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £101m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Represent keeps the most: £13.55 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Tala does worst, losing £12.88.

Financing bites hardest at Castore: £4.03 of every £100 goes on interest.

Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.

The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.

Out of every £100 of turnover

Payroll (staff costs)Financing (interest paid)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.

Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?

By turnover the order is Gymshark (£647m), Castore (£335m), Represent (£94m), Tala (£20m).

By headcount, Gymshark leads with 1,029 employees.

The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Gymshark to Jul 2025, Castore to Aug 2025, Tala to Mar 2025, Represent to Dec 2024. All are on the same filing basis.

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Castore grew fastest, turnover +75.8% on its own prior year, ahead of Represent (+16.2%), Gymshark (+6.6%).

Turnover change on each company's own prior year

Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?

Gymshark employs the most, 1,029 people, against 776 at Castore.

Represent has the highest average staff cost, about £71,000 a head; Castore the lowest, about £47,000.

Represent brings in the most turnover per employee, about £878,000, against £431,000 at Castore. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.

Gymshark

1,029

employees, about £68,000 pay a head, £629,000 turnover a head, +16.8% on the year

Castore

776

employees, about £47,000 pay a head, £431,000 turnover a head, +50.1% on the year

Tala

n/d

employees

Represent

107

employees, about £71,000 pay a head, £878,000 turnover a head, +62.1% on the year

Who owns each one?

Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.

Gymshark Topco Limited · 16577203

Held by Benjamin David Francis

An individual recorded as a person with significant control in the 25% to 50% band.

Who owns Gymshark →

J.Carter Sporting Club Limited · 09670915

Held by Mr Philip Beahon

An individual recorded as a person with significant control. 4 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Castore →

We Are Tala (Holdings) Limited · 13185527

Held by Ms Grace Margaret Beverley

An individual recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns Tala →

Represent Clothing Limited · 09221485

Held by Owners Club Bidco Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 3 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Represent →

What does the full ledger show?

Measure	Gymshark	Castore	Tala	Represent
Registered name	GYMSHARK TOPCO LIMITED	J.CARTER SPORTING CLUB LIMITED	WE ARE TALA (HOLDINGS) LIMITED	REPRESENT CLOTHING LIMITED
Company number	16577203	09670915	13185527	09221485
Incorporated	2025	2015	2021	2014
Accounts filed	20 May 2026	2 May 2026	2 January 2026	10 June 2025
Turnover, prior year	£607m	£190m	n/d	£81m
Pre-tax profit, prior year	£12m	-£29m	n/d	£13m
Staff costs	£70m	£36m	n/d	£8m
Payroll share of turnover	10.8%	10.8%	n/d	8.1%
Employees, prior year	881	517	n/d	66
Dividends paid	n/d	n/d	n/d	£4m
Charges outstanding	0	4	0	3

A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.

British activewear: common questions

Who is the biggest of Gymshark, Castore, Tala or Represent?

Gymshark, with turnover of £647m in the year to July 2025.

Which makes the most profit?

Represent: £13m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.

Which employs the most people?

Gymshark, with 1,029 employees in its latest accounts.

Gymshark or Castore: which is bigger?

Gymshark, with turnover of £647m against £335m at Castore on their latest filings. On margin, Gymshark keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Gymshark or Tala: which is bigger?

Gymshark, with turnover of £647m against £20m at Tala on their latest filings. On margin, Gymshark keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Gymshark or Represent: which is bigger?

Gymshark, with turnover of £647m against £94m at Represent on their latest filings. On margin, Represent keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Castore or Tala: which is bigger?

Castore, with turnover of £335m against £20m at Tala on their latest filings. On margin, Castore keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Castore or Represent: which is bigger?

Castore, with turnover of £335m against £94m at Represent on their latest filings. On margin, Represent keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tala or Represent: which is bigger?

Represent, with turnover of £94m against £20m at Tala on their latest filings. On margin, Represent keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Where do these figures come from?

Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.