Battle · 4 companies

British activewear

Leggings on, gloves off

Gymshark leads on all 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. Gymshark keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £1.06 as pre-tax profit.

The year ends are up to 9 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Gymshark, Castore and Tala file group accounts that include subsidiaries; Represent files for a single company, which flatters the groups on size.

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

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

Biggest by turnover

Gymshark

£647m

Highest profit margin

Gymshark

1.1%

Fastest-growing turnover

Gymshark

+6.6%

The Numbers

#CompanyTurnoverChangePre-tax profitMarginEmployeesPay per headTurnover per headNet assetsBank and cashAccounts toBasis
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 n/d -£41m -12.2% 776 £47,000 £431,000 £63m £37m Aug 2025 Group
3 RepresentRepresent Clothing Limited £83m -11.4% -£4m -5.2% 144 £56,000 £577,000 £3m £10m Dec 2025 Single company
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

Gymshark

£7m

Highest profit margin

Gymshark

1.1%

Fastest-growing turnover

Gymshark

+6.6%

Biggest employer

Gymshark

1,029 staff

Highest pay per head

Gymshark

£68,000

Most turnover per head

Gymshark

£629,000

Largest net assets

Gymshark

£101m

Most cash

Gymshark

£37m

The Takeaway

  1. Gymshark converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £1.06 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £12.88 at Tala.
  2. Gymshark is the largest on the top line, £647m of turnover, 1.9x Castore's £335m.
  3. Gymshark is growing fastest, turnover +6.6% on its own prior year. Represent went backwards.
  4. Gymshark is the biggest employer with 1,029 people; Gymshark pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £68,000.
  5. Gymshark has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £101m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Gymshark keeps the most: £1.06 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

£100£0 Payroll: £10.78 of every £100£10.78Financing: £1.14 of every £100Other costs: £87.02 of every £100Other costs£87.02Profit: £1.06 of every £100Profit £1.06GymsharkYear to Jul 2025£647mPayroll: £9.65 of every £100£9.65Other costs: £95.53 of every £100Other costs£95.53Loss (the costs beyond £100): £5.17 of every £100Loss £5.17RepresentYear to Dec 2025£83mPayroll: £10.84 of every £100£10.84Financing: £4.03 of every £100Other costs: £97.32 of every £100Other costs£97.32Loss (the costs beyond £100): £12.18 of every £100Loss £12.18CastoreYear to Aug 2025£335mFinancing: £0.00 of every £100Other costs: £112.88 of every £100Other costs£112.88Loss (the costs beyond £100): £12.88 of every £100Loss £12.88TalaYear to Mar 2025£20m
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 (£83m), 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 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

Gymshark£647mCastore£335mRepresent£83mTala£20m

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Gymshark grew fastest, turnover +6.6% on its own prior year, ahead of Represent (-11.4%).

Gymshark+6.6%Represent-11.4%

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.

Gymshark has the highest average staff cost, about £68,000 a head; Castore the lowest, about £47,000.

Gymshark brings in the most turnover per employee, about £629,000, 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

144

employees, about £56,000 pay a head, £577,000 turnover a head, +38.5% 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?

MeasureGymsharkCastoreTalaRepresent
Registered nameGYMSHARK TOPCO LIMITEDJ.CARTER SPORTING CLUB LIMITEDWE ARE TALA (HOLDINGS) LIMITEDREPRESENT CLOTHING LIMITED
Company number16577203096709151318552709221485
Incorporated2025201520212014
Accounts filed20 May 20262 May 20262 January 202629 September 2026
Turnover, prior year£607m£190mn/d£94m
Pre-tax profit, prior year£12m-£29mn/d£13m
Staff costs£70m£36mn/d£8m
Payroll share of turnover10.8%10.8%n/d9.6%
Employees, prior year881517n/d104
Dividends paidn/dn/dn/d£21m
Charges outstanding0403

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?

Gymshark: £7m pre-tax in the year to July 2025.

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 £83m at Represent on their latest filings. On margin, Gymshark 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 £83m 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 £83m 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.

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