Battle · 4 companies
Food-to-go chains
Grab and go, or left on the shelf?
Pret A Manger leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Pret A Manger is the biggest by turnover at £705m, against £125m at Wasabi. Pret A Manger keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £1.56 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 12 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months.
Accounts compared: Pret A Manger to Jan 2026 · Leon to Dec 2024 · Itsu to Jan 2026 · Wasabi to Dec 2025
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 | Pret A MangerPret A Manger (Europe) Limited | £705m | -4.1% | £11m | 1.6% | 6,455 | £30,000 | £109,000 | £65m | £11m | Jan 2026 | Single company |
| 2 | WasabiWasabi Co. Ltd | £125m | +2.8% | -£1.1m | -0.9% | 1,122 | £34,000 | £112,000 | -£36m | £2m | Dec 2025 | Single company |
| 3 | ItsuItsu Limited | £124m | +2.8% | -£5m | -4.2% | 1,195 | £34,000 | £104,000 | -£17m | £3m | Jan 2026 | Single company |
| 4 | LeonLeon Restaurants Limited | £62m | -3.8% | -£8m | -13.6% | 1,120 | £19,000 | £56,000 | -£30m | £1.0m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
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
Pret A Manger
£705m
Most pre-tax profit
Pret A Manger
£11m
Highest profit margin
Pret A Manger
1.6%
Fastest-growing turnover
Itsu
+2.8%
Biggest employer
Pret A Manger
6,455 staff
Highest pay per head
Itsu
£34,000
Most turnover per head
Wasabi
£112,000
Largest net assets
Pret A Manger
£65m
Most cash
Pret A Manger
£11m
The Takeaway
- Pret A Manger converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £1.56 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £13.59 at Leon.
- Pret A Manger is the largest on the top line, £705m of turnover, 5.6x Wasabi's £125m.
- Itsu is growing fastest, turnover +2.8% on its own prior year. Pret A Manger and Leon went backwards.
- Pret A Manger is the biggest employer with 6,455 people; Itsu pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £34,000.
- Pret A Manger has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £65m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Pret A Manger keeps the most: £1.56 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Leon does worst, losing £13.59.
Financing bites hardest at Leon: £3.24 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
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 Pret A Manger (£705m), Wasabi (£125m), Itsu (£124m), Leon (£62m).
By headcount, Pret A Manger leads with 6,455 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Pret A Manger to Jan 2026, Leon to Dec 2024, Itsu to Jan 2026, Wasabi to Dec 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Itsu grew fastest, turnover +2.8% on its own prior year, ahead of Wasabi (+2.8%), Leon (-3.8%), Pret A Manger (-4.1%).
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?
Pret A Manger employs the most, 6,455 people, against 1,195 at Itsu.
Itsu has the highest average staff cost, about £34,000 a head; Leon the lowest, about £19,000.
Wasabi brings in the most turnover per employee, about £112,000, against £56,000 at Leon. 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.
Pret A Manger
6,455
employees, about £30,000 pay a head, £109,000 turnover a head, -9.4% on the year
Leon
1,120
employees, about £19,000 pay a head, £56,000 turnover a head, -16.7% on the year
Itsu
1,195
employees, about £34,000 pay a head, £104,000 turnover a head, -1.8% on the year
Wasabi
1,122
employees, about £34,000 pay a head, £112,000 turnover a head, -5.4% 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.
Held by Pret A Manger Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Pret A Manger →
Leon Restaurants Limited · 05018441Held by Febraro Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 12 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Leon →
Itsu Limited · 03286342Held by Butterfly 21 Bidco Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 5 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Itsu →
Wasabi Co. Ltd · 04431046Held by Wasabi Sushi Bento Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 10 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Wasabi →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Pret A Manger | Leon | Itsu | Wasabi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | PRET A MANGER (EUROPE) LIMITED | LEON RESTAURANTS LIMITED | ITSU LIMITED | WASABI CO. LTD |
| Company number | 01854213 | 05018441 | 03286342 | 04431046 |
| Incorporated | 1984 | 2004 | 1996 | 2002 |
| Accounts filed | 21 June 2026 | 16 September 2025 | 7 September 2026 | 29 July 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £735m | £65m | £120m | £122m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | -£82m | -£20m | -£7m | £2m |
| Staff costs | £192m | £21m | £41m | £38m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 27.3% | 34.2% | 32.9% | 30.2% |
| Employees, prior year | 7,126 | 1,344 | 1,217 | 1,186 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 2 | 12 | 5 | 10 |
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.
Food-to-go chains: common questions
Who is the biggest of Pret A Manger, Leon, Itsu or Wasabi?
Pret A Manger, with turnover of £705m in the year to January 2026.
Which makes the most profit?
Pret A Manger: £11m pre-tax in the year to January 2026.
Which employs the most people?
Pret A Manger, with 6,455 employees in its latest accounts.
Pret A Manger or Leon: which is bigger?
Pret A Manger, with turnover of £705m against £62m at Leon on their latest filings. On margin, Pret A Manger keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Pret A Manger or Itsu: which is bigger?
Pret A Manger, with turnover of £705m against £124m at Itsu on their latest filings. On margin, Pret A Manger keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Pret A Manger or Wasabi: which is bigger?
Pret A Manger, with turnover of £705m against £125m at Wasabi on their latest filings. On margin, Pret A Manger keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Leon or Itsu: which is bigger?
Itsu, with turnover of £124m against £62m at Leon on their latest filings. On margin, Itsu keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Leon or Wasabi: which is bigger?
Wasabi, with turnover of £125m against £62m at Leon on their latest filings. On margin, Wasabi keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Itsu or Wasabi: which is bigger?
Wasabi, with turnover of £125m against £124m at Itsu on their latest filings. On margin, Wasabi keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
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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