Battle · 6 companies

High street bakeries

Rise and shine: one is on a roll, another is going stale

Greggs leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Greggs is the biggest by turnover at £2,014m, against £220m at Gail's. Gail's keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £13.41 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. Birds Bakery files group accounts that include subsidiaries; Gail's, Paul, Wenzel's and Warrens Bakery file for a single company, which flatters the group on size.

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

Accounts compared: Greggs to Dec 2024 · Gail's to Feb 2025 · Paul to Dec 2024 · Wenzel's to Mar 2025 · Birds Bakery to Jan 2026 · Warrens Bakery to Jun 2025

Biggest by turnover

Greggs

£2,014m

Highest profit margin

Gail's

13.4%

Fastest-growing turnover

Gail's

+22.8%

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	GreggsGreggs PLC	£2,014m	+11.3%	£204m	10.1%	32,258	£21,000	£62,000	£571m	£125m	Dec 2024	n/d
2	Gail'sGails Limited	£220m	+22.8%	£29m	13.4%	2,816	£24,000	£78,000	£84m	£3m	Feb 2025	Single company
3	Wenzel'sWenzels the Bakers Limited	£63m	-7.1%	-£3m	-3.9%	1,161	£22,000	£55,000	£7m	£1.8m	Mar 2025	Single company
4	Birds BakeryBirds Bakery Holdings Ltd	£36m	+2.1%	£2m	5.9%	770	£22,000	£47,000	£22m	£15m	Jan 2026	Group
5	PaulPaul U.K. Limited	£34m	-5.2%	-£0.4m	-1.2%	527	£24,000	£64,000	-£0.8m	£0.8m	Dec 2024	Single company
6	Warrens BakeryWarrens Bakery Limited	£15m	-0.4%	-£0.6m	-4.0%	253	£18,000	£57,000	-£1.3m	£0.2m	Jun 2025	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

Greggs

£2,014m

Most pre-tax profit

Greggs

£204m

Highest profit margin

Gail's

13.4%

Fastest-growing turnover

Gail's

+22.8%

Biggest employer

Greggs

32,258 staff

Highest pay per head

Paul

£24,000

Most turnover per head

Gail's

£78,000

Largest net assets

Greggs

£571m

Most cash

Greggs

£125m

The Takeaway

Gail's converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £13.41 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £3.96 at Warrens Bakery.
Greggs is the largest on the top line, £2,014m of turnover, 9.2x Gail's's £220m.
Gail's is growing fastest, turnover +22.8% on its own prior year. Paul, Wenzel's and Warrens Bakery went backwards.
Greggs is the biggest employer with 32,258 people; Paul pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £24,000.
Greggs has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £571m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Gail's keeps the most: £13.41 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Warrens Bakery does worst, losing £3.96.

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 Greggs (£2,014m), Gail's (£220m), Wenzel's (£63m), Birds Bakery (£36m), Paul (£34m), Warrens Bakery (£15m).

By headcount, Greggs leads with 32,258 employees.

The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Greggs to Dec 2024, Gail's to Feb 2025, Paul to Dec 2024, Wenzel's to Mar 2025, Birds Bakery to Jan 2026, Warrens Bakery to Jun 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Gail's grew fastest, turnover +22.8% on its own prior year, ahead of Greggs (+11.3%), Birds Bakery (+2.1%), Warrens Bakery (-0.4%), Paul (-5.2%), Wenzel's (-7.1%).

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?

Greggs employs the most, 32,258 people, against 2,816 at Gail's.

Paul has the highest average staff cost, about £24,000 a head; Warrens Bakery the lowest, about £18,000.

Gail's brings in the most turnover per employee, about £78,000, against £47,000 at Birds Bakery. 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.

Greggs

32,258

employees, about £21,000 pay a head, £62,000 turnover a head, +7.2% on the year

Gail's

2,816

employees, about £24,000 pay a head, £78,000 turnover a head, +14.8% on the year

Paul

527

employees, about £24,000 pay a head, £64,000 turnover a head, -7.7% on the year

Wenzel's

1,161

employees, about £22,000 pay a head, £55,000 turnover a head, -2.2% on the year

Birds Bakery

770

employees, about £22,000 pay a head, £47,000 turnover a head, -2.2% on the year

Warrens Bakery

253

employees, about £18,000 pay a head, £57,000 turnover a head, -1.6% 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.

Greggs PLC · 00502851

Owned by its shareholders

Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Greggs →

Gails Limited · 06055393

Held by Bread Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 2 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Gail's →

Paul U.K. Limited · 03839415

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 10 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Paul →

Wenzels the Bakers Limited · 06080714

Held by Wenzels Holdings Ltd

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Wenzel's →

Birds Bakery Holdings Ltd · 14311109

Held by Mrs Lesley Bird

An individual recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns Birds Bakery →

Warrens Bakery Limited · 01451668

Held by Provenance Brands Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 12 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Warrens Bakery →

What does the full ledger show?

Measure	Greggs	Gail's	Paul	Wenzel's	Birds Bakery	Warrens Bakery
Registered name	GREGGS PLC	GAILS LIMITED	PAUL U.K. LIMITED	WENZELS THE BAKERS LIMITED	BIRDS BAKERY HOLDINGS LTD	WARRENS BAKERY LIMITED
Company number	00502851	06055393	03839415	06080714	14311109	01451668
Incorporated	1951	2007	1999	2007	2022	1979
Accounts filed	30 June 2025	9 December 2025	29 September 2025	30 December 2025	9 August 2026	31 March 2026
Turnover, prior year	£1,810m	£179m	£36m	£68m	£35m	£15m
Pre-tax profit, prior year	£188m	£25m	-£0.9m	£3m	n/d	-£11k
Staff costs	£687m	£67m	£13m	£26m	£17m	£5m
Payroll share of turnover	34.1%	30.3%	37.6%	40.2%	46.8%	31.9%
Employees, prior year	30,085	2,454	571	1,187	787	257
Dividends paid	£107m	n/d	n/d	n/d	£3m	n/d
Charges outstanding	1	2	10	1	0	12

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.

High street bakeries: common questions

Who is the biggest of Greggs, Gail's, Paul, Wenzel's, Birds Bakery or Warrens Bakery?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m in the year to December 2024.

Which makes the most profit?

Greggs: £204m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.

Which employs the most people?

Greggs, with 32,258 employees in its latest accounts.

Greggs or Gail's: which is bigger?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m against £220m at Gail's on their latest filings. On margin, Gail's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Greggs or Paul: which is bigger?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m against £34m at Paul on their latest filings. On margin, Greggs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Greggs or Wenzel's: which is bigger?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m against £63m at Wenzel's on their latest filings. On margin, Greggs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Greggs or Birds Bakery: which is bigger?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m against £36m at Birds Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Greggs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Greggs or Warrens Bakery: which is bigger?

Greggs, with turnover of £2,014m against £15m at Warrens Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Greggs keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Gail's or Paul: which is bigger?

Gail's, with turnover of £220m against £34m at Paul on their latest filings. On margin, Gail's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Gail's or Wenzel's: which is bigger?

Gail's, with turnover of £220m against £63m at Wenzel's on their latest filings. On margin, Gail's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Gail's or Birds Bakery: which is bigger?

Gail's, with turnover of £220m against £36m at Birds Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Gail's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Gail's or Warrens Bakery: which is bigger?

Gail's, with turnover of £220m against £15m at Warrens Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Gail's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Paul or Wenzel's: which is bigger?

Wenzel's, with turnover of £63m against £34m at Paul on their latest filings. On margin, Paul keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Paul or Birds Bakery: which is bigger?

Birds Bakery, with turnover of £36m against £34m at Paul on their latest filings. On margin, Birds Bakery keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Paul or Warrens Bakery: which is bigger?

Paul, with turnover of £34m against £15m at Warrens Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Paul keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Wenzel's or Birds Bakery: which is bigger?

Wenzel's, with turnover of £63m against £36m at Birds Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Birds Bakery keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Wenzel's or Warrens Bakery: which is bigger?

Wenzel's, with turnover of £63m against £15m at Warrens Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Wenzel's keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Birds Bakery or Warrens Bakery: which is bigger?

Birds Bakery, with turnover of £36m against £15m at Warrens Bakery on their latest filings. On margin, Birds Bakery 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.

Deep dive: what story does Greggs's money tell? →

4 companies compared →

RESTAURANTS