Battle · 9 companies

Museum trading arms

The companies behind the gift shops, cafés and licensing. Which one takes the most?

Historic Royal Palaces shops leads on pre-tax profit and profit margin; Royal Collection Trust shops on turnover; V&A shops on growth; British Museum shops on net assets. Royal Collection Trust shops is the biggest by turnover at £72m, against £37m at Tate shops. Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £31.81 as pre-tax profit.

The year ends are close enough to compare like for like. British Museum shops files group accounts that include subsidiaries; Royal Collection Trust shops, Tate shops, Historic Royal Palaces shops, Kew shops, V&A shops, English Heritage shops, Science Museum shops and National Gallery shops file for a single company, which flatters the group on size.

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

Accounts compared: Royal Collection Trust shops to Mar 2026 · Tate shops to Mar 2026 · Historic Royal Palaces shops to Mar 2026 · Kew shops to Mar 2026 · V&A shops to Mar 2026 · British Museum shops to Mar 2026 · English Heritage shops to Mar 2026 · Science Museum shops to Mar 2026 · National Gallery shops to Mar 2026

Biggest by turnover

Royal Collection Trust shops

£72m

Highest profit margin

Historic Royal Palaces shops

31.8%

Fastest-growing turnover

V&A shops

+20.7%

The Numbers

#CompanyTurnoverChangePre-tax profitMarginEmployeesPay per headTurnover per headNet assetsBank and cashAccounts toBasis
1 Royal Collection Trust shopsRoyal Collection Enterprises Limited £72m +4.8% £9m 12.1% 628 £40,000 £115,000 £0.4m £19m Mar 2026 Single company
2 Tate shopsTate Enterprises Ltd £37m +3.5% £5m 13.5% 425 £32,000 £87,000 £8m £7m Mar 2026 Single company
3 Historic Royal Palaces shopsHistoric Royal Palaces Enterprises Limited £34m +15.7% £11m 31.8% n/d n/d n/d £55k £9m Mar 2026 Single company
4 Kew shopsRBG Kew Enterprises Limited £26m +4.0% £8m 31.2% 141 £48,000 £187,000 £0.3m £9m Mar 2026 Single company
5 V&A shopsV&A Enterprises Limited £25m +20.7% £3m 10.1% 1,109 £5,000 £23,000 £3m £1.4m Mar 2026 Single company
6 British Museum shopsThe British Museum Company Limited £23m -1.9% £1.7m 7.5% 58 £50,000 £398,000 £50m £21m Mar 2026 Group
7 English Heritage shopsEnglish Heritage Trading Limited £21m -7.2% £0.9m 4.2% 132 £39,000 £156,000 £2m £0.2m Mar 2026 Single company
8 Science Museum shopsSCMG Enterprises Limited £20m -1.7% £3m 16.5% 929 £48,000 £21,000 £3m £4m Mar 2026 Single company
9 National Gallery shopsNational Gallery Global Limited £18m +10.4% £1.7m 9.2% 165 £43,000 £110,000 £0.8m £1.6m Mar 2026 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.). SCMG Enterprises employs most of the Science Museum Group's staff: of its 929 full-time equivalent employees, 817 work for the museums and their £37.1m cost is recharged to the parent charity, so staff costs of £44.4m are more than double its £19.6m turnover. Cash at bank fell to £3.9m because £6.0m was moved into short-term deposits, shown separately; the two together were £9.9m (accounts to 31 March 2026, pp. 8, 18 and 24).

Category winners

Biggest by turnover

Royal Collection Trust shops

£72m

Most pre-tax profit

Historic Royal Palaces shops

£11m

Highest profit margin

Historic Royal Palaces shops

31.8%

Fastest-growing turnover

V&A shops

+20.7%

Biggest employer

V&A shops

1,109 staff

Highest pay per head

British Museum shops

£50,000

Most turnover per head

British Museum shops

£398,000

Largest net assets

British Museum shops

£50m

Most cash

British Museum shops

£21m

The Takeaway

  1. Historic Royal Palaces shops converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £31.81 reaches pre-tax profit, against £4.23 at English Heritage shops.
  2. Royal Collection Trust shops is the largest on the top line, £72m of turnover, 2.0x Tate shops's £37m.
  3. V&A shops is growing fastest, turnover +20.7% on its own prior year. British Museum shops, English Heritage shops and Science Museum shops went backwards.
  4. V&A shops is the biggest employer with 1,109 people; British Museum shops pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £50,000.
  5. British Museum shops has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £50m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps the most: £31.81 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. English Heritage shops keeps the least, £4.23.

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

£0£100 Historic Royal PalacesshopsMar 2026 · £34mPayroll: £18.31 of every £100£18.31Other costs: £49.88 of every £100£49.88Profit: £31.81 of every £100Profit £31.81Kew shopsMar 2026 · £26mPayroll: £25.74 of every £100£25.74Other costs: £43.06 of every £100£43.06Profit: £31.20 of every £100Profit £31.20Science Museum shopsMar 2026 · £20mPayroll: £83.46 of every £100£83.46Profit: £16.54 of every £100Profit £16.54Tate shopsMar 2026 · £37mPayroll: £37.02 of every £100£37.02Other costs: £49.51 of every £100£49.51Profit: £13.47 of every £100Profit £13.47Royal Collection TrustshopsMar 2026 · £72mPayroll: £35.06 of every £100£35.06Other costs: £52.79 of every £100£52.79Profit: £12.15 of every £100Profit £12.15V&A shopsMar 2026 · £25mPayroll: £23.37 of every £100£23.37Other costs: £66.51 of every £100£66.51Profit: £10.12 of every £100Profit £10.12National Gallery shopsMar 2026 · £18mPayroll: £39.39 of every £100£39.39Other costs: £51.42 of every £100£51.42Profit: £9.19 of every £100Profit £9.19British Museum shopsMar 2026 · £23mPayroll: £12.57 of every £100£12.57Other costs: £79.93 of every £100£79.93Profit: £7.51 of every £100Profit £7.51English Heritage shopsMar 2026 · £21mPayroll: £25.03 of every £100£25.03Other costs: £70.74 of every £100£70.74Profit: £4.23 of every £100Profit £4.23
Payroll (staff costs)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

Each bar 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, 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 Royal Collection Trust shops (£72m), Tate shops (£37m), Historic Royal Palaces shops (£34m), Kew shops (£26m), V&A shops (£25m), British Museum shops (£23m), English Heritage shops (£21m), Science Museum shops (£20m), National Gallery shops (£18m).

By headcount, V&A shops leads with 1,109 employees.

The accounting periods all end in the same month. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

Royal Collection Trust shops£72mTate shops£37mHistoric Royal Palaces shops£34mKew shops£26mV&A shops£25mBritish Museum shops£23mEnglish Heritage shops£21mScience Museum shops£20mNational Gallery shops£18m

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

V&A shops grew fastest, turnover +20.7% on its own prior year, ahead of Historic Royal Palaces shops (+15.7%), National Gallery shops (+10.4%), Royal Collection Trust shops (+4.8%), Kew shops (+4.0%), Tate shops (+3.5%), Science Museum shops (-1.7%), British Museum shops (-1.9%), English Heritage shops (-7.2%).

V&A shops+20.7%Historic Royal Palaces shops+15.7%National Gallery shops+10.4%Royal Collection Trust shops+4.8%Kew shops+4.0%Tate shops+3.5%Science Museum shops-1.7%British Museum shops-1.9%English Heritage shops-7.2%

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?

V&A shops employs the most, 1,109 people, against 929 at Science Museum shops.

British Museum shops has the highest average staff cost, about £50,000 a head; V&A shops the lowest, about £5,000.

British Museum shops brings in the most turnover per employee, about £398,000, against £21,000 at Science Museum shops. 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.

Royal Collection Trust shops

628

employees, about £40,000 pay a head, £115,000 turnover a head, +6.4% on the year

Tate shops

425

employees, about £32,000 pay a head, £87,000 turnover a head, -3.6% on the year

Historic Royal Palaces shops

n/d

employees

Kew shops

141

employees, about £48,000 pay a head, £187,000 turnover a head, +3.7% on the year

V&A shops

1,109

employees, about £5,000 pay a head, £23,000 turnover a head, +7.5% on the year

British Museum shops

58

employees, about £50,000 pay a head, £398,000 turnover a head, +7.4% on the year

English Heritage shops

132

employees, about £39,000 pay a head, £156,000 turnover a head, -10.2% on the year

Science Museum shops

929

employees, about £48,000 pay a head, £21,000 turnover a head, +1.9% on the year

National Gallery shops

165

employees, about £43,000 pay a head, £110,000 turnover a head, +43.5% 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.

Royal Collection Enterprises Limited · 02778486

Held by The Royal Collection Trust

A company recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns Royal Collection Trust shops →

Tate Enterprises Ltd · 03173975

Held by The Board Of Trustees Of The Tate Gallery

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

Who owns Tate shops →

Historic Royal Palaces Enterprises Limited · 03418583

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control.

Who owns Historic Royal Palaces shops →

RBG Kew Enterprises Limited · 02798886

Held by The Board Of Trustees Of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

A company recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns Kew shops →

V&A Enterprises Limited · 01955898

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns V&A shops →

The British Museum Company Limited · 01079888

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control.

Who owns British Museum shops →

English Heritage Trading Limited · 02970369

Held by The English Heritage Trust

A company recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns English Heritage shops →

SCMG Enterprises Limited · 02196149

Held by The Board Of Trustees Of The Science Museum

An individual recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Science Museum shops →

National Gallery Global Limited · 02280277

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns National Gallery shops →

What does the full ledger show?

MeasureRoyal Collection Trust shopsTate shopsHistoric Royal Palaces shopsKew shopsV&A shopsBritish Museum shopsEnglish Heritage shopsScience Museum shopsNational Gallery shops
Registered nameROYAL COLLECTION ENTERPRISES LIMITEDTATE ENTERPRISES LTDHISTORIC ROYAL PALACES ENTERPRISES LIMITEDRBG KEW ENTERPRISES LIMITEDV&A ENTERPRISES LIMITEDTHE BRITISH MUSEUM COMPANY LIMITEDENGLISH HERITAGE TRADING LIMITEDSCMG ENTERPRISES LIMITEDNATIONAL GALLERY GLOBAL LIMITED
Company number027784860317397503418583027988860195589801079888029703690219614902280277
Incorporated199319961997199319851972199419871988
Accounts filed18 August 202625 July 202614 September 202617 July 202626 July 20267 September 202616 September 20263 November 202621 July 2026
Turnover, prior year£69m£36m£30m£25m£21m£24m£22m£20m£16m
Pre-tax profit, prior year£7m£5m£8m£8m£0.8m£6m£0.9m£4m£4m
Staff costs£25m£14m£6m£7m£6m£3m£5m£44m£7m
Payroll share of turnover35.1%37.0%18.3%25.7%23.4%12.6%25.0%225.9%39.4%
Employees, prior year590441n/d1361,03254147912115
Dividends paidn/dn/dn/dn/dn/dn/dn/dn/dn/d
Charges outstanding010010011

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.

Museum trading arms: common questions

Who is the biggest of Royal Collection Trust shops, Tate shops, Historic Royal Palaces shops, Kew shops, V&A shops, British Museum shops, English Heritage shops, Science Museum shops or National Gallery shops?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m in the year to March 2026.

Which makes the most profit?

Historic Royal Palaces shops: £11m pre-tax in the year to March 2026.

Which employs the most people?

V&A shops, with 1,109 employees in its latest accounts.

Royal Collection Trust shops or Tate shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £37m at Tate shops on their latest filings. On margin, Tate shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or Historic Royal Palaces shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £34m at Historic Royal Palaces shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or Kew shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £26m at Kew shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or V&A shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £25m at V&A shops on their latest filings. On margin, Royal Collection Trust shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or British Museum shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £23m at British Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Royal Collection Trust shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, Royal Collection Trust shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Collection Trust shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

Royal Collection Trust shops, with turnover of £72m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, Royal Collection Trust shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or Historic Royal Palaces shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £34m at Historic Royal Palaces shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or Kew shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £26m at Kew shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or V&A shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £25m at V&A shops on their latest filings. On margin, Tate shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or British Museum shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £23m at British Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Tate shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, Tate shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tate shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

Tate shops, with turnover of £37m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, Tate shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or Kew shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £26m at Kew shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or V&A shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £25m at V&A shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or British Museum shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £23m at British Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Historic Royal Palaces shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

Historic Royal Palaces shops, with turnover of £34m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Kew shops or V&A shops: which is bigger?

Kew shops, with turnover of £26m against £25m at V&A shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Kew shops or British Museum shops: which is bigger?

Kew shops, with turnover of £26m against £23m at British Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Kew shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

Kew shops, with turnover of £26m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Kew shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

Kew shops, with turnover of £26m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Kew shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

Kew shops, with turnover of £26m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, Kew shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

V&A shops or British Museum shops: which is bigger?

V&A shops, with turnover of £25m against £23m at British Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, V&A shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

V&A shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

V&A shops, with turnover of £25m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, V&A shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

V&A shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

V&A shops, with turnover of £25m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

V&A shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

V&A shops, with turnover of £25m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, V&A shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

British Museum shops or English Heritage shops: which is bigger?

British Museum shops, with turnover of £23m against £21m at English Heritage shops on their latest filings. On margin, British Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

British Museum shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

British Museum shops, with turnover of £23m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

British Museum shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

British Museum shops, with turnover of £23m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, National Gallery shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

English Heritage shops or Science Museum shops: which is bigger?

English Heritage shops, with turnover of £21m against £20m at Science Museum shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

English Heritage shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

English Heritage shops, with turnover of £21m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, National Gallery shops keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Science Museum shops or National Gallery shops: which is bigger?

Science Museum shops, with turnover of £20m against £18m at National Gallery shops on their latest filings. On margin, Science Museum shops 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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