Battle · 4 companies
Online travel
Dream destination, or lost in transit?
easyJet leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. easyJet is the biggest by turnover at £10,106m, against £7,174m at Jet2. On the Beach keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £22.98 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.
Accounts compared: On the Beach to Sep 2025 · Hostelworld to Dec 2025 · Jet2 to Mar 2025 · easyJet to Sep 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 | easyJeteasyJet PLC | £10,106m | +8.6% | £658m | 6.5% | 18,968 | £78,000 | £533,000 | £3,498m | £1,504m | Sep 2025 | Group |
| 2 | Jet2Jet2 PLC | £7,174m | +14.7% | £593m | 8.3% | 15,205 | £55,000 | £472,000 | £1,612m | £1,187m | Mar 2025 | n/d |
| 3 | On the BeachOn the Beach Group PLC | £121m | -5.3% | £28m | 23.0% | 507 | £66,000 | £239,000 | £157m | £92m | Sep 2025 | Group |
| 4 | HostelworldHostelworld Group PLC | £81m | +4.4% | £7m | 9.0% | 260 | £82,000 | £312,000 | £63m | £11m | Dec 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
easyJet
£10,106m
Most pre-tax profit
easyJet
£658m
Highest profit margin
On the Beach
23.0%
Fastest-growing turnover
Jet2
+14.7%
Biggest employer
easyJet
18,968 staff
Highest pay per head
Hostelworld
£82,000
Most turnover per head
easyJet
£533,000
Largest net assets
easyJet
£3,498m
Most cash
easyJet
£1,504m
The Takeaway
- On the Beach converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £22.98 reaches pre-tax profit, against £6.51 at easyJet.
- easyJet is the largest on the top line, £10,106m of turnover, 1.4x Jet2's £7,174m.
- Jet2 is growing fastest, turnover +14.7% on its own prior year. On the Beach went backwards.
- easyJet is the biggest employer with 18,968 people; Hostelworld pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £82,000.
- easyJet has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £3,498m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
On the Beach keeps the most: £22.98 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. easyJet keeps the least, £6.51.
Financing bites hardest at On the Beach: £2.14 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 easyJet (£10,106m), Jet2 (£7,174m), On the Beach (£121m), Hostelworld (£81m).
By headcount, easyJet leads with 18,968 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: On the Beach to Sep 2025, Hostelworld to Dec 2025, Jet2 to Mar 2025, easyJet to Sep 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Jet2 grew fastest, turnover +14.7% on its own prior year, ahead of easyJet (+8.6%), Hostelworld (+4.4%), On the Beach (-5.3%).
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?
easyJet employs the most, 18,968 people, against 15,205 at Jet2.
Hostelworld has the highest average staff cost, about £82,000 a head; Jet2 the lowest, about £55,000.
easyJet brings in the most turnover per employee, about £533,000, against £239,000 at On the Beach. 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.
On the Beach
507
employees, about £66,000 pay a head, £239,000 turnover a head, -13.0% on the year
Hostelworld
260
employees, about £82,000 pay a head, £312,000 turnover a head, +14.0% on the year
Jet2
15,205
employees, about £55,000 pay a head, £472,000 turnover a head, +8.2% on the year
easyJet
18,968
employees, about £78,000 pay a head, £533,000 turnover a head, +7.5% 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.
Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 3 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns On the Beach →
Hostelworld Group PLC · 09818705Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Hostelworld →
Jet2 PLC · 01295221Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 12 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Jet2 →
easyJet PLC · 03959649Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register.
Who owns easyJet →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | On the Beach | Hostelworld | Jet2 | easyJet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | ON THE BEACH GROUP PLC | HOSTELWORLD GROUP PLC | JET2 PLC | EASYJET PLC |
| Company number | 09736592 | 09818705 | 01295221 | 03959649 |
| Incorporated | 2015 | 2015 | 1977 | 2000 |
| Accounts filed | 3 February 2026 | 9 July 2026 | 11 September 2025 | 24 February 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £128m | £78m | £6,255m | £9,309m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £27m | £9m | £530m | £602m |
| Staff costs | £34m | £21m | £831m | £1,475m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 27.6% | 26.2% | 11.6% | 14.6% |
| Employees, prior year | 583 | 228 | 14,053 | 17,639 |
| Dividends paid | £5m | £1.0m | £32m | £91m |
| Charges outstanding | 3 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
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.
Online travel: common questions
Who is the biggest of On the Beach, Hostelworld, Jet2 or easyJet?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m in the year to September 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
easyJet: £658m pre-tax in the year to September 2025.
Which employs the most people?
easyJet, with 18,968 employees in its latest accounts.
On the Beach or Hostelworld: which is bigger?
On the Beach, with turnover of £121m against £81m at Hostelworld on their latest filings. On margin, On the Beach keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
On the Beach or Jet2: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,174m against £121m at On the Beach on their latest filings. On margin, On the Beach keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
On the Beach or easyJet: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £121m at On the Beach on their latest filings. On margin, On the Beach keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Hostelworld or Jet2: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,174m against £81m at Hostelworld on their latest filings. On margin, Hostelworld keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Hostelworld or easyJet: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £81m at Hostelworld on their latest filings. On margin, Hostelworld keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Jet2 or easyJet: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £7,174m at Jet2 on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 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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