Battle · 4 companies
Steak restaurants
Rare talent on the menu, but somebody is getting grilled
Flat Iron leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Flat Iron is the biggest by turnover at £70m, against £25m at Blacklock. Hawksmoor keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £19.42 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. Hawksmoor, Goodman and Blacklock file group accounts that include subsidiaries; Flat Iron files for a single company, which flatters the groups on size.
Accounts compared: Hawksmoor to Dec 2024 · Goodman to Dec 2024 · Flat Iron to Aug 2025 · Blacklock 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 | Flat IronFlat Iron Steak Limited | £70m | +40.4% | £8m | 10.9% | 910 | £27,000 | £77,000 | £9m | £11m | Aug 2025 | Single company |
| 2 | BlacklockUnderstudy Limited | £25m | +25.7% | £1.1m | 4.7% | 298 | £30,000 | £83,000 | £1.8m | £3m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 3 | HawksmoorHawksmoor Group Limited | £22m | +12.8% | £4m | 19.4% | 109 | £87,000 | £202,000 | £20m | £3m | Dec 2024 | Group |
| 4 | GoodmanGoodman Restaurant Holdings Limited | £13m | -5.3% | £0.1m | 0.8% | 157 | £32,000 | £84,000 | -£6m | £4m | Dec 2024 | 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
The Takeaway
- Hawksmoor converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £19.42 reaches pre-tax profit, against £0.81 at Goodman.
- Flat Iron is the largest on the top line, £70m of turnover, 2.8x Blacklock's £25m.
- Flat Iron is growing fastest, turnover +40.4% on its own prior year. Goodman went backwards.
- Flat Iron is the biggest employer with 910 people; Hawksmoor pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £87,000.
- Hawksmoor has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £20m, while Flat Iron holds the most cash at £11m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Hawksmoor keeps the most: £19.42 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Goodman keeps the least, £0.81.
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 Flat Iron (£70m), Blacklock (£25m), Hawksmoor (£22m), Goodman (£13m).
By headcount, Flat Iron leads with 910 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Hawksmoor to Dec 2024, Goodman to Dec 2024, Flat Iron to Aug 2025, Blacklock to Dec 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?
Flat Iron grew fastest, turnover +40.4% on its own prior year, ahead of Blacklock (+25.7%), Hawksmoor (+12.8%), Goodman (-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?
Flat Iron employs the most, 910 people, against 298 at Blacklock.
Hawksmoor has the highest average staff cost, about £87,000 a head; Flat Iron the lowest, about £27,000.
Hawksmoor brings in the most turnover per employee, about £202,000, against £77,000 at Flat Iron. 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.
Hawksmoor
109
employees, about £87,000 pay a head, £202,000 turnover a head, +0.0% on the year
Goodman
157
employees, about £32,000 pay a head, £84,000 turnover a head, -8.7% on the year
Flat Iron
910
employees, about £27,000 pay a head, £77,000 turnover a head, +26.0% on the year
Blacklock
298
employees, about £30,000 pay a head, £83,000 turnover a head, +11.6% 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.
Held by Argentis Group Ltd
A company recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns Hawksmoor →
Goodman Restaurant Holdings Limited · 12590865No controller recorded
The register shows no person with significant control. 4 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Goodman →
Flat Iron Steak Limited · 08177784Held by Fi Holdings Ltd
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns Flat Iron →
Understudy Limited · 08641225Held by Bgf Investment Management Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns Blacklock →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Hawksmoor | Goodman | Flat Iron | Blacklock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | HAWKSMOOR GROUP LIMITED | GOODMAN RESTAURANT HOLDINGS LIMITED | FLAT IRON STEAK LIMITED | UNDERSTUDY LIMITED |
| Company number | 06865092 | 12590865 | 08177784 | 08641225 |
| Incorporated | 2009 | 2020 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Accounts filed | 24 July 2025 | 23 January 2026 | 5 June 2026 | 18 August 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £20m | £14m | £50m | £20m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £4m | £0.5m | £3m | £45k |
| Staff costs | £9m | £5m | £24m | £9m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 42.9% | 38.5% | 34.8% | 36.9% |
| Employees, prior year | 109 | 172 | 722 | 267 |
| Dividends paid | £7m | n/d | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
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.
Steak restaurants: common questions
Who is the biggest of Hawksmoor, Goodman, Flat Iron or Blacklock?
Flat Iron, with turnover of £70m in the year to August 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Flat Iron: £8m pre-tax in the year to August 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Flat Iron, with 910 employees in its latest accounts.
Hawksmoor or Goodman: which is bigger?
Hawksmoor, with turnover of £22m against £13m at Goodman on their latest filings. On margin, Hawksmoor keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Hawksmoor or Flat Iron: which is bigger?
Flat Iron, with turnover of £70m against £22m at Hawksmoor on their latest filings. On margin, Hawksmoor keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Hawksmoor or Blacklock: which is bigger?
Blacklock, with turnover of £25m against £22m at Hawksmoor on their latest filings. On margin, Hawksmoor keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Goodman or Flat Iron: which is bigger?
Flat Iron, with turnover of £70m against £13m at Goodman on their latest filings. On margin, Flat Iron keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Goodman or Blacklock: which is bigger?
Blacklock, with turnover of £25m against £13m at Goodman on their latest filings. On margin, Blacklock keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Flat Iron or Blacklock: which is bigger?
Flat Iron, with turnover of £70m against £25m at Blacklock on their latest filings. On margin, Flat Iron 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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