British Museum shops: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
The British Museum Company Limited has no person with significant control recorded on the Companies House register. In the year to March 2026 it reported turnover of £23m.
- In the year to March 2026, British Museum shops had turnover of £23m, down 1.9% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £1.7m, keeping £7.51 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 58 people, with staff costs of £3m.
- These figures are from The British Museum Company Limited's group accounts for the year to March 2026, filed at Companies House on 7 September 2026.
- Registered name
- THE BRITISH MUSEUM COMPANY LIMITED
- Company number
- 01079888
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 2 November 1972
- Registered office area
- West-Central London
- Industry code on the register
- 47610: Retail trade
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to March 2026, filed 7 September 2026
What does British Museum shops do?
The British Museum Company is the trading company of the British Museum, running its shops, online shop, publishing and licensing. It sells replicas, gifts, jewellery and books in the museum's shops and online, and publishes books through British Museum Press. With its subsidiary it also licenses the museum's collections and brand to other businesses and sells to trade customers. It is wholly owned by the museum's trustees and its profits support the British Museum.
In brief: trading arm of the British Museum · shops and online shop · British Museum Press · licensing
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 27 September 2026. Official website: britishmuseum.org.
Who owns British Museum shops?
The British Museum Company Limited, company number 01079888, has no person with significant control recorded on the register. The full record is linked below.
The full ownership record is on the Companies House register. Control is given in the bands the register uses, not as exact shareholdings.
Who runs British Museum shops?
The Companies House register lists 5 current officers for The British Museum Company Limited.
All 5 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Andrea Petochi | 19 November 2024 |
| Judith Kenzie McNicol | 4 June 2025 |
| Baylee McKeel | 6 July 2026 |
| Dr Eoin Martin | 6 July 2026 |
| Lisa Catherine San Martin | 4 September 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did British Museum shops file?
The British Museum Company Limited reported turnover of £23m in the year to March 2026. That was down 1.9% on £24m the year before.
It reported 58 employees. The year before it reported 54.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £1.7m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £6m the year before.
Staff costs came to £3m. That is an average of £50,000 a head. It ended the year with £21m at the bank and net assets of £50m.
| Measure | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £23m | £24m |
| Pre-tax profit | £1.7m (filed) | £6m (filed) |
| Employees | 58 | 54 |
| Staff costs | £3m | £2m |
| Average staff cost per head | £50,000 | £45,000 |
| Bank and cash | £21m | £21m |
| Net assets | £50m | £48m |
| Directors' pay | £0.7m |
Read the accounts to March 2026 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets · Group accounts
Are there any charges against British Museum shops?
The British Museum Company Limited has registered 2 charges at Companies House, and all of them have since been satisfied. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How British Museum shops compares
Of the 9 museum trading arms, British Museum shops is 6th on turnover, 8th on profit margin and 8th on growth. Historic Royal Palaces shops keeps the most of every £100 of sales: £31.81.
| Rank | Museum trading arms | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Royal Collection Trust shops | £72m | £12.15 |
| 6th | British Museum shops | £23m | £7.51 |
| + 7 more museum trading arms ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
British Museum shops files as The British Museum Company Limited, with turnover of £23m in its latest filed year.
Questions about British Museum shops
What does British Museum shops do?
The British Museum Company is the trading company of the British Museum, running its shops, online shop, publishing and licensing. It sells replicas, gifts, jewellery and books in the museum's shops and online, and publishes books through British Museum Press. With its subsidiary it also licenses the museum's collections and brand to other businesses and sells to trade customers. It is wholly owned by the museum's trustees and its profits support the British Museum.
How does British Museum shops compare with its rivals?
By turnover, British Museum shops is 6th of the 9 companies in our battle of the museum trading arms, behind Royal Collection Trust shops. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the museum trading arms →
Who owns British Museum shops?
The British Museum Company Limited has no person with significant control recorded at Companies House.
How much does British Museum shops make?
The British Museum Company Limited reported turnover of £23m in the year to March 2026. It filed a pre-tax profit of £1.7m.
How many people work at British Museum shops?
The British Museum Company Limited reported 58 employees in the year to March 2026.
Who runs British Museum shops?
The Companies House register lists 5 current officers for The British Museum Company Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from The British Museum Company Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 01079888, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are group accounts: they include the companies it owns.
- Pre-tax profit is the figure the company filed, for both years.
- A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d. A zero in the filing is treated as not disclosed, never as nil.
- Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, from £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, from £2m to the nearest million.
- Ownership is shown in the control bands the register of people with significant control uses, not as exact shareholdings.
- Officers' names and appointment dates come from the Companies House register. Job titles come from the company's own website. The description of what the company does comes from its website, or is marked Spark Intel editorial where it is written from stable, checked facts, with the date either way.
Spark Intel, “British Museum shops: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 9 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/british-museum-company/. Figures from Companies House filings for THE BRITISH MUSEUM COMPANY LIMITED (01079888).
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