Celtic: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Celtic PLC's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Mr Dermot Fachtna Desmond. In the year to June 2025 Celtic PLC reported turnover of £144m.
- Registered name
- CELTIC PLC
- Company number
- SC003487
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 12 April 1897
- Registered office area
- Glasgow
- Industry code on the register
- 93110: Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to June 2025, filed 8 January 2026
What does Celtic do?
Celtic PLC is the company that owns Celtic Football Club, a professional football club based at Celtic Park in Glasgow. The club was founded in 1887 and plays in the Scottish Premiership, with men's and women's first teams. It earns money from match tickets and season tickets, broadcasting rights, prize money from European competitions, hospitality, sponsorship and merchandise sold through its shops and website.
In brief: professional football club · Glasgow · tickets, broadcasting and merchandise · founded 1887
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: celticfc.com.
Who owns Celtic?
The Companies House register records Mr Dermot Fachtna Desmond as the person with significant control of Celtic PLC, company number SC003487.
The register names an individual, not a company, as its controller.
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 Celtic?
The Companies House register lists 8 current officers for Celtic PLC.
All 8 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Dermot Fachna Desmond | 12 May 1995 |
| Rt Hon Brian David Henderson Wilson | 1 June 2005 |
| Christopher McKay | 1 January 2016 |
| Sharon Mary Brown | 9 December 2016 |
| Michael Gordon Kenneth Nicholson | 10 September 2021 |
| Brian Rose | 19 July 2023 |
| Joanne McNairn | 1 July 2024 |
| James Mark Keane | 17 September 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Celtic file?
Celtic PLC reported turnover of £144m in the year to June 2025. That was up 15.3% on £125m the year before.
It reported 1,008 employees. The year before it reported 1,051.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £46m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £18m the year before.
Staff costs came to £75m. That is an average of £74,000 a head. It ended the year with £77m at the bank and net assets of £156m.
| Measure | Jun 2025 | Jun 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £144m | £125m |
| Pre-tax profit | £46m (filed) | £18m (filed) |
| Employees | 1,008 | 1,051 |
| Staff costs | £75m | £66m |
| Average staff cost per head | £74,000 | £62,000 |
| Bank and cash | £77m | £77m |
| Net assets | £156m | £122m |
| Interest paid | £1.6m | |
| Interest received | £5m | |
| Directors' pay | £1.7m |
Read the accounts to June 2025 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
Are there any charges against Celtic?
Celtic PLC has registered 14 charges at Companies House, of which 3 are still outstanding. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
All 3 outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City Council | 4 February 2025 |
| The Scottish Ministers | 28 July 2006 |
| The Co-Operative Bank PLC | 1 June 2001 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Celtic compares
Celtic files as Celtic PLC, whose person with significant control is Mr Dermot Fachtna Desmond, with turnover of £144m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Celtic
What does Celtic do?
Celtic PLC is the company that owns Celtic Football Club, a professional football club based at Celtic Park in Glasgow. The club was founded in 1887 and plays in the Scottish Premiership, with men's and women's first teams. It earns money from match tickets and season tickets, broadcasting rights, prize money from European competitions, hospitality, sponsorship and merchandise sold through its shops and website.
Who owns Celtic?
The Companies House register records Mr Dermot Fachtna Desmond as the person with significant control of Celtic PLC.
How much does Celtic make?
Celtic PLC reported turnover of £144m in the year to June 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £46m.
How many people work at Celtic?
Celtic PLC reported 1,008 employees in the year to June 2025.
Who runs Celtic?
The Companies House register lists 8 current officers for Celtic PLC. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Celtic PLC's filings at Companies House, company number SC003487, 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, “Celtic: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 28 September 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/celtic/. Figures from Companies House filings for CELTIC PLC (SC003487).
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