GWR: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
First Greater Western Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is First Rail Holdings Limited. In the year to March 2025 First Greater Western Limited reported turnover of £1,665m.
- In the year to March 2025, GWR had turnover of £1,665m, up 14.6% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £32m, keeping £1.92 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 6,362 people, with staff costs of £432m.
- First Greater Western Limited is controlled by First Rail Holdings Limited, according to the Companies House register.
- These figures are from First Greater Western Limited's accounts for the year to March 2025, filed at Companies House on 21 November 2025.
- Registered name
- FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED
- Company number
- 05113733
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 27 April 2004
- Registered office area
- Swindon
- Industry code on the register
- 49100: Land transport and transport via pipelines
- Accounts
- Single company accounts, this company only
- Accounts type
- Full accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to March 2025, filed 21 November 2025
What does GWR do?
GWR, trading name of First Greater Western, runs passenger rail services from London Paddington to the Thames Valley, the Cotswolds, south Wales, the West Country and Cornwall. It earns money from ticket sales, with its services specified and funded under arrangements with the Department for Transport. Its network ranges from high-speed intercity trains to local and branch-line services, plus the overnight Night Riviera sleeper to Penzance.
In brief: train operator · intercity and local services · fares and government contract · London to the West and Wales
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: gwr.com.
Who owns GWR?
The Companies House register records First Rail Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of First Greater Western Limited, company number 05113733. First Rail Holdings Limited is itself company number 05154485.
That places First Greater Western Limited inside a larger group. The accounts on this page are the company's own, not the wider group's.
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 GWR?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for First Greater Western Limited.
All 6 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Clive Burrows | 24 September 2007 |
| Mark Julian Hopwood | 21 January 2008 |
| Duncan Thomas Rimmer | 17 June 2019 |
| Michael John Nelson | 1 June 2020 |
| Richard Bruce Rowland | 26 January 2022 |
| Dr Benjamin John Caswell | 3 May 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did GWR file?
First Greater Western Limited reported turnover of £1,665m in the year to March 2025. That was up 14.6% on £1,453m the year before.
It reported 6,362 employees. The year before it reported 6,471.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £32m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £26m the year before.
Staff costs came to £432m. That is an average of £68,000 a head. It ended the year with £164m at the bank and net assets of £25m. It paid dividends of £21m.
| Measure | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £1,665m | £1,453m |
| Pre-tax profit | £32m (filed) | £26m (filed) |
| Employees | 6,362 | 6,471 |
| Staff costs | £432m | £401m |
| Average staff cost per head | £68,000 | £62,000 |
| Bank and cash | £164m | £132m |
| Net assets | £25m | £22m |
| Dividends paid | £21m | £24m |
| Directors' pay | £0.7m |
Read the accounts to March 2025 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets
Are there any charges against GWR?
First Greater Western Limited has registered 7 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 GWR compares
Of the 5 train operators, GWR is 1st on turnover, 1st on profit margin and 1st on growth.
| Rank | Train operators | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | GWR | £1,665m | £1.92 |
| 2nd | Southeastern | £1,274m | £1.07 |
| + 3 more train operators ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
GWR files as First Greater Western Limited, whose person with significant control is First Rail Holdings Limited, with turnover of £1,665m in its latest filed year.
Questions about GWR
What does GWR do?
GWR, trading name of First Greater Western, runs passenger rail services from London Paddington to the Thames Valley, the Cotswolds, south Wales, the West Country and Cornwall. It earns money from ticket sales, with its services specified and funded under arrangements with the Department for Transport. Its network ranges from high-speed intercity trains to local and branch-line services, plus the overnight Night Riviera sleeper to Penzance.
How does GWR compare with its rivals?
By turnover, GWR is 1st of the 5 companies in our battle of the train operators, ahead of Southeastern. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the train operators →
Who owns GWR?
The Companies House register records First Rail Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of First Greater Western Limited.
How much does GWR make?
First Greater Western Limited reported turnover of £1,665m in the year to March 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £32m.
How many people work at GWR?
First Greater Western Limited reported 6,362 employees in the year to March 2025.
Who runs GWR?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for First Greater Western Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from First Greater Western Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 05113733, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are single company accounts: they cover this company alone, not any wider group.
- 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, “GWR: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 6 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/gwr/. Figures from Companies House filings for FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED (05113733).
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