John Lewis: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
John Lewis Partnership PLC's person with significant control on the Companies House register is John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited. It holds 75% or more of the company. In the year to January 2026 John Lewis Partnership PLC reported turnover of £11,723m.
- Registered name
- JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP PLC
- Company number
- 00238937
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 23 April 1929
- Registered office area
- South West London
- Industry code on the register
- 70100: Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to January 2026, filed 14 May 2026
What does John Lewis do?
The John Lewis Partnership is the retail group that owns John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets. John Lewis sells fashion, home, furniture and electrical goods, and Waitrose sells food and groceries, both through shops and online. It is owned by its employees, called partners, through a trust. Partners share in the profits and have a say in how the business is run. It began with John Lewis's shop on Oxford Street, London, in 1864.
In brief: retail group · John Lewis and Waitrose · shops and online · employee-owned
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: johnlewispartnership.co.uk.
Who owns John Lewis?
The Companies House register records John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited as the person with significant control of John Lewis Partnership PLC, company number 00238937. John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited is itself company number 00481406. It holds 75% or more of the shares or voting rights. The control was notified on 6 April 2016.
That places John Lewis Partnership PLC inside a larger group. Its accounts are group accounts, covering the companies it owns as well.
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 John Lewis?
The Companies House register lists 8 current officers for John Lewis Partnership PLC.
All 8 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Rita Clifton | 1 February 2021 |
| Jane Christina Cheong Tung Sing | 1 November 2021 |
| Clare Lester Swindell | 6 March 2024 |
| Jason Mark Tarry | 12 September 2024 |
| Mrs Cheryl Nicola Proctor | 26 January 2025 |
| Thomas James Harland-Roberts | 26 January 2025 |
| Andrew John Mounsey | 10 April 2025 |
| Mr Dean Sebastian Taylor | 30 April 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did John Lewis file?
John Lewis Partnership PLC reported turnover of £11,723m in the year to January 2026. That was up 5.5% on £11,113m the year before.
It reported 65,700 employees. The year before it reported 69,000.
It filed a pre-tax loss of £21m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £97m the year before.
Staff costs came to £2,017m. That is an average of £31,000 a head. It ended the year with £940m at the bank and net assets of £1,847m.
| Measure | Jan 2026 | Jan 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £11,723m | £11,113m |
| Pre-tax profit | -£21m (filed) | £97m (filed) |
| Employees | 65,700 | 69,000 |
| Staff costs | £2,017m | £1,869m |
| Average staff cost per head | £31,000 | £27,000 |
| Bank and cash | £940m | £925m |
| Net assets | £1,847m | £2,030m |
| Interest paid | £146m | |
| Interest received | £40m | |
| Directors' pay | £3m |
Read the accounts to January 2026 on Companies House, where every set of accounts the company has filed can be downloaded as a PDF.
How John Lewis compares
John Lewis files as John Lewis Partnership PLC, whose person with significant control is John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited, with turnover of £11,723m in its latest filed year.
Questions about John Lewis
What does John Lewis do?
The John Lewis Partnership is the retail group that owns John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets. John Lewis sells fashion, home, furniture and electrical goods, and Waitrose sells food and groceries, both through shops and online. It is owned by its employees, called partners, through a trust. Partners share in the profits and have a say in how the business is run. It began with John Lewis's shop on Oxford Street, London, in 1864.
Who owns John Lewis?
The Companies House register records John Lewis Partnership Trust Limited as the person with significant control of John Lewis Partnership PLC. It holds 75% or more of the shares or voting rights.
How much does John Lewis make?
John Lewis Partnership PLC reported turnover of £11,723m in the year to January 2026. It filed a pre-tax loss of £21m.
How many people work at John Lewis?
John Lewis Partnership PLC reported 65,700 employees in the year to January 2026.
Who runs John Lewis?
The Companies House register lists 8 current officers for John Lewis Partnership PLC. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from John Lewis Partnership PLC's filings at Companies House, company number 00238937, 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, “John Lewis: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 28 September 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/john-lewis/. Figures from Companies House filings for JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP PLC (00238937).
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