M&S: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Marks and Spencer Group plc is owned by its shareholders: as a listed company it has no single person with significant control on the register. In the year to March 2026 it reported turnover of £17,274m.
- Registered name
- MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C.
- Company number
- 04256886
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 23 July 2001
- Registered office area
- West London
- Industry code on the register
- 47190: Retail trade
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to March 2026, filed 24 July 2026
What does M&S do?
Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a retailer selling food, clothing, home and beauty products, mostly under its own M&S label. It sells through its own stores in the UK, its website and app, and through franchise partners overseas. It also offers banking and other services under the M&S name. Its focus on own-label products sets it apart from most other big retailers. It was founded in Leeds in 1884 and the group is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In brief: retailer · own-label food, clothing and home · own stores, online and international franchises · listed
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: corporate.marksandspencer.com.
Who owns M&S?
Marks and Spencer Group plc, company number 04256886, has no person with significant control on the register. That is normal for a company whose shares trade on a regulated market: ownership sits with the shareholders who hold the shares at any given time.
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 M&S?
The Companies House register lists 10 current officers for Marks and Spencer Group plc.
All 10 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Archibald John Norman | 1 September 2017 |
| Nick James Folland | 1 February 2019 |
| Tamara Ingram | 1 June 2020 |
| Sapna Rani Sood | 1 June 2020 |
| Evelyn Brigid Bourke | 1 February 2021 |
| Fiona Eleanor Dawson | 25 May 2021 |
| Stuart Barry Machin | 25 May 2022 |
| Alison Ann Dolan | 6 January 2025 |
| Sean Liam Doyle | 1 December 2025 |
| Roger Michael Burnley | 1 December 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did M&S file?
Marks and Spencer Group plc reported turnover of £17,274m in the year to March 2026. That was up 25.0% on £13,817m the year before.
It reported 73,301 employees. The year before it reported 73,333.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £365m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £512m the year before.
Staff costs came to £2,445m. That is an average of £33,000 a head. It ended the year with £997m at the bank and net assets of £3,056m. It paid dividends of £77m.
| Measure | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £17,274m | £13,817m |
| Pre-tax profit | £365m (filed) | £512m (filed) |
| Employees | 73,301 | 73,333 |
| Staff costs | £2,445m | £2,169m |
| Average staff cost per head | £33,000 | £30,000 |
| Bank and cash | £997m | £865m |
| Net assets | £3,056m | £2,940m |
| Dividends paid | £77m | £61m |
| Interest paid | £217m | |
| Directors' pay | £6m |
Read the accounts to March 2026 on Companies House, where every set of accounts the company has filed can be downloaded as a PDF.
How M&S compares
That comparison uses M&S's accounts to March 2025. This page shows the newer year to March 2026.
M&S files as Marks and Spencer Group plc, with turnover of £17,274m in its latest filed year.
Questions about M&S
What does M&S do?
Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a retailer selling food, clothing, home and beauty products, mostly under its own M&S label. It sells through its own stores in the UK, its website and app, and through franchise partners overseas. It also offers banking and other services under the M&S name. Its focus on own-label products sets it apart from most other big retailers. It was founded in Leeds in 1884 and the group is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Who owns M&S?
Marks and Spencer Group plc is owned by its shareholders. As a listed company it is exempt from the register of people with significant control, so no single owner appears at Companies House.
How much does M&S make?
Marks and Spencer Group plc reported turnover of £17,274m in the year to March 2026. It filed a pre-tax profit of £365m.
How many people work at M&S?
Marks and Spencer Group plc reported 73,301 employees in the year to March 2026.
Who runs M&S?
The Companies House register lists 10 current officers for Marks and Spencer Group plc. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Marks and Spencer Group plc's filings at Companies House, company number 04256886, 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, “M&S: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 28 September 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/marks-and-spencer/. Figures from Companies House filings for MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C. (04256886).
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