Royal Opera House: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation has no person with significant control recorded on the Companies House register. In the year to August 2025 it reported turnover of £182m.
- In the year to August 2025, Royal Opera House had turnover of £182m, up 0.1% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £7m, keeping £4.08 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 1,162 people, with staff costs of £74m.
- These figures are from Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation's group accounts for the year to August 2025, filed at Companies House on 4 June 2026.
- Registered name
- ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COVENT GARDEN FOUNDATION
- Company number
- 00480523
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 1 April 1950
- Registered office area
- West-Central London
- Industry code on the register
- 90030: Creative, arts and entertainment activities
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to August 2025, filed 4 June 2026
What does Royal Opera House do?
The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation is the charity that runs the Royal Opera House, home of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet. Its resident orchestra plays for almost all main stage productions, and the organisation also trades as Royal Ballet and Opera. Its income comes from ticket sales, donations and memberships, public funding from Arts Council England, and cinema screenings of its productions around the world.
In brief: arts charity · opera and ballet · tickets, donations and cinema
Source: Royal Opera House's own website, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Who owns Royal Opera House?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, company number 00480523, 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 Royal Opera House?
The Companies House register lists 18 current officers for Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation.
All 18 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Lloyd Marshall Dorfman | 10 February 2015 |
| Timothy Brian Bunting | 3 October 2017 |
| Leah Hurst | 8 October 2019 |
| Zeinab Mohammed-Khair Badawi-Malik | 8 October 2019 |
| Lord John Browne Of Madingley | 1 September 2020 |
| Caroline Louise Britton | 14 December 2021 |
| Janis Elizabeth Susskind | 5 October 2022 |
| Lisa Jane Burger | 5 October 2022 |
| Philipp Roland Freise | 7 December 2023 |
| Joanna Streeten | 21 May 2024 |
| Daniel Alexander Ison | 1 September 2024 |
| Stephen Lucas | 1 September 2024 |
| Alan William Stanton | 8 October 2024 |
| Alistair Gerald Summers | 8 October 2024 |
| Dame Carolyn Julia McCall | 10 December 2024 |
| Farah Ramzan Golant | 10 December 2024 |
| Baroness Deborah Bull | 1 September 2025 |
| Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner | 1 January 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Royal Opera House file?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation reported turnover of £182m in the year to August 2025. That was up 0.1% on £182m the year before.
It reported 1,162 employees. The year before it reported 1,096.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £7m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £10m the year before.
Staff costs came to £74m. That is an average of £64,000 a head. It ended the year with £91m at the bank and net assets of £304m.
| Measure | Aug 2025 | Aug 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £182m | £182m |
| Pre-tax profit | £7m (filed) | £10m (filed) |
| Employees | 1,162 | 1,096 |
| Staff costs | £74m | £67m |
| Average staff cost per head | £64,000 | £62,000 |
| Bank and cash | £91m | £89m |
| Net assets | £304m | £288m |
Read the accounts to August 2025 (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 Royal Opera House?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation has registered 20 charges at Companies House, of which 5 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 5 outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Thurrock Borough Council | 22 May 2015 |
| The Arts Council of England | 19 July 2013 |
| Roh Pension Trustee Limited as Trustee of the Royal Opera House Pension Scheme | 11 July 2013 |
| East of England Development Agency | 4 June 2010 |
| Arts Council England | 4 June 2010 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Royal Opera House compares
Of the 4 theatres, Royal Opera House is 1st on turnover, 3rd on profit margin and 4th on growth. Delfont Mackintosh Theatres keeps the most of every £100 of sales: £25.09.
| Rank | Theatres | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Royal Opera House | £182m | £4.08 |
| 2nd | LW Theatres | £180m | £11.17 |
| + 2 more theatres ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
Royal Opera House files as Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, with turnover of £182m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Royal Opera House
What does Royal Opera House do?
The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation is the charity that runs the Royal Opera House, home of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet. Its resident orchestra plays for almost all main stage productions, and the organisation also trades as Royal Ballet and Opera. Its income comes from ticket sales, donations and memberships, public funding from Arts Council England, and cinema screenings of its productions around the world.
Is Royal Opera House bigger than National Theatre?
Yes, by turnover. Royal Opera House reported £182m in its latest accounts, against £129m at National Theatre. Our Royal Opera House v National Theatre page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Royal Opera House v National Theatre →
How does Royal Opera House compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Royal Opera House is 1st of the 4 companies in our battle of the theatres, ahead of LW Theatres. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the theatres →
Who owns Royal Opera House?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation has no person with significant control recorded at Companies House.
How much does Royal Opera House make?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation reported turnover of £182m in the year to August 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £7m.
How many people work at Royal Opera House?
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation reported 1,162 employees in the year to August 2025.
Who runs Royal Opera House?
The Companies House register lists 18 current officers for Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation's filings at Companies House, company number 00480523, 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, “Royal Opera House: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 9 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/royal-opera-house/. Figures from Companies House filings for ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COVENT GARDEN FOUNDATION (00480523).
More from Spark Intel
VS Series
Royal Opera House v National Theatre: which is bigger on the accounts?
Read →Battle
The battle of the theatres: turnover, profit and staff compared
Read →Company profile
Bet365: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profile
Allwyn: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profile
Mitchells & Butlers: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profiles
Every company profile, by sector
Read →VS Series