Tesco: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Tesco PLC is owned by its shareholders: as a listed company it has no single person with significant control on the register. Its group accounts for the year to February 2026 report turnover of £73,712m.
- In the year to February 2026, Tesco had turnover of £73,712m, up 5.4% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £2,403m, keeping £3.26 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 227,188 people, with staff costs of £9,461m.
- Tesco PLC is listed on the stock market, so it is owned by its shareholders.
- These figures are from Tesco PLC's group accounts for the year to February 2026, filed at Companies House on 25 July 2026.
- Registered name
- TESCO PLC
- Company number
- 00445790
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 27 November 1947
- Registered office area
- St. Albans
- Industry code on the register
- 47110: Retail trade
- Accounts
- Group accounts, covering the companies it owns
- Accounts type
- Full group accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to February 2026, filed 25 July 2026
What does Tesco do?
Tesco is a supermarket group selling groceries, household goods and clothing through its stores and online. Its stores range from large Extra hypermarkets to small Express convenience shops, and its Clubcard loyalty scheme gives members lower prices. Alongside Tesco in the UK and Ireland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, it owns Booker, which supplies independent shops, pubs and caterers. Tesco was founded in London in 1919 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In brief: supermarket group · stores and online · Booker wholesale · listed
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: tescoplc.com.
Who owns Tesco?
Tesco PLC, company number 00445790, has no person with significant control on the Companies House register. That is normal for a company whose shares trade on a regulated market: listed companies are exempt from the register, and ownership sits with the shareholders who hold the shares at any given time.
Tesco PLC is the parent company. Its accounts are group accounts, so the figures on this page cover the businesses it owns as well as the company itself.
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 Tesco?
The Companies House register lists 11 current officers for Tesco PLC: its directors and its company secretary.
Tesco's own website names Ken Murphy as Group Chief Executive and Gerry Murphy as Chair.
All 11 current officers
| Officer | Role (company website) | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Stewart Charles Gilliland | Independent Non-executive Director | 5 March 2018 |
| Melissa Bethell | Independent Non-executive Director | 24 September 2018 |
| Ken Murphy | Group Chief Executive | 1 October 2020 |
| Imran Nawaz | Chief Financial Officer | 1 May 2021 |
| Bertrand Jean Francois Bodson | Independent Non-executive Director | 1 June 2021 |
| Karen Tracy Whitworth | Independent Non-executive Director | 18 June 2021 |
| Caroline Louise Silver | Independent Non-executive Director | 1 October 2022 |
| Gerard Martin Murphy | Chair | 1 September 2023 |
| Carolyn Julie Fairbairn | Senior Independent Director | 1 September 2023 |
| Christopher John Kennedy | Independent Non-executive Director | 20 February 2025 |
| Christopher Jon Taylor | Group Company Secretary | 14 April 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register. Job titles are from Tesco's website, retrieved 23 September 2026, because the register does not record them.
What did Tesco file?
Tesco PLC's group accounts for the year to February 2026 report turnover of £73,712m, up 5.4% on £69,916m the year before, and 227,188 employees. Staff costs came to £9,461m, an average of £42,000 a head.
The group ended the year with net assets of £11,463m and £2,515m at the bank, and paid dividends of £936m.
| Measure | Feb 2026 | Feb 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £73,712m | £69,916m |
| Pre-tax profit | £2,403m (filed) | |
| Employees | 227,188 | 229,140 |
| Staff costs | £9,461m | £8,616m |
| Average staff cost per head | £42,000 | £38,000 |
| Bank and cash | £2,515m | £2,255m |
| Net assets | £11,463m | £11,666m |
| Dividends paid | £936m | £864m |
| Interest paid | £814m | |
| Directors' pay | £19m |
Read the accounts to February 2026 (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 Tesco?
Tesco PLC has registered 9 charges at Companies House, of which 2 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.
Both outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Tesco Ireland Pension Trustees Limited as Trustee of the Tesco Ireland Limited Pension Plan | 6 November 2009 |
| Tesco Trustee Company of Ireland Limited as Trustee of the Tesco Ireland Limited Senior Executive Pension Scheme | 6 November 2009 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Tesco compares
Of the 10 supermarkets, Tesco is 1st on turnover, 1st on profit margin and 4th on growth.
| Rank | Supermarkets | Turnover | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tesco | £73,712m | £3.26 |
| 2nd | Sainsbury's | £33,647m | £1.84 |
| + 8 more supermarkets ranked |
Ranked by turnover. Profit per £100 is pre-tax profit for every £100 of turnover, shown only where the profit is filed.
A shareholder-owned group with no single controller, 227,188 people on the payroll and turnover of £73,712m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Tesco
What does Tesco do?
Tesco is a supermarket group selling groceries, household goods and clothing through its stores and online. Its stores range from large Extra hypermarkets to small Express convenience shops, and its Clubcard loyalty scheme gives members lower prices. Alongside Tesco in the UK and Ireland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, it owns Booker, which supplies independent shops, pubs and caterers. Tesco was founded in London in 1919 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Who is the chief executive of Tesco?
Tesco's own website names Ken Murphy as Group Chief Executive.
Is Tesco bigger than Sainsbury's?
Yes, by turnover. Tesco reported £73,712m in its latest accounts, against £33,647m at Sainsbury's. Our Tesco v Sainsbury's page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Tesco v Sainsbury's →
Is Tesco bigger than Asda?
Yes, by turnover. Tesco reported £73,712m in its latest accounts, against £24,054m at Asda. Our Tesco v Asda page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Tesco v Asda →
How does Tesco compare with its rivals?
By turnover, Tesco is 1st of the 10 companies in our battle of the supermarkets, ahead of Sainsbury's. The battle ranks them on turnover, pre-tax profit, margin, growth and net assets. The battle of the supermarkets →
Who owns Tesco?
Tesco 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 Tesco make?
Tesco PLC's group accounts for the year to February 2026 report turnover of £73,712m. It filed a pre-tax profit of £2,403m for the year.
How many people work at Tesco?
Tesco PLC's group accounts for the year to February 2026 report 227,188 employees.
Who runs Tesco?
The Companies House register lists 11 current officers for Tesco PLC. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Tesco PLC's filings at Companies House, company number 00445790, 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, “Tesco: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 6 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/tesco/. Figures from Companies House filings for TESCO PLC (00445790).
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