The Entertainer: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Teal Group Holdings Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Ludus Trustee Limited. In the year to January 2026 Teal Group Holdings Limited reported turnover of £315m.
Newer accounts are out. The Entertainer filed accounts for the year to 31 January 2026 at Companies House on 4 November 2026 (read them). This page still shows the year to 31 January 2026 and will be updated to the new figures. Checked 11 November 2026.
- In the year to January 2026, The Entertainer had turnover of £315m, up 9.9% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax loss of £19m.
- The pre-tax loss of £19.0m (2025: £10.1m) includes £7.0m of exceptional costs and a £5.4m one-off cost of setting up The Entertainer's concessions in Tesco stores. The group's stores began opening on Sundays at the end of September 2025, after its sale to an employee ownership trust, so these accounts include only four months of Sunday trading (Teal Group Holdings accounts to 31 January 2026, pp. 2, 16 and 37).
- It employed an average of 2,247 people, with staff costs of £68m.
- Teal Group Holdings Limited is controlled by Ludus Trustee Limited, according to the Companies House register.
- These figures are from Teal Group Holdings Limited's group accounts for the year to January 2026, filed at Companies House on 4 November 2026.
- Registered name
- TEAL GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED
- Company number
- 10862657
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 12 July 2017
- Registered office area
- Hemel Hempstead
- 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 4 November 2026
What does The Entertainer do?
The Entertainer is the UK's largest independent toy retailer, selling toys, games and gifts through its high street and shopping centre stores and its website, thetoyshop.com. It makes money from selling toys at retail, with Christmas its biggest trading period. It was founded in 1981 by Gary and Catherine Grant as a single shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and in 2025 passed to an employee ownership trust. These figures are for TEAL GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED (company 10862657), the group behind The Entertainer.
In brief: toy retailer · stores and thetoyshop.com · founded in Amersham in 1981 · employee-owned
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 11 November 2026. Official website: thetoyshop.com.
Who owns The Entertainer?
The Companies House register records Ludus Trustee Limited as the person with significant control of Teal Group Holdings Limited, company number 10862657. Ludus Trustee Limited is itself company number 16681370.
That places Teal Group Holdings Limited 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 The Entertainer?
The Companies House register lists 4 current officers for Teal Group Holdings Limited.
All 4 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Andrew David Murphy | 5 February 2024 |
| George Elmer Wakely | 19 September 2025 |
| Jonathan Martin Rothwell | 22 September 2025 |
| Claire Louise Wickson | 3 November 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did The Entertainer file?
Teal Group Holdings Limited reported turnover of £315m in the year to January 2026. That was up 9.9% on £287m the year before.
It reported 2,247 employees. The year before it reported 1,900.
It filed a pre-tax loss of £19m for the year, against a pre-tax loss of £10m the year before.
Staff costs came to £68m. That is an average of £30,000 a head. It ended the year with £12m at the bank and net assets of £15m. It paid dividends of £6m.
| Measure | Jan 2026 | Jan 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £315m | £287m |
| Pre-tax profit | -£19m (filed) | -£10m (filed) |
| Employees | 2,247 | 1,900 |
| Staff costs | £68m | £63m |
| Average staff cost per head | £30,000 | £33,000 |
| Bank and cash | £12m | £1.3m |
| Net assets | £15m | £40m |
| Dividends paid | £6m | £3m |
| Interest paid | £3m | |
| Interest received | £0.6m | |
| Directors' pay | £1.5m |
What these figures cover: The pre-tax loss of £19.0m (2025: £10.1m) includes £7.0m of exceptional costs and a £5.4m one-off cost of setting up The Entertainer's concessions in Tesco stores. The group's stores began opening on Sundays at the end of September 2025, after its sale to an employee ownership trust, so these accounts include only four months of Sunday trading (Teal Group Holdings accounts to 31 January 2026, pp. 2, 16 and 37).
Read the accounts to January 2026 on Companies House, where every set of accounts the company has filed can be downloaded as a PDF.
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets · Group accounts
Are there any charges against The Entertainer?
Teal Group Holdings Limited has registered 4 charges at Companies House, of which 4 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 4 outstanding charges
| Charge holder | Created |
|---|---|
| Barclays Security Trustee Limited as Security Trustee for and on Behalf of the Secured Parties | 19 July 2024 |
| Barclays Security Trustee Limited | 25 August 2023 |
| Barclays Bank PLC as Security Agent | 9 June 2020 |
| Barclays Bank PLC (As "Security Agent") | 18 March 2019 |
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
The Entertainer files as Teal Group Holdings Limited, whose person with significant control is Ludus Trustee Limited, with turnover of £315m in its latest filed year.
Questions about The Entertainer
What does The Entertainer do?
The Entertainer is the UK's largest independent toy retailer, selling toys, games and gifts through its high street and shopping centre stores and its website, thetoyshop.com. It makes money from selling toys at retail, with Christmas its biggest trading period. It was founded in 1981 by Gary and Catherine Grant as a single shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and in 2025 passed to an employee ownership trust. These figures are for TEAL GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED (company 10862657), the group behind The Entertainer.
Who owns The Entertainer?
The Companies House register records Ludus Trustee Limited as the person with significant control of Teal Group Holdings Limited.
How much does The Entertainer make?
Teal Group Holdings Limited reported turnover of £315m in the year to January 2026. It filed a pre-tax loss of £19m.
How many people work at The Entertainer?
Teal Group Holdings Limited reported 2,247 employees in the year to January 2026.
Who runs The Entertainer?
The Companies House register lists 4 current officers for Teal Group Holdings Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Teal Group Holdings Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 10862657, 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, “The Entertainer: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 11 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/the-entertainer/. Figures from Companies House filings for TEAL GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED (10862657).
More from Spark Intel
Company profile
M&S: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profile
Kingfisher: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profile
JD Sports: who owns it and what the accounts show
Read →Company profiles
Every company profile, by sector
Read →VS Series
Every VS comparison: two businesses, settled with accounts
Read →Bright Sparks