Vision Express: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Vision Express (UK) Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Vision Express Group Limited. In the year to December 2025 Vision Express (UK) Limited reported turnover of £476m.
- In the year to December 2025, Vision Express had turnover of £476m, up 10.8% on the year before.
- It made a pre-tax profit of £59m, keeping £12.36 of every £100 of sales.
- It employed an average of 3,873 people, with staff costs of £168m.
- Vision Express (UK) Limited is controlled by Vision Express Group Limited, according to the Companies House register.
- These figures are from Vision Express (UK) Limited's accounts for the year to December 2025, filed at Companies House on 28 September 2026.
- Registered name
- VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED
- Company number
- 02189907
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 6 November 1987
- Registered office area
- Nottingham
- Industry code on the register
- 82990: Office administrative, office support and other business support
- Accounts
- Single company accounts, this company only
- Accounts type
- Full accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to December 2025, filed 28 September 2026
What does Vision Express do?
Vision Express is an optician chain offering eye tests, glasses, contact lenses and hearing services through high street stores and optical centres inside some supermarkets. It makes money from selling glasses and lenses, from eye test fees paid privately or by the NHS, and from contact lens subscriptions. It opened its first UK store in 1988 and is part of GrandVision, which is owned by the eyewear group EssilorLuxottica.
In brief: optician chain · eye tests, glasses and contact lenses · stores and supermarket sites · owned by EssilorLuxottica
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: visionexpress.com.
Who owns Vision Express?
The Companies House register records Vision Express Group Limited as the person with significant control of Vision Express (UK) Limited, company number 02189907. Vision Express Group Limited is itself company number 02939455.
That places Vision Express (UK) Limited inside a larger group. The accounts on this page are the company's own, not the wider group's.
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 Vision Express?
The Companies House register lists 4 current officers for Vision Express (UK) Limited.
All 4 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Philip Martin Hyde | 1 October 2017 |
| Nicholas David Coton | 29 April 2019 |
| Daniel McGhee | 1 December 2019 |
| Vision Express Group Limited | 1 March 2025 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Vision Express file?
Vision Express (UK) Limited reported turnover of £476m in the year to December 2025. That was up 10.8% on £430m the year before.
It reported 3,873 employees. The year before it reported 3,623.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £59m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £39m the year before.
Staff costs came to £168m. That is an average of £43,000 a head. It ended the year with £0.6m at the bank and net assets of £117m.
| Measure | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £476m | £430m |
| Pre-tax profit | £59m (filed) | £39m (filed) |
| Employees | 3,873 | 3,623 |
| Staff costs | £168m | £148m |
| Average staff cost per head | £43,000 | £41,000 |
| Bank and cash | £0.6m | £0.6m |
| Net assets | £117m | £69m |
| Interest paid | £85k | |
| Interest received | £5m | |
| Directors' pay | £0.5m |
Read the accounts to December 2025 (PDF, Companies House) · every accounts filing
What do these figures mean? Turnover vs profit · Profit per £100 · Cash vs profit · Net assets
Are there any charges against Vision Express?
Vision Express (UK) Limited has registered 8 charges at Companies House, and all of them have since been satisfied. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Vision Express compares
Vision Express files as Vision Express (UK) Limited, whose person with significant control is Vision Express Group Limited, with turnover of £476m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Vision Express
What does Vision Express do?
Vision Express is an optician chain offering eye tests, glasses, contact lenses and hearing services through high street stores and optical centres inside some supermarkets. It makes money from selling glasses and lenses, from eye test fees paid privately or by the NHS, and from contact lens subscriptions. It opened its first UK store in 1988 and is part of GrandVision, which is owned by the eyewear group EssilorLuxottica.
Is Vision Express bigger than Specsavers?
No, by turnover. Vision Express reported £476m in its latest accounts, against £4,262m at Specsavers. Our Specsavers v Vision Express page compares the two on profit, margin, growth and staff. Specsavers v Vision Express →
Who owns Vision Express?
The Companies House register records Vision Express Group Limited as the person with significant control of Vision Express (UK) Limited.
How much does Vision Express make?
Vision Express (UK) Limited reported turnover of £476m in the year to December 2025. It filed a pre-tax profit of £59m.
How many people work at Vision Express?
Vision Express (UK) Limited reported 3,873 employees in the year to December 2025.
Who runs Vision Express?
The Companies House register lists 4 current officers for Vision Express (UK) Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Vision Express (UK) Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 02189907, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are single company accounts: they cover this company alone, not any wider group.
- 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, “Vision Express: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 6 November 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/vision-express/. Figures from Companies House filings for VISION EXPRESS (UK) LIMITED (02189907).
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