VS Series
B&M v Poundland
Two discount variety chains selling the same kind of bargains. Which one turns them into profit?
B&M leads on all five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. B&M is the biggest by turnover at £4,624m, against £1,549m at Poundland. B&M keeps more of every £100 it takes, £5.99 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 6 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months.
Accounts compared: B&M to Mar 2026 · Poundland to Sep 2025
Who they are
B&M
B & M Retail Limited · 01357507B&M is a discount variety retailer selling groceries, household goods, homewares, garden products and toys at low prices.In brief: discount variety retailer · groceries and homewares · own stores in UK and France · listed parentFull profile →Poundland
Poundland Limited · 02495645Poundland is a discount variety retailer selling groceries, household goods, health and beauty products and homewares at low prices.In brief: discount variety retailer · about 700 UK stores · owned by Gordon Brothers since 2025Full profile →The Numbers
The leader on each measure is marked. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
The Takeaway
- B&M converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £5.99 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £5.50 at Poundland.
- B&M is the largest on the top line, £4,624m of turnover, 3.0x Poundland's £1,549m.
- B&M is growing fastest, turnover +3.0% on its own prior year. Poundland went backwards.
- B&M is the biggest employer with 34,306 people; Poundland pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £21,000.
- B&M has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £789m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
B&M keeps the most: £5.99 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Poundland does worst, losing £5.50.
Financing bites hardest at Poundland: £2.24 of every £100 goes on interest.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is B&M (£4,624m), Poundland (£1,549m).
By headcount, B&M leads with 34,306 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: B&M to Mar 2026, Poundland to Sep 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
B&M grew fastest, turnover +3.0% on its own prior year, ahead of Poundland (-11.8%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
B&M employs the most, 34,306 people, against 14,417 at Poundland.
Poundland has the highest average staff cost, about £21,000 a head; B&M the lowest, about £20,000.
B&M brings in the most turnover per employee, about £135,000, against £107,000 at Poundland. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by E V Retail Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 5 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns B&M →
Poundland Limited · 02495645Held by 1903 PEACH BIDCO LIMITED
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 9 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Poundland →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | B&M | Poundland |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | B & M RETAIL LIMITED | POUNDLAND LIMITED |
| Company number | 01357507 | 02495645 |
| Incorporated | 1978 | 1990 |
| Accounts filed | 7 August 2026 | 20 August 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £4,489m | £1,757m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £448m | -£45m |
| Staff costs | £696m | £308m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 15.1% | 19.9% |
| Employees, prior year | 33,764 | 16,214 |
| Dividends paid | £75m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 5 | 9 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
B&M v Poundland: common questions
Who is the biggest of B&M or Poundland?
B&M, with turnover of £4,624m in the year to March 2026.
Which makes the most profit?
B&M: £277m pre-tax in the year to March 2026.
Which employs the most people?
B&M, with 34,306 employees in its latest accounts.
B&M or Poundland: which is bigger?
B&M, with turnover of £4,624m against £1,549m at Poundland on their latest filings. On margin, B&M keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.