VS Series
Barclays v HSBC
Two global banking names, compared on their ring-fenced UK high street banks. How do their accounts compare?
HSBC UK leads on turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin and net assets; Barclays UK on growth. HSBC UK is the biggest by turnover at £16,474m, against £14,664m at Barclays UK. HSBC UK keeps more of every £100 it takes, £34.11 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Barclays UK to Dec 2025 · HSBC UK to Dec 2025
Who they are
Barclays UK
Barclays Bank UK PLC · 09740322Barclays UK is the high street banking arm of Barclays, serving personal and business customers in the UK with current accounts, savings, mortgages, Barclaycard credit cards and business banking, and it also includes Tesco Bank and Kensington Mortgages.In brief: high street bank · ring-fenced bank · includes Barclaycard UK and Tesco Bank · owned by Barclays PLCFull profile →HSBC UK
HSBC UK Bank PLC · 09928412HSBC UK is HSBC's high street bank in Britain, headquartered in Birmingham, serving personal customers under the HSBC UK, first direct and M&S Bank brands and providing banking and lending to businesses.In brief: high street bank · ring-fenced bank · includes first direct and M&S Bank · owned by HSBC HoldingsFull 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.). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its total income after that interest was £8,811m; Barclays Bank UK PLC holds most of the Barclays UK division, including Barclaycard UK and Tesco Bank (accounts to 31 December 2025, pp. 2 and 4). For a bank, the turnover shown here is gross income: interest received plus fees and other income, before the interest it pays out to savers and lenders. Its revenue after that interest was £10,468m, including first direct and M&S Bank (accounts to 31 December 2025, pp. 3 and 11).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
HSBC UK
£16,474m
Most pre-tax profit
HSBC UK
£5,619m
Highest profit margin
HSBC UK
34.1%
Fastest-growing turnover
Barclays UK
-0.1%
Biggest employer
HSBC UK
19,841 staff
Highest pay per head
Barclays UK
£85,000
Most turnover per head
HSBC UK
£830,000
Largest net assets
HSBC UK
£28,241m
Most cash
HSBC UK
£40,369m
The Takeaway
- HSBC UK converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £34.11 reaches pre-tax profit, against £22.67 at Barclays UK.
- HSBC UK is the largest on the top line, £16,474m of turnover, 1.1x Barclays UK's £14,664m.
- Turnover fell at both companies. Barclays UK fell least, -0.1% on its own prior year.
- HSBC UK is the biggest employer with 19,841 people; Barclays UK pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £85,000.
- HSBC UK has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £28,241m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
HSBC UK keeps the most: £34.11 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Barclays UK keeps the least, £22.67.
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, 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 HSBC UK (£16,474m), Barclays UK (£14,664m).
By headcount, HSBC UK leads with 19,841 employees.
The accounting periods all end in the same month. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Whose turnover fell least?
Turnover fell at both companies. Barclays UK fell least, -0.1% on its own prior year, against HSBC UK (-1.2%).
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?
HSBC UK employs the most, 19,841 people, against 18,300 at Barclays UK.
Barclays UK has the highest average staff cost, about £85,000 a head; HSBC UK the lowest, about £61,000.
HSBC UK brings in the most turnover per employee, about £830,000, against £801,000 at Barclays UK. 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 Barclays Plc
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 12 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Barclays UK →
HSBC UK Bank PLC · 09928412Held by Hsbc Holdings Plc
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 9 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns HSBC UK →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Barclays UK | HSBC UK |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | BARCLAYS BANK UK PLC | HSBC UK BANK PLC |
| Company number | 09740322 | 09928412 |
| Incorporated | 2015 | 2015 |
| Accounts filed | 3 June 2026 | 14 May 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £14,685m | £16,666m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £3,560m | £5,647m |
| Staff costs | £1,555m | £1,205m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 10.6% | 7.3% |
| Employees, prior year | 16,200 | 20,034 |
| Dividends paid | £1,425m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 12 | 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.
Barclays v HSBC: common questions
Who is the biggest of Barclays UK or HSBC UK?
HSBC UK, with turnover of £16,474m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
HSBC UK: £5,619m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
HSBC UK, with 19,841 employees in its latest accounts.
Barclays UK or HSBC UK: which is bigger?
HSBC UK, with turnover of £16,474m against £14,664m at Barclays UK on their latest filings. On margin, HSBC UK 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.
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