VS Series
BT v TalkTalk
The UK's biggest broadband provider and one of its oldest challengers, compared on their accounts.
BT leads on all five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. BT is the biggest by turnover at £19,654m, against £1,412m at TalkTalk. BT keeps more of every £100 it takes, £10.60 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 13 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months.
Accounts compared: BT to Mar 2026 · TalkTalk to Feb 2025
Who they are
BT
British Telecommunications Limited · 01800000British Telecommunications is the main operating company of BT Group, providing broadband, mobile, TV and phone services to homes and businesses in the UK.In brief: broadband, mobile and TV · consumer and business contracts · owns Openreach · owned by BT GroupFull profile →TalkTalk
TalkTalk Telecom Group Limited · 07105891TalkTalk is a broadband and home phone provider selling fibre broadband packages to households across the UK.In brief: broadband and home phone · monthly subscriptions · uses Openreach and full-fibre networks · privately ownedFull 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
- BT converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £10.60 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £32.93 at TalkTalk.
- BT is the largest on the top line, £19,654m of turnover, 13.9x TalkTalk's £1,412m.
- Turnover fell at both companies. BT fell least, -3.5% on its own prior year.
- TalkTalk is the biggest employer with 1,570 people; TalkTalk pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £75,000.
- BT has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £24,990m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
BT keeps the most: £10.60 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. TalkTalk does worst, losing £32.93.
Financing bites hardest at TalkTalk: £15.08 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 BT (£19,654m), TalkTalk (£1,412m).
By headcount, TalkTalk leads with 1,570 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: BT to Mar 2026, TalkTalk to Feb 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Whose turnover fell least?
Turnover fell at both companies. BT fell least, -3.5% on its own prior year, against TalkTalk (-4.1%).
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?
TalkTalk employs the most, 1,570 people.
TalkTalk has the highest average staff cost, about £75,000 a head.
TalkTalk brings in the most turnover per employee, about £899,000. 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 Bt Group Investments Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 24 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns BT →
TalkTalk Telecom Group Limited · 07105891Held by Talktalk Finco 2 Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 8 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns TalkTalk →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | BT | TalkTalk |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED | TALKTALK TELECOM GROUP LIMITED |
| Company number | 01800000 | 07105891 |
| Incorporated | 1984 | 2009 |
| Accounts filed | 26 June 2026 | 5 August 2025 |
| Turnover, prior year | £20,358m | £1,472m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £2,061m | -£127m |
| Staff costs | £4,540m | £118m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 23.1% | 8.4% |
| Employees, prior year | 91 | 1,857 |
| Dividends paid | £1,500m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 24 | 8 |
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.
BT v TalkTalk: common questions
Who is the biggest of BT or TalkTalk?
BT, with turnover of £19,654m in the year to March 2026.
Which makes the most profit?
BT: £2,084m pre-tax in the year to March 2026.
Which employs the most people?
TalkTalk, with 1,570 employees in its latest accounts.
BT or TalkTalk: which is bigger?
BT, with turnover of £19,654m against £1,412m at TalkTalk on their latest filings. On margin, BT 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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