VS Series
Costa v Starbucks
Britain's coffee rivals, one cup at a time
Costa leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Costa is the biggest by turnover at £1,232m, against £556m at Starbucks. Costa keeps more of every £100 it takes, £5.28 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 9 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months.
Accounts compared: Costa to Dec 2024 · Starbucks to Sep 2025
Who they are
Costa
Costa Limited · 01270695Costa is a coffee chain selling coffee, other hot and cold drinks, and food to eat in or take away.In brief: coffee shop chain · company-run and franchised shops · Costa Express machines · supermarket productsFull profile →Starbucks
Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Limited · 02959325Starbucks runs coffee shops in the UK serving coffee, other drinks and food.In brief: coffee shop chain · company-run, franchised and licensed stores · app ordering and rewards · US-ownedFull profile →The Numbers
| # | Company | Turnover | Change | Pre-tax profit | Margin | Employees | Pay per head | Turnover per head | Net assets | Bank and cash | Accounts to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CostaCosta Limited | £1,232m | +0.7% | £65m | 5.3% | 17,957 | £22,000 | £69,000 | £264m | £136m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
| 2 | StarbucksStarbucks Coffee Company (UK) Limited | £556m | +5.8% | -£41m | -7.4% | 5,352 | £24,000 | £104,000 | £68m | £30m | Sep 2025 | Single company |
Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
The Takeaway
- Costa converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £5.28 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £7.42 at Starbucks.
- Costa is the largest on the top line, £1,232m of turnover, 2.2x Starbucks's £556m.
- Starbucks is growing fastest, turnover +5.8% on its own prior year.
- Costa is the biggest employer with 17,957 people; Starbucks pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £24,000.
- Costa has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £264m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Costa keeps the most: £5.28 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Starbucks does worst, losing £7.42.
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 Costa (£1,232m), Starbucks (£556m).
By headcount, Costa leads with 17,957 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Costa to Dec 2024, Starbucks to Sep 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Starbucks grew fastest, turnover +5.8% on its own prior year, ahead of Costa (+0.7%).
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?
Costa employs the most, 17,957 people, against 5,352 at Starbucks.
Starbucks has the highest average staff cost, about £24,000 a head; Costa the lowest, about £22,000.
Starbucks brings in the most turnover per employee, about £104,000, against £69,000 at Costa. 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 The Coca-Cola Company
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 3 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Costa →
Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Limited · 02959325Held by Starbucks Coffee Holdings (Uk) Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 24 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Starbucks →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Costa | Starbucks |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | COSTA LIMITED | STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY (UK) LIMITED |
| Company number | 01270695 | 02959325 |
| Incorporated | 1976 | 1994 |
| Accounts filed | 30 December 2025 | 8 April 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £1,223m | £526m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | -£10m | -£35m |
| Staff costs | £394m | £129m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 32.0% | 23.3% |
| Employees, prior year | 17,809 | 5,596 |
| Dividends paid | £80m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 3 | 24 |
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.
Costa v Starbucks: common questions
Who is the biggest of Costa or Starbucks?
Costa, with turnover of £1,232m in the year to December 2024.
Which makes the most profit?
Costa: £65m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.
Which employs the most people?
Costa, with 17,957 employees in its latest accounts.
Costa or Starbucks: which is bigger?
Costa, with turnover of £1,232m against £556m at Starbucks on their latest filings. On margin, Costa 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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