VS Series
Festival Republic v Glastonbury
The promoter against the farm: two ways to run a festival
Glastonbury leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Festival Republic is the biggest by turnover at £83m, against £75m at Glastonbury. Glastonbury keeps more of every £100 it takes, £10.21 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Festival Republic to Dec 2024 · Glastonbury to Mar 2025
Who they are
Festival Republic
Festival Republic Limited · 02948536Festival Republic is a music festival promoter that organises and runs large outdoor events, including Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download and Wireless.In brief: music festivals · Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download · ticket income · part of Live NationFull profile →Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival Events Limited · 04348175Glastonbury Festival is a music and performing arts festival held at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, where it was founded by farmer Michael Eavis in 1970.In brief: music and arts festival · Worthy Farm, Somerset · ticket income · charity givingFull 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 | Festival RepublicFestival Republic Limited | £83m | +7.5% | £8m | 9.7% | 257 | £39,000 | £324,000 | £12m | £24m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
| 2 | GlastonburyGlastonbury Festival Events Limited | £75m | +10.0% | £8m | 10.2% | 105 | n/d | £716,000 | £16m | £13m | Mar 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
Biggest by turnover
Festival Republic
£83m
Most pre-tax profit
Festival Republic
£8m
Highest profit margin
Glastonbury
10.2%
Fastest-growing turnover
Glastonbury
+10.0%
Biggest employer
Festival Republic
257 staff
Highest pay per head
Festival Republic
£39,000
Most turnover per head
Glastonbury
£716,000
Largest net assets
Glastonbury
£16m
Most cash
Festival Republic
£24m
The Takeaway
- Glastonbury converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £10.21 reaches pre-tax profit, against £9.71 at Festival Republic.
- Festival Republic is the largest on the top line, £83m of turnover, 1.1x Glastonbury's £75m.
- Glastonbury is growing fastest, turnover +10.0% on its own prior year.
- Festival Republic is the biggest employer with 257 people; Festival Republic pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £39,000.
- Glastonbury has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £16m, while Festival Republic holds the most cash at £24m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Glastonbury keeps the most: £10.21 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Festival Republic keeps the least, £9.71.
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 Festival Republic (£83m), Glastonbury (£75m).
By headcount, Festival Republic leads with 257 employees.
The accounting periods all end within 3 months of each other. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Glastonbury grew fastest, turnover +10.0% on its own prior year, ahead of Festival Republic (+7.5%).
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?
Festival Republic employs the most, 257 people, against 105 at Glastonbury.
Festival Republic has the highest average staff cost, about £39,000 a head.
Glastonbury brings in the most turnover per employee, about £716,000, against £324,000 at Festival Republic. 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 Uk Festival Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band.
Who owns Festival Republic →
Glastonbury Festival Events Limited · 04348175Held by Ms Emily Rose Eavis
An individual recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band.
Who owns Glastonbury →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Festival Republic | Glastonbury |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | FESTIVAL REPUBLIC LIMITED | GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL EVENTS LIMITED |
| Company number | 02948536 | 04348175 |
| Incorporated | 1994 | 2002 |
| Accounts filed | 24 September 2025 | 23 December 2025 |
| Turnover, prior year | £78m | £68m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £7m | £6m |
| Staff costs | £10m | n/d |
| Payroll share of turnover | 12.0% | n/d |
| Employees, prior year | 214 | 96 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 0 | 0 |
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.
Festival Republic v Glastonbury: common questions
Who is the biggest of Festival Republic or Glastonbury?
Festival Republic, with turnover of £83m in the year to December 2024.
Which makes the most profit?
Festival Republic: £8m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.
Which employs the most people?
Festival Republic, with 257 employees in its latest accounts.
Festival Republic or Glastonbury: which is bigger?
Festival Republic, with turnover of £83m against £75m at Glastonbury on their latest filings. On margin, Glastonbury 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.
Deep dive: what story does Glastonbury's money tell? →
Related
Festival Republic v Glastonbury: turnover, profit and staff compared
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