VS Series

Festival Republic v Glastonbury

The promoter against the farm: two ways to run a festival

Glastonbury leads on pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets; Festival Republic on turnover. Festival Republic is the biggest by turnover at £75m, against £75m at Glastonbury. Glastonbury keeps more of every £100 it takes, £10.21 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.

Spark Intel Research Desk·Last updated ·Source: Companies House filed accounts

Accounts compared: Festival Republic to Dec 2025 · Glastonbury to Mar 2025

Biggest by turnover

Festival Republic

£75m

Highest profit margin

Glastonbury

10.2%

Fastest-growing turnover

Glastonbury

+10.0%

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

MeasureFestival RepublicFestival Republic LimitedGlastonburyGlastonbury Festival Events Limited
Turnover£75m£75m
Turnover change-9.6%+10.0%
Pre-tax profit£4m£8m
Profit margin4.7%10.2%
Employees187105
Pay per head£50,000n/d
Turnover per head£403,000£716,000
Net assets£15m£16m
Bank and cash£35m£13m
Accounts toDec 2025Mar 2025
BasisSingle companySingle company

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

Biggest by turnover

Festival Republic

£75m

Most pre-tax profit

Glastonbury

£8m

Highest profit margin

Glastonbury

10.2%

Fastest-growing turnover

Glastonbury

+10.0%

Biggest employer

Festival Republic

187 staff

Highest pay per head

Festival Republic

£50,000

Most turnover per head

Glastonbury

£716,000

Largest net assets

Glastonbury

£16m

Most cash

Festival Republic

£35m

The Takeaway

  1. Glastonbury converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £10.21 reaches pre-tax profit, against £4.72 at Festival Republic.
  2. Festival Republic is the largest on the top line, £75m of turnover, 1.0x Glastonbury's £75m.
  3. Glastonbury is growing fastest, turnover +10.0% on its own prior year. Festival Republic went backwards.
  4. Festival Republic is the biggest employer with 187 people; Festival Republic pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £50,000.
  5. Glastonbury has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £16m, while Festival Republic holds the most cash at £35m.

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, £4.72.

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

£100£0 Financing: £0.02 of every £100Other costs: £89.77 of every £100Other costs£89.77Profit: £10.21 of every £100Profit £10.21GlastonburyYear to Mar 2025£75m turnoverPayroll: £12.45 of every £100Payroll£12.45Other costs: £82.83 of every £100Other costs£82.83Profit: £4.72 of every £100Profit £4.72Festival RepublicYear to Dec 2025£75m turnover
Payroll (staff costs)Financing (interest paid)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

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 (£75m), Glastonbury (£75m).

By headcount, Festival Republic leads with 187 employees.

The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Festival Republic to Dec 2025, Glastonbury to Mar 2025. All are on the same filing basis.

Festival Republic£75mGlastonbury£75m

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Glastonbury grew fastest, turnover +10.0% on its own prior year, ahead of Festival Republic (-9.6%).

Glastonbury+10.0%Festival Republic-9.6%

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, 187 people, against 105 at Glastonbury.

Festival Republic has the highest average staff cost, about £50,000 a head.

Glastonbury brings in the most turnover per employee, about £716,000, against £403,000 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.

Festival Republic

187

employees, about £50,000 pay a head, £403,000 turnover a head, -27.2% on the year

Glastonbury

105

employees, £716,000 turnover a head, +9.4% on the year

Who owns each one?

Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.

Festival Republic Limited · 02948536

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 · 04348175

Held 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?

MeasureFestival RepublicGlastonbury
Registered nameFESTIVAL REPUBLIC LIMITEDGLASTONBURY FESTIVAL EVENTS LIMITED
Company number0294853604348175
Incorporated19942002
Accounts filed30 September 202623 December 2025
Turnover, prior year£83m£68m
Pre-tax profit, prior year£8m£6m
Staff costs£9mn/d
Payroll share of turnover12.4%n/d
Employees, prior year25796
Dividends paidn/dn/d
Charges outstanding00

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 £75m in the year to December 2025.

Which makes the most profit?

Glastonbury: £8m pre-tax in the year to March 2025.

Which employs the most people?

Festival Republic, with 187 employees in its latest accounts.

Festival Republic or Glastonbury: which is bigger?

Festival Republic, with turnover of £75m 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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