VS Series
Heathrow v Gatwick
London's two biggest airports: runways, shops and debt
Heathrow leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Heathrow is the biggest by turnover at £3,547m, against £1,132m at Gatwick. Gatwick keeps more of every £100 it takes, £41.00 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Heathrow to Dec 2025 · Gatwick to Dec 2025
Who they are
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport Limited · 01991017Heathrow is London's main hub airport, handling passenger flights and air cargo for airlines serving destinations around the world.In brief: hub airport · regulated airport charges · retail and car parking · privately ownedFull profile →Gatwick
Gatwick Airport Limited · 01991018Gatwick Airport is an international airport in West Sussex, south of London, with a North and a South terminal serving short-haul and long-haul flights.In brief: London airport · airline charges · retail and parking · majority owned by VINCIFull 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 | HeathrowHeathrow Airport Limited | £3,547m | +1.9% | £1,118m | 31.5% | 7,789 | £60,000 | £455,000 | £2,473m | £298m | Dec 2025 | Single company |
| 2 | GatwickGatwick Airport Limited | £1,132m | +0.2% | £464m | 41.0% | 2,779 | £76,000 | £407,000 | £297m | £218m | Dec 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
Heathrow
£3,547m
Most pre-tax profit
Heathrow
£1,118m
Highest profit margin
Gatwick
41.0%
Fastest-growing turnover
Heathrow
+1.9%
Biggest employer
Heathrow
7,789 staff
Highest pay per head
Gatwick
£76,000
Most turnover per head
Heathrow
£455,000
Largest net assets
Heathrow
£2,473m
Most cash
Heathrow
£298m
The Takeaway
- Gatwick converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £41.00 reaches pre-tax profit, against £31.52 at Heathrow.
- Heathrow is the largest on the top line, £3,547m of turnover, 3.1x Gatwick's £1,132m.
- Heathrow is growing fastest, turnover +1.9% on its own prior year.
- Heathrow is the biggest employer with 7,789 people; Gatwick pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £76,000.
- Heathrow has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £2,473m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Gatwick keeps the most: £41.00 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Heathrow keeps the least, £31.52.
Financing bites hardest at Heathrow: £27.97 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 Heathrow (£3,547m), Gatwick (£1,132m).
By headcount, Heathrow leads with 7,789 employees.
The accounting periods all end in the same month. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Heathrow grew fastest, turnover +1.9% on its own prior year, ahead of Gatwick (+0.2%).
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?
Heathrow employs the most, 7,789 people, against 2,779 at Gatwick.
Gatwick has the highest average staff cost, about £76,000 a head; Heathrow the lowest, about £60,000.
Heathrow brings in the most turnover per employee, about £455,000, against £407,000 at Gatwick. 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 Heathrow (Ah) Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 45 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Heathrow →
Gatwick Airport Limited · 01991018Held by Ivy Holdco Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Gatwick →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Heathrow | Gatwick |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | HEATHROW AIRPORT LIMITED | GATWICK AIRPORT LIMITED |
| Company number | 01991017 | 01991018 |
| Incorporated | 1986 | 1986 |
| Accounts filed | 10 April 2026 | 28 April 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £3,482m | £1,130m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £1,379m | £701m |
| Staff costs | £465m | £210m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 13.1% | 18.5% |
| Employees, prior year | 7,968 | 2,681 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | £300m |
| Charges outstanding | 45 | 2 |
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.
Heathrow v Gatwick: common questions
Who is the biggest of Heathrow or Gatwick?
Heathrow, with turnover of £3,547m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Heathrow: £1,118m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Heathrow, with 7,789 employees in its latest accounts.
Heathrow or Gatwick: which is bigger?
Heathrow, with turnover of £3,547m against £1,132m at Gatwick on their latest filings. On margin, Gatwick 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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