VS Series
Lovehoney v Ann Summers
The UK's two best-known adult retailers: one born online, one on the high street. How do their accounts compare?
Ann Summers leads on turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin and growth; Lovehoney on net assets. Ann Summers is the biggest by turnover at £93m, against £93m at Lovehoney. Both lost money; Ann Summers lost the least, £6.87 of every £100 it took.
The year ends are up to 6 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months.
Accounts compared: Lovehoney to Dec 2025 · Ann Summers to Jun 2025
Who they are
Lovehoney
Lovehoney Group UK Limited · 04637868Lovehoney is a British online retailer of sex toys and lingerie, founded in Bath in 2002.In brief: online retailer · Bath · sex toys and lingerie · Womanizer and We-Vibe sister brandsFull profile →Ann Summers
Ann Summers Ltd. · 01034349Ann Summers is a retailer of lingerie, sex toys, nightwear and adult accessories, selling through high street shops and online.In brief: lingerie and sex toys · shops and online · founded 1970 · 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
Biggest by turnover
Ann Summers
£93m
Most pre-tax profit
Ann Summers
-£6m
Smallest loss
Ann Summers
-6.9%
Fastest-growing turnover
Ann Summers
+0.4%
Biggest employer
Ann Summers
1,011 staff
Highest pay per head
Lovehoney
£47,000
Most turnover per head
Lovehoney
£350,000
Largest net assets
Lovehoney
£38m
Most cash
Lovehoney
£23m
The Takeaway
- Ann Summers loses the least. Of every £100 it takes, it loses £6.87, against a loss of £17.60 at Lovehoney.
- Ann Summers is the largest on the top line, £93m of turnover, 1.0x Lovehoney's £93m.
- Ann Summers is growing fastest, turnover +0.4% on its own prior year. Lovehoney went backwards.
- Ann Summers is the biggest employer with 1,011 people; Lovehoney pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £47,000.
- Lovehoney has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £38m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Every company here made a loss. Ann Summers lost the least, £6.87 of every £100 of turnover. Lovehoney does worst, losing £17.60.
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 Ann Summers (£93m), Lovehoney (£93m).
By headcount, Ann Summers leads with 1,011 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Lovehoney to Dec 2025, Ann Summers to Jun 2025. All are on the same filing basis.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Ann Summers grew fastest, turnover +0.4% on its own prior year, ahead of Lovehoney (-1.6%).
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?
Ann Summers employs the most, 1,011 people, against 266 at Lovehoney.
Lovehoney has the highest average staff cost, about £47,000 a head; Ann Summers the lowest, about £24,000.
Lovehoney brings in the most turnover per employee, about £350,000, against £92,000 at Ann Summers. 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 Lovehoney Group Ltd
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns Lovehoney →
Ann Summers Ltd. · 01034349Held by Ann Summers (Uk) Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control in the 75% to 100% band. 7 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Ann Summers →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Lovehoney | Ann Summers |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | LOVEHONEY GROUP UK LIMITED | ANN SUMMERS LTD. |
| Company number | 04637868 | 01034349 |
| Incorporated | 2003 | 1971 |
| Accounts filed | 2 October 2026 | 8 December 2025 |
| Turnover, prior year | £95m | £93m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £14m | -£13m |
| Staff costs | £13m | £24m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 13.5% | 26.1% |
| Employees, prior year | 275 | 1,180 |
| Dividends paid | £59m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 1 | 7 |
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.
Lovehoney v Ann Summers: common questions
Who is the biggest of Lovehoney or Ann Summers?
Ann Summers, with turnover of £93m in the year to June 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Ann Summers: the smallest loss, -£6m pre-tax in the year to June 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Ann Summers, with 1,011 employees in its latest accounts.
Lovehoney or Ann Summers: which is bigger?
Ann Summers, with turnover of £93m against £93m at Lovehoney on their latest filings. On margin, Ann Summers 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.