VS Series
McDonald's v Burger King
Golden arches against the flame grill
McDonald's leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. McDonald's is the biggest by turnover at £1,822m, against £449m at Burger King. McDonald's keeps more of every £100 it takes, £6.59 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 12 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Burger King files group accounts that include subsidiaries; McDonald's files for a single company, which flatters the group on size.
Accounts compared: McDonald's to Dec 2024 · Burger King to Dec 2025
Who they are
McDonald's
Mcdonalds Restaurants Limited · 01002769McDonald's is a fast food restaurant chain serving burgers, fries, chicken, breakfast and drinks, for eating in, drive-thru, collection and delivery.In brief: fast food restaurant chain · mostly franchised · eat in, drive-thru and delivery · UK arm of US groupFull profile →Burger King
Bkuk Group Limited · 10980808Burger King is a fast food chain serving flame-grilled burgers, including the Whopper, plus chicken, fries and drinks.In brief: fast food restaurant chain · flame-grilled burgers · company-run and franchised restaurants · UK franchisee of the brandFull 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 | McDonald'sMcdonalds Restaurants Limited | £1,822m | -0.8% | £120m | 6.6% | 24,375 | £14,000 | £75,000 | £778m | £22m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
| 2 | Burger KingBkuk Group Limited | £449m | +9.9% | -£49m | -11.0% | 6,080 | £19,000 | £74,000 | -£226m | £22m | Dec 2025 | Group |
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
McDonald's
£1,822m
Most pre-tax profit
McDonald's
£120m
Highest profit margin
McDonald's
6.6%
Fastest-growing turnover
Burger King
+9.9%
Biggest employer
McDonald's
24,375 staff
Highest pay per head
Burger King
£19,000
Most turnover per head
McDonald's
£75,000
Largest net assets
McDonald's
£778m
Most cash
McDonald's
£22m
The Takeaway
- McDonald's converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £6.59 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £10.96 at Burger King.
- McDonald's is the largest on the top line, £1,822m of turnover, 4.1x Burger King's £449m.
- Burger King is growing fastest, turnover +9.9% on its own prior year. McDonald's went backwards.
- McDonald's is the biggest employer with 24,375 people; Burger King pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £19,000.
- McDonald's has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £778m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
McDonald's keeps the most: £6.59 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Burger King does worst, losing £10.96.
Financing bites hardest at Burger King: £11.94 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 McDonald's (£1,822m), Burger King (£449m).
By headcount, McDonald's leads with 24,375 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: McDonald's to Dec 2024, Burger King to Dec 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Burger King grew fastest, turnover +9.9% on its own prior year, ahead of McDonald's (-0.8%).
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?
McDonald's employs the most, 24,375 people, against 6,080 at Burger King.
Burger King has the highest average staff cost, about £19,000 a head; McDonald's the lowest, about £14,000.
McDonald's brings in the most turnover per employee, about £75,000, against £74,000 at Burger King. 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 Mcdonald'S Real Estate Llp
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns McDonald's →
Bkuk Group Limited · 10980808Held by Royale Interco Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 10 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Burger King →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | McDonald's | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | MCDONALDS RESTAURANTS LIMITED | BKUK GROUP LIMITED |
| Company number | 01002769 | 10980808 |
| Incorporated | 1971 | 2017 |
| Accounts filed | 1 August 2025 | 11 May 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £1,836m | £408m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £66m | -£47m |
| Staff costs | £331m | £117m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 18.1% | 26.1% |
| Employees, prior year | 26,384 | 5,947 |
| Dividends paid | £83m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 2 | 10 |
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.
McDonald's v Burger King: common questions
Who is the biggest of McDonald's or Burger King?
McDonald's, with turnover of £1,822m in the year to December 2024.
Which makes the most profit?
McDonald's: £120m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.
Which employs the most people?
McDonald's, with 24,375 employees in its latest accounts.
McDonald's or Burger King: which is bigger?
McDonald's, with turnover of £1,822m against £449m at Burger King on their latest filings. On margin, McDonald's 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.