VS Series
Taylor Wimpey v Persimmon
Two of Britain's biggest housebuilders, brick by brick
Persimmon leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Taylor Wimpey is the biggest by turnover at £3,845m, against £3,751m at Persimmon. Persimmon keeps more of every £100 it takes, £10.59 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Taylor Wimpey to Dec 2025 · Persimmon to Dec 2025
Who they are
Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey PLC · 00296805Taylor Wimpey is a housebuilder that designs and builds new homes across the UK, from flats to family houses, and also has a smaller business in Spain.In brief: housebuilder · new homes across the UK · affordable housing · listedFull profile →Persimmon
Persimmon Public Limited Company · 01818486Persimmon is a housebuilder that builds and sells new homes across the UK at a range of price points.In brief: housebuilder · new homes at a range of prices · own off-site manufacturing · listedFull 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 | Taylor WimpeyTaylor Wimpey PLC | £3,845m | +13.0% | £147m | 3.8% | 4,496 | £75,000 | £855,000 | £4,187m | £430m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 2 | PersimmonPersimmon Public Limited Company | £3,751m | +17.2% | £397m | 10.6% | 4,574 | £70,000 | £820,000 | £3,614m | £117m | 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
Taylor Wimpey
£3,845m
Most pre-tax profit
Persimmon
£397m
Highest profit margin
Persimmon
10.6%
Fastest-growing turnover
Persimmon
+17.2%
Biggest employer
Persimmon
4,574 staff
Highest pay per head
Taylor Wimpey
£75,000
Most turnover per head
Taylor Wimpey
£855,000
Largest net assets
Taylor Wimpey
£4,187m
Most cash
Taylor Wimpey
£430m
The Takeaway
- Persimmon converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £10.59 reaches pre-tax profit, against £3.81 at Taylor Wimpey.
- Taylor Wimpey is the largest on the top line, £3,845m of turnover, 1.0x Persimmon's £3,751m.
- Persimmon is growing fastest, turnover +17.2% on its own prior year.
- Persimmon is the biggest employer with 4,574 people; Taylor Wimpey pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £75,000.
- Taylor Wimpey has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £4,187m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Persimmon keeps the most: £10.59 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Taylor Wimpey keeps the least, £3.81.
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 Taylor Wimpey (£3,845m), Persimmon (£3,751m).
By headcount, Persimmon leads with 4,574 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?
Persimmon grew fastest, turnover +17.2% on its own prior year, ahead of Taylor Wimpey (+13.0%).
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?
Persimmon employs the most, 4,574 people, against 4,496 at Taylor Wimpey.
Taylor Wimpey has the highest average staff cost, about £75,000 a head; Persimmon the lowest, about £70,000.
Taylor Wimpey brings in the most turnover per employee, about £855,000, against £820,000 at Persimmon. 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.
Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register.
Who owns Taylor Wimpey →
Persimmon Public Limited Company · 01818486Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 6 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Persimmon →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Taylor Wimpey | Persimmon |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | TAYLOR WIMPEY PLC | PERSIMMON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY |
| Company number | 00296805 | 01818486 |
| Incorporated | 1935 | 1984 |
| Accounts filed | 20 June 2026 | 21 May 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £3,401m | £3,201m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £320m | £359m |
| Staff costs | £335m | £320m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 8.7% | 8.5% |
| Employees, prior year | 4,458 | 4,537 |
| Dividends paid | £330m | £192m |
| Charges outstanding | 0 | 6 |
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.
Taylor Wimpey v Persimmon: common questions
Who is the biggest of Taylor Wimpey or Persimmon?
Taylor Wimpey, with turnover of £3,845m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Persimmon: £397m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Persimmon, with 4,574 employees in its latest accounts.
Taylor Wimpey or Persimmon: which is bigger?
Taylor Wimpey, with turnover of £3,845m against £3,751m at Persimmon on their latest filings. On margin, Persimmon 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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