VS Series
Tesco v Sainsbury's
The two biggest names in British grocery, and a fight over every basket
Tesco leads on all five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Tesco is the biggest by turnover at £73,712m, against £33,647m at Sainsbury's. Tesco keeps more of every £100 it takes, £3.26 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like.
Accounts compared: Tesco to Feb 2026 · Sainsbury's to Feb 2026
Who they are
Tesco
Tesco PLC · 00445790Tesco is a supermarket group selling groceries, household goods and clothing through its stores and online.In brief: supermarket group · stores and online · Booker wholesale · listedFull profile →Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury PLC · 00185647Sainsbury's is a supermarket chain selling groceries, household goods and clothing through large supermarkets, convenience stores and online.In brief: supermarket chain · owns Argos · Nectar loyalty scheme · listedFull 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
The Takeaway
- Tesco converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £3.26 reaches pre-tax profit, against £1.84 at Sainsbury's.
- Tesco is the largest on the top line, £73,712m of turnover, 2.2x Sainsbury's's £33,647m.
- Tesco is growing fastest, turnover +5.4% on its own prior year.
- Tesco is the biggest employer with 227,188 people; Sainsbury's pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £47,000.
- Tesco has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £11,463m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Tesco keeps the most: £3.26 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Sainsbury's keeps the least, £1.84.
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 Tesco (£73,712m), Sainsbury's (£33,647m).
By headcount, Tesco leads with 227,188 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?
Tesco grew fastest, turnover +5.4% on its own prior year, ahead of Sainsbury's (+2.7%).
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?
Tesco employs the most, 227,188 people, against 91,000 at Sainsbury's.
Sainsbury's has the highest average staff cost, about £47,000 a head; Tesco the lowest, about £42,000.
Sainsbury's brings in the most turnover per employee, about £370,000, against £324,000 at Tesco. 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. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Tesco →
J Sainsbury PLC · 00185647Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 14 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Sainsbury's →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Tesco | Sainsbury's |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | TESCO PLC | J SAINSBURY PLC |
| Company number | 00445790 | 00185647 |
| Incorporated | 1947 | 1922 |
| Accounts filed | 25 July 2026 | 21 July 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £69,916m | £32,772m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | n/d | £607m |
| Staff costs | £9,461m | £4,319m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| Employees, prior year | 229,140 | 95,000 |
| Dividends paid | £936m | £566m |
| Charges outstanding | 2 | 14 |
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.
Tesco v Sainsbury's: common questions
Who is the biggest of Tesco or Sainsbury's?
Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m in the year to February 2026.
Which makes the most profit?
Tesco: £2,403m pre-tax in the year to February 2026.
Which employs the most people?
Tesco, with 227,188 employees in its latest accounts.
Tesco or Sainsbury's: which is bigger?
Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m against £33,647m at Sainsbury's on their latest filings. On margin, Tesco 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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