VS Series
The Dorchester v The Ritz
Park Lane against Piccadilly: two grand hotels on the books
The Dorchester leads on 3 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. The Ritz is the biggest by turnover at £122m, against £74m at The Dorchester. Both lost money; The Dorchester lost the least, £30.57 of every £100 it took.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like. The Ritz's profit looks like a one-off in the latest accounts (a gain inside a group, an acquisition or a longer accounting period), so it is shown but not counted when picking winners.
Accounts compared: The Dorchester to Dec 2024 · The Ritz to Dec 2024
Who they are
The Dorchester
Dorchester Hotel Limited · 01229635The Dorchester is a luxury hotel on Park Lane in London, overlooking Hyde Park, offering rooms and suites, restaurants and bars, afternoon tea, a spa and event spaces.In brief: luxury hotel · Park Lane · rooms, restaurants and events · Dorchester CollectionFull profile →The Ritz
The Ritz Hotel Limited · 00048125The Ritz is a luxury hotel on Piccadilly in London, overlooking Green Park, offering rooms and suites, restaurants and bars, afternoon tea and private dining.In brief: luxury hotel · Piccadilly · rooms, restaurants and afternoon teaFull 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 | The RitzThe Ritz Hotel Limited | £122m | +13.0% | £21m | 17.2% | 623 | £71,000 | £196,000 | -£105m | £17m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
| 2 | The DorchesterDorchester Hotel Limited | £74m | +9.1% | -£23m | -30.6% | 719 | £46,000 | £103,000 | £253m | £16m | Dec 2024 | n/d |
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
The Ritz
£122m
Most pre-tax profit
The Dorchester
-£23m
Smallest loss
The Dorchester
-30.6%
Fastest-growing turnover
The Ritz
+13.0%
Biggest employer
The Dorchester
719 staff
Highest pay per head
The Ritz
£71,000
Most turnover per head
The Ritz
£196,000
Largest net assets
The Dorchester
£253m
Most cash
The Ritz
£17m
The Takeaway
- The Ritz is the largest on the top line, £122m of turnover, 1.7x The Dorchester's £74m.
- The Ritz is growing fastest, turnover +13.0% on its own prior year.
- The Dorchester is the biggest employer with 719 people; The Ritz pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £71,000.
- The Dorchester has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £253m, while The Ritz holds the most cash at £17m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
The Ritz keeps the most: £17.17 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. The Dorchester does worst, losing £30.57.
Financing bites hardest at The Dorchester: £19.63 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 The Ritz (£122m), The Dorchester (£74m).
By headcount, The Dorchester leads with 719 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?
The Ritz grew fastest, turnover +13.0% on its own prior year, ahead of The Dorchester (+9.1%).
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?
The Dorchester employs the most, 719 people, against 623 at The Ritz.
The Ritz has the highest average staff cost, about £71,000 a head; The Dorchester the lowest, about £46,000.
The Ritz brings in the most turnover per employee, about £196,000, against £103,000 at The Dorchester. 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 Dorchester Group Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 2 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns The Dorchester →
The Ritz Hotel Limited · 00048125No controller recorded
The register shows no person with significant control. 25 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns The Ritz →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | The Dorchester | The Ritz |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | DORCHESTER HOTEL LIMITED | THE RITZ HOTEL LIMITED |
| Company number | 01229635 | 00048125 |
| Incorporated | 1975 | 1896 |
| Accounts filed | 7 October 2025 | 19 June 2025 |
| Turnover, prior year | £68m | £108m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | -£21m | £2m |
| Staff costs | £33m | £44m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 44.9% | 36.0% |
| Employees, prior year | 712 | 650 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 2 | 25 |
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.
The Dorchester v The Ritz: common questions
Who is the biggest of The Dorchester or The Ritz?
The Ritz, with turnover of £122m in the year to December 2024.
Which makes the most profit?
The Dorchester: the smallest loss, -£23m pre-tax in the year to December 2024.
Which employs the most people?
The Dorchester, with 719 employees in its latest accounts.
The Dorchester or The Ritz: which is bigger?
The Ritz, with turnover of £122m against £74m at The Dorchester on their latest filings. On margin, The Ritz 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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The Dorchester v The Ritz: turnover, profit and staff compared
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