VS Series
The R&A v DP World Tour
The Open against the tour: golf's two big money-makers
DP World Tour leads on turnover, pre-tax profit and net assets; The R&A on profit margin and growth. DP World Tour is the biggest by turnover at £346m, against £152m at The R&A. The R&A keeps more of every £100 it takes, £1.36 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are close enough to compare like for like. DP World Tour files group accounts that include subsidiaries; The R&A files for a single company, which flatters the group on size.
Accounts compared: The R&A to Dec 2025 · DP World Tour to Dec 2025
Who they are
The R&A
R&A Championships Limited · SC247047The R&A is a golf governing body that stages The Open, the AIG Women's Open and leading amateur championships.In brief: runs The Open and AIG Women's Open · Rules of Golf and equipment standards · based in St Andrews · amateur championshipsFull profile →DP World Tour
Pga European Tour · 01867610The DP World Tour is the men's professional golf tour run by the European Tour group, which stages tournaments around the world.In brief: men's professional golf tour · Race to Dubai and Rolex Series · also runs HotelPlanner and Legends tours · administers the Ryder CupFull 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
DP World Tour
£346m
Most pre-tax profit
DP World Tour
£3m
Highest profit margin
The R&A
1.4%
Fastest-growing turnover
The R&A
+0.6%
Biggest employer
DP World Tour
361 staff
Highest pay per head
DP World Tour
£98,000
Most turnover per head
DP World Tour
£959,000
Largest net assets
DP World Tour
£64m
Most cash
DP World Tour
£84m
The Takeaway
- The R&A converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £1.36 reaches pre-tax profit, against £0.95 at DP World Tour.
- DP World Tour is the largest on the top line, £346m of turnover, 2.3x The R&A's £152m.
- The R&A is growing fastest, turnover +0.6% on its own prior year. DP World Tour went backwards.
- DP World Tour is the biggest employer with 361 people; DP World Tour pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £98,000.
- DP World Tour has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £64m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
The R&A keeps the most: £1.36 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. DP World Tour keeps the least, £0.95.
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 DP World Tour (£346m), The R&A (£152m).
By headcount, DP World Tour leads with 361 employees.
The accounting periods all end in the same month. 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?
The R&A grew fastest, turnover +0.6% on its own prior year, ahead of DP World Tour (-2.6%).
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?
DP World Tour employs the most, 361 people.
DP World Tour has the highest average staff cost, about £98,000 a head.
DP World Tour brings in the most turnover per employee, about £959,000. 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 R&A Trust Company (No.1) Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns The R&A →
Pga European Tour · 01867610No controller recorded
The register shows no person with significant control.
Who owns DP World Tour →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | The R&A | DP World Tour |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | R&A CHAMPIONSHIPS LIMITED | PGA EUROPEAN TOUR |
| Company number | SC247047 | 01867610 |
| Incorporated | 2003 | 1984 |
| Accounts filed | 15 September 2026 | 23 September 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £151m | £356m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £5m | -£29m |
| Staff costs | n/d | £35m |
| Payroll share of turnover | n/d | 10.2% |
| Employees, prior year | None of its own | 347 |
| Dividends paid | £3m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 1 | 0 |
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 R&A v DP World Tour: common questions
Who is the biggest of The R&A or DP World Tour?
DP World Tour, with turnover of £346m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
DP World Tour: £3m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
DP World Tour, with 361 employees in its latest accounts.
The R&A or DP World Tour: which is bigger?
DP World Tour, with turnover of £346m against £152m at The R&A on their latest filings. On margin, The R&A 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.