Doing more with less — profit up, headcount down
Profit rose the most while headcount fell — operational leverage, financials excluded · 867 qualifying · snapshot 2026-08-01
| # | Company | Industry | Profit added | Headcount | Latest PBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO EXPORTS LIMITED Tobacco product manufacturing subsidiary | Consumer Staples | £522M | -7% | £1.96B |
| 02 | INDIVIOR UK LIMITED Addiction treatment pharmaceutical subsidiary | Health Care | £361M | -20% | £466M |
| 03 | BRITISH LAND COMPANY PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY(THE) Commercial real estate investment trust | Industrials | £331M | -46% | £342M |
| 04 | SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE LIMITED European PlayStation operations subsidiary | Technology | £258M | -7% | £383M |
| 05 | VODAFONE GROUP SERVICES LIMITED Telecommunications group services subsidiary | Telecommunications | £253M | -19% | £329M |
| 06 | BDW TRADING LIMITED Housebuilding subsidiary of Barratt Developments | Industrials | £220M | -6% | £389M |
| 07 | ITV BROADCASTING LIMITED Commercial television broadcasting subsidiary | Consumer Discretionary | £195M | -4% | £229M |
| 08 | CHIVAS BROTHERS LIMITED Scotch whisky distiller and blender | Consumer Staples | £187M | -3% | £354M |
| 09 | QUALCOMM TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, LTD. Wireless telecommunications technology subsidiary | Telecommunications | £150M | -5% | £282M |
| 10 | TARMAC CEMENT LIMITED Cement and building materials manufacturer | Industrials | £142M | -11% | £166M |
| 11 | ANGLO AMERICAN MARKETING LIMITED Commodity sales and marketing subsidiary | Industrials | £141M | -21% | £289M |
| 12 | MICROSOFT LIMITED UK technology and software subsidiary | Technology | £134M | -6% | £890M |
| 13 | INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP PLC Listed global hotel operator | Consumer Discretionary | £131M | -8% | £795M |
| 14 | J.P. MORGAN EUROPE LIMITED | Industrials | £122M | -14% | £159M |
| 15 | COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS PLC Multinational beverage bottling company | Consumer Staples | £115M | -6% | £2.26B |
| 16 | RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION Computer science education charity | Industrials | £101M | -5% | £115M |
| 17 | CURRYS PLC Multinational consumer electronics retailer | Industrials | £96M | -11% | £124M |
| 18 | BALFOUR BEATTY GROUP LIMITED Multinational infrastructure and construction group | Industrials | £91M | -24% | £198M |
| 19 | ESSENDI UK HOTELS 1 LIMITED Accor-branded hotel operator | Consumer Discretionary | £84M | -24% | £96M |
| 20 | VWR INTERNATIONAL LTD Laboratory products and chemicals distributor | Consumer Discretionary | £79M | -9% | £98M |
| 21 | KYOWA KIRIN SERVICES LTD Pharmaceutical research and development subsidiary | Industrials | £77M | -19% | £142M |
| 22 | B&Q LIMITED DIY and home improvement retailer | Consumer Discretionary | £70M | -7% | £259M |
| 23 | BOC LIMITED Industrial and medical gas supplier | Basic Materials | £66M | -4% | £418M |
| 24 | ANAPLAN LIMITED Business planning software provider | Consumer Discretionary | £57M | -18% | £83M |
| 25 | FORTREA DEVELOPMENT LIMITED Clinical contract research organisation | Industrials | £57M | -8% | £66M |
All figures from each company's latest filed Companies House accounts; detailed filers only, with implausible outliers and scale artifacts excluded. Filed accounts lag the present by roughly 12–24 months, and group-vs-parent scope changes can move a figure between filings. Banks and insurers that don't report a turnover line are under-represented on the turnover-based boards.