Beggars Group has reported its financial results for the 2025 calendar year.
The indie giant's revenue increased by 20% year-on-year to £134.48 million in 2025, including its share of joint ventures. Revenue excluding JVs was up 51.5% to £113.97m, from £75.21m the previous year. UK revenue rose 56.6% to £23.74m, while revenue for the rest of the world was up 50.3% to £90.22m.
The Beggars Group stable includes XL Recordings, 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador and Young Recordings.
According to publicly available documents filed with Companies House, profit for the financial year was £7.72m, down from £9.77m in 2024. Total operating profit fell 22.3% to £8.17m. Staffing increased, with average headcount across the group rising from 169 to 197.
Beggars labels released 30 new albums in 2025, compared to 32 the prior year.
We remain committed to investing in original new music foremost
Beggars Group
Commercial successes during the trading period included Pulp's More (Rough Trade), FKA Twigs' Eusexua (Young), David Byrne's Who Is The Sky? (Matador), Big Thief's Double Infinity (4AD) and Jim Legxacy's Black British Music (XL).
"Discovery of talent and supporting artists through their development stage and beyond is core to our business," stated the financial report. "We remain committed to investing in original new music foremost.
"We intentionally release a very small number of albums a year in a world that is flooded with music and devote the entire attention of our 250 staff worldwide to them. We were described this year as "a beacon of culture-defining A&R'."
The company reiterated its commitment to independent routes to market "rather than the so-called indie operations of the major companies", and said it remains focused on treating artists fairly through "several industry-leading policies... which have become a key component in what the group represents".
No dividend was paid in 2025, compared with £5m distributed to shareholders in 2024.
Funds raised during this reporting period are going towards projects that enable decarbonising the vinyl manufacturing supply chain
Beggars
On sustainability, Beggars reported total gross emissions of 44.65 tonnes CO2e, down around 14% year-on-year, which it linked to grid decarbonisation and efficiency upgrades at its Alma Road head office.
The company has signed up to the UN's Race to Zero campaign, committing to cut emissions 50% by 2030.
"During the reporting period, Beggars continued to fund Murmur which is a strategic climate fund that helps to
transition the music sector to a low carbon future model," it continued. "Funds raised during this reporting period are going towards projects that enable decarbonising the vinyl manufacturing supply chain which is vital to achieving our Race to Zero commitments."
The report also flagged continued pressure from inflation on supply chain costs and overheads, along with ongoing uncertainty around the future direction of US and UK inflation and interest rates and their impact on exchange rates.
Beggars said it continues to work with the UK government "to protect and uphold the value of the UK's great heritage of cultural IP rights". The language was near identical to that used in the newly filed accounts of its XL Recordings subsidiary, amid mounting industry pressure over AI and copyright.
XL Recordings reported turnover of £70.76 million for 2025, up 12.6% on the £62.86m posted the previous year.
As previously reported, Beggars Group's shares were transferred into the MM Settlement Trust – a trust connected to founder and chairman Martin Mills – the same month, in a move the company said was designed to "preserve the company's independence and help to ensure continuity over future generations".
