When was The Works Stores founded?

The Works Stores was founded in 1981 and raised its 1st funding round 33 years after it was founded.

Where is The Works Stores located?

The Works Stores is headquartered in Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom.

How many employees does The Works Stores have?

As of Oct 31, 2026, the latest employee count at The Works Stores is 1593.

Is The Works Stores a funded company?

The Works Stores is a funded company, having raised an undisclosed amount across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Conventional Debt round, raised on Aug 27, 2014.

When was the latest funding round of The Works Stores?

The Works Stores' latest funding was a $***** Post IPO round on Sep 25, 2023, with participation from 1 investor. Its primary sector is Retail Chains. In United Kingdom, the Retail Chains sector has seen $68.1M in funding in 2026 to date.

What is the annual revenue of The Works Stores?

Annual revenue of The Works Stores is between £100M and £500M as on May 04, 2025

Where does The Works Stores rank among its competitors?

The Works Stores ranks 7th amongst 53 active competitors, none of which are funded.

Who are the top competitors of The Works Stores?

The Works Stores' top competitors include Next, M&S and Matalan. Among them, Footasylum secured the most recent funding round in March, 2026.

The Works Stores - 2026 Company Profile, Funding, Competitors & Financials

Company Details

Retail chain selling books, toys, and stationery.

Website: www.theworks.co.uk/
Social
Email ID: *****@theworks.co.uk

Key Metrics

Founded Year

1981

Location

Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom

Stage

Public

Latest Funding Round

Post IPO, Sep 25, 2023, $*****

Investors

Proventus & 4 more

Ranked

7^th among 53 active competitors

Annual Revenue

£100M - £500M as on May 04, 2025

Employee Count

1,593 as on Oct 31, 2026

Similar Companies

Five Below & 74 more

Exit Details

Public

View The Works Stores' full profile

The Works Stores is associated with 1 legal entity given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Reports
The Works Stores Ltd CIN: 6557400 , United Kingdom, Active		£100M - £500M (As on May 04, 2025)	3824 (As on Jan 31, 2022)

The Works Stores got listed on Jul 19, 2018.

Click here to take a look at The Works Stores's IPO in detail

The Works Stores has raised funding over 2 rounds. Its first funding round was on Aug 27, 2014. Its latest funding round was a Post IPO round on Sep 25, 2023 for $*****. 1 investor participated in its latest round. The Works Stores has 5 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of The Works Stores:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Sep 25, 2023	7470315	Post IPO	4364758	5807441	4078542	3858242
Aug 27, 2014	8469980	Conventional Debt	9873418	3432574	7970382	Proventus

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View details of The Works Stores's funding rounds and investors

The Works Stores' employee count trend

The Works Stores has 1,593 employees as of Oct 26. Here is The Works Stores's employee count trend over the years:

Employee count trend for The Works Stores

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Top competitors of The Works Stores include Next, M&S and Matalan. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of The Works Stores, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Next 1982, Leicester (United Kingdom), Public	Online retailer of apparel, accessories, homeware, beauty, and furniture	-	Western Technology Investment, Bridgepoint Group ... & 1 others	71/100
2nd	M&S 1884, London (United Kingdom), Public	Retail chain of clothing, home & luxury food products	-	Europa	68/100
3rd	Matalan 1985, Knowsley (United Kingdom), Acquired	Retail chains of clothing and homeware	$33.4M	Tresidor Investment Management, Man & 3 others	68/100
4th	Costco 1976, Seattle (United States), Public	Retail chain providing electronic products, household appliances, and other products	-	Alcor Fund, Benson Family Private Equity & 3 others	67/100
5th	Footasylum 2005, Oldham (United Kingdom), Acquired	Retailer of men's, women's, and children's footwear and apparel	-	JD Sports, HSBC	66/100
6th	Hudson's Bay Company 1670, Brampton (Canada), Acquired	Department store retailer	-	Rhone Group, GPI Capital & 2 others	60/100
7th	The Works Stores 1981, Sutton Coldfield (United Kingdom), Public	Retail chain selling books, toys and stationery	-	Proventus, The Independent Investment Trust ... & 3 others	58/100
8th	Debenhams 1778, London (United Kingdom), Acquired	Online retailer of fashion, home, and beauty products	-	Frasers Group, Sports Direct & 2 others	58/100
9th	B&M 1978, Liverpool (United Kingdom), Public	Chain of department store	-	Clayton Dubilier & Rice	52/100
10th	Card Factory 1997, Wakefield (United Kingdom), Public	Retailer of greetings cards, gift dressings, and party products	-	Charterhouse Capital Partners	49/100