Who owns Primark?
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods (the United Kingdom, LSE: ABF).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Associated British Foods plc Annual Report and Accounts 2025, 4 November 2025. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Associated British Foods plc reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, London
- Origin
- 🇮🇪 Ireland, Dublin
- Founded
- 1969
- Category
- Apparel, footwear & accessories › Fashion apparel › Casual & denim
- Parent ticker
- LSE: ABF
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Primark
Primark opened in Dublin in 1969 as Penneys, the name it still uses in Ireland, and sells clothing at prices below almost any competitor by refusing to sell online and buying in enormous volume. It generates the majority of ABF profit, which surprises people who know the company for its food brands.
Ownership timeline of Primark
- Current owner Associated British Foods [1] reported
Where Primark sits in Associated British Foods
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Associated British Foods ownership tree →
See the full Associated British Foods brand portfolio (9) →
Other brands owned by Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods controls 9 brands on Brandtree.
- Blue Dragon (1985)
- Jordans (1855)
- Kingsmill (1991)
- Ovaltine (1904)
- Patak's (1957)
- Ryvita (1925)
- Silver Spoon (1972)
- Twinings (1706)
Other brands in casual & denim, and who owns them
The 134 brands in casual & denim on Brandtree belong to 60 owners. The largest is Azzas 2154, with 8.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Fábula | Azzas 2154 | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| Carter's | Carter's | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Duck Head | Oxford Industries | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Cortefiel | Tendam | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| & Other Stories | H&M Group | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bershka | Inditex | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| GU | Fast Retailing | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| BSX | Giordano | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong |
About the owner: Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1935. Brandtree records 9 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: ABF.
Associated British Foods was founded in 1935 by a Canadian who built a British bakery chain, and it is now an unusual mixture: a sugar and ingredients business, a set of grocery brands, and Primark, the clothing retailer that generates most of its profit. The Weston family controls it.
Associated British Foods: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇮🇪 Primark and other Irish brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 33 brands that began in Ireland. 18 of them (55%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Primark among them.
- Aer Lingus — IAG 🇬🇧
- AerCap — AerCap 🇮🇪
- Baileys — Diageo 🇬🇧
- Bulmers — C&C Group 🇮🇪
- Bus Éireann — CIÉ 🇮🇪
- Carolans Irish Cream — Heaven Hill 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Primark?
The parent company of Primark is Associated British Foods, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Primark Irish or British?
Primark originated in Ireland in 1969, but it is owned today by Associated British Foods, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Primark is an Irish-origin brand under British ownership.
Is Primark still owned by Associated British Foods?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Primark is still owned by Associated British Foods. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Associated British Foods plc Annual Report and Accounts 2025 — Associated British Foods plc, Annual report, published 4 November 2025; retrieved 16 September 2026.
Report a correction Opens a pre-filled GitHub issue. See our corrections policy.