What easyGroup does

easyGroup Ltd is a private UK-registered holding company and brand licensing vehicle wholly owned by founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Founded in 1994, it owns and manages the 'easy' family of brands, a portfolio of more than 380 trademarked ventures spanning aviation (easyJet), budget hotels (easyHotel), car rental (easyCar), bus services (easyBus), self-storage (easyStorage), financial services (easyMoney, easyBitcoin), online retail (easyShop), parking (easyParking), insurance (easySure), gym franchises (easyGym), and dozens of additional sectors. The company operates an asset-light licensing model in which it retains trademark ownership and licenses the 'easy' prefix to third-party operators in exchange for royalties calculated as a percentage of licensee turnover rather than profits. This structure allows rapid sector expansion without operational involvement, while licensees provide capital, infrastructure, and regulatory compliance. A distinguishing structural feature is that easyGroup donates at least 51% of its annual profits to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, a UK-registered charity, contributing £12.7m in the year ended 30 September 2025 and €122m cumulatively since 2010.

The company's primary customers are brand licensees—established businesses and entrepreneurs across multiple sectors that leverage the easy brand rather than building their own identity—with consumer end-users accessing licensed services across the portfolio. Technology infrastructure is minimal at the holding level; recent product launches (easyShop.com with OnBuy, easyBitcoin.app with Uphold, easyInfluencer.travel) rely on third-party platforms for operational and technical execution. The company's go-to-market is channel-partner driven: it actively recruits licensees via applications on easy.com, the Pitch It Easy competition (a £100,000 prize partnership with Bayes Business School), and selective entrepreneurial pitching, while enforcing brand integrity through a dedicated brand protection apparatus and trademark litigation. Marketing is primarily earned media leveraging Stelios's public profile and a multi-platform organic social presence (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube).

Recent strategic activity signals expansion across both verticals and geographies. In 2026 alone, easyGroup launched easyShop.com (planned 21 European countries, Q4 2026), easyParking.com (July 2026), easyInfluencer.travel (June 2026), easyCourier in Cyprus (June 2026), and announced easyBuy.com. Its licensee easyStorage secured £180m from Arini to expand UK locations from 39 to a target of 160 by 2030. The August 2026 Apollo Global Management acquisition of easyJet for £5.7bn, with the Haji-Ioannou family retaining a 15.31% stake, validated underlying brand equity while preserving easyGroup's royalty stream.

Name

easyGroup

Legal name

easyGroup Ltd

Website

https://easy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

easyGroup is a private UK holding company owned by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou that licenses the 'easy' brand family (380+ ventures) to third-party operators across aviation, hotels, storage, retail, and digital services in exchange for turnover-based royalties, donating at least 51% of profits to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Brand Licensing Royalties: easyGroup generates steady and predictable income from licensing the 'easy' brand to businesses including easyJet, easyHotel, and many others in return for royalties based on their turnover (not profits). This creates a recurring income stream.
2. Philanthropic Donations: At least 51% of annual profits are donated to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. For the year ended 30 September 2025, £12.7m was donated. Cumulative giving since 2010 amounts to 122 million euro.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

easyGroup owns and licenses the 'easy' family of brands to third-party businesses in exchange for royalties based on turnover (not profits). The company manages a portfolio of 380+ trademarked brands across aviation, hospitality, automotive, financial services, retail, storage, insurance, and digital services sectors, retaining ownership of all 'easy' trademarks in its private investment vehicle while partner operators run the underlying businesses.

Product overview

easyGroup is a brand licensing company that owns and manages the 'easy' family of brands. The portfolio consists of over 100 active brands across travel, transport, accommodation, consumer services, financial services, and digital sectors. The core products include easyJet.com (airline) and easyHotel.com (hotels), which generate royalty income through licensing agreements. Other significant brands include easyStorage.com (self-storage franchise), easyCleaning.biz (cleaning products), easyShop.com (online marketplace), easyParking.com (parking comparison), easyInfluencer.travel (travel marketing), easyBitcoin.app (cryptocurrency), and easyCourier (delivery services). The company operates through an asset-light licensing model where partners operate individual brands while easyGroup retains ownership of the trademark and receives royalties based on turnover.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• easyJet: Low-cost airline operating over 340 Airbus aircraft, carrying around 100 million passengers annually
• easyHotel
• easyCar
• easyBus
• easyCleaning
• easyStorage
• easyMoney
• easySure
• easyParking
• easyShop
• easyBitcoin
• easyInfluencer
• easyCourier
• easySim
• easyDigital
• easyLife
• easyGym
• easyEnergy
• easyCruise
• easyFerry
• easyBet

Products and services

• Brand Licensing Service (easy family of brands)
• easyBitcoin.app
• easyShop.com
• easyParking.com
• easyInfluencer.travel
• easyCourier
• easyBuy.com
• easyDigital.tech

Quantifiable outcome

• easyJet operates 356 aircraft as of 31 March 2026, carrying ~100 million passengers annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OnBuy (OnCommerce Platform)coreTechnology or Integration · 23 July 2026OnBuy provides the OnCommerce platform technology and operational infrastructure for easyShop.com, including regulatory compliance and cross-border trade capabilities. OnBuy already operates a European marketplace referencing over 100 million products with 86%+ growth over three years.
• OnBuy.comcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2026easyGroup partnered with UK-based marketplace technology company OnBuy to launch easyShop.com, an online retail marketplace planned for 21 European markets with consumer-facing launch targeted for Q4 2026. easyGroup adopts an asset-light approach while OnBuy manages technical and operational infrastructure including regulatory compliance and cross-border trade through its OnCommerce platform. Both companies have committed significant long-term investment to support the platform's development.
• Leonard CheshireminorOthersPartnership with leading disability charity Leonard Cheshire for the Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs. The Foundation also donated £50k to Leonard Cheshire to help with running the awards.
• Co-operation IrelandminorOthersPartnership with Co-operation Ireland for the North-South Business Cooperation Awards on the island of Ireland, supporting cross-border entrepreneurship and encouraging start-ups.
• Bayes Business School (City, University of London)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPitch It Easy entrepreneurial startup competition backed by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and City, University of London Bayes Business School with £100,000 cash prize and the chance to join the easy family of brands. Competition open to present and past students of City, University of London and Bayes Alumni.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Virgin Group: Founder-controlled (Richard Branson) holding company that licenses the 'Virgin' brand across airlines, cruises, hotels, mobile, financial services, and many other sectors on an asset-light model — structurally the closest analogue to easyGroup's multi-sector 'easy' brand licensing playbook.
• Authentic Brands Group: US-based brand licensing company that owns and licenses Reebok, Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer and 50+ other consumer brands via royalty-based, asset-light arrangements — directly comparable business model to easyGroup's portfolio of 380+ 'easy' brands.
• Xcel Brands: Publicly-traded brand licensing and management company focused on fashion and lifestyle brands (Isaac Mizrahi, Halston, Judith Ripka) — operates the same royalty-based model and offers a small-cap comparable for easyGroup's licensing economics.

Broad incumbents

• LVMH: World's largest luxury multi-brand conglomerate operating 75+ maisons across fashion, spirits, hospitality and retail. Operates a directly-owned (rather than licensed) model, but is the most relevant incumbent demonstrating the value of a multi-sector brand portfolio at scale.
• Compagnie de l'Occitane: Multi-brand portfolio company (L'Occitane en Provence, Melvita, ELEMIS, Sol de Janeiro, Dr. Vranjes) extending a value/accessible-positioned brand across personal care and lifestyle categories — comparable in spirit to easyGroup's accessible-value brand extension strategy.
• Whitbread: UK-listed owner of Premier Inn, the budget hotel chain directly competing with easyHotel, and Brewers Fayre/Beefeater restaurant brands. Relevant incumbent competitor in one of easyGroup's core licensed categories.
• InterContinental Hotels Group: Global franchisor of hotel brands (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express) generating revenue primarily from franchise/royalty fees — analogous asset-light, brand-licensing model to easyGroup's hotel brand strategy, applied at much larger scale.

Others

• Booking Holdings: Parent of Booking.com, which is an integrated travel partner on easy.com's portal for stays, flights, cars, attractions and taxis. Not a competitor but a commercial partner in easyGroup's travel ecosystem.
• WPP: World's largest advertising and brand services group (Ogilvy, Grey, GroupM). Adjacent rather than directly comparable, but operates in the brand management value chain that easyGroup monetises through trademark licensing.
• easyJet: easyGroup's flagship licensee and the source of the largest royalty stream; included as a strategic ecosystem participant (not a competitor) given the Apollo acquisition and the family stake that ties the two entities together.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/easydotcom1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@easy-family-of-brands
• Facebookfacebook.com/easy-766946803369108
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/easygroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/easygroupofficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about easyGroup