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Artist or illustrator companies in London

7,643 artist or illustrator companies have a registered office in London, and 1,404 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £34,448 in cash and owed £20,266 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Artistic creation” (SIC 90030).

The numbers

Artist or illustrator companies in London compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureLondonUK
Registered companies7,64322,803
Formed in 2025 or 20261,404 (18%)17%
Being struck off or in liquidation383 (5%)6.3%
Typical cash at year end£34,4481,895 accounts£17,603
Typical amount owed at year end£20,2664,302 accounts£14,371
Typical number of employees14,421 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

You can start without much equipment

The typical artist or illustrator company in London carries £2,348 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 92% of UK industries.

Most of the cost of entry is time and running costs rather than kit, so a small test is cheap.

You will be up against established operators

18% of the 7,643 artist or illustrator companies in London were formed in 2025–26, against 28% of all companies in London.

Few new companies are entering, so your customers will compare you with businesses that have years of reviews and regulars.

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical artist or illustrator company in London reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 1 or more (4,421 filings).

You are mostly up against owner-operators. Your own hours are likely to be your biggest cost, and the easiest one to undercount.

Planning a business like this in London?

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What these figures can’t tell you

Companies are counted where their registered office is, which may be an accountant or a home address rather than a shop. Sole traders and partnerships are not on the register, and electronically filed accounts cover roughly 60–75% of accounts filed each year. The figures describe companies that exist; they cannot prove demand for your idea or predict whether it will work. How the figures are built.

Artist or illustrator in other places

Other businesses in London

All business benchmarks in London