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Convenience store companies in Edinburgh

540 convenience store companies have a registered office in Edinburgh, and 193 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £18,146 in cash and owed £53,077 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating” (SIC 47110).

The numbers

Convenience store companies in Edinburgh compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureEdinburghUK
Registered companies54036,745
Formed in 2025 or 2026193 (36%)30%
Being struck off or in liquidation69 (13%)12%
Typical cash at year end£18,14662 accounts£14,627
Typical amount owed at year end£53,077253 accounts£49,675
Typical number of employees3257 accounts3

What this means if you’re starting one

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

36% of the 540 convenience store companies in Edinburgh were formed in 2025–26, against 23% of all companies in Edinburgh. Nationally, that share of new companies is higher than 89% of UK industries.

New rivals are arriving faster than in most trades, so your customers already have fresh options. Being new is not a difference on its own.

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

11% of convenience store companies in Edinburgh are currently being struck off, against 7.1% of all companies there. Nationally that rate is higher than 84% of UK industries.

Closures run high here. It is a churn signal, not a survival rate, but it means the common failure points are worth learning before you start.

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical convenience store company in Edinburgh holds £18,146 in cash and owes £53,077; that cash figure is lower than 73% of UK industries.

Typical operators end the year holding less cash than they owe, so there is little slack if takings dip or a big bill lands early.

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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.

Convenience store in other places

Other businesses in Edinburgh

All business benchmarks in Edinburgh