BenchmarklyAll benchmarks

Hair and beauty salon companies in London

11,516 hair and beauty salon companies have a registered office in London, and 3,315 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £4,559 in cash and owed £9,355 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Hairdressing and other beauty treatment” (SIC 96020), which also covers barber, nail salon, beauty salon.

The numbers

Hair and beauty salon companies in London compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureLondonUK
Registered companies11,51670,423
Formed in 2025 or 20263,315 (29%)29%
Being struck off or in liquidation1,311 (11%)11%
Typical cash at year end£4,5591,920 accounts£4,638
Typical amount owed at year end£9,3555,764 accounts£8,939
Typical number of employees16,016 accounts2

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical hair and beauty salon company in London holds £4,559 in cash and owes £9,355; that cash figure is lower than 99% 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.

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical hair and beauty salon company in London reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 3 or more (6,016 filings).

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

You can start without much equipment

The typical hair and beauty salon company in London carries £4,346 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 77% of UK industries.

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

Planning a business like this in London?

Answer two questions about your customer and what makes you different, and get a free three-week plan to test the idea before you spend real money. No account or card.

Check my idea

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.

Hair and beauty salon in other places

Other businesses in London

All business benchmarks in London