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Hair and beauty salon companies in the Reading area

674 hair and beauty salon companies have a registered office in the Reading area (RG postcodes), and 168 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £5,636 in cash and owed £12,684 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. Covers companies with a registered office in RG postcodes, including Reading, Basingstoke, Newbury.

The numbers

Hair and beauty salon companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureReadingUK
Registered companies67470,423
Formed in 2025 or 2026168 (25%)29%
Being struck off or in liquidation53 (7.9%)11%
Typical cash at year end£5,636142 accounts£4,638
Typical amount owed at year end£12,684378 accounts£8,939
Typical number of employees2390 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 the Reading area (RG postcodes) holds £5,636 in cash and owes £12,684; 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 the Reading area (RG postcodes) reports 2 employees; the top quarter has 4 or more (390 filings).

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

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

25% of the 674 hair and beauty salon companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes) were formed in 2025–26, against 18% of all companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes). Nationally, that share of new companies is higher than 85% 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.

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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.

Hair and beauty salon in other places

Other businesses in Reading

All business benchmarks in Reading