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Holiday let or B&B companies in Edinburgh

240 holiday let or B&B companies have a registered office in Edinburgh, and 74 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £5,552 in cash and owed £58,868 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Other holiday and other collective accommodation” (SIC 55209).

The numbers

Holiday let or B&B companies in Edinburgh compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureEdinburghUK
Registered companies24013,821
Formed in 2025 or 202674 (31%)29%
Being struck off or in liquidation24 (10%)5.4%
Typical cash at year end£5,55242 accounts£7,987
Typical amount owed at year end£58,868107 accounts£36,012
Typical number of employees1108 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical holiday let or b&b company in Edinburgh holds £5,552 in cash and owes £58,868; that cash figure is lower than 91% 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.

Edinburgh already has more of these businesses than most places

Holiday let or B&B companies are 0.43% of companies registered in Edinburgh, against 0.25% UK-wide (1.7× the national share).

Demand here is proven, but so is choice. Customers can compare you with several nearby options.

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical holiday let or b&b company in Edinburgh reports 1 employees; the top quarter has 1 or more (108 filings).

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

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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.

Holiday let or B&B in other places

Other businesses in Edinburgh

All business benchmarks in Edinburgh