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Off-licence or wine shop companies in London

737 off-licence or wine shop companies have a registered office in London, and 218 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £18,982 in cash and owed £45,739 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Retail sale of beverages in specialised stores” (SIC 47250).

The numbers

Off-licence or wine shop companies in London compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureLondonUK
Registered companies7373,780
Formed in 2025 or 2026218 (30%)24%
Being struck off or in liquidation76 (10%)13%
Typical cash at year end£18,982139 accounts£16,356
Typical amount owed at year end£45,739329 accounts£46,799
Typical number of employees2333 accounts2

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical off-licence or wine shop company in London holds £18,982 in cash and owes £45,739; that cash figure is lower than 70% 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 off-licence or wine shop company in London reports 2 employees; the top quarter has 6 or more (333 filings).

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

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

9% of off-licence or wine shop companies in London are currently being struck off, against 6.9% of all companies there. Nationally that rate is higher than 83% 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.

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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.

Off-licence or wine shop in other places

Other businesses in London

All business benchmarks in London