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Publishing companies in Edinburgh

171 publishing companies have a registered office in Edinburgh, and 46 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £5,962 in cash and owed £13,332 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Other publishing activities” (SIC 58190).

The numbers

Publishing companies in Edinburgh compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureEdinburghUK
Registered companies17113,019
Formed in 2025 or 202646 (27%)23%
Being struck off or in liquidation12 (7%)7.8%
Typical cash at year end£5,96231 accounts£14,124
Typical amount owed at year end£13,33279 accounts£12,487
Typical number of employees180 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

You can start without much equipment

The typical publishing company in Edinburgh carries £634 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 96% of UK industries.

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

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical publishing company in Edinburgh holds £5,962 in cash and owes £13,332; that cash figure is lower than 75% 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 publishing company in Edinburgh reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 2 or more (80 filings).

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

Planning a business like this in Edinburgh?

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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.

Publishing in other places

Other businesses in Edinburgh

All business benchmarks in Edinburgh