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Recruitment agency companies in London

6,543 recruitment agency companies have a registered office in London, and 1,797 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £39,107 in cash and owed £28,670 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Other activities of employment placement agencies” (SIC 78109).

The numbers

Recruitment agency companies in London compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureLondonUK
Registered companies6,54327,434
Formed in 2025 or 20261,797 (27%)22%
Being struck off or in liquidation618 (9.4%)13%
Typical cash at year end£39,1071,405 accounts£30,794
Typical amount owed at year end£28,6703,129 accounts£29,072
Typical number of employees13,200 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

You can start without much equipment

The typical recruitment agency company in London carries £2,068 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 94% of UK industries.

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

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical recruitment agency company in London reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 3 or more (3,200 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 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.

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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.

Recruitment agency in other places

Other businesses in London

All business benchmarks in London