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Restaurant companies in London

11,111 restaurant companies have a registered office in London, and 3,013 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £27,459 in cash and owed £81,551 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Licenced restaurants” (SIC 56101).

The numbers

Restaurant companies in London compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureLondonUK
Registered companies11,11154,142
Formed in 2025 or 20263,013 (27%)27%
Being struck off or in liquidation2,112 (19%)21%
Typical cash at year end£27,4592,510 accounts£23,201
Typical amount owed at year end£81,5514,641 accounts£62,010
Typical number of employees54,741 accounts6

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical restaurant company in London holds £27,459 in cash and owes £81,551; that cash figure is lower than 54% 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.

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

14% of restaurant companies in London are currently being struck off, against 6.9% of all companies there. Nationally that rate is higher than 96% 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.

At least a quarter of these companies owe more than they own

The lowest quarter of restaurant companies in London report net assets of -£27,537 or less; the median is £5,039 (4,383 filings).

Many operators are propped up by loans, unpaid bills or money from the owner rather than by profit kept in the business. It is easy to keep going for longer than the numbers justify.

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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.

Restaurant in other places

Other businesses in London

All business benchmarks in London