UK arts, entertainment and recreation companies in numbers (October 2026)
Key figures compared with the UK
| Measure | This sector | All UK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active companies | 121,574 | 5,166,057 | 2.4% of UK |
| Median company age (years) | 6.3 | 5.6 | 13% higher |
| Incorporated in the last 3 years | 32.2% | 34.0% | close to UK |
| Filing micro-entity accounts | 36.2% | 32.4% | 3.8 pts higher |
| Filing dormant accounts | 7.9% | 10.8% | 2.9 pts lower |
| Accounts overdue | 1.7% | 1.8% | close to UK |
| Under a proposal to strike off | 6.2% | 7.4% | 1.2 pts lower |
| In liquidation, administration or receivership | 1.1% | 2.0% | 0.9 pts lower |
| With outstanding charges (secured lending) | 6.7% | 12.1% | 5.4 pts lower |
| Median net assets | £2,784 | £3,113 | 11% lower |
| Negative net assets | 21.9% | 18.8% | 3.1 pts higher |
| Net current liabilities | 37.2% | 36.2% | close to UK |
| Median cash at bank | £12k | £10k | 22% higher |
| Cash covers creditors due within a year | 42.6% | 35.3% | 7.3 pts higher |
| Holding £100k or more in cash | 20.1% | 20.3% | close to UK |
| Median employees (where stated) | 1 | 1 | close to UK |
Balance sheet measures use each active company's most recent machine-readable (iXBRL) accounts with a period ending in 2024 or later: 87,131 companies here (71.7% of active). Net assets 25th to 75th percentile: £1 to £37k. Cash 25th to 75th percentile: £1,176 to £67k.
What the numbers say
This section mixes freelance creatives with clubs, gyms and venues. The largest codes are 90030 artistic creation (22,732 live companies), 93199 other sports activities (22,037) and 90010 performing arts (18,808), followed by amusement and recreation, fitness facilities and sports clubs.
Three differences from the UK average stand out:
- Little secured borrowing: 6.7% have charges, against 12.1%. Artists and performers rarely have assets a lender would take security over.
- More cash relative to bills: a median cash ratio of 0.76, and median current liabilities of £9,435 against £13,788. Freelancers paid per project often keep a cash buffer for the gaps between jobs.
- Fewer insolvencies: 1.1% of live companies in an insolvency process, against 2%.
Negative net assets remain more common than average, at 21.9% against 18.8%, but the gap has narrowed sharply. For financial years ending in 2014 the share was 23.9% against 16.4% for the UK; by 2025 it was 21.7% against 18.6%. Sport and recreation weighs on the figure: division 93 shows 22.9% negative net assets and 41.1% net current liabilities, consistent with gyms and venues carrying fit-out costs, lease obligations and membership fees paid in advance. That is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency; our guide to negative net assets and the net current liabilities entry explain how to read it.
At the other end, division 91 (libraries, museums and cultural bodies) has a median current ratio of 3.57, which likely reflects long-established bodies holding reserves. Compare with other services or education.
Share with negative net assets, 2014 to 2025
Share of accounts with net liabilities (total liabilities larger than total assets) by financial year end, for companies on the live register. Dissolved companies are not included because the register no longer lists their industry, so earlier years show survivors. Negative net assets is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency: see what negative net assets means.
Accounts types filed
| Type of last accounts | Share here | Share UK |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | 36.2% | 32.4% |
| Total exemption full | 28.4% | 23.8% |
| No accounts filed yet | 21.5% | 26.0% |
| Dormant | 7.9% | 10.8% |
| Unaudited abridged | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| Small | 1.5% | 1.2% |
| Full (audited) | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| Group | 0.6% | 0.5% |
The type shows how much a company has to disclose. Micro-entity and abridged accounts contain no profit and loss account on the public record. Read more about accounts categories and micro-entities.
Active companies by year of incorporation
Companies incorporated in each year that are still active today. Younger cohorts are larger partly because older ones have been dissolved.
Most common activity codes
| SIC | Activity | Live companies |
|---|---|---|
| 90030 | Artistic creation | 22,732 |
| 93199 | Other sports activities | 22,037 |
| 90010 | Performing arts | 18,808 |
| 93290 | Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c. | 17,059 |
| 93130 | Fitness facilities | 14,583 |
| 90020 | Support activities to performing arts | 10,815 |
| 93120 | Activities of sport clubs | 9,114 |
| 93110 | Operation of sports facilities | 7,836 |
Divisions in this section
| Division | Active companies | Negative net assets | Median cash | Overdue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 Sports activities and amusement and recreation | 66,150 | 22.9% | £13k | 1.6% |
| 90 Creative, arts and entertainment activities | 51,490 | 21.1% | £11k | 1.7% |
| 91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities | 2,702 | 14.0% | £20k | 2.8% |
| 92 Gambling and betting activities | 1,232 | 16.1% | £51k | 1.6% |
Methodology
Industry is the first SIC code each company declares on the Companies House register (snapshot 1 October 2026); the dormant placeholder 99999 is excluded. Status, accounts type and due dates come from the register. Financial measures come from our parse of 37 million iXBRL accounts filed since 2008; values above £100bn are treated as extraction errors. Companies filing paper or PDF accounts are not in the balance sheet figures. Full details: methodology.
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