86% Micro
12% Small
1% Mid
0% Large
0% Mega
INSIGHTS - MARCH 2025
UK Creative Arts Industry
UK Creative Arts Industry Information
The creative arts industry includes the operation of facilities for cultural and entertainment interests including live performances, events or exhibits as well as the provision of artistic, creative or technical skills for their production.
Active Businesses
55,209
Annual Sales
£30bn +
Employees
178,501
Economic Contribution
£9bn
Tags
Location of Creative Arts Companies
Creative Arts Companies by Size
Largest Creative Arts Companies
Turnover
Things Made Public Cic
£515.1m
Creative Arts Companies by Age
33% Young
27% Established
26% Startup
15% Mature
0% New
Oldest Creative Arts Companies
Established
Fastest Growing Creative Arts Companies
37% Declining
24% Rapid
18% Healthy
13% High
9% Low
Fastest Growing Creative Arts Companies
3yr CAGR
Creative Arts Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Creative Arts Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Creative Arts Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Creative Arts Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Creative, arts and entertainment activities Industry Insights
There are 55,209 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £30 billion .
The Industry employs around 178,500 people and contributes £9 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Creative Arts companies is London with 20,446 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 644.
The largest Creative Arts company is The Walt Disney Company Limited with a turnover of £3.8bn. 86% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 1% Mid companies.
15% of the Creative Arts Industry is made up of 15% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (33%) the oldest company is Plymouth Athenaeum(the) founded in 1884.
Creative Arts industry has a number of high growth companies (13%), the fastest growing company is The Ambassador Theatre Group (Venues) Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 251%. Other fast growing companies include Rsc Pre-productions Limited (225%), Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Limited (222%) and Metropolis Music Limited (210%).
The UK Creative Arts Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 18.11x, Turnover multiple of 1.44x and a Net Asset multiple of 1.12x.
