Small teams are the norm in the creative industries

What the figures show

DCMS counted 269,655 registered creative-industries businesses in March 2025. Of those, 93.4% were in the micro employment band of zero to nine employees, and 77.8% had annual turnover below £250,000. These are business-demography figures, not a count of available contracts or a measure of how likely a small firm is to win a tender.

DCMS: Business demographics 2025, main report (opens in a new tab)

Our view: sell the team you can actually field

A small studio does not need to pretend it is a large agency. A stronger offer explains who will do the work, what relevant experience they bring and how the project will be delivered. That is more useful to a buyer than an ambitious list of services with no clear team behind it.

If a brief needs several disciplines, describe the delivery arrangement plainly. You might lead the design and bring in a developer or film partner. Name responsibilities, explain how quality will be checked and make sure collaborators have agreed to the proposed work before relying on them in a bid.

Size is not the same as suitability

The business statistics do not tell you that any particular tender is accessible to a micro business. The buyer’s eligibility requirements, insurance, financial checks, timescale and scope still decide whether it is a realistic opportunity. A brief labelled small can demand more capacity than its budget suggests.

Use an initial capacity check: who is available, which deliverables are outside your strengths, and how much time would preparing the application take? If the answer depends on unconfirmed help or an unrealistic schedule, clarify the brief or pass.

This is Tenderspot’s interpretation of the official data, not a measured pattern in our own listings. The March 2025 snapshot covers registered businesses and should not be read as a complete count of all working freelancers.