Publishing activities (SIC division 58)
Division 58 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 8 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 58
Businesses in division 58 publish content they own or licence, from books to software. The most-used code is 58290, other software publishing. Product and SaaS companies have made it their own. They sell their own software rather than build it for clients. Beside it sit 58190 for general and digital publishers, 58110 for book publishing, 58210 for computer games publishing, and 58142 for journals and periodicals. One idea ties them together: you own the title you sell. That is what separates a publisher here from a development agency in division 62.
Software publishers pull in the SaaS supply chain. Cloud and hosting providers, analytics and billing tool vendors, IP and licensing solicitors all sell here. So do R&D tax specialists, who know product companies often qualify for relief. Traditional publishers attract print and distribution suppliers, rights lawyers and marketing agencies pitching audience growth. Recruiters work both ends, for engineers and for editorial staff. A new 58290 company often means a product has been spun out, or a founder has gone full-time. Budgets for tools and advice appear right then. Fast growth between accounts suggests the product has found its market.
How to read a division 58 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 58 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 58 shares those digits: all 8 codes below begin 58, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 58 sits inside section J, information and communication, which is the broadest tier of the classification. So a code is read left to right, from an industry down to a specific activity.
More on how division 58 codes are built
Companies choose their own codes at incorporation and can change them on any confirmation statement, and Companies House does not check the answer. A company may list up to four. That is worth knowing before you treat any division total as a headcount: the numbers here are what companies said about themselves, on the August 2026 register, and the largest single code in this division is 58290, other software publishing.
Working division 58 as a list
Division 58 holds 8 codes and 54,715 active companies between them. 58290 is the largest at 33 per cent and the top three take 81 per cent, with the rest spread across the remaining 5 codes. That is balanced enough that the division is a reasonable unit to work, though the leading code alone will usually give you a cleaner list.
More on working division 58
A caveat that matters more in some divisions than others: a company may register up to four SIC codes, and the figures below count every position, not just the first. A business filed under two codes in this division appears under both. Treat the totals as reach rather than a headcount, and if you need a clean list, filter to companies whose FIRST code sits in the division. Every company you pull carries the Companies House record, the director's name, a verified website and a verified email, and the ones we cannot complete are not charged.
Every SIC code in division 58
58110, Book publishing58120, Publishing of directories and mailing lists58130, Publishing of newspapers58141, Publishing of learned journals58142, Publishing of consumer and business journals and periodicals58190, Other publishing activities58210, Publishing of computer games58290, Other software publishingProspecting this division
Division 58 companies, as leads
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Division 58 questions
Should a SaaS business register 58290 or 62012?
If your company owns and licences its own product, 58290, software publishing, describes it better. Code 62012 fits businesses that develop software for clients. Plenty of firms do both. Companies House allows up to four self-selected codes with no approval process, so holding the pair is common and perfectly fine.
What code should a self-publishing author's company use?
Code 58110, book publishing, covers publishing books through trade channels or self-publishing platforms. If the company's real work is the writing rather than the publishing, many people choose 90030, artistic creation, instead. Both are defensible. You can hold both, and you can revise the codes on any confirmation statement.
Find companies across division 58
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