London and Partners

What London and Partners does

London & Partners is the official growth agency for London, constituted in 2011 as a company limited by guarantee operating as a not-for-profit social enterprise. It is approximately half-funded by the Greater London Authority through government grants, with the remainder generated by a portfolio of commercial ventures, strategic partnerships, tourism membership, and sponsorship revenue. Its mission is to create economic growth for London that is resilient, sustainable, and inclusive, channelled through five business areas: visitor economy (Visit London), inward investment and scaleup support (Grow London suite including Grow London, Grow London Global, and Grow London Local), major events (London Convention Bureau), life sciences cluster development (MedCity), and capital investment attraction (Opportunity London), with the London Tech Week flagship event co-founded in 2014 anchoring its technology positioning.

The organization's product portfolio consists of interconnected programmes rather than a unified technology platform. Core offerings include Visit London (official visitor guide reaching 17m annually), London Tech Week (annual event attracting 30,000+ attendees from 128+ countries in 2025), Grow London Global (free scaleup internationalization programme that has helped 600+ companies secure £428m in deals since 2023), Grow London Local (free support for London's micro and small businesses), MedCity (life sciences cluster organization serving 2,700+ companies), the Innovation Fellowship programme delivered with the Royal College of Art (network of 100+ Fortune 500 corporate innovators), and the .LONDON official domain operated through subsidiary Dot London Domains Limited. No core proprietary technology platform is disclosed; the organization operates digital platforms (visitlondon.com, grow.london) for service delivery and operates a network of 12 international offices across North America, Europe, India, and China for direct engagement.

Since 2011, London & Partners reports adding £4.1bn to London's economy, supporting or creating 99,000 jobs, and helping 2,600+ overseas companies set up or expand in London. Under CEO Laura Citron OBE, the organization has created 42,500 jobs and added £1.9bn to the London economy. It is governed by a board chaired by Howard Dawber OBE (Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth) with members including the Mayor of London, ABTA, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Society of London Theatre, and UK Hospitality as member organizations. Headcount is reported in the 101-250 range with growth from pre-pandemic levels.

Name

London and Partners

Legal name

London & Partners Limited

Website

https://londonandpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

London & Partners is London's official growth agency, a not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2011 that drives economic growth through visitor marketing (Visit London), scaleup support (Grow London), life sciences cluster development (MedCity), major events attraction, and the flagship London Tech Week event, serving overseas companies, SMEs, tourists, and global corporations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Tourism marketing
• Foreign direct investment
• Business growth programmes
• City promotion services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: Approximately half funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA) through government grants. This provides core operational funding for the organization's economic development activities.
2. Commercial Ventures Portfolio: Generates revenue through a portfolio of venture businesses and commercial activities. Reinvests profits into economic growth activities.
3. Partnership and Sponsorship Revenue: Partners provide funding and support. Strategic partners, tourism members, and business partners contribute to funding while accessing exclusive benefits and collaboration opportunities with London's growth agency.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels12 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

London & Partners is the growth agency for London, operating as a not-for-profit social enterprise that promotes London globally to attract overseas organisations, businesses, events and visitors. It runs programmes including Visit London (visitor economy), Grow London suite (business growth, scaleup and international expansion support), London Tech Week, MedCity (life sciences cluster), Opportunity London (capital investment), London Convention Bureau, Major Events, and Innovation Fellowship, while supporting London's one million SMEs. Approximately half of its funding comes from the Greater London Authority, with the remainder generated through a portfolio of commercial ventures, partnerships and sponsorships.

Product overview

London & Partners is London's growth agency operating as a social enterprise, combining purpose with commercial rigour. The organisation offers a portfolio of interconnected programmes and services rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include: Visit London (official visitor guide), Grow London suite (comprising Grow London for business growth, Grow London Global for international expansion, and Grow London Local for small business support), London Tech Week (flagship tech event), MedCity (life sciences ecosystem), Opportunity London (capital investment), London Convention Bureau and Major Events (events attraction), Experience Economy initiatives, Innovation Fellowship (corporate innovation programme), and .LONDON (official domain). These programmes work together to create economic growth that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive by attracting investment, businesses, events and visitors to London while helping London companies startup, grow and internationalise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Visit London: Official visitor guide to London, inspiring millions of visitors to plan a trip to the capital across all its channels.
• Let's Do London
• Grow London
• Grow London Local
• Grow London Global
• London Tech Week
• MedCity London
• .LONDON
• Opportunity London
• Team London
• MedCity
• London Convention Bureau

Products and services

• Visit London Official visitor guide to London, telling London's story to millions of visitors across all its channels. Manages VisitLondon.com and multiple social platforms as the destination's primary visitor economy service.
• Grow London Helps London companies expand internationally and supports the large and diverse small business community through foreign direct investment work, sector events including London Tech Week, and international expansion programs.
• Grow London Global Free programme helping London-based businesses go global, with enterprise tech trade missions to international markets. Has helped more than 600 cohort companies secure £428m in business deals since 2023 launch.
• Grow London Local Supports local small businesses with free access to all the support they need to grow their business in London. Provides one place to find business support resources.
• MedCity London's cluster organisation for world-leading health and life science innovation, supercharging the life sciences ecosystem in London and beyond.
• Opportunity London Brings global institutional capital to London to fund priority real estate, energy and infrastructure projects. Part of capital investment initiatives.
• London Tech Week Premier destination for innovation, collaboration and growth in the tech industry. Co-founded by London & Partners in 2014, attracting tens of thousands of attendees from more than 100 countries each year.
• London Convention Bureau Positions the capital as a world-class destination, bringing events and congresses across London. Helps secure business, major sporting and cultural events.
• Major Events Brings world-class events to London, working with industry leaders in entertainment, culture and sport.
• Innovation Fellowship World-class programme for corporate innovators, launched in 2020. Delivered in collaboration with the Royal College of Art, bringing together senior corporate innovators from more than 100 global corporations to learn about open innovation.
• .LONDON Domain Official domain name for London, the iconic web address for London-based businesses and organisations.
• AI Support Package for SMEs £12m AI support package for SMEs delivered through London & Partners at London Tech Week 2026, aimed at helping small businesses adopt and implement AI technologies.
• UK-Africa Ecosystem Week Programme launched at London Tech Week providing VIP access, curated meetings, dedicated workspaces, and participation in Africa-focused panels and investment sessions, helping African startups access British investors.
• Grow London Local Money Hub Hub simplifying access to finance for London's SMEs, addressing funding challenges that limit growth for London small and medium-sized enterprises.

Quantifiable outcome

• £4.1bn added to London's economy since 2011
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers41 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Mayor of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Primary funder and institutional partner; appoints chairman and one board director to London & Partners board. Mayor of London's Office collaborates on initiatives including UK-Africa Ecosystem Week and £12m AI support package for SMEs. Organization is aligned to Mayor's priorities and strategies including London Growth Plan and net zero 2030 ambitions.
• Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Member organization (equivalent of shareholder) of London & Partners as a company limited by guarantee. Represents travel industry interests in governance structure.
• London Chamber of Commerce and IndustrycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Member organization (equivalent of shareholder) of London & Partners as a company limited by guarantee. Represents business community interests in governance structure.
• Society of London Theatre (SOLT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Member organization (equivalent of shareholder) of London & Partners as a company limited by guarantee. Represents theatre and performing arts industry in governance structure.
• UK HospitalitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Member organization (equivalent of shareholder) of London & Partners as a company limited by guarantee. Represents hospitality sector interests in governance structure.
• UK Department for Business and TradecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department that launched UK-Africa Ecosystem Week at London Tech Week, coordinated with London & Partners and Mayor of London's Office to attract African startups to London.
• UK-Africa SandboxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-powered UK-Africa Ecosystem Week with Ventures 54 and London & Partners to help African startups access British investors, business networks, and international expansion.
• Ventures 54coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-powered UK-Africa Ecosystem Week with UK-Africa Sandbox and London & Partners to provide pan-African founder support programme with VIP access, curated meetings, and investment sessions.
• TykminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast participant in Grow London Global enterprise tech trade mission to Atlanta; cited successful U.S. market entry from Atlanta as British fintech company.
• ekkominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast participant in Grow London Global enterprise tech trade mission to Atlanta; cited successful U.S. market entry from Atlanta as British payments firm.
• Royal College of ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivers Innovation Fellowship programme in collaboration with London & Partners. Fellowship has grown into network of innovation leaders from 100+ global corporations including three intakes yearly with up to 16 fellows each.
• Strategic Partners (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoin London's most influential organisations in shaping the future of the city through strategic partnership programme with exclusive benefits and collaboration opportunities.
• Tourism Members (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness tourism and experience economy community members accessing exclusive benefits and partnership opportunities with London's growth agency.
• Business Partners (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmbedded in London's innovation ecosystem through business partnership programme accessing growth opportunities and exclusive benefits.
• Small Business Service Providers (Various)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupport London's micro and small businesses to thrive by providing services through Grow London Local programme and partnership network.
• Cambridge UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of AMD's £2bn high-performance compute partnerships pledge announced at London Tech Week 2026 for AI research and development.
• Imperial College LondonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of AMD's £2bn high-performance compute partnerships pledge announced at London Tech Week 2026 for AI research and development.

Scale indicators33 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NYC & Company (NYC Tourism + Conventions): Official destination marketing organization for New York City, the closest peer in scale and mandate. Both L&P and NYC & Company are quasi-governmental tourism and economic development agencies for their respective global cities, with similar mission structures combining public funding and commercial partnerships.
• Choose Paris Region: Paris's economic development agency attracting foreign investment and promoting the Paris region's business ecosystem. Directly comparable to L&P in the FDI attraction mandate, with both agencies operating as public-private partnerships targeting international corporate location decisions.
• Visit Dubai (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing): Dubai's tourism and commerce marketing organization with a global promotion mandate. Directly comparable to L&P's Visit London and Let's Do London campaigns, with similar brand-led destination marketing strategy and major event attraction.
• Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie: Berlin's economic development agency promoting the city for business settlement and investment. Comparable in mandate (FDI, business support, innovation promotion) and European geography, with similar municipal funding model.

Broad incumbents

• Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB): Singapore's lead government agency for economic development, investment promotion, and industry development. Comparable to L&P's FDI and business growth mandate, though with significantly larger direct government backing and broader scope.
• Brand USA: USA's national destination marketing organization promoting the United States as a travel destination. Comparable in tourism promotion mandate and event attraction at a country level, though operating at larger scale than L&P's London-focused efforts.
• Tourism Australia: Australian government's tourism marketing agency promoting Australia as a destination. Comparable in scope of international tourism promotion and event attraction, with similar public agency model and global marketing campaigns.

Regional players

• Visit California: California's official state tourism marketing organization with similar destination marketing mandate. Comparable in operating model (public-private partnership with membership programs) though focused on a regional/state level rather than city-level.
• Barcelona Tourism (Turisme de Barcelona): Barcelona's official tourism and convention bureau with a city-level destination marketing mandate. Comparable in scale and mission, focusing on a major European city competing with London for tourism and events.

Others

• Invest Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland's regional economic development agency for FDI and business growth. Comparable in mandate and funding model (UK government-backed) though focused on a different UK region, representing an adjacent UK economic development agency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/londonpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/london-&-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about London and Partners