Alternative London
Alternative London is a London-based cultural tourism company offering guided street art walking tours, cycling tours, food tours, and hands-on spray-painting workshops in East London for individual tourists, corporate groups, educational institutions, and locals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersYorkton, Canada
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Alternative London does
Alternative London is a London-based cultural tourism company founded in 2010 that operates guided tours and hands-on street art workshops in East London. The company's core offerings include street art walking tours (£14–£20), cycling tours (£25–£30), food and craft beer tours (£25–£45), and combined tour-plus-workshop experiences (£30–£60), all led by active street artists and local creatives. It also runs bespoke corporate team-building events and educational programs for schools, colleges, and universities, plus niche offerings such as a Soho LGBTQ+ history tour, a French-language tour, and a jogging tour. Operations are anchored by a 3,500 sq ft cultural space in Shoreditch that includes a purpose-built, fully ventilated indoor spray painting workshop studio, and the company supplements direct-to-consumer booking on its own website with third-party listings on TripAdvisor and Get Your Guide.
The business runs on per-person unit pricing with optional add-ons (canvas or canvas bag painting) and bespoke pricing for private and corporate events handled via direct email inquiry. The go-to-market motion combines self-serve online booking, third-party travel platform listings, walk-in inquiries, and direct corporate sales, supported by marketing across Facebook, X, Instagram, an owned podcast, and earned media features in The Guardian, Time Out, Lonely Planet, and Visit London. The customer base spans individual tourists, London locals, corporate groups, educational institutions, and social groups (hen parties, birthdays), with no single segment appearing to dominate revenue. The company has expanded internationally through sister operations in Hamburg (2012) and Lisbon (2019).
The company's differentiation rests on being the UK's first and original street art tour provider, 15 years of accumulated route content and artist relationships, and employing working street artists as guides who produce many of the legal murals seen on its tours. Technology is operational rather than digital-product in nature — the workshop studio with full ventilation and the use of Molotov water-based spray paints constitute the core technical infrastructure. The company is privately held (Alternative London Ltd., Company No. 07999499, registered in England & Wales) with a secondary entity, The London Walking Tour Co. Ltd. (Company No. 08802883), no disclosed funding rounds, and a small core team plus a roster of guides and workshop leaders.
Alternative London firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Alternative London
- Legal name
- Alternative London Ltd.
- Website
- https://alternativeldn.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Alternative London is a London-based cultural tourism company offering guided street art walking tours, cycling tours, food tours, and hands-on spray-painting workshops in East London for individual tourists, corporate groups, educational institutions, and locals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Alternative London industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Tourism & Street Art Experiences
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours (THAJAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Food, Market & Culinary Culture Tours (THAJAAAG), Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA), Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB)
Keywords
Where Alternative London is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Yorkton
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Alternative London business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Walking Tours: Per-person fees for guided walking tours of East London covering street art, cultural history, and themed tours. Prices range from £12-£20 depending on tour type and duration.
- Street Art Workshops: Hands-on spray painting and stencil-making workshops at the company's purpose-built studio. Prices from £30-£60 per person, with optional canvas/bag add-ons for additional fees.
- Bike Tours: Guided cycling tours of East London street art. Includes bike rental and helmet. Priced from £25-£30 per person.
- Food & Drink Tours: Culinary tours featuring local East London restaurants and craft beer establishments. From £30-£45 per person including food and drink stops.
- Corporate & Private Events: Bespoke private tours, team building activities, and corporate events. Flexible pricing based on group size and requirements. Venue hire available with AV equipment.
- Educational Tours: Customized tours and workshops for schools, colleges, and universities. Organized bespoke activities for hundreds of educational institutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Street Art Walking Tour - from £14 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Street Art Tour & Workshop (4 hours) - from £40 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Street Art Tour & Workshop (2.5 hours) - from £30 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Street Art Bike Tour - from £25 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Street Art Workshop - from £30 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Alternative London Tour – Soho - from £20 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Alternative Londres French Tour - from £15 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sip & Spray Street Art Workshop - from £60 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Spray Paint Skillz Workshop - from £42.50 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | East London Food Tour - from £45 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | East End Jogging Tour - from £12 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Shoreditch Craft Beer Tour - from £25 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Alternative London product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Alternative London operates guided cultural tours of East London focused on street art, food, craft beer and local heritage, alongside hands-on graffiti and stencil workshops held in a purpose-built, fully ventilated indoor studio. Tours are led by active street artists and local creatives, with bespoke private, corporate and educational variants available on request.
Product overview
Alternative London is a multi-award-winning cultural tourism company offering a diverse portfolio of experiences centered around East London's creative districts. The core offering consists of street art walking tours and bike tours led by active street artists, complemented by hands-on graffiti and street art workshops conducted in their purpose-built ventilated studio. Additional experiences include food tours, craft beer tours, jogging tours, and specialized LGBTQ+ history tours in Soho. The company also provides private and corporate team-building activities, school educational programs, and operates a podcast. The portfolio spans from budget-friendly individual walking tours (£14) to premium full-day corporate experiences, with combined tour-and-workshop packages serving as the flagship differentiated offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Alternative London Podcast: Podcast featuring in-depth discussions with artists and community leaders who shaped East London's cultural landscape
Quantifiable outcome
- 57 consecutive weeks as TripAdvisor's #1 London tour provider
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Alternative London
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Alternative London technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Alternative London partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- Alternative LisboncoreSister company launched in 2019, bringing Alternative London's cultural tour model to Lisbon, Portugal.
- Alternative HamburgcoreSister company launched in 2012 with Alternative London's support. The original and best Berlin experiences provider.
- Pendleton BikescoreProvides stylish, high-quality bikes for Alternative London's bike tours. The Pendleton bikes are used for cruising through East London's streets during guided cycling tours.
- London Bike KitchenminorProvides bike maintenance support and expertise to keep Alternative London's fleet of bikes well maintained and safe for tours.
- BSMT Space GalleryminorGallery in Dalston founded by Greg Key and Lara Fiorentino. Alternative London maintains a collaborative relationship with this urban art gallery in the community.
- Red GallerycoreLocated at 1-3 Rivington St, EC2A 3DT. Home to Alternative London's bus and pop-up gallery. Used as venue for events and activities.
- Visit LondonmajorOfficial tourism partner collaborating on initiatives to shape the future of cultural tourism in London.
- Visit BritainmajorNational tourism organization collaborating on cultural tourism initiatives and promotion.
- Mayor of London's OfficemajorGovernment partnership for promoting cultural tourism and London's creative industries.
- East End Trades GuildminorFounded to give independent businesses, self-employed, charities and social enterprises a voice in the face of rising rents and gentrification. Alternative London has benefited from this union during the pandemic.
- Graffiti Life AgencyminorContemporary artist-run gallery at 26 Cheshire Street. David Speed co-founded the agency and is featured in Alternative London's podcast.
- Molotov Spray PaintscoreSupplier of high-quality, water-based spray paints used in workshops. Molotov paints are significantly less harmful to the environment and safer for humans.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Alternative London competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Context Travel: Small-group, expert-led cultural walking tours in major cities globally. Highly comparable on positioning (scholarly, themed cultural walks led by specialists), premium pricing, and B2B/educator segments served by Alternative London.
- Secret Food Tours: Global food-tour operator with a strong London presence. Comparable on food-tour product, premium pricing, multi-city growth ambition, and similar tourist customer base.
- Devour Tours: Small-group food and cultural walking tours in major European cities including London. Comparable premium small-group format, food-and-drink focus, and multi-city expansion trajectory.
- Strawberry Tours: Free walking-tour operator across major European cities including London. Directly comparable pay-what-you-want model, multi-city footprint, and similar target tourist demographic to Alternative London.
- Sandemans New Europe: One of the largest free walking-tour brands in Europe with deep London presence. Comparable model (tip-based guides, city-focused, third-party distribution) and overlapping tourist customer base.
- Urban Adventures: Intrepid Travel's small-group city experiences brand offering themed tours (food, culture, neighbourhood) in dozens of cities. Comparable niche, offbeat positioning, and tour-operator distribution model.
- London Walks: The established London walking-tour operator running themed guided walks (history, ghost, literary) for over 30 years. Most direct peer to Alternative London's guided walking format and London-centric customer base.
- Eating London: Specialist East London food-tour operator. Direct competitor on Alternative London's Shoreditch/Brick Lane/Spitalfields culinary tours and beer experiences, with overlapping target customer.
- Look Up London Tours: London-focused cultural walking tours led by local historian/Blue Badge guide Katie Wignall. Comparable themed historical/cultural walks and small-group premium positioning.
Emerging players
- Withlocals: Online marketplace connecting travellers with local hosts for guided tours and experiences across Europe. Comparable themed-tour product and customer segment, though it is a platform rather than a single-brand operator.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Alternative London social profiles
Digital presenceAlternative London financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Alternative London leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Alternative London funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Alternative London M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Alternative London
What does Alternative London do?
Alternative London operates guided cultural tours of East London focused on street art, food, craft beer and local heritage, alongside hands-on graffiti and stencil workshops held in a purpose-built, fully ventilated indoor studio. Tours are led by active street artists and local creatives, with bespoke private, corporate and educational variants available on request.
Is Alternative London a public or private company?
Alternative London is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Alternative London founded?
Alternative London was founded in 2010.
Where is Alternative London based?
Alternative London is headquartered in Yorkton, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Alternative London make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Walking Tours are the primary driver. The others are street Art Workshops, bike Tours, food & Drink Tours, corporate & Private Events and educational Tours.
Who are Alternative London's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Context Travel, Secret Food Tours, Devour Tours, Strawberry Tours, Sandemans New Europe, Urban Adventures, London Walks, Eating London and Look Up London Tours. Withlocals is listed as an emerging player.
Does Alternative London have an API?
No public API is recorded for Alternative London.
What industry is Alternative London in?
Alternative London's product category is Cultural Tourism & Street Art Experiences. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAAAE, Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours, with a secondary code of THAJAAAG, Food, Market & Culinary Culture Tours. Its NAICS code is 56152 and its SIC code is 7900.