Underbelly
Underbelly is a UK live entertainment company founded in 2000 that produces festivals, West End shows, and operates venues across Edinburgh, London, and Hong Kong, serving consumers, local councils, and event partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Underbelly does
Underbelly is a UK-based live entertainment company founded in 2000 by Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it remains one of the largest operators, producing 200+ shows across 22 venues and selling 460,000+ tickets in a typical festival season. The company operates across three core verticals: festivals (Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh's Christmas since 2013, Edinburgh's Hogmanay since 2017, Underbelly Festival London Southbank, Udderbelly Festival Hong Kong), live shows and West End productions (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club with 11 Olivier nominations, Five Guys Named Moe), and venue operations including its first permanent venue Underbelly Boulevard in Soho opened in 2023. Its business model spans direct-to-consumer ticket sales (£12-£25 per ticket), recurring government contracts with the City of Edinburgh Council and Westminster City Council, corporate event hire, bar and food services (including the Cafe Kitty restaurant in partnership with Kitty Fishers Group), and integrated production services for large-scale public events. The company employs 251-500 permanent staff supplemented by 600+ festival staff annually and 800+ seasonal staff for Edinburgh's Christmas, with offices in London, Edinburgh, and Hong Kong. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, though annual ticket volume exceeds 1.7 million across managed sites and total visitor throughput reaches 5 million.
Underbelly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Underbelly
- Legal name
- Underbelly Limited
- Website
- https://underbelly.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Underbelly is a UK live entertainment company founded in 2000 that produces festivals, West End shows, and operates venues across Edinburgh, London, and Hong Kong, serving consumers, local councils, and event partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Underbelly industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Entertainment Production
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (71132)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Festival & Event Producers/Organizers (MPAIAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Event Operations & Venue Services (Box Office, FOH/BOH, Concessions) (MPAIAFAL), Concert Venue Operators (Arenas, Amphitheaters, Clubs) (MPAGAAAC), Nightclub & Small Live Venue Operations (Clubs, Bars with Stages) (MPAGALAF), Touring & Production Services (Staging, Lighting, Sound, Video) (MPAIAFAF), Temporary Structures (Truss Roofs, Tents, Barricades) (MPAGAKAK)
Keywords
Where Underbelly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Underbelly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Primary revenue from selling tickets to festivals (Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh's Christmas, Edinburgh's Hogmanay), live shows, and events across multiple venues including their own venues and partner locations
- Bar & Food Services: Experienced team supplying bars and food at festivals and events, including Underbelly's own venues like Underbelly Boulevard with Cafe Kitty restaurant
- Venue Operations: Operation of permanent venue Underbelly Boulevard in Soho, London, and pop-up venues at festivals with fully integrated production services
- Production Services: Fully integrated event production service for major public events including technical event production, design, and execution
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sophie’s Surprise 29th - Stall Seats |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Edinburgh Festival Fringe Shows |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Underbelly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Underbelly produces and operates live entertainment festivals, ticketed shows and cultural events across London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong. The company delivers fully integrated event production services spanning technical production, marketing, ticketing, press, operations, programming and venue management, including contracted public event productions for city councils and brand partners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Underbelly Boulevard: Permanent venue in the heart of Soho, London, hosting world-class entertainment
- Underbelly Festival
- Edinburgh's Christmas
- Edinburgh's Hogmanay
- Udderbelly Festival Hong Kong
Products and services
- Edinburgh's Christmas Multi-week Christmas festival produced for the City of Edinburgh Council featuring Christmas markets, attractions, rides, ice, and light experiences across multiple Edinburgh city-centre sites; targeted at domestic and international visitors during the festive season.
- Edinburgh's Hogmanay World-famous New Year celebration produced for City of Edinburgh Council, including Torchlight Procession, Street Party, and other Hogmanay events drawing international audiences from dozens of countries.
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe Shows One of the largest operations at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, programming more than 200 shows annually across 22 venues over 25 days and selling more than 460,000 tickets (2019 reference). Targeted at festival audiences seeking theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus, and family shows.
- Underbelly Festival London London's original pop-up festival featuring circus, cabaret, comedy and family entertainment staged on the South Bank and at other pop-up London sites.
- Udderbelly Festival Hong Kong International festival on Hong Kong's waterfront featuring shows from Edinburgh Fringe and the UK alongside local Hong Kong talent in circus, dance, music, comedy and cabaret.
- Underbelly Boulevard Venue Underbelly's first permanent venue in the heart of Soho, London, hosting world-class entertainment programming year-round together with on-site bar and food partner Cafe Kitty.
- Sophie's Surprise 29th Five-star, critically acclaimed circus party show produced by Underbelly and Three Legged Race Productions, featuring international circus performers; staged at Underbelly Boulevard in Soho, London.
- Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Major West End production of Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre (Kit Kat Club) starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, directed by Rebecca Frecknall and designed by Tom Scutt; received 11 Olivier Award nominations in 2022.
- Five Guys Named Moe Olivier-nominated West End and Broadway musical revival produced by Underbelly in association with Cameron Mackintosh at the purpose-built Marble Arch Theatre in London, running for 30 weeks.
- Event Production Services Fully integrated event production service covering technical production, design, and execution for major public events such as West End Live in Trafalgar Square (for Westminster City Council and Society of London Theatre); targeted at city councils, sponsors, brands and cultural-sector clients needing turnkey delivery.
- Bar & Food Services Experienced in-house team supplying bars and food at Underbelly's festivals and venues, including Cafe Kitty restaurant at Underbelly Boulevard in partnership with Kitty Fisher's Group.
- StreetEat Outdoor food and drink pop-up series across London featuring independent street food traders, open-air bars, and free live entertainment, including sites at South Bank and Wimbledon Park.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.7 million tickets sold annually across all events
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Underbelly
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Underbelly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Underbelly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Johnnie WalkercoreJohnnie Walker returned as sponsor of Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party. Each ticket holder over 18 received a welcome Johnnie Walker Premix Highball Cocktail. Johnnie Walker Bothy Bar on the Mound serving Johnnie Walker Hot Apple Toddy at Edinburgh's Christmas.
- VisitScotlandcoreVisitScotland partnered on Torchlight Procession as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations, providing EventScotland's International Events Programme support
- City of Edinburgh CouncilcoreUnderbelly has produced Edinburgh's Christmas on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council since 2013, and Edinburgh's Hogmanay since 2017. Major multi-year contractual relationship.
- Scottish GovernmentcorePartner through PLACE fund and Edinburgh Festivals EXPO Fund for Edinburgh's Hogmanay and Hogmanay programming
- Creative ScotlandcoreFunding partner through Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals EXPO Fund for Hogmanay programming
- OneCity TrustminorOfficial charity partner of Edinburgh's Christmas. 50p from each Torchlight Procession ticket donated. Raised nearly £30,000 from Edinburgh's Christmas and Hogmanay events. Edinburgh's Christmas official social inclusion charity partner.
- The Trussell TrustminorFood bank donation partner for Edinburgh's Christmas. Donation point located at Christmas Market. 6,000 free tickets donated to Trussell Trust food banks.
- Three Legged Race ProductionscoreCo-producers of Sophie's Surprise 29th show transferred from Edinburgh Fringe to Underbelly Boulevard. Three Legged Race Productions comprises cast members Katharine Arnold, Nathan Price and Isis Clegg-Vinell.
- Kitty Fishers GroupcoreCafe Kitty restaurant partner at Underbelly Boulevard, providing food and cocktails for venue guests including Sophie's Surprise 29th performances
- Westminster City CouncilcoreUnderbelly produces West End Live in Trafalgar Square for Westminster City Council and Society of London Theatre
- Forest CarbonminorEnvironmental partnership for Edinburgh's Hogmanay 2019 - first Edinburgh Festival to invite audiences to carbon offset their journey. Donations used to create new woodlands in Scotland.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Underbelly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- AEG Presents: Global live entertainment promoter and venue operator with significant UK presence (including BST Hyde Park); comparable to Underbelly as a promoter-plus-venue operator, though materially larger and broader in scope.
- Live Nation UK: UK arm of the global Live Nation live entertainment group; competes with Underbelly across concert promotion and festival operation but at vastly greater scale and as part of a worldwide portfolio rather than a specialist festival brand.
- Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG): Major UK theatre and venue operator running West End and regional venues; comparable to Underbelly Boulevard as a venue operator with integrated ticketing, F&B and productions such as Cabaret-adjacent West End content.
Direct peers
- Festival Republic: UK festival promoter and producer behind Reading, Leeds, Wireless and Latitude; directly comparable to Underbelly as a UK-headquartered festival producer operating multi-stage outdoor events with integrated production and ticketing.
- DHP Family: UK independent promoter and venue operator running Rock City, Rescue Rooms and festivals; comparable to Underbelly as an integrated promoter-plus-venue operator with a mix of owned venues and festival production.
- Kilimanjaro Live: UK independent concert and festival promoter (Download, Bloodstock, Rockstar); comparable to Underbelly as a UK-based mid-sized live events producer competing for talent, venues and sponsors in the festival market.
- Cuffe & Taylor: UK outdoor concert and events promoter (Heritage Live series, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium shows); comparable to Underbelly as a UK live entertainment producer focused on large-scale outdoor events and public-sector contracts.
- Gilded Balloon: Edinburgh Fringe venue operator and comedy/entertainment producer; a direct Fringe competitor to Underbelly for performers, audiences and physical venues at the world's largest arts festival.
- Assembly Festival: Major Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue operator and programme producer; directly competes with Underbelly at the Fringe on venue space, shows and audience share in the same 25-day August window.
Emerging players
- IMG Artists: Global performing arts management and festival producer; comparable to Underbelly on the artist-representation and festival production side, particularly around classical, circus and crossover live programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Underbelly social profiles
Digital presenceUnderbelly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Underbelly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Underbelly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Underbelly 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 Underbelly
What does Underbelly do?
Underbelly produces and operates live entertainment festivals, ticketed shows and cultural events across London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong. The company delivers fully integrated event production services spanning technical production, marketing, ticketing, press, operations, programming and venue management, including contracted public event productions for city councils and brand partners.
Is Underbelly a public or private company?
Underbelly is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Underbelly founded?
Underbelly was founded in 2000. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Underbelly based?
Underbelly is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Underbelly make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are bar & Food Services, venue Operations and production Services.
Who are Underbelly's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are AEG Presents, Live Nation UK and Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). Direct peers are Festival Republic, DHP Family, Kilimanjaro Live, Cuffe & Taylor, Gilded Balloon and Assembly Festival. IMG Artists is listed as an emerging player.
Does Underbelly have an API?
No public API is recorded for Underbelly.
What industry is Underbelly in?
Underbelly's product category is Live Entertainment Production. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAFAC, Festival & Event Producers/Organizers, with a secondary code of MPAIAFAL, Event Operations & Venue Services (Box Office, FOH/BOH, Concessions). Its NAICS code is 71131 and its SIC code is 7900.