Division 58 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 5 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
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.
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.
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.
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