Straight answers to the questions Ealing business owners ask most, from finding local customers to claiming rate relief. If your question is not here, get in touch and we will add it.
Last reviewed 11 October 2026. Business rates figures checked against GOV.UK.
The Ealing Business Network runs free, informal networking across the borough: coffee mornings, breakfast networking, and co-work and connect sessions where you can work alongside other local business owners. There is no membership fee to attend and no obligation to pitch.
Upcoming dates are on our events page. Most sessions are in and around Ealing Broadway, with others across the borough.
Search the Ealing business directory. It lists local businesses by category, covering accounting and finance, marketing, design, IT, trades and home services, health and wellbeing, coaching, photography, property, food and drink, and more.
Every listing is a real business operating in or around the borough, so you are not sorting through national chains or lead generation sites to find someone local.
Three things do most of the work for a small local business.
Being listed in more than one credible place matters more than any single listing. Search engines and AI tools cross-check what they find, and consistent details across several sources build confidence.
The London Borough of Ealing, and the businesses immediately around it. That includes Ealing and West Ealing, Acton, Southall, Hanwell, Greenford, Northolt, Perivale and Park Royal.
Plenty of our members work across west London more widely, and some trade online only. If you are based in the borough or serve customers here, you belong in the directory.
Usually not, but it depends on how you use the space. If you work from a room that is still part of your home, you normally pay council tax only. If part of your property is used solely for business, for example a converted outbuilding or a shop with a flat above, that part may be assessed for business rates separately.
The Valuation Office Agency decides this, not the council. If you are unsure, check with Ealing Council’s business rates team on 020 8825 7020 or at [email protected].
You apply to Ealing Council. As of August 2026 the thresholds are:
You qualify if you use one property with a rateable value under £15,000, or several where none is above £2,899 and the total is under £28,000.
Check the current rules and apply on Ealing Council’s small business rate relief page, because these figures are reviewed regularly. The thresholds above match GOV.UK’s small business rate relief page as at 11 October 2026.
Ealing Council signposts business support through its business support pages, including rate relief and links to national schemes on GOV.UK. The council also runs a community support directory at dosomethinggood.org.uk.
Alongside that, the Ealing Business Network offers the practical, peer level support that is harder to find: other owners who have solved the problem you are looking at, referrals between members, and free guidance on getting found online. Our resources section covers local SEO, websites, marketing and making networking pay.
Ealing has a mix of co-working spaces, cafes that welcome laptop workers, and library and community spaces. Search the directory for co-working and workspace listings.
We also run free co-work and connect sessions, where you get a few hours of focused work alongside other local business owners and a reason to talk to people afterwards. Details are on the events page.
Use the add your business form. A free listing takes a few minutes and needs only your business name, a short description, a category and a way for customers to reach you.
You do not need a shop or an office. If you work from home or trade online, tick the online only option and your address stays private while your business still appears in the right area.
Yes. A free listing gets you into the directory with your business name, description, category, phone number and website, and it is found by name and category in search.
Paid tiers add more: a logo and photo gallery, a link to your Google reviews, opening hours, social links, services and prices, and for Spotlight Members a badge, a video, special offers, testimonials and FAQs on your own profile. Full detail is on the membership page.
If you run a business in Ealing and cannot find the answer here, send it to us. We would rather add it to this page than have you go looking elsewhere.
The whole London Borough of Ealing. There are pages for Ealing, West Ealing, Acton, Hanwell, Southall, Greenford, Northolt and Perivale, or see all the areas we cover.
You can also read about the network or come to one of our free networking events.