Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 11,024,893 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 15/02/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,243,496 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 147,478. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.5%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.3%.

Number of companies by region 10,822,797 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,243,496
29.4%
South East
1,370,437
12.4%
North West
1,100,983
10.0%
East
963,554
8.7%
West Midlands
885,926
8.0%
South West
668,792
6.1%
Yorkshire and the Humber
642,374
5.8%
East Midlands
633,145
5.7%
Scotland
560,148
5.1%
Wales
412,126
3.7%
North East
194,338
1.8%
Northern Ireland
147,478
1.3%

Business activity overview 10,362,313 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,603,034
14.5%
Science
1,521,113
13.8%
Administrative
1,137,075
10.3%
Construction
1,031,872
9.4%
ICT
987,887
9.0%
Real Estate
824,787
7.5%
Service
624,570
5.7%
Accommodation
610,497
5.5%
Health
479,681
4.4%
Manufacturing
457,344
4.1%
Transportation
403,144
3.7%
Financial
352,542
3.2%
Dormant
346,617
3.1%
Arts
299,394
2.7%
Education
247,046
2.2%
Home
167,998
1.5%
Agriculture
66,015
0.6%
Water
35,044
0.3%
Energy
33,429
0.3%
Public
31,369
0.3%
Mining
21,044
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,796
0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in United Kingdom

The Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC code) is a system of classifying industries in UK by business activities. Each company can operate under multiple SIC codes. The top three business activities for the whole of the UK are Other business support service - 5.6%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.9% and Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.8%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 10,362,313 companies with data in United Kingdom

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in United Kingdom

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 98,652 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,937 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month United Kingdom

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Persons with significant control
in companies in United Kingdom

Persons with Significant Control (PSC) have been registered in Companies House since April 2016. PSC have various functions, e.g. ownership of shares or voting rights. In this section we analyse companies with at least one Person with Significant Control from a foreign country.

Top countries with local PSCs in companies in United Kingdom

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In January 2025, there were 39,777 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Turkey and Germany.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs United Kingdom

Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the United Kingdom

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in January 2023 - 11.93%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 7.76% was in November 2022. The low number of dissolutions in 2016 is the result of only a small number of companies registering their PSC in Company House in that year.

Percentage of companies with foreign persons (PSC) incorporated and dissolved each month United Kingdom