Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 11,244,769 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 26/04/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,303,587 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 150,645. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.7%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.3%.

Number of companies by region 11,039,866 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,303,587
29.4%
South East
1,392,278
12.4%
North West
1,125,538
10.0%
East
982,908
8.7%
West Midlands
908,860
8.1%
South West
678,576
6.0%
Yorkshire and the Humber
654,806
5.8%
East Midlands
644,209
5.7%
Scotland
571,410
5.1%
Wales
428,303
3.8%
North East
198,746
1.8%
Northern Ireland
150,645
1.3%

Business activity overview 10,576,364 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,650,595
14.7%
Science
1,549,154
13.8%
Administrative
1,156,833
10.3%
Construction
1,052,450
9.4%
ICT
1,009,239
9.0%
Real Estate
851,973
7.6%
Service
637,153
5.7%
Accommodation
628,105
5.6%
Health
489,865
4.4%
Manufacturing
465,399
4.1%
Transportation
411,045
3.7%
Financial
361,582
3.2%
Dormant
349,627
3.1%
Arts
307,058
2.7%
Education
254,147
2.3%
Home
171,037
1.5%
Agriculture
67,205
0.6%
Water
35,742
0.3%
Energy
33,839
0.3%
Public
32,158
0.3%
Mining
21,299
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,818
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 - 5.5%, Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.9% and Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.9%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 10,576,364 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 98,656 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,929 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 March 2025, there were 41,539 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Turkey and Pakistan.

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 - 11.96%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 8.65% was in March 2025. 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