Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 11,092,692 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 22/03/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,261,559 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 148,484. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.6%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.3%.

Number of companies by region 10,889,818 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,261,559
29.4%
South East
1,376,940
12.4%
North West
1,108,383
10.0%
East
969,423
8.7%
West Midlands
892,595
8.0%
South West
671,685
6.1%
Yorkshire and the Humber
645,506
5.8%
East Midlands
636,556
5.7%
Scotland
563,704
5.1%
Wales
419,305
3.8%
North East
195,678
1.8%
Northern Ireland
148,484
1.3%

Business activity overview 10,429,064 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,617,512
14.6%
Science
1,529,576
13.8%
Administrative
1,143,188
10.3%
Construction
1,038,480
9.4%
ICT
994,358
9.0%
Real Estate
833,796
7.5%
Service
628,516
5.7%
Accommodation
615,853
5.6%
Health
482,818
4.4%
Manufacturing
459,834
4.1%
Transportation
405,667
3.7%
Financial
355,270
3.2%
Dormant
347,605
3.1%
Arts
301,739
2.7%
Education
249,259
2.2%
Home
168,919
1.5%
Agriculture
66,390
0.6%
Water
35,289
0.3%
Energy
33,552
0.3%
Public
31,639
0.3%
Mining
21,116
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,803
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 - 4.9%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 10,429,064 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 98,653 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,935 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 February 2025, there were 40,458 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 - 11.94%. 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