Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 11,374,299 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 28/06/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,337,332 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 152,397. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.8%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.3%.

Number of companies by region 11,166,620 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,337,332
29.3%
South East
1,405,463
12.4%
North West
1,139,601
10.0%
East
993,722
8.7%
West Midlands
920,744
8.1%
South West
684,738
6.0%
Yorkshire and the Humber
661,921
5.8%
East Midlands
651,036
5.7%
Scotland
577,943
5.1%
Wales
440,499
3.9%
North East
201,224
1.8%
Northern Ireland
152,397
1.3%

Business activity overview 10,703,478 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,679,681
14.8%
Science
1,566,363
13.8%
Administrative
1,168,666
10.3%
Construction
1,063,898
9.4%
ICT
1,022,770
9.0%
Real Estate
868,679
7.6%
Service
644,526
5.7%
Accommodation
638,479
5.6%
Health
495,711
4.4%
Manufacturing
470,305
4.1%
Transportation
416,088
3.7%
Financial
366,913
3.2%
Dormant
351,251
3.1%
Arts
311,601
2.7%
Education
258,776
2.3%
Home
172,710
1.5%
Agriculture
67,854
0.6%
Water
36,163
0.3%
Energy
34,142
0.3%
Public
32,646
0.3%
Mining
21,435
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,844
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 - 5.0% and Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.9%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 10,703,478 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 May 2025, there were 43,630 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 - 11.97%. 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