Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in East

Number of companies in region East is 976,472, which is 8.7% of all 11,170,551 companies in UK. East is ranked 4th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 31/03/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in East

The region with the highest number of companies - 305,701 is Essex. Norfolk has the lowest number of companies - 88,654. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 14.4%, Wholesale, retail - 12.9% and Construction - 11.6%.

Number of companies by county 976,472 companies with data in East

Essex
305,701
31.3%
Hertfordshire
246,741
25.3%
Cambridgeshire
123,669
12.7%
Bedfordshire
117,390
12.0%
Suffolk
94,317
9.7%
Norfolk
88,654
9.1%

Business activity overview 933,988 companies with data in East

Science
140,513
14.4%
Wholesale, retail
125,774
12.9%
Construction
112,876
11.6%
Administrative
98,744
10.1%
ICT
88,974
9.1%
Real Estate
74,491
7.6%
Service
52,329
5.4%
Accommodation
48,044
4.9%
Health
47,377
4.9%
Manufacturing
42,298
4.3%
Transportation
42,114
4.3%
Dormant
28,454
2.9%
Financial
28,214
2.9%
Arts
26,304
2.7%
Education
21,015
2.2%
Home
17,671
1.8%
Agriculture
7,192
0.7%
Water
3,534
0.4%
Public
2,864
0.3%
Energy
2,171
0.2%
Mining
1,561
0.2%
Extraterritorial
196
0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in East

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 Management consultancy exl. financial - 5.4%, Other business support service - 5.0% and Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.9%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 933,988 companies with data in East

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in East

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 7,426 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 9,084 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month East

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Persons with significant control
in companies in East

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 East

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In March 2025, there were 1,606 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Pakistan and France.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs East

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

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in March 2025 - 2.60%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 8.33% was in October 2016. 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 East