Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in Yorkshire and the Humber

Number of companies in region Yorkshire and the Humber is 650,379, which is 5.8% of all 11,170,551 companies in UK. Yorkshire and the Humber is ranked 7th 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 Yorkshire and the Humber

The region with the highest number of companies - 320,849 is West Yorkshire. Kingston-upon-Hull has the lowest number of companies - 25,359. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 15.2%, Science - 12.6% and Construction - 10.7%.

Number of companies by county 650,379 companies with data in Yorkshire and the Humber

West Yorkshire
320,849
49.3%
South Yorkshire
155,094
23.8%
North Yorkshire
113,235
17.4%
East Riding of Yorkshire
35,842
5.5%
Kingston-upon-Hull
25,359
3.9%

Business activity overview 624,360 companies with data in Yorkshire and the Humber

Wholesale, retail
98,836
15.2%
Science
81,882
12.6%
Construction
69,814
10.7%
Administrative
58,009
8.9%
Real Estate
48,151
7.4%
Accommodation
46,380
7.1%
ICT
41,573
6.4%
Manufacturing
33,925
5.2%
Service
32,750
5.0%
Health
32,648
5.0%
Transportation
29,807
4.6%
Dormant
21,475
3.3%
Financial
19,141
2.9%
Arts
16,953
2.6%
Education
14,218
2.2%
Home
7,962
1.2%
Agriculture
4,317
0.7%
Public
3,865
0.6%
Water
2,579
0.4%
Energy
1,534
0.2%
Mining
982
0.2%
Extraterritorial
153
0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in Yorkshire and the Humber

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 letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 5.0%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.1% and Other business support service - 3.9%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 624,360 companies with data in Yorkshire and the Humber

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in Yorkshire and the Humber

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 5,518 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 5,755 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month Yorkshire and the Humber

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Persons with significant control
in companies in Yorkshire and the Humber

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 Yorkshire and the Humber

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is Germany. In March 2025, there were 1,632 companies with at least one PCS from Germany. Other popular countries are Netherlands, China and United States.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs Yorkshire and the Humber

Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the Yorkshire and the Humber

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in June 2017 - 3.41%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 8.62% was in May 2020. 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 Yorkshire and the Humber