Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 9,593,442 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 03/06/2023.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 2,818,107 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 119,289. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 14.0%, Wholesale, retail - 13.1% and Administrative - 10.5%.

Number of companies by region 9,411,031 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
2,818,107
29.4%
South East
1,230,357
12.8%
North West
960,448
10.0%
East
846,162
8.8%
West Midlands
760,350
7.9%
South West
601,033
6.3%
Yorkshire and the Humber
560,810
5.8%
East Midlands
552,414
5.8%
Scotland
494,261
5.2%
Wales
298,071
3.1%
North East
169,729
1.8%
Northern Ireland
119,289
1.2%

Business activity overview 8,954,147 companies with data in United Kingdom

Science
1,346,742
14.0%
Wholesale, retail
1,255,470
13.1%
Administrative
1,003,676
10.5%
Construction
899,493
9.4%
ICT
856,517
8.9%
Real Estate
671,984
7.0%
Service
545,417
5.7%
Accommodation
504,968
5.3%
Health
415,566
4.3%
Manufacturing
398,408
4.2%
Transportation
351,033
3.7%
Dormant
323,945
3.4%
Financial
301,046
3.1%
Arts
259,464
2.7%
Education
206,670
2.2%
Home
149,419
1.6%
Agriculture
58,442
0.6%
Water
30,704
0.3%
Energy
29,937
0.3%
Public
25,436
0.3%
Mining
19,348
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,536
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 - 6.0%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.9% and Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.4%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 8,954,147 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 84,768 in in March 2023. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,991 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 2023, there were 25,710 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Germany and Channel Islands.

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 - 10.26%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 7.75% 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