Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 10,704,682 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 05/10/2024.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,160,909 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 142,084. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.3%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.4%.

Number of companies by region 10,506,985 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,160,909
29.5%
South East
1,337,895
12.5%
North West
1,068,731
10.0%
East
936,178
8.7%
West Midlands
858,266
8.0%
South West
654,726
6.1%
Yorkshire and the Humber
623,834
5.8%
East Midlands
616,392
5.8%
Scotland
545,057
5.1%
Wales
374,495
3.5%
North East
188,418
1.8%
Northern Ireland
142,084
1.3%

Business activity overview 10,047,367 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,532,634
14.3%
Science
1,479,648
13.8%
Administrative
1,109,377
10.4%
Construction
1,002,688
9.4%
ICT
957,863
8.9%
Real Estate
783,650
7.3%
Service
606,328
5.7%
Accommodation
584,762
5.5%
Health
465,204
4.3%
Manufacturing
445,649
4.2%
Transportation
390,290
3.6%
Dormant
342,116
3.2%
Financial
338,926
3.2%
Arts
289,436
2.7%
Education
237,000
2.2%
Home
163,309
1.5%
Agriculture
64,514
0.6%
Water
34,049
0.3%
Energy
32,760
0.3%
Public
30,169
0.3%
Mining
20,724
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,755
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 - 5.7%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.9% and Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.7%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 10,047,367 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 98,641 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,952 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month United Kingdom

Would you like to know more about the UK market?

Get access to data on 6M+ UK businesses and create your own visualizations, infographics, reports and presentations.

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 August 2024, there were 37,162 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Germany 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 - 11.79%. 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