Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in United Kingdom

The following statistics consists of data of 10,575,505 companies registered in United Kingdom.
Last update of company data was on 20/07/2024.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in United Kingdom

The region with the highest number of companies - 3,127,272 is London. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of companies - 139,217. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 14.2%, Science - 13.8% and Administrative - 10.4%.

Number of companies by region 10,378,477 companies with data in United Kingdom

London
3,127,272
29.6%
South East
1,326,003
12.5%
North West
1,057,595
10.0%
East
925,443
8.8%
West Midlands
847,964
8.0%
South West
649,247
6.1%
Yorkshire and the Humber
617,175
5.8%
East Midlands
605,583
5.7%
Scotland
538,652
5.1%
Wales
357,912
3.4%
North East
186,414
1.8%
Northern Ireland
139,217
1.3%

Business activity overview 9,920,539 companies with data in United Kingdom

Wholesale, retail
1,503,225
14.2%
Science
1,463,279
13.8%
Administrative
1,098,080
10.4%
Construction
990,794
9.4%
ICT
945,891
8.9%
Real Estate
767,653
7.3%
Service
599,237
5.7%
Accommodation
574,803
5.4%
Health
459,427
4.3%
Manufacturing
440,732
4.2%
Transportation
385,639
3.6%
Dormant
340,484
3.2%
Financial
333,971
3.2%
Arts
285,616
2.7%
Education
232,989
2.2%
Home
161,513
1.5%
Agriculture
63,918
0.6%
Water
33,628
0.3%
Energy
32,440
0.3%
Public
29,581
0.3%
Mining
20,584
0.2%
Extraterritorial
3,733
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 9,920,539 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 98,631 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for October 2020 - 98,956 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 June 2024, there were 36,306 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 - 11.78%. 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