Statistics of companies in UK
Companies population in East
Number of companies in region East is 1,041,334, which is 8.7% of all 11,923,022 companies in UK. East is ranked 4th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 28/02/2026.
Companies location and business activity breakdown in East
The region with the highest number of companies - 324,266 is Essex. Norfolk has the lowest number of companies - 94,882. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 14.4%, Wholesale, retail - 13.2% and Construction - 11.5%.
Number of companies by county 1,041,334 companies with data in East
Business activity overview 998,484 companies with data in East
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 letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 5.2% and Other business support service - 4.9%.
Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 998,484 companies with data in East
Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in East
The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 7,469 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 8,183 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 January 2026, there were 2,411 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 September 2025 - 3.03%. 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.
