Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in East Midlands

Number of companies in region East Midlands is 685,752, which is 5.8% of all 11,923,021 companies in UK. East Midlands is ranked 8th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 31/03/2026.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in East Midlands

The region with the highest number of companies - 165,986 is Leicestershire. Rutland has the lowest number of companies - 3,660. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 15.2%, Science - 12.8% and Construction - 10.6%.

Number of companies by county 685,752 companies with data in East Midlands

Leicestershire
165,986
24.2%
Nottinghamshire
142,916
20.8%
Northamptonshire
132,117
19.3%
Lincolnshire
120,752
17.6%
Derbyshire
120,321
17.5%
Rutland
3,660
0.5%

Business activity overview 662,727 companies with data in East Midlands

Wholesale, retail
103,965
15.2%
Science
87,844
12.8%
Construction
72,569
10.6%
Administrative
68,428
10.0%
Real Estate
53,990
7.9%
ICT
46,241
6.7%
Transportation
43,630
6.4%
Accommodation
41,632
6.1%
Health
36,479
5.3%
Service
36,171
5.3%
Manufacturing
36,107
5.3%
Financial
20,121
2.9%
Dormant
18,149
2.6%
Arts
17,770
2.6%
Education
15,870
2.3%
Home
7,202
1.1%
Agriculture
5,797
0.8%
Water
2,408
0.4%
Public
2,116
0.3%
Energy
1,471
0.2%
Mining
732
0.1%
Extraterritorial
90
0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in East Midlands

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 - 5.6%, Other business support service - 4.5% and Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.5%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 662,727 companies with data in East Midlands

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in East Midlands

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 5,239 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 6,070 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month East Midlands

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Persons with significant control
in companies in East Midlands

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 Midlands

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In January 2026, there were 1,207 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are United States, Pakistan and France.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs East Midlands

Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the East Midlands

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in May 2023 - 2.88%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 5.41% 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 East Midlands