Statistics of companies in UK
Companies population in North West
Number of companies in region North West is 1,172,209, which is 10.0% of all 11,678,681 companies in UK. North West is ranked 3th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 31/10/2025.
Companies location and business activity breakdown in North West
The region with the highest number of companies - 558,840 is Greater Manchester. Cumbria has the lowest number of companies - 45,183. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 15.5%, Science - 13.7% and Administrative - 11.1%.
Number of companies by county 1,172,209 companies with data in North West
Business activity overview 1,126,200 companies with data in North West
Industrial classification of companies in North West
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 - 6.2%, Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 5.0% and Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.5%.
Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 1,126,200 companies with data in North West
Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in North West
The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 9,418 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 10,176 companies were dissolved.
Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month North West
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Persons with significant control
in companies in North West
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 North West
The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In October 2025, there were 2,023 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are Norway, United States and Pakistan.
Top 10 countries with local PSCs North West
Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the North West
The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in November 2022 - 3.77%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 7.69% 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.
