Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in North West

Number of companies in region North West is 1,139,601, which is 10.1% of all 11,315,337 companies in UK. North West is ranked 3th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 30/06/2025.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in North West

The region with the highest number of companies - 541,516 is Greater Manchester. Cumbria has the lowest number of companies - 44,343. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Wholesale, retail - 15.3%, Science - 13.7% and Administrative - 11.2%.

Number of companies by county 1,139,601 companies with data in North West

Greater Manchester
541,516
47.5%
Lancashire
197,120
17.3%
Merseyside
183,083
16.1%
Cheshire
173,539
15.2%
Cumbria
44,343
3.9%

Business activity overview 1,093,409 companies with data in North West

Wholesale, retail
173,855
15.3%
Science
156,402
13.7%
Administrative
127,201
11.2%
Construction
106,535
9.3%
Real Estate
86,573
7.6%
ICT
82,457
7.2%
Accommodation
72,204
6.3%
Service
65,155
5.7%
Health
56,691
5.0%
Transportation
49,677
4.4%
Manufacturing
45,704
4.0%
Financial
32,075
2.8%
Dormant
30,090
2.6%
Arts
28,239
2.5%
Education
24,310
2.1%
Home
13,713
1.2%
Agriculture
5,481
0.5%
Water
3,968
0.3%
Public
3,046
0.3%
Energy
2,620
0.2%
Mining
1,243
0.1%
Extraterritorial
282
0.0%

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 - 6.3%, Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 4.9% and Management consultancy exl. financial - 4.4%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 1,093,409 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 9,338 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 10,177 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 May 2025, there were 1,677 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are Norway, Pakistan and United States.

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 - 3.69%. 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.

Percentage of companies with foreign persons (PSC) incorporated and dissolved each month North West