Statistics of companies in UK
Companies population in South East
Number of companies in region South East is 1,459,215, which is 12.2% of all 11,923,021 companies in UK. South East is ranked 2nd 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 South East
The region with the highest number of companies - 259,944 is Hampshire. Medway has the lowest number of companies - 42,560. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 16.4%, Wholesale, retail - 11.9% and ICT - 10.7%.
Number of companies by county 1,459,215 companies with data in South East
Business activity overview 1,405,300 companies with data in South East
Industrial classification of companies in South 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 - 6.4%, Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate - 5.1% and Other business support service - 5.1%.
Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 1,405,300 companies with data in South East
Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in South East
The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 9,367 in in April 2024. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 11,629 companies were dissolved.
Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month South East
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Persons with significant control
in companies in South 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 South East
The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is United States. In January 2026, there were 1,762 companies with at least one PCS from United States. Other popular countries are China, Hungary and Germany.
Top 10 countries with local PSCs South East
Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the South East
The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in May 2021 - 1.93%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 5.88% was in August 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.
