Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in Wales

Number of companies in region Wales is 223,525, which is 2.9% of all 7,626,767 companies in UK. Wales is ranked 10th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 31/12/2020.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in Wales

The region with the highest number of companies - 56,180 is Cardiff. Blaenau Gwent has the lowest number of companies - 2,616. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 13.8%, Construction - 11.6% and Wholesale, retail - 11.0%.

Number of companies by county 223,525 companies with data in Wales

Cardiff

56,180

25.1%

Swansea

18,324

8.2%

Rhondda Cynon Taff

14,538

6.5%

Newport

13,330

6.0%

Flintshire

12,804

5.7%

Carmarthenshire

10,148

4.5%

Bridgend

9,171

4.1%

The Vale of Glamorgan

8,249

3.7%

Pembrokeshire

8,127

3.6%

Caerphilly

7,948

3.6%

Wrexham

7,785

3.5%

Powys

7,599

3.4%

Monmouthshire

7,434

3.3%

Denbighshire

7,209

3.2%

Conwy

6,281

2.8%

Gwynedd

5,926

2.7%

Neath Port Talbot

5,882

2.6%

Torfaen

4,398

2.0%

Ceredigion

3,682

1.6%

Merthyr Tydfil

3,062

1.4%

Isle of Anglesey

2,832

1.3%

Blaenau Gwent

2,616

1.2%

Business activity overview 211,753 companies with data in Wales

Science

30,821

13.8%

Construction

25,824

11.6%

Wholesale, retail

24,547

11.0%

Administrative

21,525

9.6%

ICT

15,805

7.1%

Accommodation

14,587

6.5%

Manufacturing

13,266

5.9%

Real Estate

12,367

5.5%

Service

11,303

5.1%

Transportation

10,976

4.9%

Health

8,429

3.8%

Dormant

7,915

3.5%

Arts

7,372

3.3%

Financial

6,357

2.8%

Education

4,714

2.1%

Agriculture

2,412

1.1%

Home

2,412

1.1%

Water

1,099

0.5%

Energy

960

0.4%

Mining

458

0.2%

Public

420

0.2%

Extraterritorial

0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in Wales

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 - 5.3%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 3.7% and Dormant - 3.7%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 211,753 companies with data in Wales

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in Wales

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 2,670 in in August 2016. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for January 2018 - 3,425 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month Wales

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Persons with significant control
in companies in Wales

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 Wales

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In November 2020, there were 497 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are Germany, United States and Norway.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs Wales

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

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in August 2019 - 3.91%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 7.72% was in April 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.