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Company and Business Insights

Intelligence and insights about the UK's 4,951,431 active companies, from a total of 10,155,839 company formations, and including details from 5,106,452 dissolved businesses. Over the last 12 months there have been 841,872 company formations and 650,925 separate companies have been struck off the Companies House register.

UK National Company Scorecard

10,155,839

Total Incorporations

4,951,431

Active Companies

5,106,452

Total Dissolved

UK Business Profile

The most common business sectors in the UK include the 761,203 companies working in wholesale and retail trade including repair of motor vehicles, 713,452 companies working in professional, scientific and technical activities, and 553,664 companies working in construction. The business sectors with the least activity include water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities with 17,653 active companies, public administration and defence; compulsory social security with 14,845 active companies, and mining and quarrying with 9,643 active companies.

Business Sector Current Active Companies Incorporated Total Dissolved Total
Wholesale and retail trade including repair of motor vehicles 761,203 1,510,519 724,010
Professional, scientific and technical activities 713,452 1,443,980 701,195
Construction 553,664 1,105,355 517,813
Real estate activities 535,765 755,490 208,423
Administrative and support service activities 508,218 1,456,599 914,979
Information and communication 463,508 1,040,222 556,173
Other service activities 291,873 638,180 336,558
Accommodation and food service activities 277,437 592,793 301,770
Human health and social work activities 252,088 465,496 208,873
Manufacturing 235,170 481,603 231,963
Financial and insurance activities 200,225 344,873 137,882
Transportation and storage 174,288 409,190 227,742
Arts, entertainment and recreation 157,069 309,286 147,178
Activities of households as employers 131,138 161,490 29,766
Education 128,240 239,041 107,758
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 41,950 66,395 23,478
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 18,034 33,089 14,552
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 17,653 36,006 17,475
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 14,845 30,049 14,824
Mining and Quarrying 9,643 22,954 12,730

UK Company Trends

Looking at the big changes in the UK's businesses over the last five years, the biggest increase was in other letting and operating of own or leased real estate now making up 6.88% of active businesses, a total of 340,682 companies. The next big increase was retail sale via mail order houses or via internet which now makes up 3.88% of active businesses in the UK, a change of 140% from the 1.61% percentage share seen in 2018. Buying and selling of own real estate also saw positive growth, currently representing 4.17% of the UK's active companies.

Notable changes in the UK's business sectors include a rise of 36% in wholesale and retail trade including repair of motor vehicles since 2018, a rise of 41% in real estate activities, and rise of 13% in accommodation and food service activities.

Company Type Current Active Businesses Incorporated Total Dissolved Total
Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 340,694 426,475 81,708
Management consultancy activities other than financial management 252,722 538,252 273,620
Other business support service activities 243,028 910,040 642,679
Buying and selling of own real estate 206,502 287,732 77,389
Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet 192,137 336,040 142,321
Other service activities 163,367 397,885 228,563
Information technology consultancy activities 161,712 373,737 204,290
Residents property management 128,044 152,427 23,960
Development of building projects 114,157 218,776 97,175
Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis 104,376 153,173 46,719
Construction of domestic buildings 99,352 169,746 67,304
Other human health activities 98,303 183,623 83,392
Other information technology service activities 86,260 218,403 126,445
Other professional, scientific and technical activities 82,644 166,159 80,586
Freight transport by road 82,356 195,883 110,793
Activities of other holding companies 80,905 102,520 20,385
Business and domestic software development 77,971 136,052 56,483
Take-away food shops and mobile food stands 73,438 151,769 76,578
Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets 66,517 138,743 70,690
Hairdressing and other beauty treatment 66,478 122,142 53,685

Company Names & Word Choices in the UK

The top 5 most popular words used by active companies registered in the UK are SERVICES, MANAGEMENT, UK, PROPERTY, and SOLUTIONS.

The UK's Oldest Companies

The oldest company in the UK is The Festiniog Railway Company at 191 years, 6 months, and 10 days old.

Company Name Business Incorporated Age
ZC000203
 		The Festiniog Railway Company Other retail sale in non-specialised stores 23 May 1832 191 years
00000118
 		Ashford Cattle Market Company Limited(The) Agents selling agricultural raw materials, livestock, textile raw materials and semi-finished goods 25 Sep 1856 167 years
00000121
 		Oriental Gas Company, Limited(The) Activities of head offices 26 Sep 1856 167 years
00000133
 		British India Steam Navigation Company Limited Sea and coastal freight water transport 29 Sep 1856 167 years
00000140
 		N & C Building Products Limited Manufacture of paints, varnishes and similar coatings, mastics and sealants 30 Sep 1856 167 years
00000452
 		Vernon Investments (1856) Limited Buying and selling of own real estate 03 Nov 1856 167 years
00000529
 		B.L.Holdings Limited Development of building projects 04 Nov 1856 167 years
00000871
 		Gresham House Plc Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified 14 May 1857 166 years
00001452
 		Rye Cattle Market Company Limited(The) Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 17 Feb 1859 164 years
00001955
 		Southsea Clarence Esplanade Pier Company Limited(The) Other service activities 14 Aug 1860 163 years
00002119
 		Bury Brewery Company,Limited(The) Public houses and bars 23 Jan 1861 162 years
00002404
 		Southampton Isle Of Wight And South Of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited Sea and coastal passenger water transport 10 Sep 1861 162 years
00002793
 		The Lower Norwood Co-Operative Building Company Limited Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 08 Aug 1862 161 years
00002877
 		Standard Chartered Africa Limited Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified 15 Oct 1862 161 years
00002920
 		Hastings And Saint Leonards Building And Investment Company Limited Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 01 Nov 1862 161 years
00000086
 		Kentstone Properties Limited Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 27 Nov 1862 161 years
00000295
 		Methodist Newspaper Company Limited Publishing of newspapers 13 Mar 1863 160 years
00000537
 		Reigate Investment Company Limited (The) Buying and selling of own real estate 16 Jul 1863 160 years
00000687
 		British Indian Tea Company Limited Activities of head offices 10 Oct 1863 160 years
00000866
 		Staveley Industries Limited Activities of head offices 29 Dec 1863 159 years

The UK's Most Common Company Addresses

Counting the number of companies registered at each address in the UK, we have found that the top 10 addresses have 222,874 active businesses registered at them.

Addresss Postcode Active Companies
128 City Road EC1V 2NX 33,766
86-90 Paul Street EC2A 4NE 17,427
71-75 Shelton Street WC2H 9JQ 12,302
71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9JQ 72,912
124 City Road EC1V 2NX 9,234
7 Bell Yard WC2A 2JR 9,058
27 Old Gloucester Street WC1N 3AX 15,977
20 Wenlock Road N1 7GU 7,644
291 Brighton Road CR2 6EQ 8,236
20-22 Wenlock Road N1 7GU 36,318

Businesses Statistics by County

We have collected business information and formation statistics, broken down by historic county for comparison purposes.

Historic County Companies Incorporated Active Companies Dissolved
Aberdeenshire 11,424 5,571 5,838
Angus 6,291 2,997 3,285
Antrim 45,667 28,234 16,507
Argyll and Bute 2,206 1,290 913
Armagh 4,876 3,209 1,643
Ayrshire and Arran 21,715 10,126 11,479
Banffshire 2,036 986 1,049
Bedfordshire 101,476 51,539 49,737
Berkshire 173,404 84,607 87,976
Berwickshire 455 226 228
Bristol 80,031 38,817 40,210
Buckinghamshire 184,085 91,089 90,411
Caithness 820 443 376
Cambridgeshire 118,177 61,392 56,247
Cheshire 181,872 86,193 94,873
City of Aberdeen 30,996 12,323 18,138
City of Dundee 15,407 7,254 7,365
City of Edinburgh 72,286 33,324 38,182
City of Glasgow 103,436 46,030 55,220
Clackmannan 2,797 1,211 1,553
Clwyd 41,000 21,292 19,635
Cornwall 45,355 25,480 19,620
Cumbria 42,401 22,579 19,681
Derbyshire 105,717 55,039 49,999
Devon 107,812 58,884 47,808
Dorset 118,222 61,260 56,433
Down 21,915 12,975 8,829
Dumfries 3,435 1,915 1,504
Dunbartonshire 18,706 8,829 9,853
Durham 62,777 31,292 30,267
Dyfed 27,522 15,675 11,784
East Lothian 5,772 2,924 2,827
East Riding of Yorkshire 58,613 29,621 28,501
East Sussex 128,128 64,418 62,509
Essex 286,281 145,957 136,963
Fermanagh 1,759 1,251 504
Fife 22,413 10,064 12,131
Gloucestershire 107,886 57,106 49,958
Greater Manchester 299,749 135,550 156,440
Gwent 63,532 29,939 33,215
Gwynedd 11,373 6,542 4,809
Hampshire 240,439 117,823 119,182
Herefordshire 23,591 14,530 8,851
Hertfordshire 240,566 116,619 121,691
Inverness 7,270 3,727 3,524
Isle of Wight 11,142 6,202 4,904
Kent 252,325 129,837 120,695
Kincardineshire 3,533 1,580 1,931
Lanarkshire 45,687 22,184 23,414
Lancashire 185,963 90,807 91,792
Leicestershire 147,901 70,260 74,685
Lincolnshire 102,110 52,821 48,705
London 2,938,724 1,413,615 1,501,533
Londonderry 9,514 6,193 3,241
Merseyside 171,930 77,077 93,099
Mid Glamorgan 34,699 15,268 19,291
Midlothian 5,340 2,773 2,556
Moray 3,213 1,719 1,491
Nairn 1,296 481 808
Norfolk 87,074 45,893 38,268
North Yorkshire 122,377 62,832 58,616
Northamptonshire 110,464 54,182 55,555
Northumberland 22,772 12,163 10,571
Nottinghamshire 111,973 56,382 54,304
Orkney 119 73 46
Oxfordshire 87,441 47,729 39,403
Perth and Kinross 8,038 4,275 3,751
Powys 9,431 5,560 3,858
Renfrewshire 27,102 12,522 14,332
Ross and Cromarty 3,637 1,656 1,978
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale 3,622 2,049 1,563
Rutland 3,633 1,969 1,662
Shetland 687 453 234
Shropshire 60,067 33,381 26,488
Somerset 106,081 57,641 47,717
South Glamorgan 202,365 87,928 113,025
South Yorkshire 145,781 68,731 74,264
Staffordshire 124,813 64,672 59,270
Stirling and Falkirk 17,761 8,330 9,381
Suffolk 83,414 48,364 34,825
Surrey 183,226 92,090 90,376
Sutherland 325 187 138
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright 528 260 265
Tweeddale 996 515 478
Tyne & Wear 99,055 47,187 50,073
Tyrone 5,358 3,536 1,753
Warwickshire 79,947 40,417 39,118
West Glamorgan 52,309 24,368 26,478
West Lothian 11,636 5,484 6,127
West Midlands 475,195 213,233 256,665
West Sussex 163,884 55,052 108,418
West Yorkshire 295,941 138,010 153,200
Western Isles 833 520 311
Wigtown 241 126 115
Wiltshire 86,067 41,666 43,516
Worcestershire 97,204 43,313 52,857

Businesses Statistics by Region of the UK

UK Region Companies Incorporated Active Companies Dissolved
East Midlands 581,798 290,653 284,910
East of England 916,988 469,764 437,731
London 2,938,724 1,413,615 1,501,533
North East 184,604 90,642 90,911
North West 881,915 412,206 455,885
Northern Ireland 89,089 55,398 32,477
Scotland 462,059 214,427 242,384
South East 1,424,074 688,847 723,874
South West 651,454 340,854 305,262
Wales 442,231 206,572 232,095
West Midlands 860,817 409,546 443,249
Yorkshire and The Humber 622,712 299,194 314,581

Last updated: 03 Dec 2023 07:50