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Register data · updated monthly

How many companies is the UK forming?

The live tracker of UK company incorporations, built directly from the Companies House register and refreshed with every monthly snapshot.

Free to cite · Three CSVs · Method stated in full
The public record, this monthSnapshot 2026-10-01
68,638Incorporated in September 2026Most recent complete month
762,103Last 12 monthsOCT 2025 to SEP 2026
5,166,057Active UK companiesLive on the public record at 2026-10-01
-0.6%Latest month vs a year agoSEP 2026 against SEP 2025
Companies House Basic Company Data · Open Government Licence v3.0

Cite: 68,638 UK companies were incorporated in September 2026, and 762,103 over the last 12 months. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, register snapshot 2026-10-01. #

The trend

Incorporations per month, last 24 months

Hover any point for the exact figure. The month-to-month shape is real: formations dip every December and surge each spring, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier, not with the month before.

Incorporations per month24 months
80,00040,000Oct 24Apr 25Oct 25Apr 26Sep 26Oct 24: 41,334 incorporationsNov 24: 37,555 incorporationsDec 24: 32,069 incorporationsJan 25: 44,498 incorporationsFeb 25: 44,123 incorporationsMar 25: 50,731 incorporationsApr 25: 47,405 incorporationsMay 25: 45,098 incorporationsJun 25: 44,710 incorporationsJul 25: 63,133 incorporationsAug 25: 59,573 incorporationsSep 25: 69,053 incorporationsOct 25: 70,499 incorporationsNov 25: 56,198 incorporationsDec 25: 48,732 incorporationsJan 26: 68,890 incorporationsFeb 26: 58,665 incorporationsMar 26: 72,645 incorporationsApr 26: 66,448 incorporationsMay 26: 61,708 incorporationsJun 26: 63,112 incorporationsJul 26: 68,164 incorporationsAug 26: 58,404 incorporationsSep 26: 68,638 incorporations41,33472,64568,638

Cite: Monthly UK incorporation counts, Oct 24 to Sep 26. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-10-01. #

Where

Formations by region, last 12 months

Regions are assigned from the registered office postcode area, so London’s figure includes the many companies registered at London formation-agent addresses while trading elsewhere. That inflation is real and disclosed, not smoothed away: the registered office is what the public record actually says.

Incorporations, last 12 months13 regions
  1. LondonLondon: 278,183 incorporations, last 12 months278,183
  2. North WestNorth West: 81,159 incorporations, last 12 months81,159
  3. South EastSouth East: 74,081 incorporations, last 12 months74,081
  4. West MidlandsWest Midlands: 60,248 incorporations, last 12 months60,248
  5. East of EnglandEast of England: 54,394 incorporations, last 12 months54,394
  6. Yorkshire and the HumberYorkshire and the Humber: 45,940 incorporations, last 12 months45,940
  7. ScotlandScotland: 39,378 incorporations, last 12 months39,378
  8. South WestSouth West: 38,196 incorporations, last 12 months38,196
  9. East MidlandsEast Midlands: 33,598 incorporations, last 12 months33,598
  10. WalesWales: 20,621 incorporations, last 12 months20,621
  11. North EastNorth East: 19,132 incorporations, last 12 months19,132
  12. Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland: 9,716 incorporations, last 12 months9,716
  13. Crown dependenciesCrown dependencies: 571 incorporations, last 12 months571

Cite: UK company formations by region over the last 12 months, from registered-office postcodes. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-10-01. #

What

Formations by industry section, last 12 months

Sections are the top tier of the SIC 2007 system; each new company files at least one code at incorporation. The twelve largest sections are shown; 10,613 new companies filed no usable code. For any single industry, every code has its own page in the SIC code library with live company counts.

Incorporations, last 12 months12 largest sections
  1. Wholesale and retail tradeWholesale and retail trade: 147,367 incorporations, last 12 months147,367
  2. Information and communicationInformation and communication: 84,184 incorporations, last 12 months84,184
  3. Professional, scientific and technicalProfessional, scientific and technical: 78,018 incorporations, last 12 months78,018
  4. Real estateReal estate: 77,459 incorporations, last 12 months77,459
  5. ConstructionConstruction: 67,888 incorporations, last 12 months67,888
  6. Accommodation and food serviceAccommodation and food service: 54,485 incorporations, last 12 months54,485
  7. Administrative and support servicesAdministrative and support services: 44,750 incorporations, last 12 months44,750
  8. Financial and insuranceFinancial and insurance: 34,053 incorporations, last 12 months34,053
  9. Health and social workHealth and social work: 27,255 incorporations, last 12 months27,255
  10. Transportation and storageTransportation and storage: 27,073 incorporations, last 12 months27,073
  11. ManufacturingManufacturing: 26,865 incorporations, last 12 months26,865
  12. Other service activitiesOther service activities: 26,300 incorporations, last 12 months26,300

Cite: UK company formations by SIC 2007 section, last 12 months, first-position codes. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-10-01. #

Post towns

Where new companies register, town by town

The fifteen post towns with the most incorporations in the last 12 months. City-level company data, including established companies, lives on the companies by city pages.

Post townRelative sizeIncorporations, last 12 months
LondonLondon: 198,794 incorporations, last 12 months198,794
ManchesterManchester: 20,088 incorporations, last 12 months20,088
BirminghamBirmingham: 16,543 incorporations, last 12 months16,543
GlasgowGlasgow: 10,921 incorporations, last 12 months10,921
LiverpoolLiverpool: 7,677 incorporations, last 12 months7,677
LeedsLeeds: 7,314 incorporations, last 12 months7,314
LeicesterLeicester: 6,923 incorporations, last 12 months6,923
BristolBristol: 6,616 incorporations, last 12 months6,616
NottinghamNottingham: 6,253 incorporations, last 12 months6,253
EdinburghEdinburgh: 6,000 incorporations, last 12 months6,000
IlfordIlford: 5,228 incorporations, last 12 months5,228
SheffieldSheffield: 4,987 incorporations, last 12 months4,987
BradfordBradford: 4,681 incorporations, last 12 months4,681
CoventryCoventry: 4,603 incorporations, last 12 months4,603
WolverhamptonWolverhampton: 4,205 incorporations, last 12 months4,205

London is 198,794 of the top fifteen, against 20,088 for Manchester behind it, so on one scale the other fourteen towns are slivers. Taking it out of the scale leaves it in the data: it is the registered office talking, the same distortion the region chart carries.

Cite: Top UK post towns by company incorporations, last 12 months. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-10-01. #

Watch · 1:23

A year on the public record, narrated

The tracker’s headline year in eighty-three seconds: the forty-second rhythm, the London asterisk, and the industry mix. Every figure spoken is on this page, with its citation anchor. There is a full write-up and transcript.

Use this data

Downloads, embeds and citation

Every figure on this page is free to cite with a link, the underlying data is downloadable below, and the method is stated in full, including what a live-register count can and cannot say.

Download

Download the CSVs

The exact data behind every chart, refreshed with the tracker. Open Government Licence v3.0; free for any use including commercial, with attribution.

Embed

Embed the counter

A small counter of active UK companies, from each month's snapshot, free to embed. Copy both lines: the iframe and the visible credit link beneath it.

<iframe src="https://leadistry.co.uk/embed/register-counter" width="320" height="120" style="border:0" title="UK company register counter"></iframe>
<a href="https://leadistry.co.uk/reports/uk-company-formations">UK company formation statistics, by Leadistry</a>
Citation

Citation policy

Every figure is free to quote with a link to this page. No permission needed, and no attribution beyond the link.

Journalists and researchers

We run the full register and can cut these numbers by any sector, place or period on request, free, usually same-day. Details on the press page.

Method

How these numbers are made

Three questions, answered in full. Open any of them; nothing here is a summary of something held back.

Where does the data come from?

Source. Companies House Basic Company Data monthly snapshot (2026-10-01), Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts are companies still on the live register, so older months slightly undercount (companies incorporated then and since dissolved are absent); recent months are effectively exact. The snapshot is published free by Companies House under the Open Government Licence; our data sources page covers the wider provenance.

Why do older months read slightly low?

The survivorship caveat, stated plainly. The snapshot lists companies alive on the public record today. A company incorporated 20 months ago and since dissolved is not in it, so older months slightly undercount their true formation totals. Recent months are effectively exact, and the trend shape is unaffected. National statistics that count filings at the time they happen, like ONS business demography, will therefore read slightly higher for older periods; both are correct about different questions.

How are regions, industries and time windows defined?

Regions. Postcode area of the registered office, mapped to the region holding the area's centre; Greater-London-boundary areas are filed under London. Industries. First-position SIC code joined to its SIC 2007 section. Windows. monthly = last 24 full months to 2026-09; splits = last 12 full months.

Answers

Questions this page gets asked

How many companies are formed in the UK each month?

68,638 in September 2026, the most recent complete month, and 762,103 over the last 12 months. The monthly chart above carries the full 24-month series.

How many companies are there in the UK in total?

5,166,057 active companies as of the 2026-10-01 snapshot. Our small business count guide explains how that register figure relates to the ONS business population, which also counts unregistered sole traders.

Which industries are growing fastest?

By raw formation volume, the section chart above answers directly. For churn rather than volume, our guides to openings and closures and survival rates by industry carry the fuller picture.

Can I get this data for one sector or town?

Yes. The SIC library holds per-industry counts, the city pages hold per-place counts, and for anything bespoke the press page explains the free data-request route. To work the public record as a prospecting source rather than a statistic, start with finding newly incorporated companies.

The same register · one company at a time

Every number here is someone’s next customer

01Free to citeEvery figure on this page, with a link back. The anchors deep-link a single number.
02Free to downloadThe three CSVs behind the charts, under the Open Government Licence.
03Free to ask forAny sector, place or period cut from the full register, usually the same day.

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