Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products (SIC division 20)
Division 20 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 6 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 20
Division 20 covers industrial chemistry. The busiest corner of it on the UK register is 20420, manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations. That code holds the indie beauty boom: skincare, candle and cosmetics brands, soap makers and fragrance houses. Many are recent start-ups blending in small batches. The rest of the division is older and heavier. It holds makers of paints, cleaning products, adhesives and industrial chemicals. A kitchen-table skincare label and a coatings plant share one division, which makes it an odd mix.
Insurance brokers sell here for one reason. Product liability cover is essential for anything you put on skin. A new cosmetics brand needs it before its first sale. Regulatory consultants doing safety assessments and cosmetics compliance chase the same new companies. So do contract manufacturers and packaging suppliers. A young company with a weak website is usually mid-launch, which is when all of those services get bought. At the industrial end, growth and filing activity tell you more. They point to buying rounds for equipment, compliance and specialist staff.
How to read a division 20 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 20 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 20 shares those digits: all 6 codes below begin 20, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 20 sits inside section C, manufacturing, which is the broadest tier of the classification. So a code is read left to right, from an industry down to a specific activity.
More on how division 20 codes are built
Companies choose their own codes at incorporation and can change them on any confirmation statement, and Companies House does not check the answer. A company may list up to four. That is worth knowing before you treat any division total as a headcount: the numbers here are what companies said about themselves, on the August 2026 register, and the largest single code in this division is 20420, manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations.
Working division 20 as a list
Division 20 holds 6 codes and 7,113 active companies between them. 20420 is the largest at 39 per cent and the top three take 74 per cent, with the rest spread across the remaining 3 codes. That is balanced enough that the division is a reasonable unit to work, though the leading code alone will usually give you a cleaner list.
More on working division 20
A caveat that matters more in some divisions than others: a company may register up to four SIC codes, and the figures below count every position, not just the first. A business filed under two codes in this division appears under both. Treat the totals as reach rather than a headcount, and if you need a clean list, filter to companies whose FIRST code sits in the division. Every company you pull carries the Companies House record, the director's name, a verified website and a verified email, and the ones we cannot complete are not charged.
Every SIC code in division 20
20150, Manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds20200, Manufacture of pesticides and other agrochemical products20301, Manufacture of paints, varnishes and similar coatings, mastics and sealants20411, Manufacture of soap and detergents20420, Manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations20590, Manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c.Prospecting this division
Division 20 companies, as leads
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Division 20 questions
Which SIC code should a small cosmetics or candle business choose?
If you make the products yourself, 20420 is the closest fit. It is manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations, and it covers cosmetics, soaps and toiletries. Candle makers often use it too, or choose a code from division 32. If you only sell goods made by others, a retail code suits you better. The choice is self-declared and carries no regulatory weight. Cosmetics rules apply based on what you actually do.
Does registering under a chemicals SIC code bring extra reporting requirements?
Not from Companies House. It treats every SIC code the same for filing purposes. Duties like REACH registration, cosmetics product notifications and COSHH compliance come from your real activities and products. They never come from the code on the public record. Keep the code accurate anyway. Banks, insurers and trade customers use it to understand your business before they deal with you.
Find companies across division 20
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