Rental and leasing activities (SIC division 77)
Division 77 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 10 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 77
Division 77 covers anything hired out for a fee. Vehicle hire under 77110 is the biggest single trade. Next comes the general equipment code 77390, which stretches from portable toilets to catering kit. Construction plant hire is 77320. Code 77400 is the odd one out. It covers leasing of intellectual property, such as franchise rights and brands, which has nothing in common with the physical hire trades. Code 77291 marks media and entertainment equipment rental, used by camera and lighting hire houses serving film and events.
Asset-heavy businesses are good to sell to, because their spending is predictable. They finance fleets and equipment. They insure everything they own. They buy tracking, booking and maintenance software. Asset finance brokers watch the plant hire and vehicle codes for new companies, since a first fleet purchase usually follows. Insurance intermediaries aim at the same moment. Growth signals count for more here than in most divisions. A hire firm that is expanding is buying more assets by definition. Local construction activity lifts 77320 operators along with it.
How to read a division 77 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 77 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 77 shares those digits: all 10 codes below begin 77, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 77 sits inside section N, administrative and support service activities, 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 77 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 77110, renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles.
Working division 77 as a list
Division 77 holds 10 codes and 35,001 active companies between them. 77110 is the largest at 30 per cent and the top three take 67 per cent, with the rest spread across the remaining 7 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 77
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 77
77110, Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles77120, Renting and leasing of trucks and other heavy vehicles77210, Renting and leasing of recreational and sports goods77291, Renting and leasing of media entertainment equipment77299, Renting and leasing of other personal and household goods77310, Renting and leasing of agricultural machinery and equipment77320, Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment77330, Renting and leasing of office machinery and equipment (including computers)77390, Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c.77400, Leasing of intellectual property and similar products, except copyright worksProspecting this division
Division 77 companies, as leads
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Division 77 questions
Which SIC code fits a plant hire business?
Hiring out diggers, dumpers and similar kit without an operator sits under 77320. If your machines go out with your own operators, that counts as construction instead. Use the relevant division 43 code, because you are delivering the work rather than renting the asset. Many firms do both and register both codes. Companies House allows up to 4.
Do I need to change my SIC code if I move from selling equipment to renting it?
You should, so the public record matches reality. Nothing forces you to do it at once. You update codes on your next confirmation statement (CS01), which every company files at least once a year. There is no approval step and no fee beyond the statement. Accuracy pays commercially too. Lenders, insurers and suppliers increasingly pull Companies House data when they assess hire businesses.
Find companies across division 77
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