Residential care activities (SIC division 87)
Division 87 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 4 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 87
Residential care covers care given where people live full time. Nursing care facilities register under 87100. Homes supporting learning difficulties, mental health and substance misuse use 87200. Care of elderly and disabled people uses 87300. Code 87900 collects the rest, including supported living providers and children's homes. These are premises-based, staff-heavy businesses. Their existence usually implies regulatory registration too. So the companies behind these codes tend to be real operators, family groups or investors, rather than one-person vehicles.
The buying needs here are constant and well understood. Care staff recruitment leads, both domestic and international. Then come rostering and care planning software, catering and laundry contracts, energy brokerage for round-the-clock premises, and compliance consultancy. Lenders and investors who specialise in healthcare property track new incorporations and ownership changes, because homes change hands often. Filing patterns reveal group structures, so map those before you make contact. Fast growth at a provider usually means new registrations or acquisitions. Fit-out, equipment and staffing spend all follow at once.
How to read a division 87 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 87 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 87 shares those digits: all 4 codes below begin 87, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 87 sits inside section Q, human health and social work, 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 87 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 87900, other residential care activities n.e.c..
Working division 87 as a list
Division 87 holds 4 codes and 50,882 active companies between them. 87900 is the largest at 32 per cent and the top three take 85 per cent, with the rest spread across the remaining 1 code. 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 87
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 87
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Division 87 questions
What is the difference between SIC codes 87100 and 87300?
Code 87100 covers residential nursing care. Qualified nurses deliver clinical care on site. Code 87300 covers residential care for elderly and disabled people without that nursing element. Many operators run both types of home and register both codes. Companies House allows up to 4 codes per company. As with every SIC code, you declare it yourself and can amend it on the confirmation statement.
Do care homes need anything beyond a SIC code to operate?
Yes, a great deal. The SIC code is only a description on the public record. No approval comes with it. Running a care home needs registration with the CQC in England, or the Care Inspectorate, Care Inspectorate Wales or RQIA elsewhere in the UK. You also need a registered manager and compliance with fundamental standards. Cross-check regulator registers against Companies House data to confirm a company is a live provider.
Find companies across division 87
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