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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 2026-08-01
68,618Incorporated in July 2026Most recent complete month
776,540Last 12 monthsAUG 2025 to JUL 2026
5,190,464Active UK companiesLive on the public record at 2026-08-01
+2.9%Latest month vs a year agoJUL 2026 against JUL 2025
Companies House Basic Company Data · Open Government Licence v3.0

Cite: 68,618 UK companies were incorporated in July 2026, and 776,540 over the last 12 months. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, register snapshot 2026-08-01. #

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
80,00040,000Aug 24Feb 25Aug 25Feb 26Jul 26Aug 24: 36,313 incorporationsSep 24: 41,281 incorporationsOct 24: 45,609 incorporationsNov 24: 39,534 incorporationsDec 24: 33,006 incorporationsJan 25: 45,290 incorporationsFeb 25: 44,535 incorporationsMar 25: 52,203 incorporationsApr 25: 55,544 incorporationsMay 25: 60,786 incorporationsJun 25: 61,422 incorporationsJul 25: 66,690 incorporationsAug 25: 62,970 incorporationsSep 25: 71,531 incorporationsOct 25: 71,783 incorporationsNov 25: 56,845 incorporationsDec 25: 49,314 incorporationsJan 26: 69,652 incorporationsFeb 26: 59,300 incorporationsMar 26: 73,296 incorporationsApr 26: 67,196 incorporationsMay 26: 62,343 incorporationsJun 26: 63,692 incorporationsJul 26: 68,618 incorporations36,31373,29668,618

Cite: Monthly UK incorporation counts, Aug 24 to Jul 26. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-08-01. #

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: 282,967 incorporations, last 12 months282,967
  2. North WestNorth West: 82,488 incorporations, last 12 months82,488
  3. South EastSouth East: 75,388 incorporations, last 12 months75,388
  4. West MidlandsWest Midlands: 62,216 incorporations, last 12 months62,216
  5. East of EnglandEast of England: 54,692 incorporations, last 12 months54,692
  6. Yorkshire and the HumberYorkshire and the Humber: 46,599 incorporations, last 12 months46,599
  7. ScotlandScotland: 39,648 incorporations, last 12 months39,648
  8. South WestSouth West: 39,296 incorporations, last 12 months39,296
  9. East MidlandsEast Midlands: 34,328 incorporations, last 12 months34,328
  10. WalesWales: 21,662 incorporations, last 12 months21,662
  11. North EastNorth East: 19,500 incorporations, last 12 months19,500
  12. Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland: 10,178 incorporations, last 12 months10,178
  13. Crown dependenciesCrown dependencies: 637 incorporations, last 12 months637

Cite: UK company formations by region over the last 12 months, from registered-office postcodes. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-08-01. #

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; 11,003 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: 151,208 incorporations, last 12 months151,208
  2. Information and communicationInformation and communication: 82,207 incorporations, last 12 months82,207
  3. Real estateReal estate: 81,218 incorporations, last 12 months81,218
  4. Professional, scientific and technicalProfessional, scientific and technical: 79,032 incorporations, last 12 months79,032
  5. ConstructionConstruction: 68,578 incorporations, last 12 months68,578
  6. Accommodation and food serviceAccommodation and food service: 55,311 incorporations, last 12 months55,311
  7. Administrative and support servicesAdministrative and support services: 45,614 incorporations, last 12 months45,614
  8. Financial and insuranceFinancial and insurance: 34,272 incorporations, last 12 months34,272
  9. Health and social workHealth and social work: 28,183 incorporations, last 12 months28,183
  10. ManufacturingManufacturing: 27,686 incorporations, last 12 months27,686
  11. Other service activitiesOther service activities: 27,563 incorporations, last 12 months27,563
  12. Transportation and storageTransportation and storage: 27,039 incorporations, last 12 months27,039

Cite: UK company formations by SIC 2007 section, last 12 months, first-position codes. Leadistry Company Formations Tracker, snapshot 2026-08-01. #

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: 201,808 incorporations, last 12 months201,808
ManchesterManchester: 20,528 incorporations, last 12 months20,528
BirminghamBirmingham: 16,878 incorporations, last 12 months16,878
GlasgowGlasgow: 11,147 incorporations, last 12 months11,147
LiverpoolLiverpool: 7,899 incorporations, last 12 months7,899
LeedsLeeds: 7,502 incorporations, last 12 months7,502
LeicesterLeicester: 6,981 incorporations, last 12 months6,981
BristolBristol: 6,793 incorporations, last 12 months6,793
NottinghamNottingham: 6,425 incorporations, last 12 months6,425
EdinburghEdinburgh: 5,983 incorporations, last 12 months5,983
IlfordIlford: 5,316 incorporations, last 12 months5,316
SheffieldSheffield: 5,097 incorporations, last 12 months5,097
CoventryCoventry: 4,800 incorporations, last 12 months4,800
BradfordBradford: 4,688 incorporations, last 12 months4,688
CardiffCardiff: 4,665 incorporations, last 12 months4,665

London is 201,808 of the top fifteen, against 20,528 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 2026-08-01. #

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 live counter

A small live counter of active UK companies, 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="Live 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 (2026-08-01), 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 2026-07; splits = last 12 full months.

Answers

Questions this page gets asked

How many companies are formed in the UK each month?

68,618 in July 2026, the most recent complete month, and 776,540 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?

5,190,464 active companies as of the 2026-08-01 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.

Leadistry turns the public record into verified UK B2B leads: 25 free to start, no card.

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