Manufacture of beverages (SIC division 11)
Division 11 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 3 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 11
Drinks manufacturing, and one of the more evenly spread divisions on the public record. Beer, 11050, and spirits, 11010, are almost exactly the same size in company terms, which reflects the last decade in UK drinks: a craft brewing boom followed by a wave of small distilleries, mostly gin. Soft drinks and bottled water sit in 11070. Cider, wine and malt each have their own codes below the threshold, which is a useful reminder that company count and market value are very different things here.
Ingredient and packaging suppliers dominate the sell side, along with bottling, canning and labelling services. Excise and duty specialists, brewery equipment finance and trade insurers all sell into a new incorporation immediately, because a producer cannot trade without duty registration and cover. Distribution and wholesale buyers use the public record the other way round, as a way of finding producers before a competitor does. Website quality across small producers is patchy, which makes the poor-website filter productive.
How to read a division 11 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 11 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 11 shares those digits: all 3 codes below begin 11, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 11 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 11 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 11050, manufacture of beer.
Working division 11 as a list
Division 11 holds 3 codes and 5,821 active companies between them. 11050 is the largest at 35 per cent and the other 2 codes account for the rest. 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 11
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.
Prospecting this division
Division 11 companies, as leads
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Division 11 questions
Which SIC code should a small brewery with a taproom use?
List both. 11050 manufacture of beer describes the brewing, and a division 56 code covers the taproom as a bar or food service business. A company may hold four codes and many breweries use two or three. Pick the one that matches most of your turnover first, since some readers only look at the first position.
Does a gin distillery register under 11010 even if it buys in neutral spirit?
Yes. 11010 covers distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits, and rectifying and blending are explicitly included, so a producer working from bought-in spirit still fits. Companies House does not assess the question. Your duty registration with HMRC is the process that actually cares what you do.
Find companies across division 11
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