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Official Statistics

Incorporated companies in the UK January to March 2026

Published 30 April 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incorporated-companies-in-the-uk-january-to-march-2026/incorporated-companies-in-the-uk-january-to-march-2026

This is the final release of the Companies House official statistics publication in its current format.

We are developing new statistics to better meet user needs and reflect changes in data availability and methods. These developments will improve the accuracy and quality of the information that we publish.

In due course we will publish more information about planned changes, including timescales and opportunities for user engagement. During this time you can keep using the statistics in this release.

1. Other statistics in this release

The tables that accompany this release include:

  • register activity for all companies
  • register activity for public limited companies (PLCs)
  • register activity for limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
  • company insolvencies and liquidations
  • company removals from the register

The statistics within this release are presented by financial year, which runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

2. Main points

The main things to note in this statistical release are that:

  • the total register size at the end of March 2026 was 5,479,045, an increase of 28,681 companies (0.53%) compared with the end of December 2025
  • there were 4,930,634 companies on the effective register at the end of March 2026, an increase of 53,653 companies (1.10%) compared with the end of December 2025
  • between January and March 2026, there were 204,612 incorporations in the UK, an increase of 19,724 (10.67%) compared with October to December 2025, and a decrease of 6,500 (3.08%) compared with the same period in 2025
  • there were 190,836 dissolutions in the UK between January and March 2026, an increase of 14,120 (7.99%) compared with October to December 2025
  • there were 438,990 companies in the course of dissolution at the end of March 2026, a decrease of 24,538 (5.29%) compared with the end of December 2025
  • Companies House introduced identity verification on 18 November 2025 as a legal requirement as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act 2023)
  • on 1 February 2026, Companies House increased fees for incorporation and registration documents

3. Changes in the companies register

The total register size for the UK was 5,479,045 at the end of March 2026. This is an increase of 28,681 companies (0.53%) compared with the end of December 2025. There has been an increase of 51,258 companies (0.94%) on the total register for the UK since the end of the same quarter in 2025.

The total register includes companies in the process of dissolution and liquidation (548,411).

The total register changes for the constituent countries compared with the end of December 2025 are:

  • an increase of 27,233 (0.54%) companies in England and Wales
  • an increase of 1,804 (0.66%) companies in Scotland
  • a decrease of 356 (0.40%) companies in Northern Ireland

The effective register size for the UK, which does not include companies in the process of dissolution or liquidation, was 4,930,634 at the end of March 2026. This is an increase of 53,653 companies (1.10%) compared with the end of December 2025. There was an increase of 58,341 companies (1.20%) on the effective register size for the UK since the end of March 2025.

Figure 3.1: The total and effective register sizes increased by 28,681 and 53,653, respectively, during the period January to March 2026

The total and effective register size, UK companies register, 30 June 2012 to 31 March 2026

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, January to March 2026, Companies House

There were 204,612 incorporations in the UK during January to March 2026. This is an increase of 19,724 (10.67%) compared with October to December 2025, and a decrease of 6,500 (3.08%) compared with the same period in 2025.

The change in incorporations across constituent countries in the UK from January to March 2026 compared with October to December 2025 was:

  • an increase of 17,695 (10.20%) in England and Wales
  • an increase of 1,658 (18.31%) in Scotland
  • an increase of 371 (15.34%) in Northern Ireland

There were 190,836 dissolutions in the UK between January and March 2026. This is an increase of 14,120 (7.99%) compared with October to December 2025, and an increase of 689 (0.36%) compared with the same period in 2025.

The change in dissolutions across constituent countries in the UK from January to March 2026 compared with October to December 2025 was:

  • an increase of 13,319 (8.06%) in England and Wales
  • an increase of 695 (8.36%) in Scotland
  • an increase of 106 (3.45%) in Northern Ireland

The Registrar of Companies can start the process to remove a company from the official register if they believe the company is no longer trading or operating.

They may believe this if either:

  • the company has not sent in required yearly documents, such as its confirmation statement or accounts
  • the company has no directors

We expect to see the first companies who failed to submit their identity verification statements with their confirmation statements in the next publication, reporting on April to June 2026.

Figure 3.2: There were 204,612 incorporations and 190,836 dissolutions in the UK between January and March 2026

Incorporations and dissolutions, UK companies register, 30 June 2012 to 31 March 2026

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, January to March 2026, Companies House

The number of companies in the course of dissolution at the end of March 2026 was 438,990. This is a decrease of 24,538 (5.29%) compared with the end of December 2025, and a decrease of 4,086 (0.92%) compared with the same period in 2025.

The change in the number of companies in the course of dissolution across constituent countries in the UK from the end of December 2025 to the end of March 2026 was:

  • a decrease of 22,269 (5.14%) in England and Wales
  • a decrease of 1,392 (5.80%) in Scotland
  • a decrease of 877 (13.20%) in Northern Ireland

There is a full breakdown of company statistics for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in tables 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a respectively in the incorporated companies in the UK January to March 2026 spreadsheet. The tables contain figures from April 2012 onwards.

There are separate figures for:

  • public limited companies in tables 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b
  • limited liability partnerships in tables 1c, 2c, 3c and 4c
  • company insolvencies and liquidations in tables 1d, 2d, 3d and 4d
  • company removals from the register in tables 1e, 2e, 3e and 4e

4. About the data

The figures in this release give information about the population of companies in the UK.

Companies are:

  • legal types of business registered at Companies House
  • a group of corporate bodies formed under the Companies Act 2006

Companies and corporate bodies are registered at Companies House regardless of whether they go on to actively trade.

For more information on corporate bodies and companies included in the Companies Act 2006, visit Definitions to accompany statistical releases from Companies House. This document also explains the incorporation, dissolution and restoration processes.

The statistics in this release include the:

  • total number of registered companies
  • number of companies incorporated
  • number of companies dissolved

This statistics release focuses on the headline messages.

There are figures for the constituent countries in the tables that accompany the release. These documents also include figures for:

  • public limited companies (PLCs)
  • limited liability partnerships (LLPs)

5. Glossary

Find definitions for the main terms used in Companies House official statistics publications.

6. Strengths and limitations

Companies House statistics are used extensively by government, the public, public bodies and businesses. For example, they are used by:

  • government in understanding the likely impact of policy changes and monitoring the impact of economic changes on companies
  • businesses in understanding their market share and planning marketing strategies
  • banks in developing an understanding of their customer base
  • foreign firms in making UK location decisions
  • academics to inform research into businesses at local and national level
  • a range of public bodies in decision-making and evaluating business-related policies

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should meet.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards at statistics@companieshouse.gov.uk.   

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

6.1 Quality

Read our document Quality information to accompany statistical releases from Companies House. It can help you decide if the data is suitable for your purpose.

This document measures the Companies House official statistics against characteristics called data quality dimensions. Companies House uses the European Statistical System’s data quality dimensions. 

The document also gives information on how Companies House official statistics relate to other business statistics.

6.2 Corrections and revisions to these statistics

We aim to minimise corrections and revisions to our statistical publications but sometimes changes are unavoidable. These changes could be:

  • corrections, which are unplanned and occur when errors in either the data or the methodology are found after release of the publication
  • revisions, which are generally but not always planned, and are the result of improvements in methods or of additional data

The source of these statistics is administrative data. This means the data are often used for operational purposes. Statistical use is not their main purpose. As the main purpose of collecting the data is operational, it is common that some of the values we report on change.

6.3 Consultation

We publish results of the most recent consultation on these official statistics on GOV.UK.

7. Future releases

We’ll publish statistics for the period 1 April to 30 June 2026 on 30 July 2026.

Companies House will publish annual statistics for financial year ending 2026 on 25 June 2026.

We’ve announced the publication dates on the GOV.UK release calendar.

If you have a question about any of these tables or Companies House statistics in general, email statistics@companieshouse.gov.uk.

Companies House statistics newer than 2014
Annual and quarterly statistics produced by Companies House from June 2014.

Companies House statistics older than 2014
Annual and monthly statistics produced by Companies House before October 2014, on the National Archives website.

Open data products at Companies House
Information about the open data products that Companies House offers. We update this page regularly.

Find and update company information Our service to find and update company information, which includes advanced search capabilities.

Companies House API overview
Free, fully documented API, which gives access to real-time updates on companies. We update this information regularly.

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