Official Statistics

Incorporated companies in the UK July to September 2025

Published 30 October 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incorporated-companies-in-the-uk-july-to-september-2025/incorporated-companies-in-the-uk-july-to-september-2025

We wish to provide the following additional information to users of these statistics.

The total register size for the UK (Table 1a) and for England and Wales (Table 2a) increased this quarter, but during the same period more companies were dissolved than were newly incorporated or restored. This is because of how the strike off and dissolution process works.

Under the Companies Act 2006, the registrar may strike a company’s name from the register. Historically, the registrar struck a company off the register by striking a line through the relevant entry in a ledger. Now, strike off happens when an entry is made against a company on the digital register, then a system request is sent for the creation of a second notice to be published in the London, Edinburgh or Belfast Gazette.

When a company is “struck off”, it is immediately removed from the register (no further documents can be filed), but it is not legally dissolved until the second notice is published in the Gazette, usually the following Tuesday. Sometimes, a company is struck off in one quarter but not legally dissolved until the next quarter.

This timing means that the reduction in the total register size could be counted in one quarter, but the dissolution could be counted in the next. As a result, the register can show an increase even if dissolutions outnumber incorporations and restorations, and vice versa.

Since this quarter started on Tuesday 1 July 2025 and ended on Tuesday 30 September 2025, the administration of the Tuesday Gazette has highlighted the difference between the way the total register size and the (legal) number of dissolutions are counted. On Monday 30 June 2025, there were approximately 27,000 companies which had been “struck off” but were not yet legally dissolved.

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 September 2025 was 5,454,109, an increase of 10,333 companies (0.19%) compared with the end of June 2025
  • there were 4,910,896 companies on the effective register at the end of September 2025, an increase of 38,715 companies (0.79%) compared with the end of June 2025
  • between July and September 2025, there were 215,982 incorporations in the UK, an increase of 6,184 (2.95%) compared with April to June 2025
  • there were 234,373 dissolutions in the UK between July and September 2025, an increase of 49,037 (26.46%) compared with April to June 2025
  • there were 432,313 companies in the course of dissolution at the end of September 2025, a decrease of 25,982 (5.67%) compared with the end of June 2025
  • on Monday 30th June 2025, there were approximately 27,000 companies which had been “struck off” but were not yet legally dissolved, resulting in their removal from the register (and the corresponding reduction in the total register size) being reflected in the first quarter (April to June 2025), but their dissolution statistics being reflected in the second quarter (July to September 2025)
  • Companies House was granted new powers as a result of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act 2023)
  • the ECCT Act 2023 will introduce a number of changes - from 8 April 2025, individuals can voluntarily verify their identity, this will become a mandatory requirement on 18 November 2025

3. Changes in the companies register

The total register size for the UK was 5,454,109 at the end of September 2025. This is an increase of 10,333 companies (0.19%) compared with the end of June 2025. There has been an increase of 25,523 companies (0.47%) on the total register for the UK since the end of the same quarter in 2024.   

The total register includes companies in the process of dissolution and liquidation (543,213).    

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

  • an increase of 9,564 (0.19%) companies in England and Wales
  • an increase of 1,743 (0.64%) companies in Scotland
  • a decrease of 974 (1.06%) companies in Northern Ireland

The effective register size for the UK, which does not include companies in the process of dissolution or liquidation, was 4,910,896 at the end of September 2025. This is an increase of 38,715 companies (0.79%) compared with the end of June 2025. There was an increase of 15,438 companies (0.32%) on the effective register size for the UK since the end of June 2024. 

Figure 3.1: The total and effective register sizes increased by 10,333 and 38,715, respectively, during the period July to September 2025    

The total and effective register size, UK companies register, 30 September 2012 to 30 September 2025  

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, July to September 2025, Companies House

There were 215,982 incorporations in the UK during July to September 2025. This is an increase of 6,184 (2.95%) compared with April to June 2025, and an increase of 24,299 (12.68%) compared with the same period in 2024.

The change in incorporations across constituent countries in the UK from July to September 2025 compared with April to June 2025 was:

  • an increase of 6,237 (3.18%) in England and Wales
  • a decrease of 71 (0.67%) in Scotland
  • an increase of 18 (0.61%) in Northern Ireland

There were 234,373 dissolutions in the UK between July and September 2025. This is an increase of 49,037 (26.46%) compared with April to June 2025, and an increase of 63,776 (37.38%) compared with the same period in 2024.

The change in dissolutions across constituent countries in the UK from July to September 2025 compared with April to June 2025 was:

  • an increase of 47,673 (27.63%) in England and Wales
  • an increase of 1,051 (12.16%) in Scotland
  • an increase of 313 (7.58%) in Northern Ireland

Figure 3.2: There were 215,982 incorporations, and 234,373 dissolutions in the UK between July and September 2025

Incorporations and dissolutions, UK companies register, 30 September 2012 to 30 September 2025

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, July to September 2025, Companies House

The number of companies in the course of dissolution at the end of September 2025 was 432,313. This is a decrease of 25,982 (5.67%) compared with the end of June 2025, and an increase of 9,927 (2.35%) compared with the same period in 2024.   

The change in the number of companies in the course of dissolution across constituent countries in the UK from the end of June 2025 to the end of September 2025 was:

  • a decrease of 24,413 (5.70%) in England and Wales
  • a decrease of 770 (3.33%) in Scotland
  • a decrease of 799 (11.32%) 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 July to September 2025 spreadsheet. The tables contain figures from July 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 October to 31 December 2025 on 29 January 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.

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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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