Official Statistics

Incorporated companies in the UK October to December 2024

Published 6 March 2025

This release was postponed from 30 January 2025 to 6 March 2025 so that we could investigate some anomalies behind the trends in the latest quarterly statistics.

We decided to postpone the release to make sure that these trends were accurate and not due to data processing errors. As a result of these investigations, we have made corrections to 9 of our statistical tables. 

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

1. Since 4 March 2024, Companies House has used its new powers to dissolve companies which fail to provide us with an appropriate registered office address. Not all companies which were in the course of dissolution for this reason were correctly accounted for in our statistics, due to human error. As such, in this release we have corrected the register size for April to June 2024 (quarter 1), and July to September 2024 (quarter 2). The affected figures are labelled as [revised]. These corrections do not change the overall message of the statistics.

2. In Scotland (Table 3a) and Northern Ireland (Table 4a), we report that the total register size grew by 547 companies and 275 companies respectively. However, we also report that the number of dissolutions in these countries were higher than the number of incorporations and restorations. Together, these trends were raised as a possible contradiction during our quality assurance processes.

Under the Companies Act 2006, a company  is struck off and removed from the total register count from the moment that Companies House requests that the second notice Gazette is published in the London, Edinburgh or Belfast Gazettes. This usually happens on a Wednesday.

In these statistics, we define the dissolution of a company as the point in which a second notice is published in the London, Edinburgh or Belfast Gazettes. This usually happens a week after the Gazette notice is requested, on a Tuesday.

This quarter started on Tuesday 1 October 2024 and ended on Tuesday 31 December 2024.

Due to the stages of the dissolution process, it is possible for us to report both a small increase in the total register size for Scotland and Northern Ireland, but also that the number of dissolutions is more than the number of incorporations and restorations.

 Our investigations confirmed that:

• a company is removed from the total register count from the moment it is struck off - there may be a delay before the company is legally dissolved
• a company is legally dissolved when the second notice is published in the relevant Gazette - we define the number of dissolutions as a count of the number of second Gazette notices which have been published
• due to the timing issues outlined above, in some instances, a company may be struck off in one quarter, but dissolved in the following quarter

By April 2026, we will aim to:

• provide more granular information about companies which are struck off or dissolved, to help users better understand these statistics
• explain differences between dissolution and strike off on our definitions page
• undertake a Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD)  using the Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit

Please contact statistics@companieshouse.gov.uk if you have questions.

1. Other statistics in this release

The tables that accompany this release include:

• register activity for all companies
• register activity for public companies
• 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 to 31 March.

2. Main points

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

• the total register size at the end of December 2024 was 5,408,707, a decrease of 19,879 companies (0.37%) compared with the end of September 2024
• there were 4,835,963 companies on the effective register at the end of December 2024, a decrease of 59,495 companies (1.22%) compared with the end of September 2024
• the companies register shrank during the period October to December 2024, for the first time since quarterly reporting began in the period April to June 2012
• between October and December 2024, there were 181,261 incorporations in the UK, a decrease of 33,185 (15.47%) compared with the same period in 2023
• there were 203,584 dissolutions in the UK between October and December 2024, an increase of 40,132 (24.55%) compared with the same period in 2023
• Companies House was granted new powers as a result of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 - this act will introduce a number of changes over the next few years

3. Changes in the companies register

The total register size was 5,408,707 at the end of December 2024. This is a decrease of 19,879 companies (0.37%) compared with the end of September 2024. The total register includes companies in the process of dissolution and liquidation (572,744).

The effective register size, which does not include companies in the process of dissolution or liquidation, was 4,835,963 at the end of December 2024. This is a decrease of 59,495 companies (1.22%) compared with the end of September 2024.   

The total and effective registers for the UK shrank from the end of September to the end of December 2024. This is the first time the companies register size has decreased since quarterly reporting began in the period April to June 2012. This is due to a decrease in the number of incorporations and an increase in the number of dissolutions.

Figure 3.1: UK companies register shrank during October to December 2024 for the first time since quarterly reporting began

The total and effective register size, UK companies register, 30 June 2012 to 31 December 2024

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, October to December 2024, Companies House

There were 181,261 incorporations in the UK during October to December 2024. This is a decrease of 33,185 (15.47%) compared with the same period in 2023.

On 19 February 2024, Companies House published a list of changes to fees for incorporation and registration documents. These changes came into effect on 1 May 2024.

The number of incorporations has decreased in all constituent countries in the UK. The decrease in incorporations for October to December 2024 compared with October to December 2023 for the constituent countries of the UK was:

• 30,751 (15.34%) in England and Wales
• 720 (7.79%) in Scotland
• 1,714 (35.78%) in Northern Ireland

There were 203,584 dissolutions in the UK between October and December 2024. This is an increase of 40,132 (24.55%) compared with the same period in 2023.

The number of dissolutions has increased in all constituent countries in the UK. The increase in dissolutions for October to December 2024 compared with October to December 2023 for the constituent countries of the UK was:

• 37,135 (24.03%) in England and Wales
• 1,338 (18.06%) in Scotland
• 1,659 (111.12%) in Northern Ireland

Figure 3.2: Incorporations decreased to 2022 levels in the period October to December 2024

Incorporations and dissolutions, UK companies register, 30 June 2012 to 31 December 2024

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, October to December 2024, Companies House

The number of companies in the course of dissolution at the end of December 2024 was 460,812. This is an increase of 38,426 (9.1% ) compared with the end of September 2024.

The increase in the number of companies in the course of dissolution across constituent countries in the UK from the end of September to the end of December 2024 was:

• 36,402 (9.2%) in England and Wales
• 358 (1.71%) in Scotland
• 1,666 (28.22%) 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 October to December 2024 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 this 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: 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.

In this publication of the statistical tables, we’ll show revisions by adding the word ‘revised’ in square brackets next to figures that have been revised. However, in the next publication, these will be removed.

We have made corrections across 9 of our statistical tables with this release. The revisions in the dataset associated with this publication can be found in the following tables: 

• Table 1a: Company register activity, all companies, UK
• Table 1b: Company register activity, public companies, UK
• Table 1c: Company register activity, limited liability partnerships, UK
• Table 2a: Company register activity, all companies, England and Wales
• Table 2b: Company register activity, public companies, England and Wales
• Table 2c: Company register activity, limited liability partnerships, England and Wales
• Table 3a: Company register activity, all companies, Scotland
• Table 3c: Company register activity, limited liability partnerships, Scotland
• Table 4a: Company register activity, all companies, Northern Ireland

6.3 Consultation

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

7. Future releases

Companies House will publish annual statistics for financial year ending 2025 on 26 June 2025.

We’ll publish statistics for the period 1 January to 31 March 2025 on 24 April 2025.

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.

8. Related links

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.