Official Statistics

Incorporated Companies in the UK January to March 2023

Published 27 April 2023

1. Other statistics in this release

In addition to tables covering register activity for all companies, a range of other statistics are included in the spreadsheets that accompany this release. The following information is provided for individual countries and for the UK:

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

We present the statistics within this release based on the financial year, which runs from the beginning of April to the end of the following March and is broken down so that:

• April to June is Quarter 1
• July to September is Quarter 2
• October to December is Quarter 3
• January to March is Quarter 4

2. Main points

• At the end of March 2023, there were 5,116,743 companies on the total register and 4,645,402 on the effective register.
• During the period January to March 2023, the total register increased by 63,462 companies (1.3%), and the effective register increased by 69,926 companies (1.5%).
• Between January and March 2023, there were 222,068 incorporations and 163,797 dissolutions in the UK.
• The number of incorporations between January and March 2023 increased by 16,897 (8.2%) compared with the same period in 2022.
• The number of dissolutions between January and March 2023 increased by 12,987 (8.6%) compared with the same period in 2022.
• The number of companies in the course of removal in the period January to March 2023 increased by 71,214 (24.2%) compared with January to March 2022.

3. Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) measures on the register

A set of easements were announced by Companies House on 16 April 2020 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and national lockdown in March 2020. The easements included the temporary pause of the strike off process (voluntary and compulsory) to give affected businesses time to update their records at Companies House and avoid being struck off the register. The impact was that compulsory dissolutions from 2 April 2020 were temporarily paused, as was the final stage of voluntary dissolutions.

On 10 September 2020 the voluntary strike off process resumed through a phased release during the remainder of September and into October. This removed companies that applied to be struck off before July 2020, including some companies that filed for dissolution before the first UK-wide COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020. The release of paused compulsory dissolutions began on 10 October 2020.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was a second pause of the voluntary and compulsory strike off processes on 21 January 2021. Companies House temporarily paused the strike off processes so that companies and creditors would not be adversely affected by processing delays. The strike off process resumed through a phased release on 8 March 2021.

As part of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, companies were granted automatic extensions to their filing deadlines. This may have affected the volume of dissolutions in 2020 and 2021.

Once a company starts the dissolution process (voluntary or compulsory), there is an opportunity for others to object to the dissolution and strike off. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government operated several loan schemes to support companies. The government acts as a guarantor for these loans and objects to strike off proceedings if there is an outstanding:

• Bounce Back Loan
• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan
• Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan
• Recovery Loan

The objection is only removed once the lender confirms that there is no longer an outstanding loan in place. This has been a contributing factor to an increase in the number of companies in the process of removal since Quarter 4 (January to March) financial year ending 2021.

4. Changes in the size of the register

At the end of March 2023, there were 5,116,743 companies on the total register, which includes those in the course of removal and liquidation (471,341). During the period January to March 2023, the size of the total register increased by 63,462 companies (1.3%) compared with the end of December 2022 and by 222,387 companies (4.5%) compared with the same period in 2022. Growth in the size of the total register was observed in all constituent countries in the period January to March 2023. England and Wales increased by 1.3%, Scotland by 1.2% and Northern Ireland by 1.5%.

The number of companies on the effective register, which excludes those in the course of removal or liquidation, was 4,645,402 at the end of March 2023. During the period January to March 2023, the size of the effective register increased by 69,926 companies (1.5%) compared with the end of December 2022 and by 146,060 companies (3.2%) compared with the end of March 2022. Growth in the size of the effective register was observed in all constituent countries in the period January to March 2023. England and Wales increased by 1.5%, Scotland by 1.3% and Northern Ireland by 2.0%.

The size of both the total and effective registers increased at a consistent rate up to Quarter 4 (January to March) financial year ending (FYE) 2020 and Quarter 1 (April to June) FYE 2021, respectively. However, between Quarter 4 FYE 2020 and Quarter 1 FYE 2022, the rate of growth of the total register size significantly increased. During this period, the rate of growth of incorporations increased, along with a decrease in the number of dissolutions. A similar trend is seen for the growth in the effective register. Growth in both the total and effective registers from Quarter 4 FYE 2022 onwards was similar to that of Quarter 4 FYE 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. See Section 3, Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) measures on the register for more details.

Figure 1: The total and effective register sizes increased by 1.3% and 1.5% respectively during Q4 FYE 2023

The total and effective register size, UK companies register, Q4 FYE 2013 to Q4 FYE 2023

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, January to March 2023, Companies House

Between January and March 2023, there were 222,068 incorporations in the UK. The number of incorporations during the period January to March 2023 increased by 16,897 (8.2%) compared with the same period in 2022. The number of incorporations has continued to increase over time. For example, there were 90,616 more incorporations in the period January to March 2023 compared with the same period in 2013. This represents an average annual growth rate of 5.4% over the last 10 years.

During the period January to March 2023, there were 163,797 dissolutions in the UK. The number of dissolutions between January and March 2023 increased by 12,987 (8.6%) compared with the same period in 2022. The strike off process was paused for 5 weeks at the end of October 2022 and resumed in a phased approach. This may have contributed to the decrease in dissolutions in Quarter 3 (October to December) financial year ending (FYE) 2023. The number of dissolutions has generally increased over time, except for the pause to strike off in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 81,075 more dissolutions in the period January to March 2023 compared with the same period in 2013, which represents an average annual growth rate of 7.1% over the last 10 years.

Figure 2: Incorporations and dissolutions increased by 8.2% and 8.6% respectively compared with the same period last year

Incorporations and dissolutions, UK companies register, Q4 FYE 2013 to Q4 FYE 2023

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, January to March 2023, Companies House

Between January and March 2023, the number of companies in the course of removal increased by 71,214 (24.2%) compared with the same period in 2022. The number of companies in the course of removal at the end of March 2023 decreased by 7,828 (2.1%) compared with the end of December 2022. The strike off process was paused for 5 weeks at the end of October 2022 and resumed in a phased approach. This may have contributed to the increase in companies in the course of removal in Quarter 3 (October to December) financial year ending (FYE) 2023. It is difficult to make like-for-like comparisons with previous years because of disruptions to the strike off process in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and national lockdown measures. There were also large-scale objections to dissolutions for companies with outstanding government-backed COVID-19 support loans. See Section 3, Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) measures on the register for more details.

The spreadsheets that accompany this release provide a full breakdown of figures for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole. Figures are provided on both a quarterly and annual basis from April 2012 onwards.

5. About the data

The figures in this release provide information about the population of companies in the UK. A company is defined as a specific legal form of business formed under the Companies Act 2006. Companies are registered at Companies House regardless of whether they go on to actively trade. For more information on companies and the Companies Act 2006, see Definitions to accompany statistical releases from Companies House.

The statistics in this release include:

• the total number of registered companies
• the number of companies incorporated
• the number of companies that were dissolved

The release focuses on the headline messages for the UK. Figures for the constituent countries are included in the spreadsheets that accompany this publication. These documents also include figures for public limited companies (PLCs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

6. Glossary

Definitions for the main terms used in Companies House official statistics publications are available in a separate document. See Definitions to accompany statistical releases from Companies House.

7. 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

7.1 Quality

Information about the quality of Companies House official statistics is provided in a separate document. See Quality information to accompany statistical releases from Companies House. This document allows users to decide if the data is of sufficient quality for their intended use. The information is structured in terms of the quality dimensions of the European Statistical System. The document also provides information on how these statistics relate to other business statistics.

7.2 Revisions to these statistics

Revisions to these statistics will be mainly because of changes in methodologies and source data. The statistics are derived from administrative data, and changes to the underlying methods will cause revisions. These include changes in statistical methods, definitions, classifications and geographic coverage.

Although Companies House has robust procedures in place to minimise errors in the methods we use to create these statistics, errors may occasionally occur. If errors are found after the publication, their impact will be assessed. If the changes are significant, we will issue a correction as soon as possible. Minor corrections will be included in the next planned release.

We will amend any misleading or incorrect figures and add a footnote to show that the figures have been corrected. This footnote will also explain the nature and reason for the correction.

7.3 Consultation

Results of the most recent consultation on these official statistics are published on GOV.UK.

8. Future releases

Annual statistics for the financial year ending 2023 will be published on 29 June 2023. Statistics for the period 1 April to 30 June 2023 will be published on 27 July 2023. The publication dates have been announced 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.

9. Related links

Statistics at Companies House

Reports released regularly.

Annual statistics produced by Companies House and published on GOV.UK.

Open data products at Companies House

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Information about the open data products that Companies House offers is available on GOV.UK.

Find and update company information

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Company information can be found and updated on GOV.UK; advanced search capabilities are also available.

Companies House API overview

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