What is the difference between business births and company incorporations in the UK?

Business births measure new active enterprises entering the economy compiled by the ONS, whereas incorporations count every legal entity added to the official register at Companies House.

Which regional and industry breakdowns are included?

The statistics cover UK regions including London, South East, Yorkshire and The Humber, Scotland, England and Wales, alongside industries such as construction, real estate, wholesale, and accommodation and food services.

How far back does this UK business register and demography data go?

The quarterly dataset provides continuous records on UK business births, deaths and register movements since 2012, updating each quarter.

What units are used to measure business creation and closure?

Figures are reported as quarterly counts of businesses, registered companies and partnerships across the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and constituent nations.

UK business births, deaths and companies

Name: UK business births, deaths and companies
Creator: Office for National Statistics (ONS); Companies House
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The quarterly flow of UK businesses in and out of existence.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS); Companies HouseLast updated: Sep 24, 2026, 09:30Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	Q2-2026	Q1-2026	Q4-2025	Q3-2025	Q2-2025	Q1-2025	Q4-2024	Q3-2024	Q2-2024	Q1-2024	Q4-2023	Q3-2023	Q2-2023
Business births and deaths (ONS)4
Business births by industry17
All industries	79,325	78,650	70,765	72,105	77,580	85,490	65,370	76,410	81,430	87,400	71,500	78,325	76,460
Construction	11,225	10,450	9,200	9,225	10,460	11,245	9,130	10,255	11,685	12,310	10,555	11,365	11,515
Professional, scientific and technical activities	12,430	11,670	10,355	10,535	11,845	12,360	9,410	10,650	12,145	12,410	9,995	11,225	11,735
Retail	6,680	7,085	6,560	6,810	6,710	7,430	6,080	7,105	6,545	7,110	6,245	7,120	6,275
Business administration and support services	7,745	7,605	6,830	6,775	6,895	8,215	6,235	7,840	9,150	9,315	7,510	7,460	7,880
Transportation and storage	5,210	5,690	5,640	5,195	5,130	6,420	4,895	5,270	4,940	6,340	6,155	5,800	3,910
Information and communication	6,015	5,585	5,195	5,165	5,475	5,775	4,490	5,155	5,685	5,790	4,680	5,585	5,420
Accommodation and food services	7,505	7,895	6,790	7,435	7,845	8,510	6,220	7,820	7,805	8,700	6,585	7,570	7,220
Production	2,770	2,790	2,685	2,700	2,680	3,025	2,670	3,005	3,135	3,355	2,840	3,060	2,980
Health and social care	3,210	2,840	2,385	2,630	3,170	3,730	2,315	2,905	3,510	3,695	2,585	3,135	3,665
Arts, entertainment, recreation and other services	5,245	5,610	4,735	4,965	5,765	6,355	4,465	5,575	5,745	6,220	4,900	5,410	5,440
Finance and insurance	1,165	1,130	925	1,065	1,210	1,520	955	1,380	1,150	1,740	905	1,030	1,040
Real estate	3,430	3,500	3,230	3,175	3,465	3,740	2,865	3,085	3,165	3,400	2,715	3,045	3,100
Wholesale	2,125	2,210	2,330	2,395	2,370	2,450	2,055	2,340	2,340	2,510	2,135	2,280	2,265
Motor trades	2,245	2,265	1,920	2,040	2,165	2,305	1,695	2,045	2,205	2,240	1,815	2,125	1,885
Education	1,475	1,455	1,230	1,235	1,435	1,680	1,200	1,220	1,400	1,445	1,150	1,225	1,335
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	845	865	750	765	960	730	690	760	825	820	730	890	795
Business deaths by industry17
All industries	76,840	83,570	65,815	63,185	75,330	84,145	68,145	64,290	75,515	87,240	74,850	67,280	83,570
Construction	10,090	10,715	8,860	8,615	10,050	10,915	9,230	8,970	10,215	10,880	9,660	9,155	11,005
Professional, scientific and technical activities	12,425	12,675	9,440	9,015	11,870	11,670	9,555	9,145	11,600	11,665	9,740	9,455	12,540
Retail	6,540	7,045	5,760	5,800	6,510	7,240	6,405	6,380	6,575	8,485	6,760	6,985	7,630
Business administration and support services	7,685	8,350	6,970	6,510	8,085	9,575	8,045	6,225	8,245	11,720	9,885	6,490	9,240
Transportation and storage	4,645	5,040	4,280	4,595	4,935	6,515	5,360	5,420	5,735	8,105	7,570	6,705	7,935
Information and communication	6,120	6,915	5,370	5,105	5,890	6,390	5,155	4,985	5,685	5,800	4,910	4,935	5,950
Accommodation and food services	7,040	8,195	6,515	5,825	7,055	8,290	6,145	5,950	7,070	8,790	7,090	6,065	7,225
Production	3,225	3,490	2,835	2,935	3,295	3,595	3,195	3,100	3,420	3,835	3,530	3,195	3,845
Health and social care	2,675	3,315	1,950	1,675	2,555	2,925	1,870	1,555	2,240	2,540	2,025	1,470	2,290
Arts, entertainment, recreation and other services	5,220	6,060	4,275	3,940	4,875	5,480	4,020	3,815	4,655	5,330	4,200	3,645	5,095
Finance and insurance	1,245	1,285	1,035	925	1,160	1,570	1,035	895	1,030	1,085	875	835	1,110
Real estate	2,720	2,910	2,335	2,000	2,455	2,910	2,100	1,880	2,235	2,300	2,120	2,110	2,370
Wholesale	2,740	2,760	2,305	2,510	2,460	2,695	2,425	2,500	2,875	2,575	2,735	2,525	3,165
Motor trades	1,805	2,080	1,650	1,585	1,915	2,075	1,700	1,590	1,730	1,955	1,645	1,640	1,890
Education	1,155	1,365	945	810	1,040	1,260	915	820	1,040	1,150	1,160	835	1,110
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,515	1,375	1,285	1,340	1,180	1,040	990	1,060	1,165	1,025	945	1,235	1,170
Business births by region17
United Kingdom	79,325	78,655	70,765	72,105	77,585	85,490	65,370	76,410	81,435	87,400	71,500	78,325	76,460
England	68,595	68,905	61,700	63,255	68,065	75,375	57,240	66,470	70,980	76,215	62,115	67,990	66,885
London	16,900	17,845	15,520	15,875	17,225	19,685	14,875	17,080	17,180	19,525	15,410	16,660	16,390
South East	11,055	10,805	9,760	9,795	11,000	11,540	8,865	10,080	11,120	11,620	9,480	10,440	10,720
North West	8,370	8,200	7,665	7,850	8,140	9,415	6,935	8,240	8,640	9,265	7,475	8,160	7,970
East of England	7,675	7,505	6,740	6,795	7,435	7,870	6,080	7,070	7,540	8,170	6,670	7,550	7,520
West Midlands	6,155	6,300	5,645	6,055	6,195	6,915	5,375	6,460	7,090	7,580	6,270	6,720	6,230
South West	5,660	5,580	4,970	5,115	5,460	5,770	4,585	5,195	5,810	6,230	5,040	5,615	5,670
Scotland	5,190	4,695	4,335	4,330	4,595	4,805	3,810	4,425	4,905	5,040	4,220	4,710	4,425
Yorkshire and The Humber	5,535	5,470	4,905	5,165	5,425	5,990	4,685	5,370	5,825	6,160	5,095	5,400	5,310
East Midlands	4,935	4,830	4,385	4,475	4,915	5,575	4,055	4,905	5,375	5,235	4,700	5,240	4,890
Wales	2,535	2,505	2,365	2,335	2,555	2,760	2,020	2,515	2,570	2,750	2,265	2,555	2,520
North East	2,310	2,365	2,105	2,125	2,270	2,615	1,785	2,070	2,400	2,430	1,975	2,205	2,185
Northern Ireland	1,540	1,565	1,450	1,385	1,525	1,645	1,460	1,730	1,495	1,585	1,365	1,295	1,300
England and Wales	71,130	71,410	64,065	65,585	70,620	78,135	59,260	68,985	73,550	78,965	64,380	70,545	69,405
Great Britain	76,325	76,105	68,400	69,915	75,215	82,940	63,070	73,410	78,455	84,005	68,600	75,255	73,830
Unspecified region	1,460	985	915	805	845	905	840	1,270	1,485	1,810	1,535	1,775	1,330
Business deaths by region17
United Kingdom	76,840	83,575	65,815	63,185	75,335	84,150	68,145	64,290	75,515	87,240	74,850	67,280	83,570
England	67,065	72,870	57,205	55,010	65,710	73,555	59,495	56,120	65,395	75,515	65,265	58,595	73,200
London	16,045	17,860	13,725	13,175	15,615	17,285	13,750	13,505	14,790	16,685	14,260	13,785	16,940
South East	10,975	11,585	9,250	8,580	10,860	11,385	9,370	8,805	10,595	11,295	9,490	9,305	11,885
North West	8,015	8,715	6,830	6,765	7,700	8,725	7,015	6,725	7,995	9,735	8,870	7,045	8,780
East of England	7,295	7,995	6,145	5,955	7,285	7,870	6,540	6,270	7,325	7,875	6,790	6,415	7,935
West Midlands	6,170	7,005	5,485	5,465	6,125	7,740	6,125	5,325	6,165	8,100	7,085	5,740	7,205
South West	5,805	6,085	4,900	4,645	5,535	6,490	5,190	4,915	5,655	6,520	5,805	5,180	6,270
Scotland	4,600	4,935	3,990	3,750	4,525	4,960	4,035	3,945	4,515	5,155	4,305	4,020	5,055
Yorkshire and The Humber	5,480	5,930	4,665	4,410	5,340	6,050	4,970	4,560	5,545	6,415	5,530	4,705	6,025
East Midlands	5,045	5,365	4,285	4,185	5,085	5,640	4,665	4,215	5,145	6,470	5,340	4,525	5,750
Wales	2,780	2,925	2,235	2,245	2,760	2,860	2,355	2,230	2,930	2,960	2,690	2,585	3,005
North East	2,235	2,410	1,920	1,830	2,165	2,370	1,880	1,800	2,180	2,420	2,095	1,895	2,410
Northern Ireland	1,675	1,715	1,505	1,505	1,595	1,650	1,610	1,330	1,400	1,625	1,440	1,355	1,495
England and Wales	69,845	75,795	59,440	57,255	68,470	76,410	61,850	58,350	68,325	78,475	67,955	61,180	76,210
Great Britain	74,440	80,725	63,430	61,005	72,995	81,370	65,885	62,295	72,840	83,630	72,260	65,200	81,265
Unspecified region	725	1,135	885	675	745	1,135	650	665	1,275	1,985	1,150	725	810
Company register (Companies House)4
Incorporations and dissolutions5
Companies incorporated4
United Kingdom	192,287	204,612	184,888	215,982	209,798	211,112	181,261	191,683	217,815	244,717	214,446	219,254	212,272
England and Wales	180,035	191,109	173,414	202,403	196,166	197,547	169,660	178,144	203,102	227,708	200,411	205,406	199,657
Scotland	9,806	10,714	9,056	10,605	10,676	10,551	8,524	9,328	9,916	11,433	9,244	10,064	9,785
Northern Ireland	2,446	2,789	2,418	2,974	2,956	3,014	3,077	4,211	4,797	5,576	4,791	3,784	2,830
Companies dissolved4
United Kingdom		190,836	176,716	234,373	185,336	190,147	203,584	170,597	162,485	160,048	163,452	161,761	178,084
England and Wales		178,649	165,330	220,235	172,562	178,700	191,687	161,164	153,322	151,094	154,552	152,750	168,551
Scotland		9,009	8,314	9,697	8,646	7,463	8,745	7,592	7,710	7,462	7,407	7,407	7,867
Northern Ireland		3,178	3,072	4,441	4,128	3,984	3,152	1,841	1,453	1,492	1,493	1,604	1,666
Companies struck off and dissolved4
United Kingdom		182,353	167,582	224,183	176,903	181,772	194,113	161,292	155,091	151,846	155,652	153,705	170,539
England and Wales		170,743	156,742	210,651	164,648	170,825	182,671	152,398	146,417	143,408	147,292	145,166	161,480
Scotland		8,510	7,839	9,194	8,206	7,069	8,350	7,149	7,290	7,019	6,942	6,988	7,455
Northern Ireland		3,100	3,001	4,338	4,049	3,878	3,092	1,745	1,384	1,419	1,418	1,551	1,604
Companies restored to the register4
United Kingdom	1,642	1,575	1,569	2,012	1,851	1,388	1,909	1,904	1,337	1,854	2,236	1,849	1,827
England and Wales	1,514	1,432	1,409	1,820	1,666	1,268	1,767	1,780	1,249	1,727	2,088	1,732	1,675
Scotland	88	108	120	129	123	89	111	100	65	104	111	88	126
Northern Ireland	40	35	40	63	62	31	31	24	23	23	37	29	26
Net removals from the register4
United Kingdom		189,261	175,147	232,361	183,485	188,759	201,675	168,693	161,148	158,194	161,216	159,912	176,257
England and Wales		177,217	163,921	218,415	170,896	177,432	189,920	159,384	152,073	149,367	152,464	151,018	166,876
Scotland		8,901	8,194	9,568	8,523	7,374	8,634	7,492	7,645	7,358	7,296	7,319	7,741
Northern Ireland		3,143	3,032	4,378	4,066	3,953	3,121	1,817	1,430	1,469	1,456	1,575	1,640
Register size4
Companies on the register, end of quarter4
United Kingdom	5,516,377	5,479,045	5,450,364	5,454,109	5,443,776	5,427,787	5,408,707	5,428,586	5,409,266	5,350,759	5,267,187	5,213,416	5,154,835
England and Wales	5,147,747	5,114,182	5,086,949	5,090,933	5,081,369	5,066,168	5,048,424	5,069,125	5,053,660	5,000,825	4,925,421	4,876,846	4,823,147
Scotland	278,477	275,310	273,506	272,652	270,909	268,876	266,304	265,757	264,057	261,812	257,705	255,839	253,139
Northern Ireland	90,153	89,553	89,909	90,524	91,498	92,743	93,979	93,704	91,549	88,122	84,061	80,731	78,549
Effective register size, end of quarter4
United Kingdom		4,930,634	4,876,981	4,910,896	4,872,181	4,872,293	4,835,963	4,895,458	4,896,950	4,876,374	4,796,341	4,745,447	4,701,006
England and Wales		4,601,611	4,551,677	4,583,768	4,547,530	4,548,150	4,511,964	4,570,018	4,573,547	4,556,834	4,484,929	4,438,310	4,398,746
Scotland		247,272	244,027	244,750	242,133	241,179	239,477	239,464	238,442	236,819	232,873	231,649	229,062
Northern Ireland		81,751	81,277	82,378	82,518	82,964	84,522	85,976	84,961	82,721	78,539	75,488	73,198
Companies in liquidation4
United Kingdom		109,421	109,855	110,900	113,300	112,418	111,932	110,742	111,259	109,352	109,812	107,932	107,813
England and Wales		101,963	102,395	103,494	105,755	104,926	104,462	103,511	104,033	102,197	102,645	100,781	100,678
Scotland		5,424	5,473	5,518	5,622	5,614	5,582	5,406	5,411	5,380	5,440	5,446	5,448
Northern Ireland		2,034	1,987	1,888	1,923	1,878	1,888	1,825	1,815	1,775	1,727	1,705	1,687
Companies in course of dissolution4
United Kingdom		438,990	463,528	432,313	458,295	443,076	460,812	422,386	401,057	365,033	361,034	360,037	346,016
England and Wales		410,608	432,877	403,671	428,084	413,092	431,998	395,596	376,080	341,794	337,847	337,755	323,723
Scotland		22,614	24,006	22,384	23,154	22,083	21,245	20,887	20,204	19,613	19,392	18,744	18,629
Northern Ireland		5,768	6,645	6,258	7,057	7,901	7,569	5,903	4,773	3,626	3,795	3,538	3,664
Insolvency events registered7
Liquidations registered4
United Kingdom		7,779	7,753	7,469	9,016	8,579	10,455	8,658	9,115	7,622	9,259	7,968	8,861
England and Wales		7,217	7,162	6,995	8,447	8,060	9,759	8,108	8,580	7,126	8,708	7,477	8,321
Scotland		444	423	405	441	425	576	447	424	380	457	418	469
Northern Ireland		118	168	69	128	94	120	103	111	116	94	73	71
Compulsory liquidations registered4
United Kingdom		1,006	895	1,090	1,244	1,034	998	926	1,021	877	931	867	791
England and Wales		844	692	946	1,020	877	824	819	844	736	787	732	670
Scotland		127	119	133	161	128	142	93	133	113	107	108	114
Northern Ireland		35	84	11	63	29	32	14	44	28	37	27	7
Creditors' voluntary liquidations registered4
United Kingdom		4,278	4,559	4,856	5,136	4,741	4,693	4,902	5,624	4,728	5,651	4,897	5,507
England and Wales		4,097	4,346	4,663	4,939	4,558	4,492	4,692	5,393	4,522	5,414	4,702	5,291
Scotland		147	188	165	166	153	161	180	192	166	198	172	192
Northern Ireland		34	25	28	31	30	40	30	39	40	39	23	24
Members' voluntary liquidations registered4
United Kingdom		2,411	2,206	1,420	2,551	2,733	4,702	2,752	2,415	1,958	2,608	2,150	2,524
England and Wales		2,193	2,038	1,288	2,408	2,557	4,387	2,522	2,288	1,814	2,441	1,991	2,323
Scotland		169	113	105	110	141	270	172	99	98	149	136	161
Northern Ireland		49	55	27	33	35	45	58	28	46	18	23	40
Administrator appointments registered4
United Kingdom		598	369	407	371	416	378	424	444	420	397	452	417
England and Wales		571	351	388	349	388	362	401	430	396	377	436	396
Scotland		24	18	14	13	17	13	17	11	19	12	15	19
Northern Ireland		3	0	5	9	11	3	6	3	5	8	1	2
Company voluntary arrangements registered4
United Kingdom		45	57	49	60	42	47	65	64	45	54	48	58
England and Wales		42	50	45	52	38	43	62	59	37	50	40	56
Scotland		1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Northern Ireland		2	7	3	7	4	4	3	5	7	3	8	2
Receiverships notified4
United Kingdom		299	311	308	397	282	289	313	290	223	240	195	190
England and Wales		294	307	304	395	280	285	310	286	223	238	194	187
Scotland		5	2	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1
Northern Ireland		0	2	4	2	2	3	1	4	0	2	1	2
Public limited companies and LLPs5
Public limited companies incorporated4
United Kingdom		33	30	57	35	31	28	45	45	54	37	56	34
England and Wales		33	30	57	35	31	28	45	44	53	37	56	33
Scotland		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Northern Ireland		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Public limited companies on the register4
United Kingdom		4,664	4,741	4,827	4,882	4,973	5,061	5,212	5,293	5,348	5,393	5,477	5,523
England and Wales		4,469	4,543	4,626	4,681	4,766	4,852	4,999	5,081	5,133	5,179	5,260	5,304
Scotland		172	175	177	176	182	183	187	186	189	188	191	193
Northern Ireland		23	23	24	25	25	26	26	26	26	26	26	26
Limited liability partnerships incorporated4
United Kingdom	887	981	991	1,119	1,183	1,164	1,154	1,119	1,275	1,273	1,178	1,386	1,404
England and Wales	821	928	943	1,059	1,124	1,103	1,101	1,065	1,216	1,200	1,116	1,332	1,345
Scotland	56	46	41	51	51	53	42	45	48	62	57	47	50
Northern Ireland	10	7	7	9	8	8	11	9	11	11	5	7	9
Limited liability partnerships dissolved4
United Kingdom		1,328	1,245	1,476	1,212	1,214	1,364	1,523	1,295	1,351	1,184	1,258	1,492
England and Wales		1,266	1,179	1,411	1,131	1,147	1,303	1,456	1,241	1,293	1,124	1,190	1,410
Scotland		48	55	60	71	56	53	54	41	50	52	61	71
Northern Ireland		14	11	5	10	11	8	13	13	8	8	7	11
Limited liability partnerships on the register4
United Kingdom	51,014	51,300	51,523	51,870	51,997	52,108	52,101	52,335	52,691	52,688	52,785	52,747	52,621
England and Wales	47,495	47,793	48,010	48,340	48,467	48,558	48,542	48,774	49,119	49,125	49,236	49,199	49,059
Scotland	2,929	2,922	2,923	2,936	2,940	2,958	2,965	2,972	2,980	2,970	2,960	2,954	2,968
Northern Ireland	590	585	590	594	590	592	594	589	592	593	589	594	594

Latest reading

All industries stood at 79,325 Businesses in Q2 2026. That is +0.9% from Q1 2026 and +2.2% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q1 2017 to Q2 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS); Companies House.

Latest: 79,325 Businesses; Q2 2026
vs previous period: +0.9%; Q1 2026
vs a year earlier: +2.2%

About this data

The quarterly flow of UK businesses in and out of existence. The ONS counts business births and deaths by industry and region; Companies House reports every incorporation, dissolution, strike-off and restoration, the size of the register, and the liquidations, administrations and voluntary arrangements registered against companies.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between business births and company incorporations in the UK?: Business births measure new active enterprises entering the economy compiled by the ONS, whereas incorporations count every legal entity added to the official register at Companies House.
Which regional and industry breakdowns are included?: The statistics cover UK regions including London, South East, Yorkshire and The Humber, Scotland, England and Wales, alongside industries such as construction, real estate, wholesale, and accommodation and food services.
How far back does this UK business register and demography data go?: The quarterly dataset provides continuous records on UK business births, deaths and register movements since 2012, updating each quarter.
What units are used to measure business creation and closure?: Figures are reported as quarterly counts of businesses, registered companies and partnerships across the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and constituent nations.