How many companies are there in the UK? (2026 data)

May 30, 2026 · OneFirmIntel

There are 5,698,039 companies on record in the United Kingdom, but the figure that matters to buyers is how many are active and established, not the raw total.

How many companies are in the UK?

OneFirmIntel indexes 5,698,039 companies in the United Kingdom, sourced from official government records and graded into quality tiers so the count is actually usable.

Of those, roughly 3,417,803 are ★★ Established (active and registered three or more years ago) and about 1,750,476 are ★ New entrants, active companies under three years old. A further 529,760 are dissolved or struck off and shown separately.

The biggest UK sectors by company count

Construction leads the UK tracked sectors with 48,602 companies, ahead of trading (35,591), food & beverage (26,387), transport (20,743) and logistics (16,459). Software & IT follows with 8,768.

For buyers, the established tier within each sector is the dependable core, the firms most likely to be trading, contactable and worth approaching.

Explore the data

You can browse UK companies by industry and city in the OneFirmIntel directory, see the full statistics page, and reveal the specific companies you need.

Sources & further reading

External links are provided for reference; third-party names are trademarks of their owners.

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FAQ

How many companies are registered in the UK?

OneFirmIntel lists 5,698,039 companies in the United Kingdom from official government records, graded into quality tiers.

How many active companies are in the UK?

The active universe (★★ Established + ★ New entrant) is roughly 5.17 million; dissolved companies are counted separately.

What is the biggest industry in the UK by company count?

Construction is the largest tracked sector, with 48,602 companies, ahead of trading and food & beverage.