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Press Release

UK New Company Incorporations (2017–2026): Town Hotspots and SIC Clusters

February 9, 2026 By Dan Maftei Categories: Company Data

Key takeaways

  • London share changed from 16.38% (2007-2016) to 21.71% (2017-2026).
  • Top SIC clusters skew toward Buying and selling of own real estate (68100), Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209), Management consultancy activities other than financial management (70229), Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (47910).
  • Last five-year hotspots (top towns + top SIC shares): LONDON: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (7.07%); Buying and selling of own real estate (5.60%); Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (5.00%) β€’ MANCHESTER: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (7.10%); Buying and selling of own real estate (6.37%); Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (4.81%) β€’ BIRMINGHAM: Buying and selling of own real estate (6.72%); Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (6.03%); Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (4.32%).

Recent Trends in Company Incorporations

  • 2017-2026: 3,649,013 companies Verify
  • 2007-2016: 1,219,233 companies Verify

UK Company Incorporations: What the Latest Filings Show

This article summarizes UK company incorporation patterns using two available data dimensions: (1) incorporation dates and registered towns/cities, and (2) industry coding at the country level. Where the dataset provides multi-year incorporation totals, those totals are treated as covering the entire stated period (not single-year figures) and are linked for verification.

What the Data Covers

  • Incorporation timing: company incorporation dates, used to group filings into defined time periods when provided.
  • Geography: registered towns/cities associated with incorporations, used to describe where filings cluster.
  • Industry: country-level industry codes associated with companies, used to identify the most common sectors in the UK dataset.

Verified UK Incorporation Timeline

  • 2017-2026: 3,649,013 companies Verify
  • 2007-2016: 1,219,233 companies Verify
  • 1997-2006: 453,249 companies Verify
  • 1987-1996: 136,889 companies Verify
  • 1977-1986: 74,423 companies Verify
  • 1967-1976: 29,670 companies Verify

UK Incorporation Clusters

Latest decade (2017-01-01 to 2026-02-14): 3,649,013 companies

  • LONDON: 792,280 companies (21.71% share)
  • MANCHESTER: 78,587 companies (2.15% share)
  • BIRMINGHAM: 72,695 companies (1.99% share)
  • GLASGOW: 50,334 companies (1.38% share)
  • CARDIFF: 42,748 companies (1.17% share)

Previous decade (2007-01-01 to 2016-12-31): 1,219,233 companies

  • LONDON: 199,728 companies (16.38% share)
  • EDINBURGH: 22,290 companies (1.83% share)
  • MANCHESTER: 19,447 companies (1.60% share)
  • BIRMINGHAM: 17,380 companies (1.43% share)
  • GLASGOW: 16,856 companies (1.38% share)

Use these clusters to compare London versus regional hubs, spot demand shifts, and plan whitespace or office expansion moves.

UK Incorporation Industries

Industry breakdown covers 3,532,341 / 3,649,012 incorporations (96.8%) where a valid SIC is present.

Latest decade (2017-01-01 to 2026-02-14): 3,532,341 companies

  • Buying and selling of own real estate (68100): 200,599 companies (5.68% share)
  • Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209): 182,366 companies (5.16% share)
  • Management consultancy activities other than financial management (70229): 148,347 companies (4.20% share)
  • Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (47910): 142,244 companies (4.03% share)
  • Activities of other holding companies n.e.c. (64209): 89,164 companies (2.52% share)
  • Other business support service activities n.e.c. (82990): 87,327 companies (2.47% share)
  • Information technology consultancy activities (62020): 82,871 companies (2.35% share)
  • Other service activities n.e.c. (96090): 78,459 companies (2.22% share)
  • Development of building projects (41100): 75,816 companies (2.15% share)
  • Take-away food shops and mobile food stands (56103): 64,288 companies (1.82% share)

Use these industry clusters to discuss market crowding, whitespace, and target segments for sales or expansion.

Signs of Market Crowding vs. Whitespace

Sector signals based on the same incorporation window:

  • Higher concentration: Buying and selling of own real estate (68100) β€” 5.68% share
  • Higher concentration: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209) β€” 5.16% share
  • Higher concentration: Management consultancy activities other than financial management (70229) β€” 4.20% share
  • Lower concentration: Development of building projects (41100) β€” 2.15% share (lower share does not automatically mean opportunity)
  • Lower concentration: Take-away food shops and mobile food stands (56103) β€” 1.82% share (lower share does not automatically mean opportunity)

Lower share segments are not automatically whitespaceβ€”they may simply be smaller markets.

Use Cases for Strategic Expansion

Combine town hotspots with industry clusters to decide where to focus sales or open offices:

  • LONDON: 576,192 companies. Dominant SICs: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (7.07%), Buying and selling of own real estate (5.60%), Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (5.00%)
  • MANCHESTER: 56,678 companies. Dominant SICs: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (7.10%), Buying and selling of own real estate (6.37%), Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (4.81%)
  • BIRMINGHAM: 52,311 companies. Dominant SICs: Buying and selling of own real estate (6.72%), Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (6.03%), Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (4.32%)

Town + Industry Hotspots (Last 5 Years)

Window: 2021-02-14 to 2026-02-14

  • LONDON β€” 576,192 companies
    • Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (47910): 40,726 companies (7.07% share)
    • Buying and selling of own real estate (68100): 32,266 companies (5.60% share)
    • Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209): 28,801 companies (5.00% share)
  • MANCHESTER β€” 56,678 companies
    • Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (47910): 4,022 companies (7.10% share)
    • Buying and selling of own real estate (68100): 3,608 companies (6.37% share)
    • Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209): 2,724 companies (4.81% share)
  • BIRMINGHAM β€” 52,311 companies
    • Buying and selling of own real estate (68100): 3,517 companies (6.72% share)
    • Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet (47910): 3,156 companies (6.03% share)
    • Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate (68209): 2,260 companies (4.32% share)

Use these combos to discuss where demand concentrates (e.g., London e-commerce + property vs regional holdings/business support) and where whitespace remains.

Decision recipes

  1. Lead gen / B2B targeting (accounting, legal, SaaS): Target LONDON (576,192 companies); MANCHESTER (56,678 companies); BIRMINGHAM (52,311 companies) and build landing pages/outreach around SIC 68100/68209/70229/47910, which together capture 19.07% of recent incorporations.
  2. Office/rep placement: Keep London for volume but add Manchester/Birmingham for momentum (London 21.71% vs 16.38% prior; Manchester 2.15% vs 1.60% prior; Birmingham 1.99% vs 1.43% prior).
  3. Market entry positioning: 68100/68209 already account for 10.84% of new UK companies, so plan for competition and differentiate via niche/geographyβ€”Manchester (56,678 companies, 11.18% mix) and Birmingham (52,311 companies, 11.04% mix) have similar SIC shares but lower volumes.

What changed vs last decade?

  • London share: 16.38% β†’ 21.71% (+5.33pp)
  • Manchester share: 1.60% β†’ 2.15% (+0.55pp)
  • Birmingham share: 1.43% β†’ 1.99% (+0.56pp)

How to interpret this

Company incorporation data reflects registered offices, not necessarily operating sites, yet it remains a strong proxy for lead generation and momentum tracking when paired with CFR signals. SIC code can be broad, so treat it as a sector signal rather than a guarantee of day-to-day activity.

Import activity