Official Statistics

Incorporated companies in the UK January to March 2020

Published 30 April 2020

Introduction

This release provides information about the population of companies in the United Kingdom. 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 trade actively. Further information on companies and the Companies Act 2006 is provided in the document Definitions to accompany statistical releases.

The statistics in this release include the total number of incorporated companies, the number of newly incorporated companies and the number of companies that were dissolved. The release focusses on the headline messages for the UK. Figures for the constituent countries are contained in the supplementary tables that accompany this release. The supplementary tables also contain separate figures for public companies and limited liability partnerships.

Key points

• At the end of March 2020, there were 4,350,913 companies on the total register and 4,064,063 on the effective register. Both the total and effective registers continue to increase in size at a steady rate, although this has slowed in recent years.

• Between January and March 2020, there were 169,822 new incorporations and 136,978 dissolutions in the UK.

• The number of incorporations in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 12,920 (7.1%) compared with the same quarter of the previous year. However, during the first quarter of 2019, there was an unusually high number of incorporations.

• The number of dissolutions in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 5,412 (3.8%) compared with the first quarter of 2019. However, during March 2020, the number of dissolutions increased by 7,453 (23.0%) when compared with March 2019.

• Consistent with trends in previous years, both the number of incorporations and dissolutions in the first quarter of 2020 were higher when compared with quarter 4 in 2019.

• Despite seasonal fluctuations, both incorporations and dissolutions have continued to increase since 2012.

Incorporated companies

Between January and March 2020, there were 169,822 incorporations and 136,978 dissolutions in the UK. At the end of March 2020, there were 4,350,913 companies on the UK total register – this includes those in the course of dissolution and liquidation (286,850).

Compared with the end of December 2019, the total register increased by 34,518 companies (0.8%). Increases were seen in all constituent countries; England and Wales (0.8%), Scotland (0.8%) and Northern Ireland (1.2%).

At the end of March 2020, the number of companies on the effective register – which excludes those in the course of dissolution or liquidation – was 4,064,063. There was an increase of 39,804 companies (1.0%) compared with the end of December 2019.

The total register increased by 148,869 companies (3.5%) in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019, whilst the effective register increased by 137,689 (3.5%). Both the total and effective registers have increased in a linear fashion since 2012, albeit at a slower growth rate in recent years.

 Chart 1: UK total and effective register sizes, 2012 quarter 1 to 2020 quarter 1

Source: Incorporated companies in the UK, January to March 2020, Companies House.

Consistent with trends in previous years, both the number of incorporations and dissolutions have increased in the first quarter of 2020 when compared with the final quarter of the previous year.

When comparing year on year, the number of incorporations during the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 12,920 (7.1%) compared with the first quarter of 2019. This is the largest quarter one year on year decrease since 2012.

However, during the first quarter of 2019, there was an unusually high number of incorporations. When comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the first quarter of 2018, the number of incorporations increased by 2,270 (1.4%). However, during March 2020, the number of incorporations decreased by 3,255 (5.7%) when compared with March 2018. The observed decrease in March 2020 aligns with the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Despite this decrease, the number of incorporations has continued to increase gradually over time. There were 41,620 more incorporations in the first quarter of 2020 than in the first quarter of 2012, representing an increase of almost a third (32.5%).

The number of dissolutions in the first quarter of 2020 were also lower when compared with the first quarter of 2019, decreasing by 5,412 (3.8%). However, during January 2019, an unusually high number of dissolutions were recorded. This was caused by a delay in the issue of the December 2018 Gazette (the publication that confirms a company has been dissolved) and as a result over inflated the dissolution levels in January 2019.

During March 2020, there was an increase of 7,453 (23.0%) dissolutions when compared with March 2019. This increase also aligns with the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Despite seasonal fluctuations, the number of dissolutions has also continued to increase over time, almost doubling in size between the first quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2020 (92.2% increase). There were 65,710 more dissolutions in the first quarter of 2020 than in the first quarter of 2012.

 Chart 2: UK total incorporations and dissolutions, 2012 quarter 1 to 2020 quarter 1

Source: Incorporated Companies in the UK, January to March 2020, Companies House

A full breakdown of figures for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole is provided in the Excel workbook that accompanies this release. Figures are provided on both a quarterly and annual basis from 2011.

 Other statistics in this release

In addition to the tables covering register activity for all companies, a range of other statistics are included in the tables that accompany this release. These tables provide information at the individual country level and for the UK as a whole.

The tables cover:

• register activity for public companies

• register activity for limited liability partnerships (LLPs)

• company insolvencies and liquidations

• removals from the register

Background notes

This section provides a range of information designed to provide the user with more information about the statistics.

Definitions

A separate document Definitions to accompany statistical releases is available, providing definitions for the main terms used in Companies House official statistics publications.

 Quality

Information relating to the quality of the statistics is provided in a separate quality document. This document provides information on the quality of Companies House’s official statistics, to enable users to judge whether the data are 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 selected other business statistics.

Coverage

This release provides information on the size of the company population and the changes that have occurred within the quarter. The release includes statistics for the United Kingdom, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. The statistics cover companies, which are specific legal forms of businesses that are registered at Companies House. They do not include information on sole proprietorship businesses, partnerships, or charities.

Use and users

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

Consultation

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

Revisions to these statistics

Revisions to these statistics will be mainly due to 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 used 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, a correction will be issued as soon as possible. Minor corrections will be included in the next planned release.

Any misleading or incorrect figures will be amended and a footnote added to indicate that the figures have been corrected. The nature and reason for the correction will be explained.

Date of next release

Annual statistics for the financial year of 2019/20 will be published on 26 June 2020.

Statistics for the period 1 April to 31 June 2020 will be published on 30 July 2020.

The publication dates have been announced on the gov.uk release calendar.