New companies in the UK, July 2026
68,141 companies were incorporated in the UK in July 2026 — 7% more than in June 2026 and 1% below July 2025 counting companies still on the register. That is about 2,963 a working day. Roughly 25,024 (37%) are expected to become trading businesses, and 15% were registered at a mass-formation or virtual-office address. London led with 23,923. Among councils with 30 or more, South Hams rose most (+67% to 75).
Published 15 September 2026 · Companies House public register (OGL) · free to quote with attribution to Salenovo · councils.csv · regions.csv · JSON
By region
| Region | July 2026 | June 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 23,923 | 22,403 | +7% | 9,001 | 37% |
| North West | 7,197 | 6,632 | +9% | 2,569 | 5% |
| South East | 7,187 | 6,507 | +10% | 2,666 | 1% |
| East of England | 5,933 | 5,378 | +10% | 2,198 | 13% |
| West Midlands | 5,593 | 5,208 | +7% | 1,980 | 4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,129 | 3,736 | +11% | 1,447 | 1% |
| East Midlands | 3,428 | 3,168 | +8% | 1,240 | 0% |
| Scotland | 3,160 | 3,172 | 0% | 1,152 | 3% |
| South West | 3,159 | 3,012 | +5% | 1,169 | 2% |
| Wales | 1,758 | 1,583 | +11% | 639 | 0% |
| North East | 1,685 | 1,522 | +11% | 614 | 0% |
| Northern Ireland | 748 | 823 | −9% | 268 | 0% |
What they do
| Sector (SIC section) | Companies | Share | Share, previous month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & wholesale | 13,812 | 20.3% | 19.4% |
| IT & media | 8,423 | 12.4% | 12.1% |
| Professional services | 6,802 | 10.0% | 10.3% |
| Property | 6,509 | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Construction | 5,988 | 8.8% | 8.9% |
| Hospitality & food | 5,023 | 7.4% | 7.5% |
| Business support | 3,986 | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| Finance & insurance | 3,050 | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| Transport & logistics | 2,546 | 3.7% | 3.8% |
| Health & social care | 2,384 | 3.5% | 3.3% |
| Manufacturing | 2,361 | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| Other services | 2,203 | 3.2% | 3.5% |
Biggest movers
Councils with at least 30 incorporations in both months. Small councils move a lot from month to month; treat a single month's change as a prompt to look, not a trend.
| Rising | Region | July 2026 | June 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hams | South West | 75 | 45 | +67% |
| Mole Valley | South East | 72 | 44 | +64% |
| Hastings | South East | 60 | 37 | +62% |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk | East of England | 79 | 49 | +61% |
| Mid Suffolk | East of England | 63 | 41 | +54% |
| Brentwood | East of England | 121 | 81 | +49% |
| Bracknell Forest | South East | 87 | 59 | +48% |
| Mansfield | East Midlands | 59 | 40 | +48% |
| Falling | Region | July 2026 | June 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | Northern Ireland | 38 | 63 | -40% |
| East Lothian | Scotland | 30 | 49 | -39% |
| Wyre Forest | West Midlands | 36 | 54 | -33% |
| North Devon | South West | 38 | 57 | -33% |
| Fareham | South East | 88 | 116 | -24% |
| Derry City and Strabane | Northern Ireland | 48 | 63 | -24% |
| Cotswold | South West | 52 | 68 | -24% |
| Adur | South East | 30 | 39 | -23% |
Busiest councils
Raw counts favour the London boroughs where formation agents and virtual offices are based; the agent-address share shows how much of each total is that.
| Council | Region | July 2026 | June 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | London | 3,645 | 3,526 | +3% | 880 | 83% |
| Hackney | London | 3,243 | 2,953 | +10% | 2,052 | 80% |
| Islington | London | 2,342 | 2,278 | +3% | 669 | 84% |
| Westminster | London | 1,767 | 1,658 | +7% | 818 | 45% |
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 1,606 | 1,473 | +9% | 568 | 0% |
| Manchester | North West | 1,343 | 1,193 | +13% | 426 | 14% |
| Newham | London | 1,060 | 961 | +10% | 326 | 0% |
| Tower Hamlets | London | 983 | 959 | +3% | 344 | 14% |
| Redbridge | London | 781 | 722 | +8% | 266 | 0% |
| West Suffolk | East of England | 781 | 696 | +12% | 282 | 86% |
| Leeds | Yorkshire and The Humber | 739 | 691 | +7% | 278 | 3% |
| Barnet | London | 712 | 682 | +4% | 273 | 1% |
| Glasgow City | Scotland | 655 | 666 | −2% | 237 | 2% |
| Waltham Forest | London | 648 | 538 | +20% | 223 | 0% |
| Hillingdon | London | 635 | 586 | +8% | 191 | 20% |
| Harrow | London | 599 | 541 | +11% | 216 | 0% |
| Brent | London | 532 | 438 | +21% | 185 | 0% |
| Ealing | London | 523 | 497 | +5% | 186 | 0% |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and The Humber | 515 | 522 | −1% | 172 | 0% |
| Buckinghamshire | South East | 507 | 403 | +26% | 185 | 0% |
| Liverpool | North West | 494 | 514 | −4% | 181 | 4% |
| Croydon | London | 480 | 466 | +3% | 173 | 2% |
| City of Edinburgh | Scotland | 477 | 468 | +2% | 176 | 14% |
| Leicester | East Midlands | 467 | 398 | +17% | 161 | 0% |
| Haringey | London | 466 | 340 | +37% | 171 | 6% |
The full table for all 360 councils is in councils.csv. Each council also has a weekly page with this week's companies: find yours.
Method, in brief
Every incorporation on the Companies House register is counted on the day it was formed (companies limited by shares or guarantee and LLPs). "Expected to trade" applies the historical trading rate of companies formed at the same mass-formation address or in the same SIC section, from 447,000 companies with known outcomes; it is an estimate for the group, not a judgement on any company. Year-earlier comparisons count companies still on the register today and are therefore biased downwards. Full method and accuracy.