New companies in the UK, August 2026
58,147 companies were incorporated in the UK in August 2026, 15% fewer than in July 2026 and 14% below August 2025 (adjusted for companies dissolved since). That's about 2,769 a working day. Roughly 24,127 (41%) are expected to become trading businesses, and 17% were registered at a mass-formation or virtual-office address. London led with 19,747. Among councils with 30 or more own-address formations, East Lothian rose most (+63% to 49).
Published 30 October 2026 · Companies House public register (OGL) · free to quote with attribution to Salenovo · councils.csv · regions.csv · JSON
By region
| Region | August 2026 | Own address | July 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 19,747 | 11,813 | 23,923 | −17% | 8,280 | 40% |
| North West | 6,183 | 5,772 | 7,197 | −14% | 2,502 | 7% |
| South East | 6,105 | 6,000 | 7,187 | −15% | 2,564 | 2% |
| East of England | 5,083 | 4,296 | 5,933 | −14% | 2,134 | 16% |
| West Midlands | 4,731 | 4,511 | 5,593 | −15% | 1,909 | 5% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3,576 | 3,540 | 4,129 | −13% | 1,447 | 1% |
| Scotland | 3,203 | 3,037 | 3,160 | +1% | 1,345 | 5% |
| East Midlands | 2,970 | 2,942 | 3,428 | −13% | 1,240 | 1% |
| South West | 2,694 | 2,578 | 3,159 | −15% | 1,120 | 4% |
| Wales | 1,525 | 1,516 | 1,758 | −13% | 626 | 1% |
| North East | 1,416 | 1,415 | 1,685 | −16% | 582 | 0% |
| Northern Ireland | 746 | 746 | 748 | 0% | 309 | 0% |
What they do
| Sector (SIC section) | Companies | Share | Share, previous month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & wholesale | 12,232 | 21.0% | 20.3% |
| IT & media | 6,983 | 12.0% | 12.4% |
| Professional services | 5,792 | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| Property | 5,303 | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Construction | 5,216 | 9.0% | 8.8% |
| Hospitality & food | 4,181 | 7.2% | 7.4% |
| Business support | 3,474 | 6.0% | 5.9% |
| Finance & insurance | 2,462 | 4.2% | 4.5% |
| Transport & logistics | 2,304 | 4.0% | 3.7% |
| Manufacturing | 2,066 | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Health & social care | 1,969 | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| Other services | 1,831 | 3.1% | 3.2% |
Biggest movers
Change in companies formed at their own address (agent and virtual-office registrations excluded, so a formation agent moving office doesn't appear as a boom), for councils with at least 30 such companies 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 | August 2026 | July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Lothian | Scotland | 49 | 30 | +63% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Scotland | 60 | 40 | +50% |
| West Lindsey | East Midlands | 74 | 51 | +45% |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | Northern Ireland | 50 | 38 | +32% |
| East Ayrshire | Scotland | 74 | 57 | +30% |
| Blaby | East Midlands | 89 | 69 | +29% |
| Ribble Valley | North West | 56 | 45 | +24% |
| North Devon | South West | 47 | 38 | +24% |
| Falling | Region | August 2026 | July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | East Midlands | 38 | 77 | -51% |
| North Kesteven | East Midlands | 38 | 66 | -42% |
| Ipswich | East of England | 69 | 118 | -42% |
| Bassetlaw | East Midlands | 41 | 70 | -41% |
| Mole Valley | South East | 43 | 72 | -40% |
| Stevenage | East of England | 48 | 80 | -40% |
| Stafford | West Midlands | 53 | 86 | -38% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | London | 154 | 249 | -38% |
Busiest councils
Ranked by companies formed at their own address, because raw counts favour the districts where formation agents and virtual offices are based; the full count and the agent-address share are alongside.
| Council | Region | August 2026 | Own address | July 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 1,330 | 1,320 | 1,606 | −17% | 529 | 1% |
| Manchester | North West | 1,095 | 894 | 1,343 | −18% | 393 | 18% |
| Newham | London | 873 | 840 | 1,060 | −18% | 311 | 4% |
| Tower Hamlets | London | 831 | 696 | 983 | −15% | 329 | 16% |
| Westminster | London | 1,454 | 695 | 1,767 | −18% | 731 | 52% |
| Redbridge | London | 653 | 653 | 781 | −16% | 260 | 0% |
| Leeds | Yorkshire and The Humber | 613 | 600 | 739 | −17% | 261 | 2% |
| Glasgow City | Scotland | 675 | 568 | 655 | +3% | 286 | 16% |
| Camden | London | 3,325 | 536 | 3,645 | −9% | 1,117 | 84% |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and The Humber | 495 | 488 | 515 | −4% | 194 | 1% |
| Barnet | London | 567 | 479 | 712 | −20% | 232 | 16% |
| Hillingdon | London | 601 | 472 | 635 | −5% | 217 | 22% |
| Brent | London | 454 | 454 | 532 | −15% | 178 | 0% |
| Liverpool | North West | 482 | 451 | 494 | −2% | 198 | 6% |
| Buckinghamshire | South East | 448 | 448 | 507 | −12% | 188 | 0% |
| Leicester | East Midlands | 433 | 433 | 467 | −7% | 175 | 0% |
| Harrow | London | 466 | 429 | 599 | −22% | 199 | 8% |
| City of Edinburgh | Scotland | 475 | 416 | 477 | 0% | 202 | 12% |
| Ealing | London | 413 | 413 | 523 | −21% | 165 | 0% |
| Waltham Forest | London | 553 | 391 | 648 | −15% | 222 | 29% |
| Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 384 | 384 | 465 | −17% | 148 | 0% |
| Hackney | London | 2,379 | 376 | 3,243 | −27% | 1,500 | 84% |
| Croydon | London | 380 | 374 | 480 | −21% | 152 | 2% |
| Hounslow | London | 368 | 368 | 409 | −10% | 151 | 0% |
| Barking and Dagenham | London | 361 | 361 | 449 | −20% | 142 | 0% |
Mostly one address: in West Suffolk (87% of 746), Islington (85% of 1,896), Hackney (84% of 2,379), Camden (84% of 3,325), Herefordshire, County of (56% of 209), Westminster (52% of 1,454) more than half of the month's registrations were at mass-formation or virtual-office addresses. A formation agent based in a district isn't a local business boom, which is why this table ranks councils by companies formed at their own address.
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
We count every incorporation on the Companies House register 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 2.5 million companies with known outcomes. It's an estimate for the group, not a judgement on any company. Year-earlier comparisons start from companies still on the register today and are corrected for the share dissolved since. Full method and accuracy.