New companies in the UK, September 2026
68,177 companies were incorporated in the UK in September 2026, 17% more than in August 2026 and 10% below September 2025 (adjusted for companies dissolved since). That's about 3,099 a working day. Roughly 28,185 (41%) are expected to become trading businesses, and 17% were registered at a mass-formation or virtual-office address. London led with 23,489. Among councils with 30 or more own-address formations, Redcar and Cleveland rose most (+78% to 91).
Published 1 October 2026 · Companies House public register (OGL) · free to quote with attribution to Salenovo · councils.csv · regions.csv · JSON
What the £50 incorporation fee did
Incorporations fell 15% when the fee went from £12 to £50 in May 2024 (May to August, against the same months of 2023). More than half of the companies that stopped being formed would have been struck off; the number that go on to trade didn't fall.
By region
| Region | September 2026 | Own address | August 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 23,489 | 13,791 | 19,747 | +19% | 9,746 | 41% |
| South East | 7,219 | 7,087 | 6,105 | +18% | 3,028 | 2% |
| North West | 7,145 | 6,681 | 6,183 | +16% | 2,883 | 6% |
| East of England | 6,028 | 5,128 | 5,083 | +19% | 2,532 | 15% |
| West Midlands | 5,521 | 5,279 | 4,731 | +17% | 2,230 | 4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,182 | 4,120 | 3,576 | +17% | 1,686 | 2% |
| Scotland | 3,566 | 3,347 | 3,203 | +11% | 1,495 | 6% |
| South West | 3,343 | 3,233 | 2,694 | +24% | 1,392 | 3% |
| East Midlands | 3,325 | 3,297 | 2,970 | +12% | 1,386 | 1% |
| North East | 1,769 | 1,769 | 1,416 | +25% | 733 | 0% |
| Wales | 1,691 | 1,689 | 1,525 | +11% | 696 | 0% |
| Northern Ireland | 784 | 784 | 746 | +5% | 327 | 0% |
What they do
| Sector (SIC section) | Companies | Share | Share, previous month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & wholesale | 14,518 | 21.3% | 21.0% |
| IT & media | 8,265 | 12.1% | 12.0% |
| Professional services | 6,724 | 9.9% | 10.0% |
| Property | 6,162 | 9.0% | 9.1% |
| Construction | 5,795 | 8.5% | 9.0% |
| Hospitality & food | 4,964 | 7.3% | 7.2% |
| Business support | 4,110 | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Finance & insurance | 2,993 | 4.4% | 4.2% |
| Transport & logistics | 2,722 | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| Manufacturing | 2,339 | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| Health & social care | 2,308 | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| Other services | 2,126 | 3.1% | 3.1% |
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 | September 2026 | August 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redcar and Cleveland | North East | 91 | 51 | +78% |
| Teignbridge | South West | 64 | 36 | +78% |
| Denbighshire | Wales | 71 | 40 | +78% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | London | 271 | 154 | +76% |
| Havant | South East | 76 | 44 | +73% |
| West Berkshire | South East | 117 | 68 | +72% |
| Bassetlaw | East Midlands | 69 | 41 | +68% |
| Angus | Scotland | 49 | 30 | +63% |
| Falling | Region | September 2026 | August 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Lindsey | East Midlands | 46 | 74 | -38% |
| Caerphilly | Wales | 64 | 97 | -34% |
| Blaby | East Midlands | 59 | 89 | -34% |
| Epsom and Ewell | South East | 52 | 76 | -32% |
| Mid Ulster | Northern Ireland | 38 | 53 | -28% |
| East Cambridgeshire | East of England | 35 | 47 | -26% |
| Ribble Valley | North West | 43 | 56 | -23% |
| Pembrokeshire | Wales | 37 | 46 | -20% |
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 | September 2026 | Own address | August 2026 | Change | Expected to trade | At agent addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 1,563 | 1,550 | 1,330 | +18% | 628 | 1% |
| Manchester | North West | 1,329 | 1,060 | 1,095 | +21% | 474 | 20% |
| Newham | London | 1,013 | 958 | 873 | +16% | 356 | 5% |
| Tower Hamlets | London | 1,084 | 914 | 831 | +30% | 422 | 16% |
| Westminster | London | 1,746 | 792 | 1,454 | +20% | 869 | 55% |
| Redbridge | London | 709 | 709 | 653 | +9% | 281 | 0% |
| Leeds | Yorkshire and The Humber | 713 | 676 | 613 | +16% | 302 | 5% |
| Glasgow City | Scotland | 758 | 634 | 675 | +12% | 322 | 16% |
| Barnet | London | 675 | 602 | 567 | +19% | 275 | 11% |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and The Humber | 608 | 599 | 495 | +23% | 242 | 2% |
| Camden | London | 4,073 | 578 | 3,325 | +22% | 1,372 | 86% |
| Ealing | London | 542 | 542 | 413 | +31% | 220 | 0% |
| Buckinghamshire | South East | 532 | 532 | 448 | +19% | 221 | 0% |
| Harrow | London | 566 | 528 | 466 | +21% | 242 | 7% |
| Liverpool | North West | 541 | 509 | 482 | +12% | 224 | 6% |
| Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 500 | 500 | 384 | +30% | 189 | 0% |
| Waltham Forest | London | 724 | 477 | 553 | +31% | 291 | 34% |
| Hillingdon | London | 627 | 469 | 601 | +4% | 223 | 25% |
| Brent | London | 464 | 464 | 454 | +2% | 185 | 0% |
| Barking and Dagenham | London | 460 | 460 | 361 | +27% | 177 | 0% |
| Croydon | London | 466 | 458 | 380 | +23% | 191 | 2% |
| Leicester | East Midlands | 457 | 457 | 433 | +6% | 182 | 0% |
| City of Edinburgh | Scotland | 550 | 455 | 475 | +16% | 236 | 17% |
| Enfield | London | 479 | 443 | 371 | +29% | 202 | 8% |
| Hounslow | London | 431 | 431 | 368 | +17% | 173 | 0% |
Mostly one address: in West Suffolk (87% of 866), Camden (86% of 4,073), Islington (86% of 2,348), Hackney (84% of 2,683), Westminster (55% of 1,746) 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.