Spotlight
UK business; activity, size and location: 2025
What's in the bulletin?
- There were 2.73 million Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) businesses in the UK as of March 2025, an increase of 0.4% from March 2024.
- The number of companies and public corporations continued to rise, representing 76.7% of total UK businesses, while the proportion of sole proprietors and partnerships fell to 19.8%.
- The largest industry group is still professional, scientific, and technical, making up 15.3% of all registered businesses in the UK.
Business demography, quarterly, UK: January to March 2026
What's in the bulletin?
- The number of businesses added (business creations) to the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) in the UK in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2026 was 78,650 which is a decrease of 8.0% from Quarter 1 2025.
- There were decreases in business creations in 15 out of 16 main industrial groups in Quarter 1 2026, compared with Quarter 1 2025; the most statistically significant decreases came from the health and social care, and finance and insurance industries.
- The number of businesses removed (business closures) from the IDBR in the UK in Quarter 1 2026 was 83,195; this figure is 1.1% lower than the number of closures in Quarter 1 2025.
Datasets related to Activity, size and location
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Business demography, UK
Annual data on births, deaths and survival of businesses in the UK, by geographical area and Standard Industrial Classification 2007: SIC 2007 groups.
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Business demography, quarterly, UK
Business births and deaths from the Inter-Departmental Business Register with high-level breakdowns by industry and region. Quarterly official statistics in development.
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UK business: activity, size and location
Numbers of enterprises and local units produced from a snapshot of the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) taken on 14 March 2025.
Publications related to Activity, size and location
Statistical bulletins
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Business demography, quarterly, UK: January to March 2026
Business creations or births and closures or deaths from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) with high-level breakdowns by industry and region. Official statistics in development.
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UK business; activity, size and location: 2025
UK businesses broken down by legal status, industry, region, employment and turnover size bands.
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Business demography, UK: 2024
Annual change in the number of UK businesses broken down by sector of the economy.
Articles
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Multiple business registrations at a single postcode, UK
Business demography explainer covering additional information on the impact of multiple registrations at a single postcode.
Methodology related to Activity, size and location
Find, compare and visualise statistics about places within the United Kingdom.