Spotlight
UK business; activity, size and location: 2024
What's in the bulletin?
- The number of businesses in the UK registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay as You Earn (PAYE), as of March 2024, was 2.72 million, a decrease of 0.1% from March 2023.
- The number of companies continued to rise and they now represent 75.6% of total UK businesses, while the proportion of sole proprietors has decreased to 14.6% and that of partnerships has decreased to 6.1%.
- The number of transport and storage businesses grew strongly in 2020 and 2021 but has decreased since, down 9.1% in 2024.
Business demography, quarterly, UK: January to March 2025
What's in the bulletin?
- The number of businesses added to the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) (business creations) in the UK in Quarter 1 (Jan to March) 2025 was 89,515, a rise of 2.8% on Quarter 1 2024.
- There was an increase in creations in 12 out of 16 main industrial groups in Quarter 1 2025 compared with Quarter 1 2024, with the most significant rise coming from the retail industry.
- The number of businesses removed from the IDBR (business closures) in the UK in Quarter 1 2025 was 83,425; this figure is 4.4% lower than the number of closures in Quarter 1 2024.
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 8 March 2024.
Publications related to Activity, size and location
Statistical bulletins
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Business demography, quarterly, UK: January to March 2025
Business creations or births and closures or deaths from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), with high-level breakdowns by industry and region. These are official statistics in development.
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UK business; activity, size and location: 2024
UK businesses broken down by legal status, industry, region, employment and turnover size bands.
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Business demography, UK: 2023
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.