UK registered-business count rose in the March 2026 snapshot
ONS reported increases across every region, with companies accounting for most registered enterprises.
News report
The United Kingdom had 2.79 million businesses registered for VAT or PAYE in March 2026, the Office for National Statistics reported on September 24. The count was 1.9 percent higher than in the March 2025 snapshot.
Every UK region recorded an increase, the first time that had happened in this series since 2017. The release provides a geographic view of the registered business population alongside breakdowns by industry, legal form, turnover and employment size.
Companies represented 77.3 percent of the total. Professional, scientific and technical activities remained the largest broad industry group, accounting for 15.3 percent of registered businesses.
The ONS also counted about 3.2 million local units, or sites, up 1.6 percent from 2025. A business can operate at more than one location, so the enterprise count and the site count describe different aspects of economic activity.
The statistics come from the Inter-Departmental Business Register and cover businesses within the VAT or PAYE registration framework. Smaller activities outside those systems are part of a broader business-population question measured in other publications. This release supplies a specific, consistently defined snapshot of registered enterprises and their locations. The increase records a change between the two March reference points, while the detailed tables let readers examine where businesses are based and how their legal and industry composition differs across the country.
