According to the latest Companies House data, there were about 4.87 million companies in the UK as of March 2025 — slightly fewer than the year before, but still 1.67 million more than a decade ago.
Interestingly, the average company age is 8.7 years, but most dissolved companies donʼt last beyond 4.5 years — so if youʼre past year five, you’re already beating the stats.
A quick snapshot of the business landscape
- 5.5 million businesses existed in 2024
- Of those, 4.1 million were solo operators — people working for themselves with no employees
- That leaves about 1.4 million actual employers, with the bulk employing fewer than 10 people
- The most popular company year-end? 31 March, followed by 31 December
There are also around 2.18 million VAT-registered businesses, and roughly 2.65 million businesses and landlords expected to fall under the new Making Tax
Digital for Income Tax regime.
A missed opportunity: Early-stage advice
One stat really jumps out: most new businesses only engage an accountant around 18 months in — when the filing notices start landing. Thatʼs often too late to avoid penalties or missed opportunities (like claiming expenses or structuring income properly from day one).
Itʼs part of the reason HMRC has started beefing up guidance for small businesses— though itʼs still hard to find, and often not where you’d expect it.
And a quick R&D stat…
In 2022–23, 66,000 companies claimed R&D tax relief, totalling around £7.5 billion — most of those were small businesses. Still, thatʼs a surprisingly low uptake given how many founders are doing innovative work without realising they might qualify.