Report February 2021

In a nutshell

We analyse Companies House “basic company data” up to the January 31st, 2021.

Highlights

  1. Business creation increased 8.93% from December 2020 to January 2021.
  2. Business creation was 13.46% higher in January 2021 compared to January 2020.
  3. There is more firm creation in nearly every sector of the economy in January 2021 compared to January 2020 or 2019. The one exception is Accommodation and Food.

Aggregate Analysis

Daily

The charts below show the daily company incorporations in the UK since January 2020. The lockdown periods correspond to our key dates timeline.

Jan 2020Mar 2020May 2020Jul 2020Sep 2020Nov 2020Jan 2021010002000300040005000
Median (total)Median (pre-lockdown I)Median (during lockdown I)Median (post-lockdown I)Median (during lockdown II)Median (post lockdown II)Median (during lockdown III)Daily Company RegistrationsNumber of registrations
  • Business creation increased 8.93% from December 2020 to January 2021.
  • 19,512 additional companies were registered in January 2021 relative to January 2019.
  • Business creation increased 13.46% between January 2020 and January 2021.
  • The median daily registrations during lockdown-III is 23% higher than during lockdown-I and 4% lower than during lockdown-II.

Relative

Company registrations persistently exceed their 2019 levels. Extensive business activity is observed during the first 2 weeks of January 2021. This might be a persistent trend originating from the last week of December 2020 (see EU-UK TCA outliers). Week 3 onwards, companies registration ratio narrows the gap of 2021/2019 against 2020/2019 over the same weeks. We note the calculations for week 5 2021 contain only two days.

102030405012345
2020/20192021/20192021/2020Company registrations Ratio​(Same week of reference in 2019)​WeeksRatio

January

Company registrations in January 2021 are 31% higher than January 2020 and 48% higher than January 2019.

20192020202105001000150020002500
Daily median company registrations in January

Regional Analysis

Postcode Area

The map shows the percentage change in new registrations in January 2021 compared to January 2019.

Country

The following graph aggregates business creation by country. We separate London from England. In January 2021, firm creation remains higher in all regions than it was in 2019. All countries have extremely high firm creation in the first week of the year; the gap narrows from the second week onwards.

11.522.533.5420406080100120140160180
England (excl. Ldn)Northern IrelandScotlandWalesLondonChange of company registrations in January by Country​(Same week of reference in 2019)​Weeks% change

London

London dominates firm creation. The majority of the early-year business creation comes from Central and East London.

11.522.533.54050100150200250300350
Central LondonEast LondonNorth LondonSouth East LondonSouth West LondonWest LondonChange of company registrations in January by London Areas​(Same week of reference in 2019)​Weeks% change

Sectoral Analysis

SIC Sections

The graph illustrates company registrations in January 2021, January 2020 and January 2019 by industrial sector. We use 2-digit SIC levels (ONS “divisions”) and group into broader sectors (ONS “sections”). We use the ONS classification. We present a selection of notable sectors.

Accommodation and food service activitiesAdministrative and support service activitiesConstructionFinancial and insurance activitiesInformation and communicationManufacturingProfessional, scientific and technical activitiesReal estate activitiesTransportation and storageWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0200k400k600k
201920202021Company registrations in January​(Selected sectors only)​# of registations in January
  • January 2021 has higher firm creation in all sectors than January 2019.
  • January 2021 has similar firm creation to January 2020 in most sectors.
  • ‘Manufacturing’, ‘Financial and Insurance Activities’, ‘Wholesale, and Retail Trade’ sectors show the greatest increase in firm creation.
  • ‘Accommodation and Food Services’ is the only sector with fewer registrations in January 2021 than January 2020.

Last updated on Aug 6, 2021