Counted from the register ยท 13 October 2026
The UK automation sector, counted
Companies House will tell you about a company. It will not tell you how many companies like it were formed last year, or where they cluster. These figures are counted from the 2667 live records in this directory, and they move every time the register does.
Formation
Companies formed per year
Every live company in this directory, by the year it was incorporated. The shape of this chart is set by how this directory samples the register, not by the market: the pull takes up to a fixed number per sector per year, so the bars sit close to level by construction. It is a picture of what is listed here, and nothing more. For the real distribution, counted across the whole register, see how old UK software companies actually are.
Counts only companies still active today, so earlier years read low: the ones that closed are not here. Read it as survivors per cohort, not formations per year.
Geography
Where they are registered
By the town or city of the registered office. Top 12.
Sector
Registered activity
By SIC group. 1544 companies sit in more than one, so these add up to more than 2667.
How to read these numbers
Counted, not estimated
Every figure is a count of records held in this build. Nothing is modelled, projected or rounded up. If a figure is not shown it is because it cannot be counted from the register.
Survivor bias is real
Dissolved companies are excluded from the whole directory, so the year chart shows companies that survived, not companies that started. Recent years look strong partly because their failures have not happened yet.
Quoting these figures? Please cite the retrieval date, 13 October 2026, because they change. Source data is Companies House under the Open Government Licence.
Sector by sector
Each sector gets the same treatment on its own page: formations by year, where it clusters, how old it is.
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1251
IT consultancy, counted
Formations, geography and age profile for SIC 62020.
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1117
Software development, counted
Formations, geography and age profile for SIC 62012.
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933
Other IT services, counted
Formations, geography and age profile for SIC 62090.
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723
Data processing and hosting, counted
Formations, geography and age profile for SIC 63110.
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566
Managed IT services, counted
Formations, geography and age profile for SIC 62030.
The quarterly record
This page recounts weekly. The quarterly report is the version to cite in something that has to stay true after you publish it: each edition closes with the quarter and does not change again.