England and Wales
119.14 → 145.41 · +22.05%
Companies House data
UK company dissolutions hit 787,000, up 80% in a decade
The highest annual total in the published UK series since 2009–10. Explore registered-company dissolutions from 2016–17 to 2025–26.
UK · dissolved companies
From 2016–17 to 2025–26, dissolutions rose 80.31%, while the starting register grew 47.54%. Dissolutions per 1,000 rose 22.21%.
UK · dissolutions per 1,000
Denominator: companies on the register at the start of each financial year.
Tap a point, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to see exact values below.
UK · 2025–26
787,120 dissolved companies; 5,427,787 on the starting register.
145.02 dissolved per 1,000 companies on the starting register.
Compared with 2024–25: 726,735 dissolved (+8.31%); 135.82 per 1,000 (+6.77%).
The same rate across three jurisdictions
All three charts use the same scale: dissolutions per 1,000 on the starting register.
Scotland
120.29 → 132.59 · +10.23%
Northern Ireland
80.71 → 159.66 · +97.81%
Exact annual figures for UK
| Year | Dissolved | Starting register | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 436,526 | 3,678,860 | 118.66 |
| 2017–18 | 490,738 | 3,896,755 | 125.94 |
| 2018–19 | 508,865 | 4,033,355 | 126.16 |
| 2019–20 | 536,934 | 4,202,044 | 127.78 |
| 2020–21 | 437,790 | 4,350,913 | 100.62 |
| 2021–22 | 581,824 | 4,716,126 | 123.37 |
| 2022–23 | 585,807 | 4,894,356 | 119.69 |
| 2023–24 | 663,167 | 5,116,743 | 129.61 |
| 2024–25 | 726,735 | 5,350,759 | 135.82 |
| 2025–26 | 787,120 | 5,427,787 | 145.02 |
Source: Companies House, Table A1 workbook · annual release · published 25 June 2026 · checked 5 October 2026.
Three things the trend shows
- UK dissolutions rose 80% over the decade: 436,526 to 787,120.
- The dissolution count rose faster than the register. The starting register grew 48%; dissolutions per 1,000 rose 22%, from 118.66 to 145.02.
- The 2020–21 dip reflects Companies House pandemic easements, including strike-off pauses. Dissolutions do not measure business distress.
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About this data
These figures count registered companies, including dormant companies and companies already closing. They do not count every UK business closure.
Rates are site calculations: dissolutions during the year divided by the starting register, multiplied by 1,000. They are not the share of a starting cohort that closed, or a company’s probability of closing. Dissolutions do not measure the net change in register size.
The record comparison starts with the published UK series in 2009–10. Earlier workbook history covers Great Britain. Table A1 note 2 flags minor differences caused by extraction timing.
Chart annotations mark events within financial years, rather than exact positions on a monthly timeline. Apart from Companies House’s own explanation of the dip, timing provides context and does not establish an effect on dissolutions.
23 March 2020 · lockdown instruction. The UK Government told people to stay at home on 23 March 2020. Published 2020-03-23; checked 2026-10-05.
2020–21 · strike-off pauses. Companies House attributes the fall in dissolutions to pandemic easements, which included temporary pauses of the strike-off processes. Published 2021-06-24; checked 2026-10-05.
May 2021 · Bounce Back Loan repayments. Repayments for the first Bounce Back Loan borrowers started in May 2021. Published 2022-04-27; checked 2026-10-05.
December 2021 · interest-rate rises. On 16 December 2021, the Bank of England announced an increase in Bank Rate to 0.25%. Published 2021-12-16; checked 2026-10-05.
October 2022 · business energy pressure. Looking ahead to October 2022, 23% of surveyed businesses reported energy prices as their main concern. The ONS survey covered businesses that had not permanently stopped trading. Published 2022-10-06; checked 2026-10-05.
The April–June 2026 monthly figures below are a newer, separate series. Companies House recommends caution comparing that release with older releases until historic data is republished. Do not join those months to the annual trend.
“Struck off” and “Dissolved” are separate measures; a company struck off in one month can be recorded as dissolved in the next.
Newer monthly series · April–June 2026
UK · All Companies · Dissolved
Company dissolutions by month
54,871April
58,825May
42,819June
Companies House publishes these figures quarterly, with a monthly breakdown. These three months are one release, not a long-term trend.
| Month | Dissolved, all routes | Voluntary |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 54,871 | 28,963 |
| May 2026 | 58,825 | 30,060 |
| June 2026 | 42,819 | 21,620 |
Voluntary means the company asked to be struck off the register. It is one route within the dissolved total. “Struck off” and “Dissolved” are different stages and can fall in different months.
Source: Companies House, April to June 2026 release · official CSV · published 30 July 2026 · checked 28 September 2026.
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