Public Limited Company

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What public limited companies actually do

The word conjures household names on the stock exchange. The register conjures something duller. Sorted by the activity each company declared to Companies House, the largest group by a distance is financial intermediation, followed by head offices and holding companies. A great many PLCs are structures, not trading businesses.

A company can declare up to four SIC codes, so these numbers overlap and sum to more than 4,506. Codes are self reported and never audited. Listed below are the 149 activities claimed by five or more PLCs.

SICActivityPLCs
64999 Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified 698
70100 Activities of head offices 528
82990 Other business support service activities n.e.c. 375
64209 Activities of other holding companies n.e.c. 334
64301 Activities of investment trusts 204
64205 Activities of financial services holding companies 123
64922 Activities of mortgage finance companies 100
99999 Dormant Company 93
68100 Buying and selling of own real estate 83
74990 Non-trading company 82
41100 Development of building projects 80
68209 Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 75
62090 Other information technology service activities 71
70229 Management consultancy activities other than financial management 69
64303 Activities of venture and development capital companies 65
64191 Banks 63
62020 Information technology consultancy activities 57
96090 Other service activities n.e.c. 52
08990 Other mining and quarrying n.e.c. 51
62012 Business and domestic software development 48
74909 Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c. 41
7415 Holding Companies including Head Offices 40
72190 Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering 39
07290 Mining of other non-ferrous metal ores 39
06100 Extraction of crude petroleum 37
72110 Research and experimental development on biotechnology 34
66300 Fund management activities 33
70221 Financial management 32
41201 Construction of commercial buildings 31
35110 Production of electricity 31
64306 Activities of real estate investment trusts 30
41202 Construction of domestic buildings 29
32990 Other manufacturing n.e.c. 29
64921 Credit granting by non-deposit taking finance houses and other specialist consumer credit grantors 29
63110 Data processing, hosting and related activities 28
66190 Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation n.e.c. 26
68320 Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis 24
65120 Non-life insurance 23
64929 Other credit granting n.e.c. 22
61900 Other telecommunications activities 20
46900 Non-specialised wholesale trade 19
7011 Development & sell real estate 18
35130 Distribution of electricity 18
06200 Extraction of natural gas 18
55100 Hotels and similar accommodation 18
86900 Other human health activities 17
64202 Activities of production holding companies 17
46460 Wholesale of pharmaceutical goods 16
64304 Activities of open-ended investment companies 16
64203 Activities of construction holding companies 16
56302 Public houses and bars 15
09100 Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction 15
26110 Manufacture of electronic components 15
43999 Other specialised construction activities n.e.c. 15
68201 Renting and operating of Housing Association real estate 14
58290 Other software publishing 14
47910 Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet 14
71129 Other engineering activities 13
86101 Hospital activities 13
4521 Gen construction & civil engineer 13
64991 Security dealing on own account 13
56101 Licensed restaurants 12
42110 Construction of roads and motorways 12
7487 Other business activities 12
45111 Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles 12
71121 Engineering design activities for industrial process and production 12
35120 Transmission of electricity 12
9305 Other service activities n.e.c. 11
46342 Wholesale of wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic beverages 11
93110 Operation of sports facilities 11
47190 Other retail sale in non-specialised stores 11
6523 Other financial intermediation 11
64910 Financial leasing 11
7499 Non-trading company 10
46520 Wholesale of electronic and telecommunications equipment and parts 10
09900 Support activities for other mining and quarrying 10
43210 Electrical installation 10
32500 Manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies 10
66110 Administration of financial markets 10
93290 Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c. 10
42990 Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c. 9
93120 Activities of sport clubs 9
49100 Passenger rail transport, interurban 9
63990 Other information service activities n.e.c. 9
77390 Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods n.e.c. 9
52290 Other transportation support activities 8
79110 Travel agency activities 8
68310 Real estate agencies 8
66220 Activities of insurance agents and brokers 8
66290 Other activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding 8
71122 Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities 8
4525 Other special trades construction 8
47110 Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating 8
73120 Media representation services 8
27900 Manufacture of other electrical equipment 8
46760 Wholesale of other intermediate products 7
20590 Manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c. 7
21200 Manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations 7
82110 Combined office administrative service activities 7
45112 Sale of used cars and light motor vehicles 7
65110 Life insurance 7
21100 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products 7
38320 Recovery of sorted materials 7
58190 Other publishing activities 7
66120 Security and commodity contracts dealing activities 7
42220 Construction of utility projects for electricity and telecommunications 7
70210 Public relations and communications activities 7
46499 Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c. 7
85320 Technical and vocational secondary education 7
25990 Manufacture of other fabricated metal products n.e.c. 7
78200 Temporary employment agency activities 7
43290 Other construction installation 6
30300 Manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery 6
45200 Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles 6
63120 Web portals 6
07100 Mining of iron ores 6
73110 Advertising agencies 6
64204 Activities of distribution holding companies 6
52103 Operation of warehousing and storage facilities for land transport activities 6
46420 Wholesale of clothing and footwear 6
3663 Other manufacturing 5
11070 Manufacture of soft drinks; production of mineral waters and other bottled waters 5
11050 Manufacture of beer 5
95110 Repair of computers and peripheral equipment 5
5190 Other wholesale 5
49410 Freight transport by road 5
51102 Non-scheduled passenger air transport 5
46510 Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment and software 5
10890 Manufacture of other food products n.e.c. 5
81100 Combined facilities support activities 5
27400 Manufacture of electric lighting equipment 5
29100 Manufacture of motor vehicles 5
42910 Construction of water projects 5
20140 Manufacture of other organic basic chemicals 5
46750 Wholesale of chemical products 5
55900 Other accommodation 5
36000 Water collection, treatment and supply 5
85590 Other education n.e.c. 5
22290 Manufacture of other plastic products 5
29320 Manufacture of other parts and accessories for motor vehicles 5
43390 Other building completion and finishing 5
35220 Distribution of gaseous fuels through mains 5
80200 Security systems service activities 5
61200 Wireless telecommunications activities 5
71200 Technical testing and analysis 5
78109 Other activities of employment placement agencies 5
46390 Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco 5
47710 Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores 5
7220 Software consultancy and supply 5
4,839 classifications across 4,506 companies Download the full register (CSV)