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Every public limited company on the UK register, counted from the Companies House data (snapshot dated 2026-09-01). The figures below are free to use with a credit, and the full dataset is downloadable. Nothing here is a rating or an allegation about any company.

32%fewer effective PLCs than in 2015-16

322PLCs at one London address

713PLCs not active, 16% of the register

163PLCs past their accounts deadline

The figures

Figure	Number	Source
Companies on the UK register	5,689,367	Companies House free company data product, 2026-09-01
Of which public limited companies	4,506	Same snapshot, filtered to the PLC category
PLCs with an active status	3,793	Same snapshot
PLCs not active (liquidation, administration, strike-off proposals and similar)	713 (16%)	Same snapshot
Effective PLCs, 2015-16	6,225	Companies House, Companies register activities, Table A3
Effective PLCs, 2024-25	4,222 (down 32%)	Same series
New PLC incorporations, 2015-16 against 2024-25	406 against 152 (down 63%)	Same series
PLCs with accounts overdue at the snapshot date	163 (4.3%)	Snapshot compared with each company's recorded due date
Most PLCs at a single registered address	322 at E14 5HU	Registered office addresses in the snapshot
PLCs incorporated before 1900	72	Incorporation dates in the snapshot

Charts you can use

Free to use with a credit to publiclimitedcompany.co.uk. Each chart is a high-resolution PNG, with an SVG for editing, and carries its source on the image.

A third of Britain's public companies have gone. Effective PLCs on the register, 2015-16 to 2024-25. — **A third of Britain's public companies have gone.** Effective PLCs on the register, 2015-16 to 2024-25. Download: PNG or SVG.

Far fewer firms are forming public companies. New PLC incorporations per year, down 63%. — **Far fewer firms are forming public companies.** New PLC incorporations per year, down 63%. Download: PNG or SVG.

322 public companies, one address. Each square is 10 active PLCs. A shared registered office is normal for firms using a corporate services provider. — **322 public companies, one address.** Each square is 10 active PLCs. A shared registered office is normal for firms using a corporate services provider. Download: PNG or SVG.

One in six public companies is not active. The register records status, not cause. — **One in six public companies is not active.** The register records status, not cause. Download: PNG or SVG.

When Britain's public companies were born. PLCs on the register today by decade of incorporation. — **When Britain's public companies were born.** PLCs on the register today by decade of incorporation. Download: PNG or SVG.

Where Britain's public companies are registered. Outside London, which holds about half of all PLCs. — **Where Britain's public companies are registered.** Outside London, which holds about half of all PLCs. Download: PNG or SVG.

The directors of dozens of public companies. A count of current directorships, not an allegation. — **The directors of dozens of public companies.** A count of current directorships, not an allegation. Download: PNG or SVG.

Story angles

1. A third fewer PLCs in nine years

Companies House's own series shows the number of effective PLCs falling from 6,225 in 2015-16 to 4,222 in 2024-25, a fall of 32%. New PLC incorporations fell from 406 to 152 over the same period, down 63%. The public company is becoming rarer, and fewer businesses are choosing to form one. The front page charts the full series.

2. 322 PLCs, one address

322 active PLCs list the same registered office, E14 5HU (5 Churchill Place, London). A shared registered office is normal for companies that use a corporate services provider, and a registered office is where documents are served, not necessarily where a business operates. The shared addresses page lists every address with several PLCs and the companies at each.

3. The PLCs that are late with their accounts

163 PLCs, 4.3% of the register, were past their recorded accounts due date at the snapshot, the longest by about 49 years. Late filing is not by itself evidence of wrongdoing, and some of these companies may have filed since. The overdue accounts page lists them with the dates the register records.

4. The oldest companies still on the register

72 PLCs were incorporated before 1900. The oldest is Lloyds Bank PLC, incorporated on 20 April 1865. The oldest PLCs page and the decade pages give survival rates by period of incorporation.

5. 713 PLCs that are not active

Of the 4,506 PLCs, 544 are in liquidation, 103 are active but have a proposal to strike off, and 51 are in administration, with a smaller number in other insolvency states. The register records status, not cause.

6. The directors who sit on dozens of PLCs

24 people are recorded as a current director of ten or more active PLCs, led by one with 63 current directorships. Long lists of directorships are common among professional directors who serve the special-purpose companies used in securitisations, and are not by themselves a sign of anything improper. The directors page lists them and their companies (register data as at 13/10/2026).

7. Who is borrowing against what

1,843 active PLCs have at least one charge on the register not yet recorded as satisfied, and 1,307 have never registered one. Every company page now lists its charges, officers and controllers (register data as at 13/10/2026).

What we can provide

A cut of the data for your region, sector or time period (by town or SIC code), on request.
The method behind any figure, so it can be checked: see how this site counts.
A comment from the editor on what the figures do and do not show.

Downloads

How to credit and cite

Please credit "publiclimitedcompany.co.uk" and link to the page you used. The underlying data is Companies House public data and is reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Every figure is as at the snapshot date shown on this page, and the register changes daily, so date any figure you publish. Where we describe a company as late, in liquidation or similar, that is the status on the register on that date and is not an opinion on the company.

Contact

Sam Allcock, editor, Domain Farm Ltd (company number 13544286): editor@publiclimitedcompany.co.uk. Corrections are read against the register and published when we have got something wrong.