Manchester: companies and business figures
Council area (local authority district), North West · ONS code E08000003
73,676 active companies have their registered office in Manchester, and 50,989 of them are based here rather than at a mass-registration or default address. 9,862 companies based here were incorporated in the 12 months to 5 October 2026.
Key figures
| Figure | Here | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Active companies registered | 73,676 | 9,398 |
| Active companies based here | 50,989 | 7,230 |
| New companies, last 12 months | 9,862 | 935 |
| New companies, September 2026 | 971 | 82 |
| Companies entering insolvency, last 12 months | 563 | 10 |
| Share facing strike-off | 10.3% | 7.3% |
| Share with net liabilities | 25.1% | 21.0% |
| Share filing accounts late | 8.1% | 5.8% |
| Single owners aged 65 or over | 4.5% | 8.3% |
The median council area: half of all council areas have a lower figure and half a higher one. Shares are compared only across areas where the share is published.
Council Area Business Report: Manchester (PDF)
The figures on this page as a branded PDF to keep, share in your business or attach to a proposal.
- Every figure on this page, with its definition and date
- Comparison with the median council area on each figure
- Industry mix, balance-sheet health and filing on time
- New companies and insolvencies over the last 12 months
- The largest employers by filed head count
- Sources, licences and how each figure is counted
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Registered and based here
- Active companies registered
- 73,676
- At mass-registration addresses
- 22,687 (30.8%; median 19.1%)
- At the registrar's default address
- 0
- Active companies based here
- 50,989
Active companies whose registered office on the Companies House register is in the council area, on 5 October 2026. Active means the status Active, including companies with a proposal to strike off. Every company type on the register is counted.
Active companies registered in the council area, leaving out those at mass-registration addresses (an address line and postcode shared by 50 or more companies: formation agents, accountants, virtual offices) and those whose registered office Companies House has removed (the registrar's default address). A registered office is where a company receives official post; it is usually, but not always, where the company trades.
Active companies registered at an address shared by 50 or more companies (the same first address line and postcode), as a share of all active companies registered in the council area.
New companies
- 5 October 2025 to 5 October 2026
- 9,862 based here (15,228 registered here)
- September 2026
- 971 based here (1,333 registered here)
Companies incorporated from 5 October 2025 to 5 October 2026 that are on the register now (any status) and based in the council area as defined above. The figure in brackets counts every company registered here, including those at mass-registration and default addresses.
Companies incorporated in September 2026, the last complete month, on the same basis.
Companies entering insolvency
- 5 October 2025 to 5 October 2026
- 563
- Administration
- 145
- Creditors' voluntary liquidation
- 353
- Compulsory winding up
- 65
- Latest first notice here
- 3 October 2026
Companies whose first Gazette notice of administration, creditors' voluntary liquidation or compulsory winding up was published from 5 October 2025 to 5 October 2026 (The Gazette, corporate insolvency notices held to 4 October 2026). A company is placed by the principal trading address its notice gives; otherwise by its registered office, unless that is a mass-registration or default address, which is usually the insolvency practitioner's office after an appointment. Companies that cannot be placed are counted in the UK total only. Across the UK, 10,715 of the 23,771 companies entering insolvency in this period (45.1%) could be placed in an area, so area figures count fewer companies than entered insolvency there. Members' voluntary liquidations are solvent and not counted; notices without a company number cannot be matched.
Industries
| Industry (SIC 2007 section) | Companies based here | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles | 12,346 | 24.2% |
| Real estate activities | 5,787 | 11.3% |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 5,086 | 10.0% |
| Information and communication | 3,826 | 7.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,439 | 6.7% |
| Administrative and support services | 3,317 | 6.5% |
| Construction | 3,121 | 6.1% |
| Human health and social work | 2,753 | 5.4% |
| Other service activities | 2,183 | 4.3% |
| Financial and insurance activities | 1,797 | 3.5% |
| Manufacturing | 1,714 | 3.4% |
| Transportation and storage | 1,384 | 2.7% |
Active companies based in the council area by the UK SIC 2007 section of their first SIC code. Dormant companies (SIC 99999) are shown on their own.
Balance sheets and filing
| Figure | Here | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Companies with recent accounts | 29,477 | — |
| Share with net liabilities | 25.1% | 21.0% |
| Median net assets | £471 | £2,209 |
| Share filing accounts late | 8.1% | 5.8% |
| Share facing strike-off | 10.3% | 7.3% |
Latest accounts we hold for active companies based in the council area, with a balance sheet date from 5 April 2024 to 5 October 2026. Figures are the companies' own filings, shown as filed and not audited by CompanyStack; figures that contradict each other are left out.
Companies whose latest accounts show net liabilities (net assets below zero), as a share of those whose accounts give net assets.
The middle value of net assets in those accounts, filed in pounds sterling (accounts filed in other currencies are not converted and are left out).
Active companies based in the council area whose next accounts were due before 5 October 2026 according to the register, as a share of those with an accounts due date.
Active companies based in the council area with a proposal to strike off on the register (status "Active - Proposal to Strike off"), as a share of active companies based there.
Owners aged 65 or over
- Single owners aged 65 or over
- 4.5% of 32,908 companies with a single owner (median 8.3%)
Of the active companies based in the council area with exactly one person with significant control holding 75% or more of the shares, an individual whose month and year of birth are published: the share whose owner was 65 or over throughout October 2026. Day of birth is not published, so an owner who turns 65 in that month is not counted. Shown only when at least 10 different people are 65 or over and at least 10 are under 65 (someone who owns several of these companies counts once).
Largest employers by filed head count
| Company | Employees (as filed) | Accounts to |
|---|---|---|
| M C D MANCHESTER LIMITED | 926 | 31 December 2024 |
| HARNBURY HOLDINGS LTD | 869 | 27 September 2025 |
| J.CARTER SPORTING CLUB LIMITED | 776 | 3 August 2025 |
| URBANBUBBLE LTD | 583 | 30 June 2025 |
| ELLE R LEISURE LIMITED | 454 | 31 March 2025 |
| SENTREX SERVICES UK LTD | 450 | 31 December 2025 |
| ZAM FM LTD | 410 | 31 December 2024 |
| G.H. SHELDON WHOLESALE BAKERS LIMITED | 408 | 28 February 2025 |
| BGJ RESTAURANTS LIMITED | 403 | 31 December 2024 |
| RENAKER BUILD LIMITED | 386 | 31 October 2025 |
Up to ten companies based in the council area with the largest average number of employees in their latest accounts, 10 or more (as filed: group accounts give the group's figure, which may include staff elsewhere). Companies only: limited liability partnerships, partnerships and other bodies are not listed.
Information only, not advice. Register details and accounts figures are the company's own filings, shown as filed: CompanyStack does not audit or verify them and accepts no responsibility for decisions made on them. Check important facts at Companies House.
Use these figures
Developers can fetch every figure for this council area as JSON with GET https://api.companystack.co.uk/places/council/E08000003; see the API documentation. A count from 1 to 9 is shown as "fewer than 10", and a share or median built from fewer than 10 companies is not shown.