UK Business Insights: January 2025

Market Pulse & Analysis

What’s New? Explore the latest business trends, CCJ filings, and charge registrations with our January 2025 report. Get a snapshot of how the UK’s business environment evolves and the key shifts.

Business Overview

Since the beginning of January 2025, 63K+ new businesses have been started, 10K+ County Court Judgments (CCJs) have been filed, and 9K+ charges have been registered. These figures offer valuable insight into the dynamic UK business environment at the start of the year.

Key Highlights

January brought remarkable momentum to the UK business scene:

Growth and Closure Trends: January 2025 vs December 2024

Business openings

In January 2025, 63K+ new businesses were registered, marking a strong surge compared to 50K+ in December 2024. This increase suggests a high level of entrepreneurial activity driven by optimism or new year business initiatives.

Business Dissolutions

In January 2025, over 62K companies were dissolved, marking a significant decrease from 81K+ closures in December 2024. This sharp decline in dissolutions suggests improved business stability, indicating fewer companies are closing despite the rise in new registrations. Economic factors and changes in business operations may influence these closure trends.

Private Sector Business Overview?

In January 2025, 62K+ new private sector companies were incorporated, reflecting a 27.0% increase compared to December 2024, which saw 49K+ new incorporations.

Regional Distribution

Analysing incorporation trends, London led with 34.17%, though its share dropped slightly. The North East (+47%), North West (+29%), and South East (+33%) saw the most significant increases, while Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales remained stable. This highlights strong business confidence and growing regional entrepreneurship.

Industry Distribution

The analysis of SIC data shows that Wholesale amp; Retail Trade leads with 20.1%, followed by Real Estate and Professional, Scientific amp; Technical Activities at 9-10%. Construction and Information amp; Communication make up 7-8%. These sectors strong presence indicates key areas for risk management and market opportunities.

Charges Registered January 2025 vs December 2024

In January 2025, 9K+ outstanding charges were registered, decreasing from the 13K+ charges registered in December 2024.

County Court Judgements (CCJs) Filed in January 2025 Vs December 2024

In January 2025, 10K+ CCJs were filed, which is greater than the 6K+ CCJs filed in December 2024.

Companies Incorporated in January 2025 Vs December 2024

In January 2025, 63K+ new companies were incorporated, marking an increase of 20.7% compared to December 2024, when 50K+ companies were incorporated.

Risk Assessment of Companies Incorporated in December 2024 to January 2025

New Companies Registered in January 2025

Industrial Distribution

The analysis of the Standard Industrial Classification reveals a diverse array of industries, each contributing to the overall landscape of the company registered.

The Wholesale/Retail Trade sector leads with 19.86% of registered companies, followed by Real Estate Activities and Professional, scientific, and Technical Activities, both of which account for over 9-10% of registered companies.

Construction and Information/Communication also have a notable share, each around 7-8%.

This data suggests that these sectors are more likely to register companies due to their operational scale and regulations, providing critical insights for risk management and market opportunity identification.

Female-Owned Businesses

In January 2025 and December 2024, over 8K new companies were registered each month, owned by females, showing no significant difference between the two months.

The analysis of female-owned businesses in January 2025 reveals strong representation across key industries and regions. Wholesale & Retail Trade leads with 21.94%, followed by Professional, Scientific, & Technical Activities (12.36%) and Real Estate (8.89%), highlighting women's growing presence in commerce, consulting, and property sectors.

Regionally, London dominates with 33.72% of female-owned businesses, followed by the South East (10.73%) and North West (9.60%), indicating higher entrepreneurial activity in urban and economically active areas. The data reflects increasing female participation in diverse industries, offering insights into market opportunities and regional business trends.

If you’d like to explore the full report in detail, click here to download.

Note: Data sourced from DataGardeners January 2025 UK Business Insights report. For more detailed analysis and insights, visit DataGardener.com.