Scottish Company Formations 2026: State of Business

Last updated: 19 hours ago

Data shown through 24 June 2026. This year is still in progress.

20,079
New companies in 2026
Year-on-year change
YTD 2026: 20,079 vs same period 2025: 20,949
−4.2% (same-period comparison)
Full-year comparison available once 2026 ends
Monthly average
4,016
across 5 completed months of 2026

Monthly Breakdown

Month New Companies
January 3,561
February 3,225
March 3,993
April 3,564
May 3,216
June 2,520
July 0
August 0
September 0
October 0
November 0
December 0

Percentage of year totals will appear once 2026 is complete.

Top 10 Industries

Source: Companies House, via Signalyst. Industries based on SIC codes.

Industry New Companies
Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate 1,679
Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet 1,242
Management consultancy activities other than financial management 980
Buying and selling of own real estate 920
Take-away food shops and mobile food stands 890
Business and domestic software development 727
Information technology consultancy activities 560
Hairdressing and other beauty treatment 557
Activities of other holding companies n.e.c. 480
Other business support service activities n.e.c. 417

Top 10 Postcode Districts

Postcode District New Companies Council Area
EH2 889 Edinburgh & Lothians
G2 817 Glasgow & Clyde Valley
G3 568 Glasgow & Clyde Valley
EH3 376 Edinburgh & Lothians
ML1 286 Lanarkshire
EH6 276 Edinburgh & Lothians
ML3 261 Lanarkshire
G41 244 Glasgow & Clyde Valley
EH7 218 Edinburgh & Lothians
G1 202 Glasgow & Clyde Valley

Data sourced from Companies House. Reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.