UK business signals in the week to 10 October 2026: what changed

In the week from 3 to 10 October 2026, Lockley recorded 38,582 director changes filed at Companies House, down from 57,929 the week before, and 1,992 new charges registered, down from 9,698. New sites rose from 39 to 77, and public contracts awarded edged up from 122 to 125. The table below gives every count Lockley tracks, with the previous week beside it.

All counts are by the date on the record, with the current week running 3 October 2026 to 10 October 2026 and the previous week 26 September 2026 to 3 October 2026. Other Lockley pages use different date windows, so their counts will not match these exactly.

Week to 10 October 2026 against the week before

What moved most

New charges fell by about four-fifths, from 9,698 to 1,992. Director changes fell by about a third, and significant roles posted by close to half, from 681 to 368. Those are large swings, and Lockley has seen similar ones before: counts of filings can move sharply from one week to the next, and a single week is a weak basis for changing who you call.

New sites doubled from 39 to 77, though both counts are small. Planning data is spread across many local authorities, so a small base means a few records can move the percentage a great deal.

What stayed steady

Public contract awards (125 against 122) and funding rounds (532 against 542) were close to flat. Public contracts ending were also close, at 19 against 21. These are the signals where the week-on-week change tells you little, and the useful question is which individual companies the records name.

How to use these numbers

A count tells you how much of a signal exists; it does not tell you which company to call. If you sell to companies taking on lenders, the 1,992 new charges are a pool to filter by sector and size. If you recruit, the 368 significant roles and 116 first-of-function hires are a pool of employers with a stated need. In each case, open the record and read the date, the named company and what changed before you ring.

Rarer signals are more selective. Nineteen contracts ending is a short enough list to read in full, whereas 38,582 director changes needs hard filtering before it is a call list.

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