Intelligence · Sector map · October 2026
Manufacturing in the UK
230,412 active companies; 26,518 formed in the last twelve months.
Computed from Lockley's index, updated 20 October 2026.
230,412
Active UK companies
26,518
Formed in the last twelve months
12% of the sector
43,457
With a website we could match
19%
Manufacturing: companies formed each year, still on the register
10,159
2019
10,390
2020
10,449
2021
10,774
2022
13,729
2023
15,876
2024
26,066
2025
21,446
2026
Where they are registered
Post townActive companies
London31,494
Birmingham3,871
Manchester3,615
Glasgow2,800
Leicester2,509
Cambridge2,357
Bristol2,241
Cardiff2,145
Nottingham2,080
Leeds2,074
Registered office, which is not always where a company trades.
Hiring in the last 30 days, manager level and above
FunctionRolesCompanies
Sales3120
Operations2718
Marketing1410
HR77
Engineering65
Finance64
Procurement66
Product22
Jobs data from Adzuna, matched to companies in the index.
Recorded in October 2026 so far
SignalRecordsCompanies
Hiring at manager level and above4732
New sites4140
First hires in a function1715
Public contracts ending76
What is counted
Active UK companies whose Companies House SIC codes begin with 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. A company with several codes can appear in more than one sector. Figures are recomputed every night.
SourcesCompanies House (Open Government Licence) · Jobs data from Adzuna · Lockley's index and its sources
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