New company statistics: Hospitality and food services
In the 12 months to August 2026, Companies House records in this analysis show 59,332 new companies incorporated in the Hospitality and food services group. Companies House records in this analysis show that the number of new companies decreased within the stated period. The data does not establish why the count changed.
A company is counted here if any of its filed SIC codes falls in this group, so a company can appear in more than one group and these figures are not a UK total for the sector.
| Month | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep | 5,356 | 5,706 |
| Oct | 5,466 | 5,695 |
| Nov | 4,864 | 4,312 |
| Dec | 4,073 | 3,727 |
| Jan | 5,510 | 5,160 |
| Feb | 5,298 | 4,710 |
| Mar | 6,334 | 5,806 |
| Apr | 5,710 | 5,083 |
| May | 5,592 | 4,940 |
| Jun | 5,448 | 5,014 |
| Jul | 5,639 | 5,333 |
| Aug | 5,038 | 3,846 |
These are the places Launch Register publishes, ranked by companies in this group over the latest rolling 12 months. They are not every UK local authority, so they do not sum to the group's national total. A place counting fewer than ten companies in this group is not shown.
| Local authority | Companies | Change |
|---|---|---|
| London | 15,184 | ▼ 6.5% |
| Birmingham | 1,845 | ▼ 10.0% |
| Manchester | 1,082 | ▼ 6.9% |
| Glasgow | 1,022 | ▼ 4.0% |
| Leeds | 786 | ▼ 6.1% |
| Liverpool | 772 | ▼ 8.2% |
| Sheffield | 632 | ▼ 5.7% |
| Edinburgh | 603 | ▼ 3.5% |
| Leicester | 456 | ▼ 13.5% |
| Cardiff | 418 | ▼ 0.7% |
| Bristol | 365 | ▼ 13.7% |
| Nottingham | 356 | ▼ 2.2% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 310 | ▼ 12.7% |
| Reading | 137 | ▼ 6.8% |
| Cambridge | 86 | ▼ 2.3% |
Each row counts companies that filed the exact code over the latest rolling 12 months. A company filing more than one of the group's codes is counted under each, so these do not add up to the group total. A code counting fewer than ten companies is not listed.
| SIC code | Description | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 56103 | Take-away food shops and mobile food stands | 21,753 |
| 56102 | Unlicenced restaurants and cafes | 11,554 |
| 56101 | Licenced restaurants | 9,428 |
| 56302 | Public houses and bars | 6,523 |
| 56290 | Other food services | 6,330 |
| 56210 | Event catering activities | 6,308 |
| 55209 | Other holiday and other collective accommodation | 3,014 |
| 55100 | Hotels and similar accommodation | 2,601 |
| 55900 | Other accommodation | 1,172 |
| 56301 | Licenced clubs | 455 |
| 55300 | Recreational vehicle parks, trailer parks and camping grounds | 314 |
| 55201 | Holiday centres and villages | 176 |
| 55202 | Youth hostels | 34 |
How this group is defined
This group follows the official SIC 2007 structure (Official SIC 2007 divisions 55 and 56). All of SIC 2007 divisions 55 and 56 — accommodation (hotels, holiday and collective accommodation, and lodging-only sites such as camping and caravan parks) and food and beverage service (restaurants, takeaways, pubs, bars, clubs and event catering). Accommodation and food service are shown separately in the detail table.
The mapping is published as version sic2007-lr-v1, with all 13 five-digit codes listed below, so this analysis can be reproduced rather than taken on trust. The full mapping, and how dormant, non-trading and unfiled codes are treated, is in the methodology; the guide to SIC codes explains what these codes mean.
The 13 SIC 2007 codes in this group (sic2007-lr-v1)
55100, 55201, 55202, 55209, 55300, 55900, 56101, 56102, 56103, 56210, 56290, 56301, 56302
- Multiple SIC codes
- A company may file up to four codes and can appear in more than one broad group. Group totals are not additive, and the UK share is calculated on that basis.
- Self-classification
- SIC codes are chosen by the company at filing. A filed code is not verification that the company does that activity, or is trading at all.
- No “primary” code
- Companies House does not designate one filed code as primary, so neither do we.
Launch Register analysis of Companies House public data: private limited companies with a filed SIC code in the Hospitality and food services group (sic2007-lr-v1), incorporated in the 12 months to August 2026.
https://launchregister.co.uk/company-statistics/industries/hospitality-and-food-services/ · Data through August 2026 · Last updated 2026-09-18 · Coverage 2024-09/2026-08 · Methodology methodology-v1 · Industry mapping sic2007-lr-v1
Download the data
Related analysis
Track new companies in your area
Launch Register turns this public data into a weekly list of newly formed companies matching your industry and location filters.
Personalised sample of up to 10 companies · no card required · £29/month to continue