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Week ending 19 Oct 2026

680 new companies in South West this week

▼ −10.8% vs last week

That's 82 fewer than the week before (762). Busiest council: Bristol, City of (61).

680 new private limited companies and LLPs were incorporated in South West in the 7 days 13 Oct 2026 to 19 Oct 2026, 10.8% down on the previous week (762), according to the FreshlySpotted New Business Index, based on Companies House data.

Link to this or embed the chartDownload the CSVSpreadsheet of every area and week (opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets)

The last 8 weeks

New companies per week, South WestFreshlySpotted · New Business IndexNew companies per week, South West31 Aug 2026: 56156131 Aug7 Sep 2026: 7777777 Sep14 Sep 2026: 67167114 Sep21 Sep 2026: 71471421 Sep28 Sep 2026: 76876828 Sep5 Oct 2026: 7267265 Oct12 Oct 2026: 76276212 Oct19 Oct 2026: 68068019 OctWeek ending (incorporation date) · Companies House data, OGL v3.0 · freshlyspotted.co.uk
See the numbers as a table
This weekPrevious weekChange
Total680762-10.8% (-82)
Ltdhiddenhiddenn/a
LLP<5<5n/a
Week endingNew companies
31 Aug 2026561
7 Sep 2026777
14 Sep 2026671
21 Sep 2026714
28 Sep 2026768
5 Oct 2026726
12 Oct 2026762
19 Oct 2026680

Councils, ranked

  1. Bristol, City of61▼ −25.6%
  2. Dorset61▼ −7.6%
  3. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole60▼ −38.8%
  4. Somerset58▲ +3.6%
  5. South Gloucestershire49▲ +16.7%
  6. Cornwall45▼ −32.8%
  7. Wiltshire45▼ −11.8%
  8. North Somerset35▲ +45.8%
  9. Swindon29▼ −23.7%
  10. Exeter27▲ +58.8%
  11. Gloucester26▼ −7.1%
  12. Plymouth24▼ −31.4%
  13. Cheltenham23▲ +4.5%
  14. Teignbridge21▲ +110.0%
  15. Cotswold15▲ +7.1%
  16. Stroud15▲ +36.4%
  17. Bath and North East Somerset14▼ −50.0%
  18. Torbay13▼ −7.1%
  19. South Hams12▲ +71.4%
  20. East Devon10▼ −47.4%
  21. Mid Devon9▲ +80.0%
  22. North Devon8Same as last week
  23. Tewkesbury6No comparison
  24. Forest of Dean5▼ −37.5%
  25. West Devon5No comparison
  26. Torridge<5No comparison
  27. Isles of Scilly0No comparison

Counts are by registered office address, which is not always where a business trades. Areas with company-formation or registered-office providers may show higher numbers.

Show as a table
AreaThis weekChange on previous week
Bristol, City of61-25.6% (-21)
Dorset61-7.6% (-5)
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole60-38.8% (-38)
Somerset58+3.6% (+2)
South Gloucestershire49+16.7% (+7)
Cornwall45-32.8% (-22)
Wiltshire45-11.8% (-6)
North Somerset35+45.8% (+11)
Swindon29-23.7% (-9)
Exeter27+58.8% (+10)
Gloucester26-7.1% (-2)
Plymouth24-31.4% (-11)
Cheltenham23+4.5% (+1)
Teignbridge21+110.0% (+11)
Cotswold15+7.1% (+1)
Stroud15+36.4% (+4)
Bath and North East Somerset14-50.0% (-14)
Torbay13-7.1% (-1)
South Hams12+71.4% (+5)
East Devon10-47.4% (-9)
Mid Devon9+80.0% (+4)
North Devon8+0.0% (+0)
Tewkesbury6n/a
Forest of Dean5-37.5% (-3)
West Devon5n/a
Torridge<5n/a
Isles of Scilly0n/a

Counts are by registered office address, which is not always where a business trades. Areas with company-formation or registered-office providers may show higher numbers.

What kind of companies

  1. Retail & e-commerce97▲ +1.0%
  2. Professional & business services85▲ +6.2%
  3. Construction & trades77▼ −9.4%
  4. IT, software & telecoms75▼ −10.7%
  5. Property & lettings68▼ −19.0%
  6. Food, drink & hospitality55▼ −25.7%
  7. Health, care & education42▼ −2.3%
  8. Holding companies & head offices34▼ −15.0%
  9. Manufacturing & engineering27▼ −10.0%
  10. Admin, cleaning & support services27▲ +42.1%

Counts are by registered office address, which is not always where a business trades. Areas with company-formation or registered-office providers may show higher numbers.

Show as a table
Industry groupThis weekChange on previous week
Retail & e-commerce97+1.0% (+1)
Professional & business services85+6.2% (+5)
Construction & trades77-9.4% (-8)
IT, software & telecoms75-10.7% (-9)
Property & lettings68-19.0% (-16)
Food, drink & hospitality55-25.7% (-19)
Health, care & education42-2.3% (-1)
Holding companies & head offices34-15.0% (-6)
Manufacturing & engineering27-10.0% (-3)
Admin, cleaning & support services27+42.1% (+8)

Counts are by registered office address, which is not always where a business trades. Areas with company-formation or registered-office providers may show higher numbers.

Industry groups are FreshlySpotted's own grouping of SIC 2007 codes (first code listed). Area is from the registered office postcode district.

Questions about new companies in South West

How many new companies were registered in South West this week?

680 new private limited companies and LLPs were incorporated in South West in the 7 days 13 Oct 2026 to 19 Oct 2026, 10.8% down on the previous week (762), according to the FreshlySpotted New Business Index, based on Companies House data.

How does that compare with last week?

That's 82 fewer than the week before (762).

Which council had the most new companies in South West this week?

Bristol, City of, with 61 new companies in the week ending 19 Oct 2026.

What kinds of companies are being set up in South West?

The biggest industry groups this week were Retail & e-commerce (97), Professional & business services (85), Construction & trades (77).

Where do these figures come from?

Companies House incorporation records for new Ltd companies and LLPs, counted by incorporation date and matched to councils with the ONS National Statistics Postcode Lookup. Updated every Monday. Counts under 5 are shown as <5.

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Looks like: Source: FreshlySpotted New Business Index (NIMBUS LABS LTD), based on Companies House and ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0). https://freshlyspotted.co.uk/new-business-index/region/south-west/

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Figures under 5 are shown as <5. How we count

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New companies per week in South West. Bar chart of new companies per week.
New companies per week in South West. Source: FreshlySpotted New Business Index (NIMBUS LABS LTD), based on Companies House and ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0).