- There were 2,786,985 VAT or PAYE registered businesses in the UK in March 2026 (ONS).
- 89% of them have fewer than 10 employees; 11,460 have 250 or more.
- Our UK business database holds 1,486,280 records: every one has a postal address and phone number, and 82% have a named contact.
- Companies House publishes a free monthly file of live companies, but it isn't a contact list: it covers registered companies only, with their registered office address.
- You can select by sector, area, size, turnover and job title; a whole sector such as accountants (16,595 records) costs £3,650.90 plus VAT.
01
What is a UK business database?
A UK business database is a list of businesses trading in the UK, with contact details and facts such as sector, location and size. You use it to choose which businesses to market to, and to reach them by post, phone or email.
People use the phrase for two different things: official registers and statistics (such as Companies House or the ONS), and marketing data you can buy and contact. Registers tell you a business exists; marketing data tells you how to reach the person who runs it. This guide covers both, so you can see what each is good for.
If you want the bigger picture first (buy vs build, prices and the law), read our complete guide to marketing databases.
02
How many businesses are there in the UK?
There were 2,786,985 VAT or PAYE registered businesses in the UK in March 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics. Most are very small: 2,484,365 (89%) have fewer than 10 employees.
| Size | Businesses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Micro (0 to 9) | 2,484,365 | 89% |
| Small (10 to 49) | 246,285 | 9% |
| Medium-sized (50 to 249) | 44,875 | 2% |
| Large (250+) | 11,460 | under 1% |
| All UK businesses | 2,786,985 | 100% |
| Legal status | Businesses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Companies (including building societies) | 2,155,395 | 77% |
| Sole proprietors | 378,410 | 14% |
| Partnerships | 156,030 | 6% |
| Non-profit bodies and mutuals | 84,505 | 3% |
| Public sector (central and local government, public corporations) | 12,640 | under 1% |
These counts only include businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, so very small businesses below the VAT threshold with no employees aren't in them. They are a count, not a list: the ONS doesn't publish names or contact details.
Why the size split matters when you buy
If you sell to businesses with 50 or more staff, there are 56,335 of them in the UK. Selecting by employee size stops you paying for thousands of one-person businesses you'd never sell to. The legal-status split matters for email: sole proprietors and partnerships (534,440) are mostly treated like individuals under PECR (see the law).
03
What does a UK business database record contain?
Every record in our UK business database has a business name, postal address and phone number; 82% also have a named contact and job title, and 31% have a named contact email.
| Field | Records | Share of records |
|---|---|---|
| Postal address and postcode | 1,486,280 | 100% |
| Telephone number | 1,486,280 | 100% |
| Named contact (name and job title) | 1,219,031 | 82% |
| Named contact email | 454,737 | 31% |
| General business email (info@, sales@) | 257,860 | 17% |
Records also carry a business category, website (where held) and an employee size band. Field counts matter more than the headline total: if you plan an email campaign, the number that counts is the named contact emails in your selection, not the number of businesses. A free count shows each field for your exact selection.
04
Which sectors does the database cover?
Our UK business database covers 2,284 business categories. The table shows 34 of the most commonly bought sectors, with how many records have a named contact and what the whole sector costs.
| Sector | Records | Named contacts | Named share | Named emails | Whole sector, excl. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | 58,734 | 46,369 | 79% | 690 | £9,984.78 |
| Schools | 26,821 | 25,937 | 97% | 18,732 | £5,230.10 |
| Takeaways | 24,350 | 18,570 | 76% | 2,347 | £4,748.25 |
| Hairdressers | 24,135 | 22,901 | 95% | 4,386 | £4,706.33 |
| Farms | 22,362 | 21,022 | 94% | 1,410 | £4,360.59 |
| Pubs | 22,126 | 18,258 | 83% | 6,929 | £4,314.57 |
| Garages | 21,129 | 18,466 | 87% | 6,890 | £4,120.16 |
| Care homes | 17,946 | 14,846 | 83% | 7,492 | £3,948.12 |
| Accountants | 16,595 | 15,049 | 91% | 8,064 | £3,650.90 |
| Builders | 14,263 | 12,888 | 90% | 4,069 | £3,137.86 |
| Estate agents | 13,965 | 12,125 | 87% | 7,606 | £3,072.30 |
| Dentists | 13,748 | 11,521 | 84% | 2,166 | £3,024.56 |
| Nurseries | 13,586 | 12,442 | 92% | 6,322 | £2,988.92 |
| Car dealers | 12,573 | 8,659 | 69% | 4,162 | £2,766.06 |
| Charities | 12,546 | 10,283 | 82% | 4,388 | £2,760.12 |
| Electricians | 12,149 | 11,312 | 93% | 4,189 | £2,672.78 |
| Recruitment agencies | 11,107 | 9,082 | 82% | 4,786 | £2,443.54 |
| Plumbers | 10,959 | 10,212 | 93% | 2,570 | £2,410.98 |
| Solicitors | 10,205 | 9,365 | 92% | 3,865 | £2,245.10 |
| Pharmacies | 10,038 | 7,510 | 75% | 3,234 | £2,208.36 |
| Hotels | 9,354 | 7,574 | 81% | 3,685 | £2,291.73 |
| IT companies | 8,666 | 7,479 | 86% | 3,838 | £2,123.17 |
| Beauty salons | 8,371 | 7,536 | 90% | 1,677 | £2,050.90 |
| Engineering companies | 6,848 | 6,324 | 92% | 3,659 | £1,677.76 |
| Architects | 6,792 | 6,358 | 94% | 3,386 | £1,664.04 |
| Restaurants | 6,656 | 4,849 | 73% | 1,819 | £1,630.72 |
| Opticians | 6,500 | 4,926 | 76% | 2,285 | £1,592.50 |
| Haulage companies | 6,007 | 5,443 | 91% | 2,669 | £1,471.72 |
| Software companies | 5,207 | 4,246 | 82% | 2,217 | £1,275.72 |
| Vets | 5,061 | 3,852 | 76% | 2,239 | £1,239.95 |
| Gyms | 4,966 | 3,830 | 77% | 1,654 | £1,340.82 |
| Letting agents | 4,529 | 3,929 | 87% | 2,055 | £1,222.83 |
| Financial advisers | 4,114 | 3,587 | 87% | 2,204 | £1,110.78 |
| Insurance brokers | 1,757 | 1,573 | 90% | 899 | £518.32 |
Named-contact coverage varies a lot by sector. Where it's low, a phone-led or postal campaign addressed to the business usually works better than email. Ask for any sector not shown: there are more than 2,000 categories.
05
Is there a free UK business database?
Yes: Companies House publishes a free monthly snapshot of live companies, and the ONS publishes business counts. Neither is a marketing contact list: there are no phone numbers, email addresses or named decision-makers to contact.
| Source | What you get | What's missing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companies House free company data | Live registered companies: company type, registered office address, SIC code, status, filing dates. Free, monthly | Sole traders and ordinary partnerships (not registered); phone numbers and emails; the trading address can differ from the registered office | Checking a company exists; research by SIC code |
| ONS UK Business Counts | Numbers of businesses by sector, size, legal status and area. Free | Names and contact details | Sizing a market |
| Business websites and directories | Contact details one business at a time | Scale: slow to collect and check | A short list of named targets |
| A bought UK business database | Names, addresses, phone numbers, named contacts and emails, selected by sector, area and size | It costs money and needs keeping up to date | Reaching a whole sector or region quickly |
Sources: (GOV.UK: Companies House data products); (Companies House Free Company Data Product).
Using free data for marketing doesn't take it outside the rules: the ICO is clear that UK GDPR and PECR still apply to publicly available contact details. See how to create a marketing database yourself.
06
How do I choose the right businesses?
Start from your best customers and select on what they have in common: sector, area, size, turnover and the job title of the person who buys. Narrow selections cost less and work better than buying every business in the UK.
- List your ten best customers. Note each one's sector, location, number of staff and who signed the order.
- Turn that into a selection. For example: care homes in the North West with 10 to 49 staff, contact the registered manager.
- Ask for a free count. See how many businesses match, and how many have a phone number, a named contact and a named email.
- Adjust. Widen the area or add a related category if the count is small; narrow by size if it's too big for your budget.
- Test first. Contact a few hundred records, see what works, then use the rest.
Ways to select from our UK business database
- Sector or business type
- Region, county or town
- Postcode area, or a radius around a postcode
- Number of employees
- Turnover band
- Single-site independents or multi-site groups
- Job title of the named contact
- Only records with a named contact email
- Only records with a phone number
What example selections cost
| Selection | Records | Rate per 1,000 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every accountancy practice we hold | 16,595 | £220 | £3,650.90 |
| Care homes with a named contact email | 7,492 | £245 | £1,835.54 |
| Builders with a named contact | 12,888 | £220 | £2,835.36 |
Prices fall from £295 to £170 per 1,000 as orders get bigger, with a £300 minimum. Try any number in the marketing database cost calculator.
07
How up to date is a UK business database?
Business data starts going out of date the day it's compiled, because businesses open, close, move and change staff all the time. Ask how often records are checked, and use the data while it's fresh.
Our records are checked by telephone researchers every day, and businesses that have closed or moved are updated or removed. We guarantee that at least 95% of the records you buy are accurate, and phone numbers are screened against the TPS and CTPS before the data is sent.
Once you have the data, keep it current: remove bounced emails and returned mail, update people who've left, and re-screen phone numbers if 28 days have passed since the last screening. The ONS figures on this page are updated once a year; our counts change daily, so your free count is the figure to rely on.
08
UK business database: FAQs
How many businesses are there in the UK?
2,786,985 VAT or PAYE registered businesses in March 2026, according to the ONS. 89% have fewer than 10 employees.
Is there a free database of UK businesses?
Companies House publishes a free monthly snapshot of live companies with their registered office, SIC code and status. It has no phone numbers, emails or named contacts, and doesn't include sole traders or ordinary partnerships.
Can I download a list of all UK companies?
Yes, from Companies House's free company data product, as CSV files updated monthly. For marketing you'll also need contact details: our database has 1,486,280 records with a phone number on every one.
How much does a UK business database cost?
With us, £295 to £170 per 1,000 records depending on order size, plus VAT, minimum £300. Everything we hold (1,486,280 records) would be £252,667.60 plus VAT, but most buyers select a sector and area.
Can I get a database of businesses in my area?
Yes. Select by region, county or town, a postcode area, or a radius around a postcode, then by sector and size.
Which UK business database is the most accurate?
Compare suppliers on how often records are checked, the written accuracy guarantee, TPS/CTPS screening and a sample you can test yourself. Ours: at least 95% of records you buy are guaranteed accurate, and records are checked by telephone researchers every day.
Does a UK business database include named decision-makers?
Ours does where held: 1,219,031 of 1,486,280 records (82%) have a named contact and job title. You can select by job title.
Can I buy only businesses with an email address?
Yes. 454,737 records have a named contact email and 257,860 a general business email. Remember PECR: you can email companies and LLPs without consent, but not sole traders or ordinary partnerships.
What's the difference between Companies House data and a marketing database?
Companies House is the official register of companies: it proves a company exists and shows its registered office and officers. A marketing database is built for contacting businesses: trading addresses, phone numbers, named contacts and emails, across companies and other businesses.
Can I use a UK business database to sell to sole traders?
Yes, by post or by phone after TPS screening. You can't email or text them from a bought list without their consent, because PECR treats them like individuals.