UK farming, forestry and fishing companies in numbers (October 2026)
Key figures compared with the UK
| Measure | This sector | All UK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active companies | 41,724 | 5,166,057 | 0.8% of UK |
| Median company age (years) | 9.5 | 5.6 | 70% higher |
| Incorporated in the last 3 years | 21.9% | 34.0% | 12.1 pts lower |
| Filing micro-entity accounts | 32.2% | 32.4% | close to UK |
| Filing dormant accounts | 6.9% | 10.8% | 3.9 pts lower |
| Accounts overdue | 1.2% | 1.8% | 0.6 pts lower |
| Under a proposal to strike off | 4.3% | 7.4% | 3.1 pts lower |
| In liquidation, administration or receivership | 1.0% | 2.0% | 1.0 pts lower |
| With outstanding charges (secured lending) | 23.8% | 12.1% | 11.7 pts higher |
| Median net assets | £34k | £3,113 | 991% higher |
| Negative net assets | 19.0% | 18.8% | close to UK |
| Net current liabilities | 43.1% | 36.2% | 6.9 pts higher |
| Median cash at bank | £28k | £10k | 177% higher |
| Cash covers creditors due within a year | 30.6% | 35.3% | 4.7 pts lower |
| Holding £100k or more in cash | 31.8% | 20.3% | 11.5 pts higher |
| Median employees (where stated) | 2 | 1 | 100% higher |
Balance sheet measures use each active company's most recent machine-readable (iXBRL) accounts with a period ending in 2024 or later: 33,671 companies here (80.7% of active). Net assets 25th to 75th percentile: £26 to £402k. Cash 25th to 75th percentile: £2,601 to £166k.
What the numbers say
Farming companies look very different from the typical UK company, which is young, small and asset-light.
The biggest gap is in net assets. The median farming, forestry or fishing company reports £33,970, about 11 times the UK median, and the upper quartile is £401,651 against £47,001. Land, buildings, machinery, livestock and growing crops sit on the balance sheet, so even small family farms carried on through a company tend to show substantial assets. Median cash is also higher (£28,092 against £10,127), and 31.8% hold £100k or more in cash, against 20.3%.
Those assets support borrowing. 23.8% of active companies have outstanding charges registered at Companies House, about double the UK rate. Banks and agricultural lenders typically take security over land and equipment, so a registered charge here is ordinary financing rather than a red flag.
The sector is old and stable. Median company age is 9.5 years and 48.6% of companies are more than 10 years old; only 21.9% were incorporated in the last three years, against 34% for the UK. Strike-off (4.3% against 7.4%) and insolvency (1.0% against 2.0%) are both less common. One caution: 43.1% show net current liabilities and the median current ratio is just 1.02, likely because seed, feed and fuel are bought on credit or overdraft long before harvest income arrives.
Negative net assets follow the national pattern closely: 16.1% for financial years ending in 2014 and 18.7% in 2025, against 16.4% and 18.6% for the UK. A negative figure is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency (see negative net assets). The largest code is 01500 mixed farming (9,010 live companies), and new incorporations are rising: 3,336 of today's active companies date from 2025, against 1,139 from 2016. If you are looking at buying a farming business, our small business due diligence guide covers the checks.
Share with negative net assets, 2014 to 2025
Share of accounts with net liabilities (total liabilities larger than total assets) by financial year end, for companies on the live register. Dissolved companies are not included because the register no longer lists their industry, so earlier years show survivors. Negative net assets is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency: see what negative net assets means.
Accounts types filed
| Type of last accounts | Share here | Share UK |
|---|---|---|
| Total exemption full | 38.9% | 23.8% |
| Micro-entity | 32.2% | 32.4% |
| No accounts filed yet | 14.7% | 26.0% |
| Dormant | 6.9% | 10.8% |
| Unaudited abridged | 3.8% | 2.9% |
| Small | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Full (audited) | 1.1% | 1.5% |
The type shows how much a company has to disclose. Micro-entity and abridged accounts contain no profit and loss account on the public record. Read more about accounts categories and micro-entities.
Active companies by year of incorporation
Companies incorporated in each year that are still active today. Younger cohorts are larger partly because older ones have been dissolved.
Most common activity codes
| SIC | Activity | Live companies |
|---|---|---|
| 01500 | Mixed farming | 9,010 |
| 01110 | Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds | 4,150 |
| 01610 | Support activities for crop production | 2,909 |
| 02100 | Silviculture and other forestry activities | 2,605 |
| 01430 | Raising of horses and other equines | 2,551 |
| 03110 | Marine fishing | 2,367 |
| 02400 | Support services to forestry | 2,209 |
| 01629 | Support activities for animal production (other than farm animal boarding and care) n.e.c. | 2,177 |
Divisions in this section
| Division | Active companies | Negative net assets | Median cash | Overdue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Crop and animal production, hunting | 32,810 | 19.5% | £31k | 1.2% |
| 02 Forestry and logging | 5,178 | 15.4% | £19k | 0.9% |
| 03 Fishing and aquaculture | 3,736 | 19.9% | £25k | 1.3% |
Methodology
Industry is the first SIC code each company declares on the Companies House register (snapshot 1 October 2026); the dormant placeholder 99999 is excluded. Status, accounts type and due dates come from the register. Financial measures come from our parse of 37 million iXBRL accounts filed since 2008; values above £100bn are treated as extraction errors. Companies filing paper or PDF accounts are not in the balance sheet figures. Full details: methodology.
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