UK property companies in numbers (October 2026)
Key figures compared with the UK
| Measure | This sector | All UK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active companies | 606,940 | 5,166,057 | 11.7% of UK |
| Median company age (years) | 5.2 | 5.6 | close to UK |
| Incorporated in the last 3 years | 34.4% | 34.0% | close to UK |
| Filing micro-entity accounts | 33.2% | 32.4% | close to UK |
| Filing dormant accounts | 10.3% | 10.8% | close to UK |
| Accounts overdue | 1.4% | 1.8% | 0.4 pts lower |
| Under a proposal to strike off | 3.4% | 7.4% | 4.0 pts lower |
| In liquidation, administration or receivership | 0.8% | 2.0% | 1.2 pts lower |
| With outstanding charges (secured lending) | 40.8% | 12.1% | 28.7 pts higher |
| Median net assets | £2,980 | £3,113 | close to UK |
| Negative net assets | 25.7% | 18.8% | 6.9 pts higher |
| Net current liabilities | 56.8% | 36.2% | 20.6 pts higher |
| Median cash at bank | £6,266 | £10k | 38% lower |
| Cash covers creditors due within a year | 25.6% | 35.3% | 9.7 pts lower |
| Holding £100k or more in cash | 13.6% | 20.3% | 6.7 pts lower |
| Median employees (where stated) | 1 | 1 | close to UK |
Balance sheet measures use each active company's most recent machine-readable (iXBRL) accounts with a period ending in 2024 or later: 457,454 companies here (75.4% of active). Net assets 25th to 75th percentile: -£223 to £73k. Cash 25th to 75th percentile: £713 to £36k.
What the numbers say
Real estate is the sector where the balance sheet story has changed most over the last decade. For financial years ending in 2014, about 17.0% of property companies reported negative net assets, close to the UK figure of 16.4%. By 2025 the property share had climbed to 25.4%, while the UK figure only moved to 18.6%. After a dip in 2018, the property share has risen every year.
The likely explanation lies in how these companies are built. The two largest codes, 68209 letting of own or leased real estate (284,610 live companies) and 68100 buying and selling of own real estate (259,676), are dominated by buy-to-let and small development companies. Many are funded by mortgages and directors' loans, and hold property at cost rather than market value. If rent does not cover interest, losses reduce equity even when the building has gained value. Higher interest costs after 2022 have probably added to the pressure. Negative net assets here is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency: a company with a valuable property recorded at cost can still be sound. Our guide to negative net assets explains what to check.
The same structure explains the other outliers:
- Outstanding charges: 40.8% against 12.1%, mostly lenders' mortgages over property.
- Current ratio: 0.51 against 1.19. Property is a fixed asset, while loans from directors and short-term debt sit in current liabilities.
- Net current liabilities: 56.8% against 36.2%. See net current liabilities.
Register health is better than average: only 3.4% of live property companies face a strike-off proposal, against 7.4% for the UK. New formation is strong, with 77,341 active companies incorporated in 2025 against 19,220 from 2016. Many developers also sit in construction. To test a landlord or developer's figures, use the balance sheet ratio calculator.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | 33.2% | 32.4% |
| Total exemption full | 29.4% | 23.8% |
| No accounts filed yet | 21.6% | 26.0% |
| Dormant | 10.3% | 10.8% |
| Unaudited abridged | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Small | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| Full (audited) | 0.6% | 1.5% |
| Audit exemption subsidiary | 0.5% | 0.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 68209 | Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate | 284,610 |
| 68100 | Buying and selling of own real estate | 259,676 |
| 68320 | Management of real estate on a fee or contract basis | 52,825 |
| 68310 | Real estate agencies | 27,863 |
| 68201 | Renting and operating of Housing Association real estate | 7,940 |
| 68202 | Letting and operating of conference and exhibition centres | 706 |
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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