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Methodology

Every figure is a count of companies on the Companies House register, as at 2026-11-01.

Who is counted

Trading companies: status Active, at least one set of accounts filed electronically, and not filing dormant accounts. Sector comes from the company's main SIC code, grouped into Findaco's sectors. Region comes from the registered office postcode area, so a company that trades elsewhere is counted where it is registered.

Definitions

• Director aged 60+ or 70+: at least one current director was born in or before that year, from the month and year of birth Companies House publishes. Ages are within a year.
• Owner-run: one person with significant control holds 50% or more of the shares or votes, and no company is registered as a person with significant control.
• Single director: one current director on the officers register.

Limits

Officer and ownership data comes from Companies House snapshots and can lag the register by weeks. Groups of fewer than 100 companies are left out. These are counts, not predictions: a director's age does not mean a business is for sale.

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