UK Companies House · Headcount changes
Who's hiring — and who's cutting
Year-on-year headcount change for every UK company that files detailed accounts — built for recruiters tracking which teams are scaling up and which are shedding staff.
40,363 companies analysed · 12 industries · snapshot 2026-05-01
Fastest-growing headcount · UK 2026
Top 25 by year-on-year headcount growth — companies of 20+ staff that scaled their team
| # | Company | Industry | Headcount | Growth | Trend | Cost/head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | INVESTORS IN PRIVATE CAPITAL LIMITED | Industrials | 24 96 | +300% | £35k | |
| 02 | MERSEY VIEW LEARNING TRUST | Consumer Discretionary | 143 566 | +296% | £45k | |
| 03 | UBISOFT LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 44 174 | +295% | £47k | |
| 04 | THE PEOPLE'S LEARNING TRUST | Consumer Discretionary | 65 250 | +285% | £32k | |
| 05 | WHITE DESERT LTD | Consumer Discretionary | 25 94 | +276% | £12k | |
| 06 | BENSLOW MUSIC TRUST | Consumer Discretionary | 37 136 | +268% | £5k | |
| 07 | EMBRACE STEEL GROUP LTD | Industrials | 28 101 | +261% | £37k | |
| 08 | KITEWORKS UK LTD | Technology | 62 222 | +258% | £73k | |
| 09 | MOTEL ONE (SCOTLAND) LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 25 89 | +256% | £33k | |
| 10 | THE.TEAM: SME MANAGEMENT EMEA LIMITED | Industrials | 348 1,236 | +255% | £91k | |
| 11 | RESULTSCX UK LIMITED | Industrials | 1,857 6,558 | +253% | £11k | |
| 12 | ABBEY UPLANDS CARE HOME LIMITED | Health Care | 20 68 | +240% | £30k | |
| 13 | ISTEP LEARNING LIMITED | Industrials | 126 424 | +237% | £33k | |
| 14 | INTERMARINE UK LIMITED | Industrials | 155 521 | +236% | £59k | |
| 15 | LEARNING FOR LIFE TRUST | Consumer Discretionary | 89 296 | +233% | £39k | |
| 16 | PLANET EDUCATION NETWORKS LTD | Consumer Discretionary | 203 661 | +226% | £33k | |
| 17 | ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS | Consumer Discretionary | 296 958 | +224% | £41k | |
| 18 | GATEWAY MULTI ACADEMY TRUST | Consumer Discretionary | 209 676 | +223% | £30k | |
| 19 | RYCLIFF CARS LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 52 168 | +223% | £51k | |
| 20 | NEWCLEO GENERATION (UK) LTD | Utilities | 31 99 | +219% | £106k | |
| 21 | OLR HOLDINGS LTD | Consumer Discretionary | 21 65 | +210% | £40k | |
| 22 | HIS - MIKI TRAVEL UK LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 25 77 | +208% | £52k | |
| 23 | AIRA HOME UK LTD | Industrials | 148 450 | +204% | £46k | |
| 24 | TALENTFUL LTD | Industrials | 54 163 | +202% | £83k | |
| 25 | SWEEPTECH ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD | Consumer Discretionary | 87 261 | +200% | £52k |
Browse every growing company in the screener →
Sharpest headcount cuts
Top 25 by year-on-year headcount decline — talent likely coming onto the market
| # | Company | Industry | Headcount | Change | Trend | Cost/head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BERKELEY SCOTT LIMITED | Industrials | 815 38 | -95% | £45k | |
| 02 | THE KELLAN GROUP LIMITED | Industrials | 852 59 | -93% | £44k | |
| 03 | RENAL HEALTH ORGANISATION UK LIMITED | Industrials | 676 55 | -92% | £68k | |
| 04 | SP FILM PRODUCTIONS LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 306 29 | -91% | £40k | |
| 05 | ACCENT CATERING SERVICES LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 926 98 | -89% | £249k | |
| 06 | GSR UK PRODUCTIONS LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 522 63 | -88% | £57k | |
| 07 | E&E INDUSTRIES (UK) LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 501 62 | -88% | £51k | |
| 08 | MSSL (GB) LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 374 50 | -87% | £51k | |
| 09 | N SETHIA GROUP LTD | Real Estate | 626 95 | -85% | £27k | |
| 10 | TRAVEL CHOICE OVERSEAS LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 196 30 | -85% | £3k | |
| 11 | MENZIES PARCELS LIMITED | Industrials | 300 46 | -85% | £37k | |
| 12 | GLAXOSMITHKLINE EXPORT LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 228 35 | -85% | £91k | |
| 13 | LEGAL & GENERAL HOMES MODULAR LIMITED | Industrials | 312 53 | -83% | £103k | |
| 14 | RETAIL MERCHANT SERVICES LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 122 21 | -83% | £65k | |
| 15 | FORESTER LIFE LIMITED | Financials | 190 34 | -82% | £235k | |
| 16 | KASPERSKY LABS LIMITED | Technology | 4,670 916 | -80% | £111k | |
| 17 | NEWS UK & IRELAND TRADING LIMITED | Industrials | 177 35 | -80% | £78k | |
| 18 | PEGASUS COURIERS SCOTLAND LIMITED | Industrials | 139 28 | -80% | £37k | |
| 19 | YOUR-MOVE.CO.UK LIMITED | Real Estate | 484 99 | -80% | £39k | |
| 20 | SPLENDID RESTAURANTS (HARLAND) LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 875 181 | -79% | £64k | |
| 21 | FARADAY CAPITAL LIMITED | Financials | 120 25 | -79% | — | |
| 22 | QUILTER FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED | Financials | 335 73 | -78% | £102k | |
| 23 | BRIGHTON STM PROPERTIES LIMITED | Real Estate | 573 127 | -78% | £172k | |
| 24 | SHARIEF GROUP LIMITED | Consumer Discretionary | 844 193 | -77% | £111k | |
| 25 | CURTIS BANKS LIMITED | Financials | 265 63 | -76% | £117k |
Headcount changes by industry
Growers and cutters within each ICB industry
Headcount drawn from each company's two most recent sets of filed accounts. Companies below 20 staff in either year are excluded — at that scale a single joiner or leaver dominates the percentage. Growth above +300% is treated as a scale or scope artefact and dropped. Figures carry the usual iXBRL / PDF extraction caveats. Snapshot 2026-05-01.