Commercial opportunity: new recruitment agencies in the UK, Q2 2026
2,214 new recruitment agencies registered in the UK in Q2 2026 (−18.8% year on year). Where they are, how long they last, who sells to them — and the live list.
2,214 new recruitment agencies were registered in the UK in the second quarter of 2026, down 18.8% on Q2 2025. London had the most, with 720 (32.5% of the market). Each one is a company making its first supplier decisions.
Companies registered for employment placement, temporary employment agency activities, or other human resources provision. This report is part of CompaniesIQ's Commercial Opportunity series: exact Companies House counts for one market, where it is, how long its companies last, and who sells into it. The full dataset is downloadable.
Build this market → — every active company in these codes formed in the last 12 months, on the live register.
What we found
- 2,214 new recruitment agencies in Q2 2026, against 2,728 in Q2 2025 (−18.8%).
- 1.14% of all 193,829 UK incorporations in the quarter.
- London led with 720, followed by Manchester (60) and Birmingham (47).
- 39.2% of recruitment agencies formed in 2020 had not been dissolved five years later, in line with the 38.8% for all UK companies formed that year.
| SIC code | Activity | New companies (Q2 2026) | Q2 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78109 | Other employment placement agencies | 1,124 | 1,404 | −19.9% |
| 78200 | Temporary employment agency activities | 997 | 1,056 | −5.6% |
| 78300 | Other human resources provision | 537 | 650 | −17.4% |
A company can list up to four SIC codes, so the code rows overlap and add up to more than the market total of 2,214, which counts each company once.
Where new recruitment agencies are registering
| # | Town or city | Region | New recruitment agencies (Q2 2026) | Share of market | See the companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | London | 720 | 32.5% | Build the London list |
| 2 | Manchester | North West | 60 | 2.7% | Build the Manchester list |
| 3 | Birmingham | West Midlands | 47 | 2.1% | Build the Birmingham list |
| 4 | Nottingham | East Midlands | 22 | 1.0% | Build the Nottingham list |
| 5 | Glasgow | Scotland | 22 | 1.0% | Build the Glasgow list |
| 6 | Liverpool | North West | 20 | 0.9% | Build the Liverpool list |
| 7 | Leeds | Yorkshire & the Humber | 19 | 0.9% | Build the Leeds list |
| 8 | Bristol | South West | 19 | 0.9% | Build the Bristol list |
| 9 | Coventry | West Midlands | 18 | 0.8% | Build the Coventry list |
| 10 | Edinburgh | Scotland | 18 | 0.8% | Build the Edinburgh list |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 15 | 0.7% | Build the Wolverhampton list |
| 12 | Leicester | East Midlands | 15 | 0.7% | Build the Leicester list |
| 13 | Oxford | South East | 14 | 0.6% | Build the Oxford list |
| 14 | Newcastle upon Tyne | North East | 13 | 0.6% | Build the Newcastle upon Tyne list |
| 15 | Luton | East of England | 12 | 0.5% | Build the Luton list |
The 15 places above account for 46.7% of the market. A registered office is a legal correspondence address, not a place of business, so place counts show where companies are registered rather than where they operate — accountants' and formation agents' addresses pull registrations towards city centres, London especially. 4 companies in this market were registered at the Companies House default address in Cardiff (used when a registered office is removed) and are excluded from Cardiff's figure.
How long they last
Of the 10,658 recruitment agencies incorporated in 2020, 39.2% had not been dissolved by the end of 2025 — in line with the 38.8% for every UK company formed that year. Survival here means not dissolved; a surviving company may be dormant, and most dissolutions are voluntary rather than business failures. The full picture by cohort is in our company survival study.
What this means: who sells to new recruitment agencies
| Who sells into this market | Why a new company needs it |
|---|---|
| Recruitment CRM and job boards | An agency needs a candidate database and job-board access before it can run its first roles. |
| Payroll services and invoice finance | Agencies supplying temporary workers usually pay them weekly, before clients pay their invoices, so payroll and funding arrangements come early. |
| Insurers | Agencies supplying temporary workers usually need employers' liability and professional indemnity cover, and clients often ask for proof of it. |
| Compliance and vetting providers | Agencies must carry out right-to-work checks and follow the rules on how employment agencies conduct business. |
| Accountants | Temporary payroll, VAT and contractor arrangements make early accounting choices matter. |
Recruitment agencies are often founded by experienced consultants who bring clients with them, so they place candidates quickly — systems, insurance and funding are needed in the first weeks. That is the case for reaching new recruitment agencies early — and for working from the live register rather than a list that was current months ago.
Build this market → opens every active company in these codes formed in the last 12 months. Narrow it to a town from the table above, or get new registrations weekly with free new-company alerts.
Methodology
Where the figures come from. Every figure is an exact hit count from the Companies House advanced company search API, taken on 2026-10-08. The market is every company incorporated between 2026-04-01 and 2026-06-30 that lists at least one of SIC 78109, 78200, 78300. The codes are queried together, so a company listing more than one is counted once in the market total.
Places. 39 UK towns and cities were each counted with one exact query, matching the registered-office address. Companies at the Companies House default address — a Cardiff postcode used when a registered office is removed — were measured (4 in this market and period) and subtracted from Cardiff.
Survival. Survival is the share of companies incorporated in 2020 that had not been dissolved by 2025-12-31, for this market's codes and for all UK companies. The method matches our company survival study.
Who sells into the market. The buyer table is editorial: written by CompaniesIQ Research from the typical set-up needs of a new company in the market, and reviewed like any other copy. It is not derived from the register and makes no claim about any individual company.
Limitations.
- SIC codes are chosen by whoever files the incorporation and are not verified, so a market defined by SIC codes includes some companies that do something else and misses some that list a different code.
- A registered office is a legal correspondence address, not a place of business, so place counts show where companies are registered rather than where they operate.
- These are registrations, not trading businesses: some companies never trade, and counts for recent periods rise slightly as late registrations are processed.
- Survival here means not dissolved; a surviving company may be dormant, and most dissolutions are voluntary rather than business failures.
Data and licence
- Period covered: 2026-04-01 to 2026-06-30 (inclusive), compared with 2025-04-01 to 2025-06-30.
- Source: Companies House register (advanced company search API).
- Retrieved: 2026-10-08.
- Licence: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Company data © Crown copyright.
- Download: commercial-opportunity-recruitment-agencies-q2-2026.csv — every figure and the query behind it.
Citation. CompaniesIQ Research (2026). Commercial opportunity: new recruitment agencies in the UK, Q2 2026. Available at: https://www.companiesiq.co.uk/blog/commercial-opportunity-recruitment-agencies-q2-2026
Frequently asked questions
How many new recruitment agencies were registered in the UK in Q2 2026?
2,214 companies listing SIC 78109, 78200, 78300 were incorporated between 2026-04-01 and 2026-06-30, against 2,728 in Q2 2025 (exact Companies House counts).
Where are new recruitment agencies registering?
London had the most in Q2 2026, with 720 (32.5% of the market). Counts are by registered-office address, which is not always where a company operates.
How long do new recruitment agencies last?
39.2% of those incorporated in 2020 had not been dissolved five full years later, against 38.8% for all UK companies formed that year.
How do I find new recruitment agencies to sell to?
CompaniesIQ reads the Companies House register live. The 'Build this market' link in this report opens every active company in these SIC codes formed in the last 12 months, filterable by town.
More insights
What happens to new UK companies? Survival rates for 2016–2025 incorporations
27.4% of UK companies formed in 2016 are still active. Exact Companies House cohort data on how many new companies dissolve, how fast, and in which lines of business.
Commercial opportunity: new insurance brokers in the UK, Q2 2026
308 new insurance brokers registered in the UK in Q2 2026 (−12.3% year on year). Where they are, how long they last, who sells to them — and the live list.
Commercial opportunity: new estate and letting agents in the UK, Q2 2026
5,105 new estate and letting agents registered in the UK in Q2 2026 (−12.1% year on year). Where they are, how long they last, who sells to them — and the live list.
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