The number of new businesses in Sheffield fell by 8.3% in the first half of 2026, more than twice the rate of decline across the UK, according to Office for National Statistics figures.
The ONS recorded 1,050 business births in Sheffield between January and June 2026, against 1,145 in the same six months of 2025. Across the UK, business births fell by 3.1%, from 163,075 to 157,980. In Yorkshire and The Humber they fell by 3.6%, from 11,415 to 11,005.
More Sheffield businesses closed than opened over the period. The ONS recorded 1,105 business deaths in the city in the first half of 2026, up from 995 in the first half of 2025.
Quarter by quarter, Sheffield had 545 business births in January to March 2026 and 505 in April to June, against 595 and 550 in the same quarters of 2025.
The national ranking
The national fall was highlighted by the online accountancy firm eAccounts in research published on 15 October 2026, which ranked UK council areas by growth in new businesses using the same ONS figures. Harlow came first with a rise of 25.0%, from 260 to 325, followed by Southampton (20.7%) and Mid Ulster (19.2%). Only areas with at least 250 business births in the first half of 2025 were ranked.
Kris Corbisiero, founder of eAccounts, said: “The national figure suggests business creation is slowing, but that masks some striking local success stories in places like Harlow and Southampton.”
How the figures work
The figures come from the ONS quarterly business demography statistics, which the ONS publishes as experimental statistics. The latest edition, covering April to June 2026, was released on 30 July 2026. A business birth or death is an enterprise joining or leaving the Inter-Departmental Business Register, mainly through VAT and PAYE registrations. The ONS rounds the counts to multiples of five and they may be revised.
Sheffield’s boundary with Barnsley changed on 1 April 2025, and the ONS lists Sheffield under a new area code for 2026, so the two periods are not on exactly the same boundary. More is in our companies section.