{"schemaVersion":"1.0","type":"DataStory","id":"where-businesses-form-and-disappear","title":"Where businesses form and disappear","description":"Formation, dissolution and the live register answer three different questions about London business.","introduction":"A company can move its registered office, remain live after trading stops, or dissolve long after activity ends. The story keeps historical flows separate from the current registered-office stock.","category":"Money and business","canonical":"https://londongraph.com/story/where-businesses-form-and-disappear","markdown":"https://londongraph.com/story/where-businesses-form-and-disappear/index.html.md","updatedAt":"2026-08-02T22:34:40.179Z","caveat":"Registered offices are administrative locations, not workplaces, jobs or economic output. Live-company cohorts are survival-weighted.","evidence":[{"dataset":"company-formations","graphSlug":"companies-born-in-london","label":"Formations","text":"Historical London registered-office formations by year.","shape":"latest","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/companies-born-in-london","claim":{"dataset":"company-formations","graphSlug":"companies-born-in-london","label":"Formations","text":"Historical London registered-office formations by year.","headlineLabel":"2026","value":128273,"unit":"companies incorporated","period":"2026","comparisonLabel":null,"comparisonValue":null,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-07-31T13:23:44.150Z","resourceUrl":null,"methodologyUrl":null,"releaseLabel":null,"sourcePublishedAt":null,"resourceChecksum":null}}},{"dataset":"company-churn","graphSlug":"companies-born-and-died","label":"Formations and dissolutions","text":"The two administrative flows in the latest available year.","shape":"latest","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/companies-born-and-died","claim":{"dataset":"company-churn","graphSlug":"companies-born-and-died","label":"Formations and dissolutions","text":"The two administrative flows in the latest available year.","headlineLabel":"incorporated","value":128273,"unit":"companies","period":"2026","comparisonLabel":"dissolved","comparisonValue":102721,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-07-31T13:23:46.538Z","resourceUrl":null,"methodologyUrl":null,"releaseLabel":null,"sourcePublishedAt":null,"resourceChecksum":null}}},{"dataset":"company-incorporation-cohorts","graphSlug":"how-old-are-londons-companies","label":"Live-company age profile","text":"Incorporation cohorts among companies still present in the latest bulk snapshot.","shape":"categories","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/how-old-are-londons-companies","claim":{"dataset":"company-incorporation-cohorts","graphSlug":"how-old-are-londons-companies","label":"Live-company age profile","text":"Incorporation cohorts among companies still present in the latest bulk snapshot.","headlineLabel":"1–4 years","value":530060,"unit":"live companies","period":"1–4 years","comparisonLabel":"5–9 years","comparisonValue":356278,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-02T22:34:40.179Z","resourceUrl":"https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part1_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part2_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part3_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part4_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part5_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part6_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part7_7.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.gov.uk/guidance/companies-house-data-products","releaseLabel":"Live-company snapshot 2026-08-01","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"87ab9f770619675e694fad88f3fc338c87b2ba2aeb7b1c589b3edb214bf116dd"}}},{"dataset":"business-diversity-by-postcode","graphSlug":"business-diversity-by-postcode","label":"Registered-office geography","text":"SIC diversity and shared-address concentration across postcode districts.","shape":"area","metric":"effective_sic_sections","unit":"effective sections","graph":"https://londongraph.com/g/business-diversity-by-postcode","claim":{"dataset":"business-diversity-by-postcode","graphSlug":"business-diversity-by-postcode","label":"Registered-office geography","text":"SIC diversity and shared-address concentration across postcode districts.","headlineLabel":"DA1","value":14.588928405909177,"unit":"effective sections","period":"2026-08-01","comparisonLabel":"London median","comparisonValue":12.649950583310893,"caveat":null,"release":{"updatedAt":"2026-08-02T22:34:37.756Z","resourceUrl":"https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part1_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part2_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part3_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part4_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part5_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part6_7.zip https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/BasicCompanyData-2026-08-01-part7_7.zip","methodologyUrl":"https://www.gov.uk/guidance/companies-house-data-products","releaseLabel":"Live-company snapshot 2026-08-01","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z","resourceChecksum":"87ab9f770619675e694fad88f3fc338c87b2ba2aeb7b1c589b3edb214bf116dd"}}}],"sources":[{"name":"Companies House","url":"https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk/","graphSlug":"companies-born-in-london"},{"name":"Companies House","url":"https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_output.html","graphSlug":"how-old-are-londons-companies"}]}