Company formation in Britain is drawing a notable number of people at the very start of their working lives. Of the 583,861 founders appointed to new UK companies between August 2025 and July 2026, 8.7% were aged under 25, and in several towns and cities the figure came close to double that level.

The findings come from a study by virtual office provider Virtual HQ, which analysed every company incorporated in the UK over the 12 months to July 2026 alongside the recorded date of birth of each director appointed at incorporation. Each of the UK’s 360 ranked local authorities was measured on the share of its founders aged under 25 and the share aged over 60, with the same approach applied across the 12 regions and by industry sector.

What emerges is a picture of enterprise that is broad in age and widely spread across the country. Young founders are setting up in significant numbers well beyond the traditional business centres, while older founders are bringing decades of experience to rural communities.

Founders are starting younger

The speed and modest cost of forming a limited company have made incorporation a realistic option for people who are still studying or have only recently entered work. Andrew Manning, Managing Director at Virtual HQ, notes that setting up a company has never been quicker or cheaper, and the data supports his observation that many people are now starting in their early twenties. The UK median founder age stands at 39, yet a sizeable cohort is establishing businesses well before that point.

A registered company gives a young founder a formal structure from the outset, with a separate legal identity for dealing with customers, suppliers and banks. An early start also allows more time to learn from a first venture and to apply that experience to the next one. For the wider economy, this offers the prospect of a deeper pool of seasoned business owners in the years ahead.

Ambition across the regions

Blackburn with Darwen leads the national ranking, with 309 of the 1,835 directors appointed to its new companies aged under 25. At 16.8%, the borough’s share is nearly double the UK figure and the highest recorded by any local authority, while its median founder age of 36 sits three years below the national median.

Bradford and Leicester follow at 14.1% and 13.4% respectively, and both combine a youthful founder base with considerable volume. Bradford recorded 4,988 new companies, the sixth highest number of incorporations of any local authority, and 834 of its 5,911 founders were under 25. Leicester, where 596 of 4,436 founders were under 25, has one of the six youngest median founder ages in the UK at 35.

Birmingham, on 12.9%, and the London borough of Brent, on 12.7%, complete the top five, and 86 of the 360 ranked local authorities recorded an above-average share of founders under 25. The leading positions also hold when each area’s figure is compared against the share its 16 to 24 population would predict at the national rate, with Blackburn with Darwen first on both measures. This indicates a genuine appetite for enterprise among young people, beyond what local population size alone would explain.

Retail and digital sectors attract the youngest founders

Wholesale and retail trade accounts for 91,794 of the new companies, more than any other sector, and it also has the youngest founders. The sector’s median founder age is 35 and 14.2% of its directors are under 25, a share well above the national figure. Online selling has made retail an especially accessible route into business, allowing a new venture to reach customers without the cost of physical premises.

Other service activities follows with 10.3% of founders under 25, while information and communication records 10.2%. The latter covers activities including publishing, telecommunications and computer programming, where technical skill and time can carry a new company a long way. Together, these sectors show young founders building businesses with modest start-up costs and clear routes to customers.

Experience is shaping enterprise

The study also identifies where older founders are most active, and the results add a valuable dimension to the national picture. The Outer Hebrides, also known as Na h-Eileanan Siar, has the highest share of founders aged over 60 of any local authority, at 17.4%, with 25 of its 144 new directors in that age group. That is almost three times the national figure of 5.9%.

West Devon, the Isle of Anglesey and Herefordshire share second place on 13.7%, followed by Monmouthshire on 13.5%, where 82 of 607 new founders were over 60. Wealden, the Orkney Islands, Cotswold, South Hams and Mid Suffolk also feature in the top ten, with median founder ages of between 42 and 44 across the group. Many of these founders are applying long careers and established networks to new ventures in their own communities.

Newham sits at the other end of the scale, with the youngest median founder age of any local authority at 34 and the smallest share of founders over 60, at 2.7%. The contrast shows how widely the age of new founders varies across the UK, and how starting a company has become an option at almost any point in a working life.

Sound foundations for a first venture

Alongside the opportunity, Virtual HQ draws attention to a practical point that first-time founders can overlook. Incorporation places every director on a public register, and each must provide a service address that anyone is able to look up.

For a founder working from a family home or student accommodation, the choice of address deserves attention before the application is submitted. Virtual HQ, which supports thousands of businesses with virtual office locations, mail and telephone management, is among the providers offering an alternative. It is also worth noting that a company’s registered office address is not necessarily where it trades or where its founders live.

A broad base for future growth

The study’s central message is one of breadth. Young people are setting up companies in large numbers in towns and cities across England, and older founders are contributing to island and rural economies in Scotland, Wales and England. Founders appointed as part of a team each count individually in the data, which also reflects the number of companies being started by groups of partners.

With 86 local authorities above the national average for young founders, and the largest sector of new companies led by founders with a median age of 35, the conditions for a new generation of business owners are well established. The challenge now is to help these early ventures grow, so that a strong first year of incorporations becomes a lasting contribution to the UK economy.