Data · Companies House
How much cash does the typical UK company hold?
In a random sample of companies that filed accounts at Companies House in June and July 2026, the median checked company with non-micro accounts and a usable cash figure held £13,654 in cash at its balance sheet date. That is from 3,275 checked trading companies (95% range £12,247 to £15,084). 19.5% of them had £1,000 or less (637 companies). Micro-entity accounts show no cash line, so the smallest companies are not in these figures.
The figures
| Measure | Sample figure | 95% range | Companies in this figure | Which companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In net current liabilities (current assets less creditors due within a year, below zero) | 37.1% | 36.1% to 38.2% | 7,481 | all checked trading companies |
| With negative net cash (cash plus debtors, less creditors due within a year, below zero) | 41.2% | 39.4% to 43.0% | 2,980 | non-micro accounts with usable cash and debtors |
| Holding less cash than the creditors due within a year | 63.7% | 62.0% to 65.3% | 3,275 | non-micro accounts with usable cash |
| Median cash as a share of creditors due within a year | 45% | 39% to 50% | 3,165 | non-micro accounts with usable cash, creditors above zero |
| With £1,000 or less in the bank at the balance sheet date | 19.5% | 18.1% to 20.8% | 3,275 | non-micro accounts with usable cash |
| Median cash at the balance sheet date | £13,654 | £12,247 to £15,084 | 3,275 | non-micro accounts with usable cash |
Cash held, by sector
All columns share one denominator: the sector's non-micro accounts with a usable cash figure. Each range describes one sector on its own. Comparing two sectors needs a test of the difference, which we have not run, so read the order as descriptive.
| Sector | With £1,000 or less (95% range) | Median cash (95% range) | Less cash than creditors due within a year (95% range) | Companies in this figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial services | 30.9% 23.7% to 39.1% | £14,853 £7,817 to £25,713 | 57.4% 49.0% to 65.4% | 136 |
| Transport and logistics | 29.0% 20.8% to 38.9% | £8,260 £2,539 to £19,655 | 64.5% 54.4% to 73.5% | 93 |
| Administrative and support services | 23.8% 18.9% to 29.5% | £12,227 £8,971 to £18,838 | 62.1% 55.9% to 67.9% | 248 |
| Information and communication | 21.3% 16.5% to 27.0% | £16,211 £10,741 to £24,418 | 60.0% 53.6% to 66.1% | 230 |
| Retail, wholesale and motor trade | 19.2% 15.6% to 23.3% | £14,342 £10,686 to £21,819 | 67.3% 62.6% to 71.7% | 407 |
| Real estate | 19.1% 15.7% to 22.9% | £7,608 £5,133 to £10,076 | 76.5% 72.4% to 80.2% | 456 |
| Other service activities | 18.6% 12.8% to 26.2% | £9,908 £6,666 to £18,141 | 61.2% 52.6% to 69.2% | 129 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 18.5% 11.6% to 28.3% | £11,849 £5,797 to £20,397 | 56.8% 45.9% to 67.0% | 81 |
| Health and social care | 18.1% 13.0% to 24.6% | £20,280 £11,828 to £33,557 | 47.6% 40.1% to 55.2% | 166 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 17.3% 14.0% to 21.2% | £16,584 £11,725 to £22,954 | 52.3% 47.6% to 57.0% | 428 |
| Construction | 16.1% 12.9% to 19.9% | £16,631 £12,598 to £22,975 | 65.5% 60.8% to 69.9% | 417 |
| Accommodation and food service (hospitality) | 15.1% 10.4% to 21.5% | £18,922 £10,642 to £30,290 | 74.8% 67.6% to 80.9% | 159 |
| Manufacturing | 13.0% 8.5% to 19.4% | £34,195 £19,968 to £63,057 | 73.3% 65.6% to 79.8% | 146 |
Reading these numbers
A median is the middle company, so a handful of large balances cannot pull it upwards. It is the middle of one group only: non-micro accounts (small-company, FRS 102 and larger; micro-entity accounts have no cash line) with a usable cash figure. Micro-entity accounts, the most common kind (4,164 of the 7,481 checked trading companies), are not in it, and we do not estimate what they hold.
The balance on its own says little. The same £13,654 means one thing against a small bill and another against a large one, which is why the next figure matters more: the median company's cash covers 45% of the creditors due within a year (3,165 companies with creditors above zero; 48% across 3,245 if the companies that held cash but had no such creditors are counted as covered in full, leaving out the 30 with neither), and 63.7% hold less cash than those creditors.
If you want the figure that applies to you rather than to a sample, it is your own cash set against your own due dates, this week rather than at year end.
Where these numbers come from. A random sample of 10,000 sets of accounts filed at Companies House in June and July 2026, from the free monthly accounts bulk product. We use only trading companies whose balance sheets add up: current assets less creditors due within a year equals the net current assets they filed. Cash figures come only from non-micro accounts, because micro-entity accounts have no cash line. Every figure carries its own count and a 95% range for sampling error.
These are balance-sheet measures. Most small-company accounts carry no profit and loss, so nothing here estimates cover over time. Every claim is cash against what is owed, at each company's balance sheet date. Full method, checks and caveats.
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