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West Midlands · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Birmingham

Birmingham has 71,221 trading companies. 8,673 of them (12.2%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, below the West Midlands at 14.4% and the UK at 14.0%.

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71,221trading companies
12.2%have secured borrowing
4,253new companies in Q3 2026
4.6%late filing accounts

How Birmingham's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Birmingham, and the share of companies in each with a lender's charge registered against them. Real estate & lettings borrows most against its assets here, at 38%.

Real estate & lettings11,116 companies
38%
Retail8,675 companies
4%
Professional services6,320 companies
6%
Restaurants, pubs & cafes4,851 companies
4%
Construction & trades4,536 companies
7%
Tech, media & telecoms4,294 companies
4%
Business support services4,031 companies
7%
Healthcare & dental3,672 companies
6%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Birmingham, the share of companies with secured borrowing climbs with age, which is why a young business often starts with asset finance or a smaller unsecured loan.

Under 2 years26,765 companies
3%
2 to 5 years14,861 companies
10%
5 to 10 years14,785 companies
17%
10 to 20 years10,369 companies
18%
Over 20 years4,441 companies
43%

Who's lending in the West Midlands

The 362 new lender charges we tracked against the West Midlands companies in Q3 2026, by type of lender. Property, bridging & buy-to-let made up the largest share, as most mortgages on company-owned property are registered as charges.

Property, bridging & buy-to-let
55%
Specialist & alternative lenders
15%
Banks
10%
Asset finance
7%
Cash advance & revenue-based
1%

Funding that fits Birmingham businesses

Plain-English guides to the kinds of funding that suit Birmingham's biggest sectors.

Elsewhere in the West Midlands

Source: every live company on the Companies House register at 2026-10-01, analysed by DueLead for its Q3 2026 Pulse report on Birmingham. "Secured borrowing" means at least one outstanding charge, a lender's security registered at Companies House, so unsecured loans and overdrafts don't show. Trading companies means active limited companies, LLPs and PLCs, excluding dormant companies, financial services firms and public bodies. Sole traders aren't on the register, so they aren't counted.