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Yorkshire and the Humber · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Bradford

Bradford has 18,709 trading companies. 1,798 of them (9.6%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, below Yorkshire and the Humber at 15.5% and the UK at 14.0%.

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18,709trading companies
9.6%have secured borrowing
1,247new companies in Q3 2026
4.5%late filing accounts

How Bradford's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Bradford, 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 35%.

Retail2,960 companies
4%
Real estate & lettings2,084 companies
35%
Restaurants, pubs & cafes1,520 companies
3%
Construction & trades1,394 companies
7%
Professional services1,370 companies
6%
Haulage & logistics982 companies
4%
Business support services943 companies
8%
Healthcare & dental938 companies
3%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Bradford, 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 years7,609 companies
2%
2 to 5 years4,168 companies
7%
5 to 10 years3,519 companies
12%
10 to 20 years2,394 companies
18%
Over 20 years1,019 companies
46%

Who's lending in Yorkshire and the Humber

The 388 new lender charges we tracked against Yorkshire and the Humber 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
59%
Asset finance
14%
Banks
8%
Specialist & alternative lenders
6%
Invoice finance
3%

Funding that fits Bradford businesses

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

Elsewhere in Yorkshire and the Humber

Source: every live company on the Companies House register at 2026-10-01, analysed by DueLead for its Q3 2026 Pulse report on Bradford. "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.