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East of England · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Chelmsford

Chelmsford has 10,285 trading companies. 1,539 of them (15.0%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, above the East of England at 13.6% and the UK at 14.0%.

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10,285trading companies
15.0%have secured borrowing
388new companies in Q3 2026
4.0%late filing accounts

How Chelmsford's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Chelmsford, 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 48%.

Professional services1,429 companies
4%
Real estate & lettings1,420 companies
48%
Construction & trades1,116 companies
7%
Tech, media & telecoms951 companies
4%
Business support services613 companies
9%
Retail609 companies
7%
Personal services462 companies
10%
Healthcare & dental425 companies
7%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Chelmsford, 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 years2,622 companies
5%
2 to 5 years1,881 companies
13%
5 to 10 years2,448 companies
16%
10 to 20 years2,173 companies
15%
Over 20 years1,161 companies
38%

Who's lending in the East of England

The 261 new lender charges we tracked against the East of England 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
51%
Specialist & alternative lenders
21%
Banks
15%
Asset finance
2%
Invoice finance
2%

Funding that fits Chelmsford businesses

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

Elsewhere in the East of England

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