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North West · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Manchester

Manchester has 79,782 trading companies. 10,695 of them (13.4%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, below the North West at 14.6% and the UK at 14.0%.

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79,782trading companies
13.4%have secured borrowing
4,843new companies in Q3 2026
4.7%late filing accounts

How Manchester's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Manchester, 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 46%.

Real estate & lettings12,104 companies
46%
Retail10,209 companies
3%
Professional services8,168 companies
7%
Tech, media & telecoms6,330 companies
5%
Wholesale & distribution5,779 companies
7%
Construction & trades4,978 companies
6%
Restaurants, pubs & cafes4,314 companies
4%
Business support services4,118 companies
9%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Manchester, 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 years30,568 companies
4%
2 to 5 years16,377 companies
13%
5 to 10 years16,086 companies
18%
10 to 20 years11,883 companies
20%
Over 20 years4,868 companies
43%

Who's lending in the North West

The 755 new lender charges we tracked against the North West 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
56%
Specialist & alternative lenders
11%
Banks
9%
Invoice finance
1%
Asset finance
0%

Funding that fits Manchester businesses

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

Elsewhere in the North West

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