Boom in landlord ‘companies’ gathers pace, new figures show

New figures from Hamptons show big increase in buy-to-let companies in 2025, which has continued this year.

The boom in buy-to-let companies continued last year, with only mail order firms proving more popular.

New figures from Hamptons show that by the end of 2025, there were 443,272 active UK buy-to-let companies registered at Companies House. This was nearly five times the 91,278 recorded in 2016.

And the numbers have continued to rise this year, with new incorporations running 11% above the same month last year.

This rise comes despite investors accounting for a smaller share of home purchases, as investors bought 10.8% of homes in 2025, down from 11.9% the year before.

Hamptons’ analysis shows that 66,587 new companies were formed to hold buy-to-let property in 2025.

This represents an 8% increase on 2024’s total of 61,517, and a 363% rise over the last decade.

This momentum has carried into 2026, with 5,922 new buy-to-let limited companies set up in January 2026.

More than three-quarters of new buy-to-let purchases are now made through limited companies.

Today, limited company ownership makes financial sense for the majority of landlords.”

Aneisha Beveridge, Head of Research at Hamptons, says: “Landlord’s shift towards limited company ownership continued through 2025, and shows little sign of slowing this year.

“As more landlords find themselves pulled into the 40% income tax bracket, paying corporation tax at 19% or even 25% has become increasingly attractive,” she says.

“Today, limited company ownership makes financial sense for the majority of landlords, with around 75%-80% of all new buy-to-let purchases now made via a company.”

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