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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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Up to 80% of all new buy-to-let purchases are now made via a company, with 66,587 new firms formed in 2025 – up 8% on 2024 and a 363% rise over the last decade.
Hamptons’ analysis of Companies House records reveals that this momentum has carried into 2026, with 5,922 new buy-to-let limited firms set up in January - 11% more than the same month last year, suggesting the trend shows little sign of slowing.
The real-terms fall in personal allowances and higher-rate income tax threshold, combined with the impact of higher mortgage rates, which company landlords can fully offset against their tax bill, have fuelled the more recent surge. By the end of last year, there were 443,272 active UK buy-to-let companies registered at Companies House, nearly five times the 91,278 recorded in 2016.
Across England and Wales, more than three-quarters of a million property titles (755,042) are now held in a buy-to-let company, up from 272,964 a decade ago. Hamptons estimates this equates to about 1.5 million buy-to-let properties within a limited company structure. It says the rise comes despite investors accounting for a smaller share of home purchases; across Great Britain, investors bought 10.8% of homes in 2025, down from 11.9% the year before.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research, explains that as more landlords find themselves pulled into the 40% income tax bracket, paying corporation tax at 19% or even 25% has become increasingly attractive. However, she adds it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. “For landlords who earn no income beyond their rents and remain lower-rate taxpayers, owning property in personal names can still be the better option, particularly as above-inflation increases have pushed up Companies House filing fees.”
Shareholder
Interestingly, 42% of companies established last year had more than one shareholder, up from 34% in 2016. And while 31% of companies have their headquarters in London, their portfolios span the UK; 51% of purchases made by London-based companies are located outside the capital and 14% are in the North West.
Hamptons also reports that falls in rental growth are beginning to moderate. Across Great Britain, the average rent on a newly let home dipped by 0.2% to £1,366 pcm in the year to January. However, with rent increases due to be open to tribunal challenge from May, many landlords are ensuring their rents align as closely as possible to market levels. The average tenant renewing a contract saw their rent rise by 2.8% to £1,305 pcm.
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