Longest-established UK companies on Whito 2026

Of 816 active companies in the Whito directory with a Companies House record, the longest-established is the company behind Simplicity (Dignity Funerals Limited), incorporated on 17 July 1894. Second is Rodericks Dental (26 May 1923). The table shows the 100 oldest.

This covers companies listed on Whito, not every UK company. The date is when the present legal company was formed. A business can be older than its company, and a long-standing firm that set up a new company will look young here.

Last updated: 14 November 2026
Register read: 14 November 2026
Source: Companies House
Edition: First edition

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Rank	Business	Registered company	Industry on Whito	Based in	Incorporated	Years as a company	Latest accounts filed
1	Simplicity	Dignity Funerals Limited	Funeral directors	Not available	17 July 1894	132	Full accounts
2	Rodericks Dental	Rodericks Dental Partners Limited	Dentists	Not available	26 May 1923	103	Full accounts
3	GAP Hire Solutions	Gap Group Limited	Scaffolders	Not available	24 June 1924	102	Group accounts
4	Mitie	Mitie Group plc	Window cleaners	Not available	16 July 1936	90	Group accounts
5	Ideal Heating	Ideal Boilers Limited	Gas engineers	Not available	19 December 1936	89	Full accounts
6	Kuoni	Dertour UK Limited	Travel agents	Not available	25 May 1945	81	Group accounts
7	Bakers Dolphin	J N Baker Limited	Travel agents	Weston-super-Mare	21 July 1945	81	Full accounts
8	Village Hotels	Vur Village Trading No 1 Limited	Hotels guest houses	Not available	7 September 1946	80	Full accounts
9	Sunbelt Rentals	Sunbelt Rentals Limited	Scaffolders	Not available	1 November 1947	79	Full accounts
10	Turner Access	Turner & Co. (Glasgow) Limited.	Scaffolders	Not available	5 September 1950	76	Group accounts
11	Greggs	Greggs plc	Cafes	Not available	29 December 1951	74	Group accounts
12	Howdens	Howden Joinery Limited	Kitchen bathroom fitters	Not available	15 December 1953	72	Full accounts
13	Nuffield Health	Nuffield Health	Physios	Not available	14 January 1957	69	Group accounts
14	Goatman & Batham	John Goatman Limited	Opticians	Bristol	15 October 1957	69	Small company accounts
15	Timpson	Timpson Limited	Locksmiths	Not available	16 November 1960	65	Subsidiary accounts
16	Which? Wills	Which? Limited	Will writers	Not available	13 December 1960	65	Full accounts
17	R.L. Lovatt	R.L.LOVATT LIMITED	Roofers	Bury	9 March 1962	64	Small company accounts
18	HF Trust Leeds and Bradford	HF Trust Limited	Home care	Leeds	10 September 1962	64	Group accounts
19	Howden	A-Plan Holdings	Insurance brokers	Not available	18 February 1963	63	Full accounts
20	Swinton	Atlanta Insurance Intermediaries Limited	Insurance brokers	Not available	5 April 1963	63	Full accounts
21	Travelodge	Travelodge Hotels Limited	Hotels guest houses	Not available	29 July 1963	63	Full accounts
22	Turning Point – Bradford	Turning Point	Home care	Bradford	27 February 1964	62	Group accounts
23	Superdrug	Superdrug Stores plc	Pharmacies	Not available	28 May 1964	62	Full accounts
24	Hayes Parsons Insurance Brokers	HAYES PARSONS LIMITED	Insurance brokers	Bristol	20 August 1964	62	Small company accounts
25	Leightons	Leightons Holdings Limited	Opticians	Not available	7 October 1966	60	Group accounts
26	NEC Software Solutions UK	NEC Software Solutions UK Limited	It support	Hemel Hempstead	17 December 1969	56	Full accounts
27	Hays	Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited	Recruitment agencies	Not available	25 March 1970	56	Full accounts
28	National Tyres	National Tyre Service Limited	Garages	Not available	12 August 1970	56	Full accounts
29	Bridge Insurance Brokers	BRIDGE INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED	Insurance brokers	Manchester	7 December 1970	55	Full accounts
30	Trailfinders	Trailfinders Limited	Travel agents	Not available	11 March 1971	55	Full accounts
31	Kwik Fit	Kwik-Fit (Gb) Limited	Garages	Not available	27 April 1971	55	Group accounts
32	Kaplan	Kaplan Financial Limited	Training providers	Not available	27 October 1971	55	Full accounts
33	East Goscote Plumbers	EAST GOSCOTE PLUMBERS LIMITED	Plumbers	Leicester	1 December 1972	53	Small company accounts
34	St Anne’s Bradford Supported Living Services	St Anne's Community Services	Home care	Bradford	29 December 1972	53	Full accounts
35	United Response-Bradford Supported Living Services	United Response	Home care	Bradford	11 September 1973	53	Group accounts
36	FRC Roofing	FELT ROOFING CONTRACTORS (AVON) LIMITED	Roofers	Bristol	5 July 1974	52	Small company accounts
37	TruGreen UK	Servicemaster Limited	Landscapers	Not available	19 March 1976	50	Full accounts
37	Merry Maids	Servicemaster Limited	Cleaning companies	Not available	19 March 1976	50	Full accounts
39	William Purves Funeral Directors	William Purves (Funeral Directors) Limited	Funeral directors	Edinburgh	7 September 1976	50	Full accounts
40	DHS (Dynamic Heating Services)	Dynamic Heating Services Limited	Gas engineers	Bristol	25 August 1977	49	Micro company accounts
41	Taylor Wimpey	Taylor Wimpey UK Limited	Builders	Not available	6 October 1978	48	Full accounts
42	Francesco Group	Francesco Group (Holdings) Limited	Hairdressers	Not available	12 December 1978	47	Small company accounts
43	Marsh Commercial	Marsh Limited	Insurance brokers	Not available	11 July 1980	46	Full accounts
44	Ossett Tyre House	Ossett Tyre House Limited	Garages	Ossett, West Yorkshire	3 November 1980	46	Dormant company accounts
45	Bytes Software Services	Bytes Software Services Limited	It support	Leatherhead	25 February 1982	44	Full accounts
46	Civica	Civica UK Limited	It support	London	14 April 1982	44	Full accounts
47	Catholic Care – Diocese of Leeds	Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds)	Home care	Leeds	6 May 1982	44	Full accounts
48	Foxtons	Foxtons Limited	Estate agents	Not available	22 November 1982	43	Full accounts
49	Peak Pharmacy	PCT HEALTHCARE LIMITED	Pharmacies	Chesterfield, Derbyshire	10 November 1983	43	Full accounts
50	A.W. Lymn	A.W.Lymn The Family Funeral Service Limited	Funeral directors	Nottingham	30 March 1984	42	Full accounts
51	Protyre	Micheldever Tyre Services Limited	Garages	Not available	18 May 1984	42	Full accounts
52	Pret A Manger	Pret A Manger (Europe) Limited	Cafes	Not available	10 October 1984	42	Full accounts
53	Tersus	Tersus Consultancy Limited	Asbestos removal	Not available	9 May 1985	41	Subsidiary accounts
54	DIY Kitchens	Ultima Furniture Systems Limited	Kitchen bathroom fitters	Not available	4 June 1985	41	Full accounts
55	Intercity	Intercity Technology Limited	It support	Not available	13 August 1985	41	Group accounts
56	Countrywide Home Surveys	Countrywide Surveyors Limited	Surveyors	Not available	4 November 1985	41	Subsidiary accounts
57	Denplan	Denplan Limited	Dentists	Not available	22 January 1986	40	Full accounts
58	Trevor Sorbie	Trevor Sorbie International Limited	Hairdressers	Not available	3 February 1986	40	Full accounts
59	IKEA	Ikea Limited	Kitchen bathroom fitters	Not available	5 February 1986	40	Full accounts
60	L&C Mortgages	London & Country Mortgages Limited	Mortgage advisers	Not available	12 February 1986	40	Full accounts
61	Redrow	Redrow Homes Limited	Builders	Not available	18 February 1986	40	Full accounts
61	Hays Travel	Hays Travel Limited	Travel agents	Not available	18 February 1986	40	Group accounts
63	Worcester Bosch	Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd	Gas engineers	Not available	27 February 1986	40	Full accounts
64	Kainos	Kainos Software Limited	It support	Belfast	14 April 1986	40	Full accounts
65	Pimlico Plumbers	Pimlico Plumbers Limited	Roofers	Not available	22 April 1986	40	Full accounts
66	Robert Half UK	Robert Half Limited	Recruitment agencies	Not available	6 January 1987	39	Full accounts
67	TM West Plumbing Services	T.M. WEST PLUMBING SERVICES LIMITED	Plumbers	Leeds	2 February 1987	39	Micro company accounts
68	Yale	Assa Abloy Limited	Security companies	Not available	4 February 1987	39	Full accounts
69	D R Grey Opticians	D.R. Grey (Norwich) Limited	Opticians	Norwich	17 March 1987	39	Micro company accounts
70	Savills	Savills plc	Estate agents	Not available	10 April 1987	39	Group accounts
71	The Roofing Company (Bristol)	THE ROOFING COMPANY (BRISTOL) LIMITED	Roofers	Bristol	30 September 1987	39	Small company accounts
72	Softcat	Softcat PLC	It support	Marlow	7 October 1987	39	Group accounts
73	Selco Builders Warehouse	Selco Trade Centres Limited	Builders	Not available	23 October 1987	39	Full accounts
74	Trustmarque Ultima	Trustmarque Solutions Limited	It support	York	26 October 1987	39	Full accounts
75	Vision Express	Vision Express (UK) Limited	Opticians	Not available	6 November 1987	39	Full accounts
76	Ghir Electrical	GHIR ELECTRICAL (SUPPLIES) LIMITED	Electrical supplies	East Ham, London	5 February 1988	38	Small company accounts
77	Superseal Roofing	1ST CHOICE SUPERSEAL LIMITED	Roofers	Birmingham	11 April 1988	38	Micro company accounts
78	e.surv	E.Surv Limited	Surveyors	Not available	2 June 1988	38	Full accounts
79	Saks Hair & Beauty	Saks Hair (Holdings) Limited	Beauty salons	Not available	10 November 1988	38	Small company accounts
80	Vistage UK	Vistage International (UK) Limited	Consultancies	Not available	30 January 1989	37	Small company accounts
81	Envirochem	Envirochem Analytical Laboratories Limited	Asbestos removal	Not available	2 May 1989	37	Small company accounts
82	Randstad UK	Randstad Solutions Limited	Recruitment agencies	Not available	25 May 1989	37	Full accounts
83	Novus Property Solutions	Novus Property Solutions Limited	Painters decorators	Not available	12 July 1989	37	Full accounts
84	SDL Surveying	Sdl Surveying Limited	Surveyors	Not available	8 August 1989	37	Full accounts
85	QA	Qa Limited	Training providers	Not available	14 August 1989	37	Subsidiary accounts
86	Everglade Windows	Everglade Windows Limited	Window door installers	Not available	14 November 1989	36	Full accounts
87	CDW UK	CDW Limited	It support	London	31 January 1990	36	Full accounts
88	Methods	Methods Business and Digital Technology Limited	It support	London	26 March 1990	36	Full accounts
89	Trust Inheritance	TRUST INHERITANCE LIMITED	Will writers	Weston-super-Mare, Somerset	9 April 1990	36	Small company accounts
90	Everest	Ashi Group Limited	Roofers	Not available	17 September 1990	36	Full accounts
91	Phoenix Software	Phoenix Software Limited	It support	York	15 October 1990	36	Full accounts
92	Nando’s	Nando'S Chickenland Limited	Restaurants	Not available	5 February 1991	35	Full accounts
93	Parcel2Go	Parcel2go.Com Limited	Logistics companies	Not available	13 March 1991	35	Full accounts
94	Safeguard Pest Control	Safeguard Pest Control and Environmental Services Limited	Pest control	Not available	3 April 1991	35	Medium company accounts
95	Wagamama	Wagamama Limited	Restaurants	Not available	29 April 1991	35	Subsidiary accounts
96	ESP Utilities Group	Esp Utilities Group Limited	Infrastructure companies	Not available	17 May 1991	35	Group accounts
97	John O’Conner	John O'Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Limited	Tree surgeons	Not available	5 June 1991	35	Small company accounts
98	LDC	Ldc Driving Schools Limited	Driving schools	Not available	6 June 1991	35	Small company accounts
99	Prodware UK	Prodware (UK) Limited	It support	Warrington	16 September 1991	35	Medium company accounts
100	Thames Laboratories	The Hazard Management & Environmental Services Laboratories Limited	Asbestos removal	Not available	20 September 1991	35	Small company accounts

How this ranking works

What is measured

How long each company has existed as a legal company: the time since its incorporation date on the Companies House register.

Where the data comes from

The Companies House register. Whito opened the public register page for each listed company and read the incorporation date, the company status and the latest accounts filed.

How the ranking is worked out

Companies are placed in order of incorporation date, oldest first. Companies incorporated on the same day share a rank. "Years as a company" is whole years from incorporation to 14 November 2026.

When the data was collected

Whito read the register on 14 November 2026.

What is included and left out

Included: businesses listed in the Whito directory that have a company number and are shown as Active on the register. Left out: sole traders and partnerships with no company number, companies that are dissolved, in liquidation or being struck off, and any company whose register page could not be read on the day.

Limits

This is not a list of the oldest businesses in the UK. It covers Whito listings only. Incorporation date is not the date a business began trading. Age says nothing about quality, size or price.

Corrections

If a figure here is wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk or use the corrections page. Whito checks it against the source and fixes it free of charge.

Nobody can pay to appear in a Whito ranking, and nobody can pay to move up one. Paid listings and services have no effect on any ranking. Read how Whito makes money and the full rankings method.

Data sources

Companies House, Find and update company information service, read 14 November 2026.
The Whito directory, for the list of businesses and their company numbers.

Editions

This is the first edition of this ranking, so there is no earlier edition to compare it with. When the next edition is published, this one will stay online and be linked from here.

All Whito Rankings

Longest-established UK companies on Whito