New businesses in the West Midlands — October 2026
Auspector ·
Between September 27 and October 27, 2026, 1,408 business records in the West Midlands county entered our newly opened businesses section — third among the UK’s 150 counties, after Greater London and Greater Manchester. Birmingham received 550, Coventry 183 and Wolverhampton 104.
How many new businesses open in the West Midlands?
1,408 West Midlands records entered our newly opened businesses section between September 27 and October 27, 2026, about 47 a day, from 150,876 records in our database. That is the third-highest count among the UK’s 150 counties.
The West Midlands here is the metropolitan county — Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton — not the wider West Midlands region. The counties around it, such as Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, have pages of their own and are not in these figures.
Which towns get the most new businesses?
| Town | New records | All records | New per 1,000 records | Phone | Website information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 550 | 64,773 | 8.5 | 77.7% | 59.5% |
| Coventry | 183 | 18,288 | 10.0 | 76.4% | 59.8% |
| Wolverhampton | 104 | 11,486 | 9.1 | 79.1% | 57.7% |
| Walsall | 72 | 7,580 | 9.5 | 80.7% | 55.5% |
| Dudley | 50 | 4,320 | 11.6 | 78.6% | 55.6% |
| Smethwick | 49 | 3,178 | 15.4 | 79.7% | 50.5% |
| Solihull | 32 | 3,859 | 8.3 | 78.1% | 66.1% |
| Stourbridge | 31 | 3,491 | 8.9 | 85.4% | 61.4% |
| Halesowen | 31 | 3,050 | 10.2 | 85.0% | 57.8% |
| West Bromwich | 29 | 3,638 | 8.0 | 79.7% | 55.1% |
| Brierley Hill | 27 | 2,690 | 10.0 | 80.9% | 59.7% |
| Wednesbury | 25 | 2,321 | 10.8 | 80.9% | 52.7% |
| Oldbury | 23 | 2,307 | 10.0 | 82.1% | 59.0% |
| Willenhall | 22 | 2,446 | 9.0 | 84.0% | 54.9% |
| Shirley | 20 | 2,640 | 7.6 | 84.1% | 66.0% |
Birmingham received 550 new records, about 18 a day. It has 3.5 times as many records as Coventry but received 3.0 times as many new ones, so relative to size Coventry is ahead: 10.0 new records per 1,000 against 8.5. The highest rate in the table is Smethwick’s (15.4, from 3,178 records); the lowest is Shirley’s (7.6).
The Black Country — the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton — appears in the table as eleven towns, from Wolverhampton (104) to Willenhall (22). Together those towns received 463 new records, not far behind Birmingham; that is a floor, since smaller Black Country towns are below the table’s cut-off.
Which sectors are opening?
| Sector | New records | All records | New per 1,000 records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hair and beauty salons | 60 | 6,724 | 8.9 |
| Auto repair shops | 41 | 2,788 | 14.7 |
| Restaurants | 33 | 4,499 | 7.3 |
| Construction companies | 24 | 2,492 | 9.6 |
| Supermarkets and grocery stores | 20 | 3,442 | 5.8 |
| Bars and pubs | 14 | 1,240 | 11.3 |
| Cafés | 13 | 1,481 | 8.8 |
| Car dealers | 13 | 987 | 13.2 |
| Bakeries and pastry shops | 11 | 561 | 19.6 |
| Gyms and fitness studios | 8 | 729 | 11.0 |
| Clothing stores | <5 | 1,224 | — |
| Real estate agencies | <5 | 998 | — |
| Dentists and dental clinics | <5 | 809 | — |
| Pharmacies | <5 | 748 | — |
Hair and beauty salons lead with 60. Auto repair shops are second (41), ahead of restaurants (33) — and with 2,788 records, the county has more auto repair shops in our database than Greater Manchester (2,377), which is larger overall. Among sectors with 15 or more new records, auto repair shops have the highest rate (14.7 per 1,000) and supermarkets and grocery stores the lowest (5.8). Four of the 14 sectors — estate agents, pharmacies, dental practices and clothing stores — had fewer than five new records.
How does it compare with its neighbours?
| County | New records | All records | New per 1,000 records | Rank by new records (of 150) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | 1,408 | 150,876 | 9.3 | 3 |
| Staffordshire | 411 | 49,696 | 8.3 | 19 |
| Warwickshire | 373 | 38,700 | 9.6 | 22 |
| Worcestershire | 249 | 38,980 | 6.4 | 36 |
The West Midlands received more new records than Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire combined (1,033). Relative to size the order is Warwickshire (9.6), the West Midlands (9.3), Staffordshire (8.3) and Worcestershire (6.4), in new records per 1,000. When a territory crosses the county boundary — Solihull and Warwickshire, or Wolverhampton and the Staffordshire towns beside it — search both counties.
What it means if you sell to new businesses in the West Midlands
- Web design and online booking. Of the six counties in this series, the West Midlands has the highest share of records with a phone number but no website information: 29.1% of all records. Among hair and beauty salons, it is 57.2% — in the sector with the most new records. Where to start: businesses without a website and how to get web design clients.
- Parts, tyres and garage equipment. 41 new auto repair records and 13 new car dealers in the window. Group by phone number before you count businesses. More on the sector: new auto repair shops.
- Three rounds, not one. Birmingham (about 18 new records a day), Coventry (about 43 a week) and the Black Country towns (about 108 a week) are separate territories for a field team.
How to pull a list for the West Midlands
- Location: United Kingdom, the county West Midlands, then a town such as Coventry or Wolverhampton — the same address locality as in the table.
- Section and filters: newly opened businesses (the last 30 days, updated daily), then a sector or a narrower category. Categories are each record’s own, so “barber shop” or “tyre shop” can be a list of its own. Phone — has, for a call list; Website — none, for web design prospects.
- Count, then open: searching and counting are free on every plan; a credit is spent only when you first open a record, and a CSV or XLSX export counts as an open (pricing). Save the search and new matches arrive by email every day.