Gen X at Work · Generation X is running British companies.
2026
Across every active British company, the median age of the person in control is 47. 44.3 per cent are aged 50 and over and 20.7 per cent are aged 60 and over. Among the 30,999 controlling positions in companies above the small-company threshold, those filing medium, full or group accounts, the median is 60. 79.8 per cent are aged 50 and over and 51.6 per cent are aged 60 and over. The single most common age in that group is 58.
The count is mine, from two free Companies House bulk files processed in full on 27 September 2026, with no sampling. The regime does not cover listed companies, and a company owned through a corporate structure reports that entity rather than a person, so the substantial-company figures describe firms still controlled by an identifiable individual. Every filter is on the page.
Every live individual person with significant control (25 per cent or more of shares or voting rights) of an active British company, Companies House PSC snapshot of 26 September 2026 against the company snapshot of 1 September 2026. 5,241,049 controlling positions with a usable date of birth. Substantial means the 30,999 positions in companies filing medium, full or group accounts. Age is 2026 minus birth year.
My count Source: Magnus Wood, Who controls British business, in The Years That Made Us (own count from the Companies House PSC register), 27 September 2026.