The Datum Report

Standing view · business · Hackney

Business closures in Hackney have been rising, though other measures here have run the other way.

mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2026-06.

Business deaths in Hackney rose to 860 in the second quarter of 2025, fell to 585 in the fourth, then rose to 865 in the second quarter of 2026. Business births fell to 805 in the second quarter of 2026, below closures in that quarter. Closures end the period at their highest reading and above formations, which points one way despite the improvement in between. The borough held 27,140 business sites in 2025, including 220 businesses employing 50 to 99 people, 15 employing 1,000 or more and 10 employing between 500 and 999.

How this was decided

A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Hackney. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.

The 4 measures that formed this view

MeasurePeriodDirection
Business deaths2025-06deteriorating
Business deaths2025-12improving
Business births2026-06deteriorating
Business deaths2026-06deteriorating

Also published on this topic, but not counted

These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.

MeasurePeriodSeries
Businesses employing 1000+ or more people2025
Businesses employing 50 to 99 people2025
Businesses employing 500 to 999 people2025
Business sites2025