A new study* has revealed the UK cities whose businesses have committed the most corporate offences, analysing over 36,000 corporate fines from 2020 – 2024, to discover which companies had received the most fines by UK authorities, and which city the company HQ is based in. 

The research found that Belfast based companies had committed the highest number of corporate offences per 1,000 local businesses over a five year period. In total there have been 7.29 fines issued to companies in Belfast per 1,000 local businesses, a rate 26% higher than the second worst city, Nottingham at 5.80. 

At the other end is Winchester. Companies whose headquarters are based in Winchester have the lowest rate of fines per 1,000 local companies at just 0.35, 21x less than Belfast’s rate. 

Belfast businesses commit corporate offences at the highest rate

The research  analysed which cities in the UK have the worst behaved businesses. To do so, they recorded the total number of violations committed by companies in cities around the UK, using the location provided for the company via the Good Jobs First Violation Tracker, and then used ONS data to weight the number of violations by the number of businesses registered in each city. 

Research found that Belfast has the highest rate of corporate offenders. Between 2020 and 2024, there have been 7.29 violations per 1,000 businesses situated in the capital of Northern Ireland. Belfast also has the fourth highest overall number of fines issued to local businesses at 84 over the five year period analysed, costing companies £736k. 

Nottingham is one of four cities to rank in the top 10 for both overall number of violations and number of violations per 1,000 local businesses. Nottingham has the second highest number of fines per 1,000 businesses at 5.80, in addition to the seventh highest overall number of 61. Those 61 fines have cost companies £6.3 million. 

In third place is Southampton. For every 1,000 local businesses there have been 4.91 fines issued for corporate violations, with 45 offences in total over the five year period, costing companies £2.5 million. 

Of the cities in the top 10, Lincoln has the lowest overall number of total offences at 14, less than three per year. However, due to the lower density of businesses situated in Lincoln, 4.81 violations per 1,000 businesses is the fourth highest number. Lincoln also has the second highest average fine per offence at £242k, costing local businesses £3.4 million.  

As well as having the third most fines overall, Glasgow also has the fifth highest number of violations weighted by the local business population. Glasgow’s 103 total offences works out at 4.63 per 1,000 companies, with the total sum of fines adding up to £4 million. 

In Preston, there are 4.61 fines issued per 1,000 local businesses, the sixth highest figure. Between 2020 and 2024, Preston based businesses have been fined 29 times, with fines for those offences costing companies over £1.2 million. 

Also in the top 10 at seventh and eighth respectively are Oxford and Newport. In Oxford there are 4.58 violations per 1,000 local businesses, and 4.50 in Newport. Despite a similar rate of individual violations, the offences committed by Oxford based businesses prove to be a lot more costly. Corporate offences have cost Oxford businesses £4.4 million over 25 fines, compared to Newport’s £148k for 22 fines.

Manchester has the second highest number of total offences at 117, and the ninth highest rate of fines per 1,000 local businesses at 4.40.  Rounding off the top 10 is Newcastle upon Tyne. There are 4.29 fines per 1,000 businesses, with the 42 total offences costing companies £2.5 million. 

Winchester has the best behaved local businesses 

At the other end of the scale, the study revealed that Winchester has the lowest rate of corporate offenders. Between 2020 and 2024, there have been just 0.35 violations per 1,000 local businesses. Winchester based companies have committed only three corporate violations during the five year period analysed, costing £61k in fines. 

Both of the top two cities are based in the South East of England, with Chichester in second place. Chichester has the second lowest number of fines per 1,000 businesses at 0.72. Of the 54 cities analysed, Chichester based companies have the lowest sum of fines issued at £32k over five offences, almost half of the second placed Winchester’s total, and the fourth fewest total violations with just five. 

In third place is Wrexham, the only Welsh city in the top 10. For every 1,000 local businesses there have been 0.73 fines issued for corporate violations, with three offences in total over the five year period, costing companies £151k. Three offences is the joint lowest number, tied with Winchester. 

Of the cities in the top 10, Salford has the highest average fine per offence, and highest total cost of fines. The 10 fines issued to Salford based companies have cost £2.9 million, more than the rest of the top 10 combined. There have been 0.88 violations per 1,000 local businesses in Salford. 

St Albans is the fifth city with less than one violation per 1,000 local businesses. Between 2020 and 2024 there have been 0.94 violations for every 1,000 companies based in St Albans, with the nine total offences costing £118k. 

In Stirling there have been 1.07 corporate fines per 1,000 businesses, making Stirling the city with the best behaved companies in Scotland. The four offences have cost companies £142k. Four offences over five years is also the third lowest overall total of the 54 cities analysed in the study. 

South East England is the region with the most cities in the top 10, with three in total. In addition to Winchester and Chichester in the top two, Brighton and Hove ranks seventh with 1.31 violations per 1,000 local businesses. The 22 offences have been issued with fines totalling £517k. 

In eighth place is Southend-on-Sea at 1.37. Local companies have had to pay £320k in fines across 11 offences.  The city with the largest overall business population to rank in the top 10 is Edinburgh. There have been 1.51 offences per 1,000 local companies, costing them £933k over 30 offences.

Rounding off the top 10 is a tie between Sunderland and Lichfield, both at 1.59 corporate offences per 1,000 businesses based in the city. Sunderland based companies have committed 11 violations costing a total of £115k, while Lichfield businesses have paid out £394k in fines over eight violations. 

Protecht’s VP of Risk & Compliance, Jared Siddle, commented on the findings of the study: “Corporate fines aren’t just a cost of doing business, they’re signals of systemic risk and governance breakdowns. Our analysis reveals patterns of repeat violations that point to deeper operational and cultural issues. Companies that fail to embed risk awareness and accountability at every level ultimately expose themselves to reputational, financial, and legal fallout. Effective risk management isn’t about box-ticking, it’s about building integrity into the core of business operations.”

*Research from by Protecht