Buy-to-let firms become biggest single type of business in UK, data shows

Four times more buy-to-let firms than fast-food shops now registered at Companies House as landlords switch set-up to cut tax payments

Buy-to-let businesses have become the largest single type of business in the UK - with nearly four times as there are fast food takeaways or hairdressers.

There are more companies set up to hold buy-to-let property registered at Companies House than any other type of business, according to research from the estate agent Hamptons.