A festival company named for the Dorset Ooser, a pizza business, two personal trainers and six building firms are among 26 companies registered in DT1 and DT2 last month.

Twenty six new companies were registered in the Dorchester area in August, according to Companies House. All give a registered office in the DT1 or DT2 postcode areas, which cover the county town and the villages around it.

Building trades lead the list, as they usually do. But the month also brought a pizza business, a used car dealer, two personal training ventures and a community interest company whose name reaches back into Dorset folklore.

The figures cover 1 to 28 August, the date we checked the register. Filings from the last days of the month may still appear.

A festival named for Dorset’s horned mask

The most intriguing filing of the month is Ooser Fest CIC, registered on 28 August to a DT1 address. It is a community interest company, a form for businesses run for community benefit rather than private profit, and its registered activities are organising exhibitions and fairs, supporting performing arts and recreation.

The company has published nothing yet about what it plans, and we have not been able to reach the people behind it. The name, though, is unmistakably local. The Dorset Ooser is a horned folk mask from 18th and 19th century Dorset, last traced to Melbury Osmond before it vanished from the record in 1897. A wooden replica carved in 1975 for the Wessex Morris Men is held at Dorset Museum in Dorchester and still comes out for May Day dancing, according to Wessex Museums.

Food, fitness and events

Three of August’s new companies are in food and drink:

Sport and leisure matched them with three:

Health made an appearance too. Lapsurge Ltd is registered for general medical practice activities, and Ignition Medical Training Ltd, filed on 28 August, is listed for education and health services.

The trades keep building

Six of the 26 are building and construction firms:

The rest of the month’s intake: three management consultancies, two property companies, two creative and media ventures, and five others including Dorset Cars Ltd, a used car dealer registered 13 August, a beauty business, a courier and a merchandising firm.

New Dorchester-area companies, August 2026, by sector Bar chart of 26 companies: building and trades 6, other 5, food and drink 3, sport and leisure 3, consultancy 3, property 2, health and training 2, creative and media 2. New Dorchester-area companies, August 2026 26 companies registered with DT1 or DT2 offices, by sector Building and trades 6 Other 5 Food and drink 3 Sport and leisure 3 Consultancy 3 Property 2 Health and training 2 Creative and media 2 Source: Companies House, incorporations 1 to 28 August 2026 with Dorchester (DT1/DT2) registered offices Graphic by The Dorset Post

Just outside the month

Two filings from either side of the August window are worth a mention. Maiden Newton Hardware Ltd, registered 29 July, is listed for hardware, paint and glass retail plus flowers, plants and pet supplies, with a registered office on Dorchester Road in Maiden Newton itself. And Sparky Joes Electrical Services Ltd, registered 4 August, is an electrical installation firm based in Sturminster Marshall near Wimborne, about 15 miles east of Dorchester.

What it means for you

  • A new company on the register is a filing, not an open door. Some of these will trade within weeks; some never will. Check before you rely on one.
  • Anyone can look a company up free on Companies House, including its officers, filing history and registered activities.
  • A registered office is not always the trading address. Several of August’s companies are registered to accountants’ offices in town.
  • If one of these is your business and it is open to customers, our Dorset business directory lists trading local firms.
  • Thinking of moving here for work or business? Our Dorset house prices page tracks what homes actually sell for, town by town.

Sources