Figures of speech about upper-class companies (7)
I believe the answer is:
troupes
'companies' is the definition.
('troupe' can be a synonym of 'company')
'figures of speech about upper-class' is the wordplay.
'figures of speech' becomes 'tropes' (I've seen this before).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'upper-class' becomes 'u' (similar in meaning).
'tropes' enclosing 'u' is 'TROUPES'.
(Other definitions for troupes that I've seen before include "performers of Swan Lake" , "The acrobatic ones" , "Groups of entertainers" .)