Industries with the Largest Number of Businesses in the UK in 2024

1. Management Consultants in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 179,970

Over the five years through 2022-23, revenue is projected to climb at a compound annual rate of 2.3%. This growth has primarily been driven by an enhanced demand for IT consulting services. In addition, regulatory changes in the financial services sector, the industry's largest downstream market, have benefitted the industry, as banks and other financial institutions have required assistance to reformulate business strategies and operations to comply with new policies.

Plunging business confidence following the COVID-19 outbreak reduced demand for consulting services in 2020-21, as downstream companies held back on expanding their operations in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak. In... Learn More

2. Charities in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 170,246

Industry revenue is expected to contract at a compound annual rate of 4.3% over the five years through 2023-24 to £51.2 billion. Industry growth has been constrained by falling funding from the EU because of Brexit. High-profile scandals have prevented major players from claiming government funding and reduced support from the public. In combination with public funding cuts, demand for social services has risen. Cuts to overseas aid budgets, announced in November 2020, are constraining revenue over the two years through 2023-24.

In 2020-21, falling disposable incomes and weak consumer confidence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lowered voluntary donations,... Learn More

3. Business Process Outsourcing Services in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 166,576

Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies provide services to clients in all sectors of the economy, with the financial services and public sectors being particularly important markets. IT adoption and government expenditure have increased throughout the period, incentivising businesses to invest more heavily in IT systems and upgrades, supporting demand for BPO services.

Industry revenue is forecast to fall at a compound annual rate of 2.5% over the five years through 2023-24 to £71.5 billion, including expected growth of 4.6% in 2023-24. Advances in cloud computing, mobile technology and big data have also created new opportunities for industry operators to add value... Learn More

4. Computer Consultants in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 126,555

The Computer Consultants industry is composed of businesses that provide expert advice and assistance in planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software and communication technologies. Computer consultants provide services to clients in all sectors of the economy, although the financial services and public sectors are particularly important markets. Demand for industry services is largely influenced by business confidence levels, which typically rise and fall in line with general economic conditions, and technological advancements, particularly those that are beneficial to businesses.

Over the five years through 2022-23, industry revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of... Learn More

5. Construction Contractors in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 97,084

Companies in the Construction Contractors industry are active across the building construction and civil engineering markets. Despite being remunerated for completing new building and infrastructure construction contracts or fulfilling maintenance, repair, renovation and remodelling contract obligations, the spectrum of services offered by civils and general building contractors in this industry is multifaceted. Some contractors focus on new dwellings construction, while civil engineering specialists afford clients services across the infrastructure value chain. Some contractors specialise in commercial building activity, while many independent contractors may focus on small-scale repair and maintenance contracts in local markets.

In the lead-up to the pandemic, the government's... Learn More

6. E-Commerce & Online Auctions in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 63,274

Companies in the E-Commerce and Online Auction industry sell a diverse range of goods through online portals. Over the past decade, the industry has undergone considerable change, switching from focusing on mail orders and direct TV and telephone sales to e-commerce, driven by the expansion and accessibility of internet services. The increasingly integrated nature of the internet and smartphones in everyday life has been pivotal in developing mobile applications and driving growth. Over the five years through 2022-23, e-commerce revenue is expected to expand at a compound annual rate of 8% to reach £47.4 billion.

E-tailers have sheltered themselves from economic... Learn More

7. Residential Building Construction in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 58,240

Residential building contractors are contingent on the propensity of property developers to invest in new ventures; movements in property prices; government schemes intended to boost the housing supply; and underlying sentiment in the housing market. Revenue expanded prior to the pandemic, with the support of government programmes and new funding to induce land development and housebuilding activity mitigating the effects of market uncertainties stemming from the Brexit vote. Revenue is forecast to decline at a compound annual rate of 2.9% to £80.6 billion over the five years through 2023-24.

The pandemic caused a significant drop in output in 2020-21, as restrictions... Learn More

8. Hairdressing & Beauty Treatment in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 57,472

The Hairdressing and Beauty Treatment industry's revenue grew over the two years through 2018-19 bare hair salons remaining relatively sheltered from faltering economic conditions. Industry revenue has faced a flurry of challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and increasingly clued-up consumers taking care of their grooming. Industry revenue is expected to contract at a compound annual rate of 4.1% to £4.3 billion over the five years through 2023-24, including a contraction of 0.8% in the current year due to rising operating costs and increasing levels of cost consciousness among consumers, which has created pressure to set lower prices,... Learn More

9. Consultant Engineering Services in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 55,491

Over the five years through 2023-24, revenue is projected to dip at a compound annual rate of 1.6% to £62.3 billion. However, this is mainly the result of a sharp drop in revenue in 2020-21, as industry demand slumped amid depressed business investment and subdued construction activity during the COVID-19 outbreak. Commercial construction deteriorated amid plunging business confidence. Nevertheless, strong infrastructure construction activity, including electricity and telecommunications infrastructure construction, has underpinned industry revenue. In addition, government capital spending has increased over the period, as highlighted by the approval of large infrastructure projects, including High Speed 2.

Following a solid recovery in... Learn More

10. Pension Funding in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2024: 55,316

Pension funds are undergoing a period of change. The past few years marked a shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes dominating the industry. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, equity markets were destabilised, causing asset values to decline in 2020. However, the steady recovery of economic conditions as the pandemic wound down was mirrored in equity values, supporting pension fund assets.

Pension funds were rocked in late 2022, when a fire sale of gilts meant that funds were forced to sell assets to meet margin calls. The hit taken to pension assets means that revenue is... Learn More