Industries with the Largest Number of Businesses in the UK in 2021

1. Management Consultants in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 167,239

The Management Consultants industry covers a broad range of consulting services, including strategic and organisational planning, marketing, IT, human resource consulting and business process management. Over the five years through 2020-21, industry revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 3.6% to reach £64.1 billion. This growth has been largely driven by rising demand for IT consulting services. In addition, regulatory changes in the financial services sector, the industry's largest downstream market, have benefited the industry, as banks and other financial institutions have required assistance to reformulate business strategies and operations in order to comply with new... Learn More

2. Charities in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 156,819

Industry growth has been constrained throughout the period by falling funding from the European Union following the EU referendum in 2016. Furthermore, high profile scandals have prevented major players from claiming government funding, while support from the general public is expected to suffer. In combination with public funding cuts, charitable organisations' surplus margins have fallen throughout the period while demand for social services has risen. Cuts to overseas aid budgets announced in November 2020 will further constrain revenue growth in the current year.

Revenue is expected to contract at a compound annual rate of 2.7% over the five years through 2021-22... Learn More

3. Computer Consultants in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 115,329

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.

With the exception of 2020-21, when revenue grew only marginally due to the economic slowdown caused by the... Learn More

4. Construction Contractors in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 76,942

Operators in the Construction Contractors industry are active across the building construction and civil engineering markets. While, by broad definition, operators are remunerated for completing new building and infrastructure construction contracts, or for 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 the construction of new dwellings, 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 maintenance contracts in local markets.

Prior to the... Learn More

5. Consultant Engineering Services in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 74,102

The Consultant Engineering Services industry's revenue is expected to decline at a compound annual rate of 1.6% over the five years through 2021-22 to £51.3 billion. However, this is mainly the result of an estimated 19.4% fall in revenue in 2020-21, as industry demand slumped amid depressed business investment and subdued construction activity following the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. In particular, commercial construction deteriorated amid plunging business confidence. Nevertheless, strong infrastructure construction activity, such as electricity and telecommunications infrastructure construction, has supported industry revenue over the past five years. In addition, government capital spending has increased over the period, as highlighted... Learn More

6. E-Commerce & Online Auctions in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 71,868

Firms in the E-Commerce and Online Auctions industry sell a wide variety of goods through online portals. Over the past decade, the industry has undergone considerable change. Formerly a declining industry that focused on mail orders and direct sales via TV, radio and telephone, the industry has been reinvigorated by the expansion of internet services and rising online spending. The increasingly integrated nature of the internet and smartphones in everyday life has been pivotal to growth. Industry revenue is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 11.5% over the five years through 2021-22 to reach £53.9 billion.

Operators have... Learn More

7. Pension Funding in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 55,477

The Pension Funding industry comprises defined benefit (DB) schemes and defined contribution (DC) schemes. Over the past decade, the industry has been transformed by the ongoing shift from DB to DC schemes, which in 2021-22 are estimated to account for 61% and 39% of total industry assets respectively. Industry revenue, which is calculated by combining contributions and investment returns, has increased over the past five years. The increase in contributions was fuelled by the phased introduction of automatic enrolment in pension schemes, which began in October 2012 and was fully phased in by February 2018. Record high levels of employment... Learn More

8. Freight Road Transport in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 51,034

The Freight Road Transport industry operates the most extensive transport network of all freight modes, providing much-needed flexibility and the convenience of door-to-door haulage. The industry has historically offered faster and more reliable delivery times and less damage to goods than other freight methods. According to the latest data from the Department for Transport, road transport accounted for 79% of all goods moved in the United Kingdom in 2019. The industry is highly competitive and fragmented, with only one company, DHL Supply Chain, accounting for a market share greater than 5%.

The industry has encountered mixed conditions over the past five... Learn More

9. Cereals, Leguminous Crops & Oilseed Growing in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 45,986

The Cereal, Leguminous Crops and Oilseed Growing industry is part of the agricultural sector and focuses on the growing of: cereal crops such as wheat, barley, oats and grain maize; leguminous crops such as beans, lentils and peas; and oil seeds such as soya beans, rapeseed, linseed and sunflower seed. The growing of rice is not relevant to the industry. Industry produce is used mainly by the food and beverage industry, livestock feed producers and manufacturers of biofuel. Over the five years through 2020-21, industry revenue is expected to fall at a compound annual rate of 1%.

The industry has performed... Learn More

10. Electricians in the UK

Number of Businesses for 2021: 44,630

Operators in the Electricians industry install, repair and maintain electrical circuits, telecommunication transmission networks and other interconnected systems consisting of electrical elements. The performance of the electrical contracting market runs procyclical with the wider economy. The ebb and flow of both downstream construction investment activity and household spend on home improvement dictate spend on specialist trade solutions. While volatility in industry performance is diluted by the essential nature of repairs and critical maintenance - households and business property must have electric utility systems which are in safe and working order - the trajectory of growth remains sensitive to the business... Learn More