Business succession index · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Business succession in London

Of 825,934 active companies in London, 17.2% have a youngest owner aged 60 or over (United Kingdom: 20.8%).

825,934

Active companies

17.2%

Youngest owner 60+

20.8%

United Kingdom average

Industries

Industry	Code	Companies	Owner 60+	%
Insurance and pension funding	65	2,162	895	66.5%
Extraction of petroleum and gas	06	468	63	50%
Libraries, archives and museums	91	344	90	43.1%
Water transport	50	1,016	246	34.6%
Mining support services	09	504	102	32.5%
Membership organisations	94	4,411	746	29.6%
Electrical equipment	27	520	127	29%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	28	449	103	28.7%
Fabricated metal products	25	1,091	272	28%
Pharmaceutical products	21	294	62	27.9%
Accommodation	55	6,054	1,293	27.7%
Auxiliary financial services	66	5,704	1,117	27.5%
Crop and animal production	01	1,122	263	27.3%
Office administrative and support	82	41,955	8,994	26.1%
Rubber and plastic products	22	340	74	25.1%
Computer, electronic and optical products	26	856	190	25.1%
Air transport	51	552	117	24.5%
Financial services	64	37,517	5,725	23.8%
Residential care	87	4,033	797	23.7%
Scientific research and development	72	1,978	359	22.7%
Social work	88	5,038	901	22.7%
Programming and broadcasting	60	1,077	199	22.6%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning	35	3,603	256	21.7%
Legal and accounting activities	69	16,077	3,374	21.7%
Other transport equipment	30	251	46	21.2%
Paper and paper products	17	315	58	21.1%
Head offices and management consultancy	70	52,254	9,942	21%
Textiles	13	853	170	20.9%
Other manufacturing	32	3,262	626	20.9%
Rental and leasing	77	2,531	457	20.8%
Other professional and technical activities	74	26,308	4,716	20.4%
Real estate activities	68	125,647	22,049	20.3%
Creative, arts and entertainment	90	13,430	2,439	20.1%
Printing and reproduction	18	1,891	349	19.7%
Travel agencies	79	4,022	719	19.2%
Architecture and engineering	71	10,795	1,929	19%
Publishing	58	9,839	1,669	18.8%
Repair and installation of machinery	33	2,526	450	18.7%
Telecommunications	61	2,785	428	18.5%
Other non-metallic mineral products	23	507	85	17.7%
Construction of buildings	41	38,474	5,841	17.5%
Human health activities	86	26,671	4,285	17.1%
Motor vehicles and trailers	29	274	40	16.9%
Wholesale trade	46	28,710	4,466	16.6%
Public administration and defence	84	1,257	185	16.3%
Warehousing and support	52	3,584	517	16.2%
Motion picture and sound production	59	21,450	2,986	16%
Remediation activities	39	256	37	15.9%
Civil engineering	42	3,084	439	15.6%
Other personal service activities	96	34,750	4,956	15.2%
Security and investigation	80	3,143	459	15.1%
Education	85	18,886	2,497	15.1%
Repair of computers and personal goods	95	937	139	15.1%
Sports and recreation	93	7,261	913	14.8%
Chemicals and chemical products	20	798	99	14.6%
Furniture	31	981	138	14.6%
Veterinary activities	75	357	48	14.5%
Information services	63	6,764	853	14.2%
Wearing apparel	14	1,780	241	14.1%
Beverages	11	634	76	13.6%
Waste collection and treatment	38	1,104	137	13.6%
Employment activities	78	9,113	1,115	13.1%
Services to buildings and landscape	81	7,316	883	12.7%
Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles	45	9,307	1,147	12.6%
Specialised construction activities	43	34,591	4,128	12.2%
Food products	10	3,287	354	11.5%
Postal and courier activities	53	1,396	150	11%
Leather and related products	15	264	27	10.8%
Food and beverage service	56	27,942	2,803	10.7%
Advertising and market research	73	8,856	847	10.4%
Retail trade	47	58,426	5,814	10.3%
Land transport	49	10,687	1,040	10.1%
Computer programming and consultancy	62	58,237	5,503	10.1%
Wood and wood products	16	976	84	8.9%

By trade in London

Trade	Companies	%
Landlords and property letting	56,325	23.4%
Property trading	53,333	16.4%
Management consultancy	52,252	21%
IT consultancy and support	39,355	11.1%
Business support services	38,919	26.6%
Online and mail-order retail	25,188	5.9%
Wellness and other personal services	23,670	19.2%
Film, TV, radio and music production	22,527	16.3%
Property developers	20,199	27.6%
Restaurants and takeaways	19,734	9.9%
Software development	18,882	7.8%
Building contractors	18,275	8.4%
Training providers and tutoring	13,857	13.3%
Performing arts	13,430	20.1%
Physiotherapy and other health services	12,472	17.3%
Other professional services	12,319	23.8%
Accountants and bookkeepers	11,561	22.9%
Lenders and financial services	10,946	25.4%
Property management	10,344	26.5%
Supermarkets and convenience stores	9,910	9.6%
Hairdressers and beauty salons	9,859	5.6%
Recruitment agencies	9,113	13.1%
Advertising, PR and marketing agencies	8,856	10.4%
GP and specialist medical practices	7,976	17.3%
Plastering and building finishing	7,781	11.4%
Wholesale agents and brokers	7,712	16.8%
Bricklaying, scaffolding and specialist trades	7,480	13.4%
Household goods and clothing wholesalers	7,002	17.1%
Design studios	6,906	9.7%
Hosting, data and web portals	6,597	13.9%
Publishers and news agencies	6,448	25.2%
Event caterers and contract catering	6,199	10.9%
Engineering consultancy	5,948	18.6%
Estate agents	5,645	18.5%
Electricians	5,514	12.5%
Gyms, sports clubs and facilities	5,341	13.1%
Road haulage	5,125	8.5%
Food and drink wholesalers	5,103	15.5%
Cleaning companies	5,064	11%
Home care and social care	5,038	22.7%
General wholesalers	4,651	15.7%
Schools and colleges	4,573	21.9%
Law firms	4,516	18.6%
Plumbing and heating engineers	4,504	10.4%
Architects	4,415	19.2%
Car and van dealers	4,221	10.3%
Care homes	4,033	23.7%
Travel agents and tour operators	4,022	19.2%
Clothing and shoe shops	3,951	13.2%
Butchers, greengrocers and food shops	3,931	11.3%
Financial advisers and fund managers	3,851	24.1%
Garages and vehicle repair	3,634	14.8%
Power generation and supply	3,603	21.7%
Software and games publishers	3,558	7.6%
Insulation and other building installation	3,446	11.5%
Hotels	3,236	32.5%
Private hospitals and clinics	3,215	18.8%
Security services	3,143	15.1%
Civil engineering contractors	3,084	15.6%
Taxi and private hire firms	3,033	11.2%
Freight forwarding and logistics services	3,027	16%
Dental practices	3,008	13.7%
Opticians, galleries and other specialist shops	2,871	24.8%
Jewellery, toys and other manufacturing	2,845	21%
Holiday lets, hostels and campsites	2,818	23.2%
Telecoms providers	2,785	18.5%
Textiles and clothing manufacturing	2,633	16.3%
Machinery repair and installation	2,526	18.7%
Photographers	2,337	13.6%
Painters and decorators	2,256	14.4%
Insurers	2,162	66.5%
Food manufacturing	2,125	11.3%
Pubs and bars	2,009	18.9%
Research and development	1,978	22.7%
Amusement and leisure	1,920	19.4%
Printers	1,891	19.7%
Insurance brokers	1,853	34.4%
Office support and call centres	1,818	22.2%
Electronics and appliance shops	1,770	8.8%
Pharmacies and medical retail	1,728	28%
Fuel, metals and building materials wholesalers	1,715	22.5%
Market stalls	1,656	8.4%
Furniture and homeware shops	1,613	19.1%
Equipment and plant hire	1,531	27.5%
Bus and coach operators	1,529	13.9%
IT and electronics wholesalers	1,481	9.9%
Couriers and postal services	1,396	11%
Waste management and recycling	1,360	14%
Jewellers and watch shops	1,250	14.2%
Landscaping and gardening	1,242	13.5%
Joiners and carpenters	1,238	12%
Event and conference organisers	1,218	16.6%
Vehicle parts suppliers	1,186	13.2%
Metal fabrication	1,152	26.6%
Cosmetics and toiletries shops	1,114	8.7%
Sports and toy shops	1,084	9.3%
Flooring and tiling	1,032	13.8%
Shipping and ferries	1,016	34.6%
Laundries and dry cleaners	1,013	18%
Facilities management	1,010	21.9%
Car and van rental and leasing	1,000	12%
Furniture makers	981	14.6%
Sawmills and wood products	976	8.9%
Roofers	912	12.5%
Electronics manufacturing	856	25.1%
Bakeries	854	10.7%
Chemicals manufacturing	847	15.4%
Hardware and DIY shops	829	23.4%
Removal firms	818	8.1%
Bookshops, newsagents and music shops	742	20.4%
Machinery and equipment wholesalers	703	23%
Florists, garden centres and pet shops	640	15.2%
Livestock farming	637	26.6%
Breweries, distilleries and drinks makers	634	13.6%
Translation and interpreting	597	17.1%
Appliance, furniture and shoe repair	595	17.8%
Warehousing and storage	557	17.6%
Aviation	552	24.5%
Vehicle, boat and transport equipment makers	525	19%
Electrical equipment manufacturing	520	29%
Glass, ceramics and building materials	507	17.7%
Driving schools	456	11.1%
Quarrying and mining	449	37.7%
Machinery manufacturing	449	28.7%
Testing and inspection	432	21.1%
Demolition and groundworks	428	15.3%
Medical and dental instrument makers	411	19.1%
Veterinary practices	357	14.5%
Museums, heritage sites and zoos	344	43.1%
Agricultural wholesalers	343	18.8%
Computer and phone repair	342	10.4%
Plastics and rubber products	340	25.1%
Arable farming	338	29.7%
Paper and packaging	315	21.1%
Pharmaceutical manufacturing	294	27.9%
Motorcycle dealers and repair	266	17.7%
Leather goods and footwear	264	10.8%
Water supply and sewerage	258	23.7%

Methodology

Share of ACTIVE, non-dormant companies that filed accounts within three years and whose YOUNGEST person with significant control is aged 60 or over. Percentages are of companies where an owner age is on file, not of all companies. Regions are assigned from the registered-office postcode area, which is not always where a company trades; areas that cross a regional border count towards the region most of them lies in.

Per region, only industries with at least 250 companies are shown. Source: Companies House free company data + PSC snapshot (snapshot 2026-09-01), licensed under OGL v3.0.

Aggregates only — no individual company is ever shown publicly with a succession indicator.