Business succession index · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Business succession in Scotland

Of 165,716 active companies in Scotland, 22.8% have a youngest owner aged 60 or over (United Kingdom: 20.8%).

165,716

Active companies

22.8%

Youngest owner 60+

20.8%

United Kingdom average

Industries

Industry	Code	Companies	Owner 60+	%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	28	300	112	46.1%
Extraction of petroleum and gas	06	257	83	42.6%
Membership organisations	94	992	153	40.4%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning	35	1,304	289	39.9%
Scientific research and development	72	507	143	35.5%
Computer, electronic and optical products	26	274	81	34.6%
Crop and animal production	01	2,467	767	34.2%
Forestry and logging	02	650	182	32.3%
Head offices and management consultancy	70	8,208	2,489	32.1%
Office administrative and support	82	7,926	2,094	31.5%
Fabricated metal products	25	980	277	31.4%
Other professional and technical activities	74	6,205	1,676	29.9%
Residential care	87	535	119	29.7%
Auxiliary financial services	66	883	208	29.6%
Accommodation	55	3,210	837	29.4%
Textiles	13	263	65	29.3%
Legal and accounting activities	69	2,492	707	29.2%
Construction of buildings	41	5,743	1,480	29%
Other manufacturing	32	986	254	28.9%
Social work	88	893	162	28.4%
Printing and reproduction	18	369	94	27.6%
Wholesale trade	46	4,011	965	26.3%
Warehousing and support	52	728	173	26.3%
Mining support services	09	1,035	238	26.1%
Publishing	58	978	234	25.9%
Fishing and aquaculture	03	1,374	318	25.7%
Beverages	11	547	115	25.2%
Financial services	64	4,322	882	24.6%
Telecommunications	61	465	103	24.1%
Real estate activities	68	19,453	4,327	24%
Land transport	49	2,604	589	23.9%
Rental and leasing	77	981	216	23.9%
Architecture and engineering	71	5,674	1,315	23.8%
Travel agencies	79	831	191	23.6%
Civil engineering	42	1,232	258	22.8%
Waste collection and treatment	38	362	67	22.6%
Food products	10	1,013	197	22%
Education	85	2,850	508	21.5%
Repair and installation of machinery	33	1,868	379	21.2%
Information services	63	752	136	20.9%
Creative, arts and entertainment	90	1,803	311	20.8%
Veterinary activities	75	265	51	20.7%
Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles	45	3,613	726	20.6%
Wood and wood products	16	511	98	20.3%
Security and investigation	80	442	86	20%
Motion picture and sound production	59	1,799	304	18%
Computer programming and consultancy	62	6,070	1,021	17.5%
Other personal service activities	96	8,333	1,360	17.4%
Retail trade	47	11,246	1,852	17.1%
Employment activities	78	1,016	157	16.7%
Specialised construction activities	43	13,235	2,129	16.5%
Food and beverage service	56	8,921	1,339	15.7%
Sports and recreation	93	3,110	401	15.7%
Services to buildings and landscape	81	2,494	365	15.1%
Human health activities	86	5,156	692	14.4%
Advertising and market research	73	846	101	12.4%
Postal and courier activities	53	332	40	12.3%

By trade in Scotland

Trade	Companies	%
Landlords and property letting	11,359	26.4%
Management consultancy	8,208	32.1%
Business support services	7,432	32.1%
Property trading	6,423	18.8%
Restaurants and takeaways	6,337	12.7%
Wellness and other personal services	5,092	22.6%
Engineering consultancy	4,363	23.3%
IT consultancy and support	4,183	19.5%
Other professional services	3,995	32.4%
Property developers	3,220	32.8%
Hairdressers and beauty salons	2,898	7.5%
Supermarkets and convenience stores	2,859	13.9%
Online and mail-order retail	2,757	11.8%
Building contractors	2,523	24.7%
Gyms, sports clubs and facilities	2,432	14.8%
Bricklaying, scaffolding and specialist trades	2,385	21.1%
Physiotherapy and other health services	2,346	17.3%
Garages and vehicle repair	2,219	18.9%
Electricians	2,204	12.6%
Joiners and carpenters	2,185	14.4%
Training providers and tutoring	2,070	19.3%
Plumbing and heating engineers	2,045	14.5%
Film, TV, radio and music production	1,945	18.7%
Software development	1,887	13%
Machinery repair and installation	1,868	21.2%
Accountants and bookkeepers	1,813	29.2%
Performing arts	1,803	20.8%
Livestock farming	1,767	32.8%
Holiday lets, hostels and campsites	1,703	28.6%
GP and specialist medical practices	1,562	13.5%
Hotels	1,507	30.4%
Pubs and bars	1,424	30.1%
Cleaning companies	1,417	13%
Fishing and fish farming	1,374	25.7%
Power generation and supply	1,304	39.9%
Lenders and financial services	1,290	27.3%
Civil engineering contractors	1,232	22.8%
Road haulage	1,209	23.1%
Wholesale agents and brokers	1,180	30.8%
Event caterers and contract catering	1,160	14.6%
Plastering and building finishing	1,138	16.1%
Butchers, greengrocers and food shops	1,079	19.7%
Insulation and other building installation	1,058	18.3%
Property management	1,031	30.6%
Recruitment agencies	1,016	16.7%
Car and van dealers	998	23.3%
Dental practices	988	8.3%
Architects	978	25.8%
Design studios	903	15.9%
Metal fabrication	902	30.8%
Home care and social care	893	28.4%
Food and drink wholesalers	892	21.6%
Jewellery, toys and other manufacturing	891	29%
Landscaping and gardening	890	15.5%
Opticians, galleries and other specialist shops	887	28.5%
Painters and decorators	849	20.7%
Advertising, PR and marketing agencies	846	12.4%
Travel agents and tour operators	831	23.6%
Taxi and private hire firms	789	22.6%
Roofers	765	13.8%
Publishers and news agencies	755	32.2%
Hosting, data and web portals	717	19.6%
Equipment and plant hire	687	27.1%
Law firms	679	29.1%
Amusement and leisure	678	19.1%
Schools and colleges	673	29.5%
Clothing and shoe shops	655	22.7%
Forestry and logging	650	32.3%
Estate agents	640	21.8%
Arable farming	600	39%
Household goods and clothing wholesalers	596	19.2%
Breweries, distilleries and drinks makers	547	25.2%
Care homes	535	29.7%
Food manufacturing	531	19.3%
Sawmills and wood products	511	20.3%
Research and development	507	35.5%
Pharmacies and medical retail	501	17.2%
General wholesalers	494	20.7%
Freight forwarding and logistics services	490	24.8%
Financial advisers and fund managers	485	25.7%
Waste management and recycling	481	23.2%
Furniture and homeware shops	467	29.6%
Telecoms providers	465	24.1%
Textiles and clothing manufacturing	459	26.7%
Security services	442	20%
Fuel, metals and building materials wholesalers	422	38.5%
Bus and coach operators	419	33.1%
Insurance brokers	398	33.2%
Sports and toy shops	396	12.1%
Photographers	393	12.9%
Hardware and DIY shops	372	23.1%
Printers	369	27.6%
Flooring and tiling	364	19.5%
Office support and call centres	351	25.6%
Testing and inspection	333	25.1%
Couriers and postal services	332	12.3%
Vehicle parts suppliers	321	23.4%
Electronics and appliance shops	307	11.6%
Machinery manufacturing	300	46.1%
Bakeries	299	20.1%
Car and van rental and leasing	294	16.8%
Electronics manufacturing	274	34.6%
Veterinary practices	265	20.7%
Machinery and equipment wholesalers	263	31.8%
Private hospitals and clinics	260	20.4%
Software and games publishers	258	10.2%

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.