Business succession index · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Business succession in South East

Of 487,687 active companies in South East, 23.6% have a youngest owner aged 60 or over (United Kingdom: 20.8%).

487,687

Active companies

23.6%

Youngest owner 60+

20.8%

United Kingdom average

Industries

Industry	Code	Companies	Owner 60+	%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	28	938	384	50.5%
Computer, electronic and optical products	26	1,202	476	47.9%
Insurance and pension funding	65	564	217	47.5%
Libraries, archives and museums	91	355	80	47.3%
Electrical equipment	27	734	255	43.4%
Water transport	50	366	127	42.9%
Air transport	51	504	178	41.6%
Mining support services	09	251	79	40.5%
Rubber and plastic products	22	569	198	40.4%
Fabricated metal products	25	1,927	676	38.4%
Crop and animal production	01	3,374	1,163	38.1%
Scientific research and development	72	1,416	420	37.4%
Membership organisations	94	2,336	445	36.2%
Other transport equipment	30	423	129	34.5%
Chemicals and chemical products	20	550	150	34.1%
Other manufacturing	32	2,917	863	33.4%
Auxiliary financial services	66	2,473	750	33.4%
Accommodation	55	3,759	1,005	33.2%
Head offices and management consultancy	70	34,016	10,575	32.8%
Office administrative and support	82	22,175	6,411	31.8%
Legal and accounting activities	69	9,280	2,862	31.6%
Printing and reproduction	18	1,442	425	30.9%
Publishing	58	3,977	1,100	29.8%
Other professional and technical activities	74	17,654	4,816	29.6%
Motor vehicles and trailers	29	434	109	29%
Wholesale trade	46	12,593	3,242	28.3%
Architecture and engineering	71	9,209	2,493	28.1%
Telecommunications	61	2,119	507	27.6%
Programming and broadcasting	60	608	150	26.8%
Repair and installation of machinery	33	3,377	860	26.6%
Warehousing and support	52	2,583	622	26.5%
Real estate activities	68	56,707	13,358	26.3%
Financial services	64	15,917	3,429	26%
Travel agencies	79	1,866	448	26%
Other non-metallic mineral products	23	487	113	25.7%
Remediation activities	39	269	63	25.6%
Rental and leasing	77	2,157	488	25.3%
Furniture	31	869	206	24.8%
Textiles	13	497	114	24.2%
Residential care	87	2,981	609	24%
Civil engineering	42	2,863	643	23.8%
Construction of buildings	41	23,449	5,017	23.6%
Beverages	11	572	117	22.7%
Information services	63	2,909	597	22.1%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning	35	1,583	193	21.9%
Security and investigation	80	1,883	393	21.5%
Waste collection and treatment	38	1,054	193	21.3%
Social work	88	2,715	462	21.3%
Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles	45	10,310	2,040	20.6%
Education	85	10,274	1,815	20.6%
Forestry and logging	02	767	147	20.4%
Creative, arts and entertainment	90	5,713	1,051	20.2%
Retail trade	47	28,414	5,397	20%
Repair of computers and personal goods	95	714	140	19.9%
Public administration and defence	84	899	163	19.2%
Sports and recreation	93	7,787	1,242	19.2%
Other personal service activities	96	19,191	3,439	18.9%
Food products	10	1,658	277	18.3%
Human health activities	86	18,401	3,138	18%
Computer programming and consultancy	62	30,864	5,251	17.8%
Specialised construction activities	43	36,372	6,267	17.6%
Motion picture and sound production	59	8,397	1,401	17.4%
Services to buildings and landscape	81	7,706	1,267	17.2%
Wearing apparel	14	528	76	15%
Advertising and market research	73	4,064	586	14.9%
Veterinary activities	75	635	91	14.9%
Employment activities	78	5,468	773	14.8%
Wood and wood products	16	1,384	191	14.2%
Land transport	49	8,130	1,109	14.1%
Food and beverage service	56	16,010	2,064	13.5%
Postal and courier activities	53	1,098	112	10.4%

By trade in South East

Trade	Companies	%
Management consultancy	34,016	32.8%
Landlords and property letting	27,092	30.5%
IT consultancy and support	23,313	18.3%
Property trading	21,411	18.9%
Business support services	20,363	32.4%
Property developers	12,609	29%
Wellness and other personal services	12,541	23.9%
Building contractors	10,840	17.7%
Restaurants and takeaways	10,353	11.1%
Other professional services	9,843	34.3%
Online and mail-order retail	9,589	13.2%
Film, TV, radio and music production	9,005	18.1%
Physiotherapy and other health services	8,336	18.8%
Software development	7,551	16.3%
Accountants and bookkeepers	7,331	32.9%
Training providers and tutoring	7,227	19%
Bricklaying, scaffolding and specialist trades	7,029	22.2%
Electricians	6,847	15.1%
Plumbing and heating engineers	6,052	13.7%
Hairdressers and beauty salons	5,941	7.9%
Gyms, sports clubs and facilities	5,926	18%
Engineering consultancy	5,914	28.1%
Plastering and building finishing	5,725	19%
Performing arts	5,713	20.2%
GP and specialist medical practices	5,665	18.3%
Garages and vehicle repair	5,475	19.8%
Recruitment agencies	5,468	14.8%
Property management	5,372	37.3%
Road haulage	4,780	13.1%
Supermarkets and convenience stores	4,572	11.5%
Lenders and financial services	4,324	29.2%
Advertising, PR and marketing agencies	4,064	14.9%
Design studios	4,030	15%
Cleaning companies	3,953	15.7%
Car and van dealers	3,662	19.6%
Wholesale agents and brokers	3,626	28.6%
Machinery repair and installation	3,377	26.6%
Insulation and other building installation	3,352	17.7%
Opticians, galleries and other specialist shops	3,321	47.2%
Event caterers and contract catering	3,153	14.6%
Care homes	2,981	24%
Publishers and news agencies	2,944	34.5%
Landscaping and gardening	2,887	15.4%
Civil engineering contractors	2,863	23.8%
Hosting, data and web portals	2,849	22%
Architects	2,835	26.8%
Estate agents	2,832	25.6%
Schools and colleges	2,765	25.4%
Home care and social care	2,715	21.3%
Jewellery, toys and other manufacturing	2,577	33.8%
Pubs and bars	2,504	22.7%
Holiday lets, hostels and campsites	2,426	33.1%
Dental practices	2,405	15.6%
Painters and decorators	2,339	21.2%
Household goods and clothing wholesalers	2,323	24.4%
Telecoms providers	2,119	27.6%
Livestock farming	2,069	34.8%
Freight forwarding and logistics services	1,998	25.1%
Private hospitals and clinics	1,995	16.4%
Butchers, greengrocers and food shops	1,962	14.8%
Taxi and private hire firms	1,955	13.9%
Law firms	1,949	26.9%
Security services	1,883	21.5%
General wholesalers	1,867	28.7%
Travel agents and tour operators	1,866	26%
Amusement and leisure	1,861	23.1%
Food and drink wholesalers	1,806	22.7%
Roofers	1,695	15.2%
Metal fabrication	1,679	37.4%
Equipment and plant hire	1,645	25.6%
Clothing and shoe shops	1,625	22.1%
Power generation and supply	1,583	21.9%
Joiners and carpenters	1,576	16.3%
Printers	1,442	30.9%
Research and development	1,416	37.4%
Sawmills and wood products	1,384	14.2%
Financial advisers and fund managers	1,338	29.2%
Hotels	1,333	33.3%
Waste management and recycling	1,323	22.2%
Photographers	1,273	17.6%
Fuel, metals and building materials wholesalers	1,213	35.1%
Electronics manufacturing	1,202	47.9%
Flooring and tiling	1,173	15.6%
Insurance brokers	1,135	38.3%
Office support and call centres	1,124	27.9%
Pharmacies and medical retail	1,117	39.2%
Couriers and postal services	1,098	10.4%
Software and games publishers	1,093	16.8%
Sports and toy shops	1,065	15.2%
Furniture and homeware shops	1,048	29.9%
Food manufacturing	1,026	18.4%
Textiles and clothing manufacturing	1,025	19.4%
Arable farming	976	45%
Machinery manufacturing	938	50.5%
Vehicle parts suppliers	895	26.6%
Electronics and appliance shops	883	17.8%
Furniture makers	869	24.8%
Facilities management	866	33.4%
Vehicle, boat and transport equipment makers	857	31.7%
Bus and coach operators	838	20.2%
IT and electronics wholesalers	784	30%
Forestry and logging	767	20.4%
Electrical equipment manufacturing	734	43.4%
Machinery and equipment wholesalers	726	38.1%
Event and conference organisers	688	22%
Market stalls	685	14.2%
Hardware and DIY shops	659	31.5%
Veterinary practices	635	14.9%
Florists, garden centres and pet shops	620	17.3%
Warehousing and storage	585	31.9%
Demolition and groundworks	584	22.1%
Breweries, distilleries and drinks makers	572	22.7%
Plastics and rubber products	569	40.4%
Chemicals manufacturing	565	33.7%
Insurers	564	47.5%
Car and van rental and leasing	512	24.5%
Aviation	504	41.6%
Glass, ceramics and building materials	487	25.7%
Appliance, furniture and shoe repair	469	22.7%
Testing and inspection	460	37.6%
Removal firms	443	10.5%
Bakeries	435	13.8%
Jewellers and watch shops	435	27.9%
Machining and precision engineering	432	40.3%
Bookshops, newsagents and music shops	395	28%
Laundries and dry cleaners	378	20.8%
Shipping and ferries	366	42.9%
Water supply and sewerage	361	22%
Museums, heritage sites and zoos	355	47.3%
Medical and dental instrument makers	333	28.1%
Funeral directors	331	38.3%
Fruit growing and nurseries	329	39.2%
Cosmetics and toiletries shops	307	10.7%
Driving schools	282	23.6%
Motorcycle dealers and repair	278	31.2%
Translation and interpreting	265	28.5%

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.