Business succession index · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Business succession in West Midlands

Of 250,661 active companies in West Midlands, 20.6% have a youngest owner aged 60 or over (United Kingdom: 20.8%).

250,661

Active companies

20.6%

Youngest owner 60+

20.8%

United Kingdom average

Industries

Industry	Code	Companies	Owner 60+	%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	28	948	368	48.1%
Basic metals	24	350	123	44.7%
Fabricated metal products	25	2,696	1,009	43.4%
Rubber and plastic products	22	598	195	40.2%
Electrical equipment	27	410	136	39.5%
Computer, electronic and optical products	26	490	158	37.5%
Other manufacturing	32	2,118	706	37.4%
Scientific research and development	72	379	116	35.3%
Crop and animal production	01	2,222	677	33.2%
Chemicals and chemical products	20	344	91	31.8%
Auxiliary financial services	66	996	272	30.5%
Head offices and management consultancy	70	12,400	3,556	30.5%
Other non-metallic mineral products	23	376	94	29.6%
Other professional and technical activities	74	6,972	1,822	28.3%
Repair and installation of machinery	33	2,280	604	28%
Textiles	13	329	85	27.9%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning	35	502	106	27.7%
Forestry and logging	02	325	83	27.1%
Office administrative and support	82	10,553	2,585	27.1%
Accommodation	55	2,413	558	26.5%
Motor vehicles and trailers	29	553	125	26.2%
Legal and accounting activities	69	4,570	1,149	25.8%
Wholesale trade	46	8,959	2,084	25.3%
Architecture and engineering	71	4,302	1,044	25.2%
Printing and reproduction	18	745	175	24.9%
Rental and leasing	77	1,328	296	24.3%
Wearing apparel	14	330	77	24.1%
Publishing	58	1,320	297	24.1%
Financial services	64	9,176	1,929	24.1%
Furniture	31	585	130	23.4%
Membership organisations	94	1,475	221	23.3%
Waste collection and treatment	38	669	133	22.3%
Construction of buildings	41	10,334	2,077	22.3%
Civil engineering	42	1,888	389	21.8%
Beverages	11	284	57	21.6%
Wood and wood products	16	770	152	21.1%
Social work	88	1,701	295	21.1%
Telecommunications	61	868	168	20.8%
Real estate activities	68	32,039	5,943	20.5%
Repair of computers and personal goods	95	355	72	20.5%
Travel agencies	79	798	153	19.9%
Residential care	87	2,124	336	19.1%
Food products	10	1,082	184	18.4%
Education	85	5,734	877	17.6%
Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles	45	7,698	1,297	17.5%
Public administration and defence	84	525	86	17.5%
Specialised construction activities	43	16,415	2,773	17.4%
Security and investigation	80	1,050	173	17.3%
Sports and recreation	93	3,597	502	17%
Warehousing and support	52	1,707	267	16.7%
Computer programming and consultancy	62	10,366	1,637	16.5%
Other personal service activities	96	9,532	1,498	16.5%
Information services	63	1,032	154	16.4%
Services to buildings and landscape	81	3,086	488	16.4%
Creative, arts and entertainment	90	2,084	290	15.7%
Veterinary activities	75	315	46	15.6%
Employment activities	78	2,441	345	15.1%
Motion picture and sound production	59	1,982	272	14.4%
Retail trade	47	18,867	2,581	14.2%
Human health activities	86	10,807	1,437	14%
Land transport	49	7,269	852	12.1%
Food and beverage service	56	10,073	1,163	12.1%
Advertising and market research	73	1,402	164	12.1%
Postal and courier activities	53	723	66	9.3%

By trade in West Midlands

Trade	Companies	%
Landlords and property letting	15,490	24.6%
Property trading	13,088	14.4%
Management consultancy	12,400	30.5%
Business support services	9,699	27.4%
IT consultancy and support	7,615	17.4%
Online and mail-order retail	6,693	9.7%
Restaurants and takeaways	6,516	9.6%
Wellness and other personal services	5,828	20.8%
Road haulage	5,821	11.3%
Property developers	5,539	26.9%
Physiotherapy and other health services	4,991	15.3%
Building contractors	4,795	17.5%
Other professional services	4,032	30.7%
Training providers and tutoring	3,991	16.1%
Garages and vehicle repair	3,735	17.3%
Supermarkets and convenience stores	3,704	11.7%
GP and specialist medical practices	3,584	14%
Accountants and bookkeepers	3,442	26.9%
Hairdressers and beauty salons	3,304	8%
Electricians	3,090	15.2%
Bricklaying, scaffolding and specialist trades	2,988	21.2%
Engineering consultancy	2,983	24.6%
Software development	2,751	13.9%
Gyms, sports clubs and facilities	2,718	15%
Car and van dealers	2,703	15.5%
Plumbing and heating engineers	2,631	14.1%
Plastering and building finishing	2,534	17.7%
Metal fabrication	2,513	42.5%
Wholesale agents and brokers	2,457	23.7%
Recruitment agencies	2,441	15.1%
Machinery repair and installation	2,280	28%
Property management	2,244	31.5%
Film, TV, radio and music production	2,161	15.1%
Care homes	2,124	19.1%
Performing arts	2,084	15.7%
Jewellery, toys and other manufacturing	1,977	37.9%
Civil engineering contractors	1,888	21.8%
Lenders and financial services	1,854	26.5%
Pubs and bars	1,806	20.2%
Event caterers and contract catering	1,751	13.2%
Cleaning companies	1,746	14.5%
Insulation and other building installation	1,711	17.2%
Home care and social care	1,701	21.1%
Holiday lets, hostels and campsites	1,614	24.7%
Household goods and clothing wholesalers	1,570	22.7%
Schools and colleges	1,547	22.2%
Livestock farming	1,543	29.8%
General wholesalers	1,482	25.5%
Butchers, greengrocers and food shops	1,459	15.1%
Advertising, PR and marketing agencies	1,402	12.1%
Design studios	1,350	15.2%
Private hospitals and clinics	1,255	12.7%
Estate agents	1,217	18.9%
Food and drink wholesalers	1,183	19.5%
Freight forwarding and logistics services	1,174	15.1%
Law firms	1,128	22.5%
Vehicle parts suppliers	1,117	21.8%
Opticians, galleries and other specialist shops	1,104	27.2%
Fuel, metals and building materials wholesalers	1,075	36.8%
Security services	1,050	17.3%
Clothing and shoe shops	1,026	17.1%
Hosting, data and web portals	1,017	16.2%
Architects	1,015	26.3%
Painters and decorators	982	22%
Dental practices	977	9.1%
Landscaping and gardening	971	16.6%
Machinery manufacturing	948	48.1%
Equipment and plant hire	944	26.6%
Publishers and news agencies	931	28.7%
Waste management and recycling	904	23%
Amusement and leisure	879	22.6%
Telecoms providers	868	20.8%
Pharmacies and medical retail	859	19%
Hotels	799	30.2%
Travel agents and tour operators	798	19.9%
Sawmills and wood products	770	21.1%
Joiners and carpenters	752	17.4%
Vehicle, boat and transport equipment makers	751	28.3%
Roofers	751	17.8%
Printers	745	24.9%
Furniture and homeware shops	736	23.9%
Couriers and postal services	723	9.3%
Taxi and private hire firms	696	11.4%
Electronics and appliance shops	682	13.5%
Textiles and clothing manufacturing	659	26%
Machinery and equipment wholesalers	653	34.8%
Plastics and rubber products	598	40.2%
Food manufacturing	590	17.5%
Furniture makers	585	23.4%
Flooring and tiling	571	15.1%
Arable farming	546	41.7%
Sports and toy shops	546	12.7%
Office support and call centres	538	26.7%
Machining and precision engineering	533	48.2%
Warehousing and storage	533	20.2%
Hardware and DIY shops	527	22.6%
Insurance brokers	505	34.8%
Power generation and supply	502	27.7%
Bus and coach operators	494	21.1%
Financial advisers and fund managers	491	26.2%
Electronics manufacturing	490	37.5%
Photographers	487	14.8%
Electrical equipment manufacturing	410	39.5%
Demolition and groundworks	405	17.1%
Software and games publishers	404	13.6%
IT and electronics wholesalers	394	19%
Car and van rental and leasing	384	18.4%
Research and development	379	35.3%
Glass, ceramics and building materials	376	29.6%
Facilities management	369	26.6%
Chemicals manufacturing	365	33.3%
Market stalls	359	14.5%
Florists, garden centres and pet shops	336	16.7%
Forestry and logging	325	27.1%
Jewellers and watch shops	322	21.5%
Event and conference organisers	316	16.8%
Veterinary practices	315	15.6%
Testing and inspection	304	28.7%
Breweries, distilleries and drinks makers	284	21.6%
Bakeries	278	13.4%

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.