How many construction businesses in the UK (10 figures)
The UK Trade Business Population carries 10 published figures read from 3 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by measure run from 0.20 to 4.10 percent, read 11 November 2026.
- 80 to 13
- 13 to 26
- 26 to 38
- 138 to 51
- 51 to 64
- 164 to 77
Bands
| Bucket | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 to 13 | 8 figures |
| 13 to 26 | 0 figures |
| 26 to 38 | 0 figures |
| 38 to 51 | 1 figure |
| 51 to 64 | 0 figures |
| 64 to 77 | 1 figure |
3 of the 6 named sources read in full publish a figure; 3 publish none, read 11 November 2026.
By measure and size band and nation
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| measure local units (sites), annual increase | 0.2 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 0.4 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure companies, annual increase | 1.8 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure sole proprietors, annual decrease | 4.1 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure construction output, three-month fall | 0.5 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure private sector business population, annual increase | 3.5 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| measure employing businesses, annual increase | 0.4 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| size band companies, share of all UK businesses | 76.7 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| size band single-employee limited companies, share of companies | 44 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
| nation Northern Ireland, VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 1.5 % (one figure) | one figure, no range | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 76.7 % | companies, share of all UK businesses | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 44 % | single-employee limited companies, share of companies | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 4.1 % | sole proprietors, annual decrease | 2026-11-11 |
| DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025 | 3.5 % | private sector business population, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 1.8 % | companies, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 1.5 % | Northern Ireland, VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: construction industry | 0.5 % | construction output, three-month fall | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 0.4 % | VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025 | 0.4 % | employing businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025 | 0.2 % | local units (sites), annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
The sentence each figure was read from (10)
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
The proportion of companies has continued to rise and now represents 76.7% of total UK businesses.
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
Of the 2.1 million companies, 44.0% are single-employee limited companies.
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
Sole proprietors decreased by 4.1%.
- DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025, read 2026-11-11:
Compared with 2024, the private sector business population has increased by 3.5% (191,000 businesses)
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
Between March 2024 and March 2025, the number of companies increased by 1.8%.
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
The biggest percentage increase in the number of businesses between 2024 and 2025 was in Northern Ireland, which saw an increase of 1.5% (1,150 businesses).
- ONS: construction industry, read 2026-11-11:
Total construction output is estimated to have fallen by 0.5% in the three months to July 2026; this follows four consecutive increases in the three-monthly series, with strong growth seen in the three months to April and May, of 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively.
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
Figure 1: The number of VAT and/or PAYE businesses in the UK increased by 0.4% in the past year
- DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025, read 2026-11-11:
numbers of employing businesses increased by 5,000 (0.4%), while non-employing business numbers decreased by 295,000 (6.5%)
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025, read 2026-11-11:
There were 3.2 million sites (local units) in the UK as of March 2025, an increase of 0.2% from 2024; this is the first increase in the number of sites since 2021.
Read in full, publishes no figure
3 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- ONS: business demography 2025 release, read 2026-10-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- MHCLG: competent person schemes, current schemes and how they are authorised, read 2026-11-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Gas Safe Register: At a Glance report 2024/25, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
3 of the 6 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 3 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 10 figures, never sentences; 62 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): the denominator: private-sector businesses by SIC division and employment size band from the business population estimates, the VAT/PAYE count from ONS, and the registered-engineer counts from each scheme, joined into one series per trade with the sole-trader share - which is the number that decides whether per-user pricing or per-business pricing wins a market; changed-since on each annual release
62 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (6)
- DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ONS: construction industry(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ONS: business demography 2025 release(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- MHCLG: competent person schemes, current schemes and how they are authorised(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Gas Safe Register: At a Glance report 2024/25(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The UK Trade Business Population carries 10 published figures read from 3 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by measure run from 0.20 to 4.10 percent, read 11 November 2026.
3 of the 6 named sources read in full publish a figure; 3 publish none, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure local units (sites), annual increase: median 0.20 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase: median 0.40 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure companies, annual increase: median 1.80 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure sole proprietors, annual decrease: median 4.10 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure construction output, three-month fall: median 0.50 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure private sector business population, annual increase: median 3.50 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, measure employing businesses, annual increase: median 0.40 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, size band companies, share of all UK businesses: median 76.70 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, size band single-employee limited companies, share of companies: median 44 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
UK Trade Business Population, nation Northern Ireland, VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase: median 1.50 percent across 1 source, read 11 November 2026.
Cite as: "comparetradesoftware.com UK Trade Business Population", updated 2026-11-12, https://comparetradesoftware.com/datasets/uk-trade-business-population/.
Download the CSV (10 rows, computed 2026-11-12)
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Questions this data answers
How many UK trade businesses and registered engineers are there, by trade and by size, and how is that changing?
The UK Trade Business Population carries 10 published figures read from 3 sources' own pages; the 7 published figures given by measure run from 0.20 to 4.10 percent, read 11 November 2026.
Where do the figures in the UK Trade Business Population come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 11 Nov 2026). 6 named sources were read and 3 publish a figure; the 3 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.