# 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.

Compare Trade Software · https://comparetradesoftware.com/datasets/uk-trade-business-population/ · computed 2026-11-12

**Range by measure:** 0.2 to 4.1 % (range 0.2 to 4.1 %; 10 published figures; 3 of 6 sources read publish one).

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 % | 0.2 to 0.2 % | 1 |
| measure VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 0.4 % | 0.4 to 0.4 % | 1 |
| measure companies, annual increase | 1.8 % | 1.8 to 1.8 % | 1 |
| measure sole proprietors, annual decrease | 4.1 % | 4.1 to 4.1 % | 1 |
| measure construction output, three-month fall | 0.5 % | 0.5 to 0.5 % | 1 |
| measure private sector business population, annual increase | 3.5 % | 3.5 to 3.5 % | 1 |
| measure employing businesses, annual increase | 0.4 % | 0.4 to 0.4 % | 1 |
| size band companies, share of all UK businesses | 76.7 % | 76.7 to 76.7 % | 1 |
| size band single-employee limited companies, share of companies | 44 % | 44 to 44 % | 1 |
| nation Northern Ireland, VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 1.5 % | 1.5 to 1.5 % | 1 |

## Every figure, with its source

One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read.

| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 76.7 % | companies, share of all UK businesses | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 44 % | single-employee limited companies, share of companies | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 4.1 % | sole proprietors, annual decrease | 2026-11-11 |
| [DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release) | 3.5 % | private sector business population, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 1.8 % | companies, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 1.5 % | Northern Ireland, VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: construction industry](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustry) | 0.5 % | construction output, three-month fall | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) | 0.4 % | VAT and/or PAYE businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| [DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release) | 0.4 % | employing businesses, annual increase | 2026-11-11 |
| [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025), read 2026-11-11: "Sole proprietors decreased by 4.1%."
- [DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release), 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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustry), 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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release), 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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/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

- [ONS: business demography 2025 release](https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/businessdemography2025), 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](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/competent-person-scheme-current-schemes-and-how-schemes-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](https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/media/vvafbj2v/2024-25-gas-safe-register-at-a-glance-report.pdf), 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

## Sources

- [DBT: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2025/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2025-statistical-release) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [ONS: UK business - activity, size and location, 2025](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/2025) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [ONS: construction industry](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustry) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [ONS: business demography 2025 release](https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/businessdemography2025) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [MHCLG: competent person schemes, current schemes and how they are authorised](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/competent-person-scheme-current-schemes-and-how-schemes-are-authorised) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Gas Safe Register: At a Glance report 2024/25](https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/media/vvafbj2v/2024-25-gas-safe-register-at-a-glance-report.pdf) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)

## Cite or embed

- 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/.

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