Some parts of the UK have 4x more acquisition targets per business

Key findings

The big picture: Perth has 26.1 acquisition targets per 1,000 SMEs, 4 times the rate in Central London (6.0).

1. Where targets are densest

The ten densest areas are Perth, Shrewsbury, Inverness, Dumfries, Belfast, Kirkcaldy, Salisbury, Kirkwall, Taunton and Gloucester.

Smaller area, more targets: Redhill 254 vs Central London 208.

2. London has the lowest density

Every one of the bottom 10 is a London postcode area, led by Central London, East London and Romford. London has plenty of companies, but more of them are too small for us to assess: 75% of London's SMEs, against 68% elsewhere.

3. Most companies are too small to assess

Of the 1,822,152 real SMEs on this map, 70% are too small for us to assess (total assets of £100k or less, dormant, or no accounts filed) or not yet scored. Another 20% are assessed but held back by our quality and suitability checks, and 10% carry a score. Targets come only from that last group, which is why the counts are small.

4. Volume and density are different maps

The most targets by number are in Birmingham, Belfast and Manchester. Birmingham, Manchester, West London and Sheffield are in the top five by count but not in the top 10 by density, so a buyer working by volume and one working by concentration should look in different places.

Top 10: most targets per 1,000 SMEs

Bottom 10: fewest targets per 1,000 SMEs

Why this matters now

The UK is in the middle of a generational ownership shift. Baby Boomer founders who built businesses in the 1980s and 1990s are reaching retirement age, and many are looking to sell. Private equity firms and trade buyers are competing for the best of these businesses. The scale of the UK’s succession crisis is detailed in our full analysis, which counts 852,756 companies with an average director age of 60+.

Of the 1,822,152 real trading SMEs we map, 26,265 are acquisition targets today, 14.4 in every 1,000.

Tax changes add urgency: Business Asset Disposal Relief was cut from £10M to £1M in 2020, and capital gains tax rates rose in April 2025. Founders who’ve been on the fence about selling now have a stronger reason to move.

What this means for acquirers

• Start where targets are densest. The densest target areas are Perth, Shrewsbury, Inverness. They hold far more targets per business than the national rate of 14.4 per 1,000.
• Search by postcode area, not by region. Target density varies 4x between postcode areas, so where you search matters as much as what you search for.
• Move before the tax window narrows further. Rising capital gains tax makes founders more motivated to sell now.

How we measure exit-readiness

Every company we can assess gets an Exit Score from 0 to 100, built from two pillars:

• Exit Timing (45%). Is the founder likely approaching a sale? Uses an ML model trained on real acquisition outcomes, combined with director age, tenure, and recent management changes.
• Business Quality (55%). Is it a good business worth acquiring? Profitability, growth, efficiency, scale, and financial health.

A company we rate Pursue is an acquisition target: an Exit Score of 70 or more, a profitable business of enough scale, sound finances and a final check of each company. Real SMEs are active, independent trading companies that file accounts, leaving out shells, holding companies, subsidiaries, recent acquisitions, companies limited by guarantee and property or non-operating activities. 121 postcode areas with at least 200 real SMEs are included. Based on 1,822,152 real trading SMEs across 3,860,183 active UK companies. For full methodology see our model methodology.

Data sources

• Companies House: company profiles, financial filings, officer records
• ONS: UK Business Demography, Regional Economic Activity
• HMRC: Business Asset Disposal Relief statistics
• Royal Mail: postcode area geography