State of UK buy-and-build, Autumn 2026 · Retail

UK retail consolidation: Autumn 2026

UK deals by buy-and-build platforms in retail since January 2022, as filed at Companies House

Buy-and-build platforms have made at least 81 UK deals in retail since January 2022, as filed at Companies House, by 47 different platforms, 10 of them buying in the last twelve months.

Deals per year

UK deals as filed at Companies House Still filling in: less than a year of filings behind it

Source: ExitRadar analysis of Companies House filings. Free to reuse with attribution to ExitRadar.

Deals in the twelve months to 25 October 2026

Platforms buying in the last twelve months

12.5%

Companies at £250k–£5m EBITDA already part of a group

£103k

Typical EBITDA going in (median)

209

Independent companies in our top band for exit readiness today

Who owns the trade

3,777 active UK retail companies have £250k–£5m of EBITDA. 12.5% of them are already part of a group; the rest, owned by individuals, are the pool buy-and-build platforms buy from.

Part of a group 12.5%Owned through a personal holding company 17.1%Owned directly by individuals 70.4%

Source: ExitRadar analysis of Companies House filings. Free to reuse with attribution to ExitRadar.

See the companies behind these numbers

Build a buy box for Retail and see how many independent UK companies fit it today.

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How we count

A deal is a change of control filed on the register of people with significant control, from a company's individual owners to a buy-and-build platform; two companies bought on one day count once. Asset purchases and deals outside the UK are missed, so every count is a floor. Full method and the cross-sector report.

Other trades

IT Services / Consultancy · Consultancy Services · Financial Advisory / Wealth · Accounting / Audit · Specialist Clinics / Allied Health · Insurance · Dental Practice · Software / SaaS · Childcare / Day Nurseries · Engineering Services · Early Years / Pre-Primary · Energy / Utilities · Estate Agency · Media / Publishing / Film · Telecommunications · Care Home / Nursing · Commercial Cleaning · Security Services · Recruitment / Staffing · Property Management · Restaurant / Cafe · Marketing / Advertising / PR · Veterinary Practice · Vehicle Repair & MOT · Education / Training (General) · Electrical Installation · Data / Cloud / Hosting · Home Care / Domiciliary · Medical Practice / Clinic · Waste Management & Recycling · Catering / Events · Funeral Services · Optometry / Optician · Road Freight · Motor Parts · Specialised Wholesale (Building Materials, Chemicals, Fuel, Metals) · Hotel / Accommodation · Non-Specialised Wholesale · Precision Engineering / Machining · Plumbing & Heating · Civil Engineering · Vocational & Professional Training · Wholesale Agents (Fee/Commission)