Business succession in East of England

Name: Business succession in East of England
Creator: ExitRadar
License: https://www.exitradar.co.uk/terms

98,892 companies in East of England — 34.5% — have a director aged 60 or over.

2.0 points above the UK average of 32.5%.

Companies measured286,788

Director aged 60+98,892

Exposure rate34.5%

Companies House register·Measured base 3,475,770·Data as at 13 August 2026·Full methodology

286,788

Companies measured

98,892

With a director 60+

34.5%

Exposure rate

36,636

With a director 70+

Of the 98,892 with a director over 60, 5,868 score 50 or higher on business quality — an output of our own scoring model, not a Companies House figure. How we score it.

By trade in East of England

Trade	Companies	60+	Rate
Consultancy Services	17,182	6,652	38.7%
Lettings	14,198	5,623	39.6%
Retail	14,793	3,692	25%
Other Leisure	9,810	3,011	30.7%
Investment	9,691	2,999	30.9%
Agriculture	4,728	2,850	60.3%
Property Development	5,814	2,647	45.5%
Investment / Fund Management	6,948	2,597	37.4%
IT Services / Consultancy	9,705	2,401	24.7%
Engineering Services	5,811	2,308	39.7%
General Construction	6,761	2,129	31.5%
Other Specialist Trades	6,643	1,911	28.8%
Management	4,627	1,876	40.5%
Media	5,628	1,574	28%
Specialist Clinics / Allied Health	6,027	1,502	24.9%
Accounting / Audit	3,830	1,385	36.2%
Restaurant / Cafe	5,310	1,010	19%
Hotel / Accommodation	2,111	998	47.3%
Vehicle Repair & MOT	3,310	971	29.3%
Electrical Installation	4,238	871	20.6%
Road Freight	4,516	840	18.6%
Financial Advisory / Wealth	2,052	815	39.7%
Software / SaaS	3,313	812	24.5%
Architecture / Design	3,039	807	26.6%
Plumbing, Heating & HVAC	3,696	756	20.5%
Care Home / Nursing	2,266	736	32.5%
Marketing	3,090	730	23.6%
Recruitment / Staffing	3,266	709	21.7%
Wholesale Agent	1,947	692	35.5%
Vocational & Professional Training	2,149	690	32.1%
Pub / Bar	1,801	667	37%
Education / Training (General)	2,015	654	32.5%
Energy	1,928	648	33.6%
Civil Engineering	1,958	628	32.1%
Commercial Cleaning	2,781	610	21.9%
Electronics / Electrical	1,105	582	52.7%
Motor Vehicle Dealers	2,230	553	24.8%
Medical Practice / GP Surgery	2,705	521	19.3%
Estate Agent	1,740	496	28.5%
Passenger Transport	1,570	484	30.8%
Non-Specialised Wholesale	1,171	474	40.5%
Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance	1,856	467	25.2%
Catering / Events	2,016	466	23.1%
Data / Cloud / Hosting	1,605	432	26.9%
Fitness / Sports	1,734	429	24.7%
Precision Engineering / Machining	854	421	49.3%
Beauty / Salon / Spa	3,010	416	13.8%
Food, Beverage & Tobacco Wholesale	1,013	408	40.3%
Freight Forwarding & Support	1,146	394	34.4%
Legal Services	993	388	39.1%
Joinery & Carpentry	1,818	387	21.3%
Household Goods Wholesale	1,132	370	32.7%
Security Services	1,327	366	27.6%
Telecommunications	970	360	37.1%
Specialised Wholesale (Building Materials, Chemicals, Fuel, Metals)	704	344	48.9%
Roofing	1,275	328	25.7%
Arts / Entertainment	1,196	324	27.1%
Equipment & Plant Hire	759	291	38.3%
Travel / Tourism	784	283	36.1%
Metal Fabrication / Structures	649	283	43.6%
Waste Management & Recycling	734	272	37.1%
Tutoring & Educational Support	1,007	254	25.2%
Machinery & Equipment Wholesale	492	248	50.4%
Motor Parts	699	242	34.6%
Plastics & Rubber Products	511	240	47%
Painting & Decorating	914	233	25.5%
Home Care / Domiciliary	741	231	31.2%
Facilities Management	518	225	43.4%
Dental Practice	971	223	23%
Flooring & Tiling	885	221	25%
Insurance	391	218	55.8%
Print, Signage & Graphics	446	218	48.9%
Chemicals & Coatings	516	208	40.3%
Childcare / Day Nurseries	581	201	34.6%
Warehousing & Storage	402	198	49.3%
Sports Clubs & Recreation	315	197	62.5%
Food & Beverage Manufacturing	508	197	38.8%
Glazing & Windows	561	180	32.1%
Pharmaceuticals / Biotech	459	167	36.4%
Wood & Timber Products	462	161	34.8%
Bakery / Confectionery	478	150	31.4%
Scaffolding	619	142	22.9%
Early Years / Pre-Primary	425	140	32.9%
Demolition & Site Prep	413	126	30.5%
Veterinary Practice	403	118	29.3%
Events	360	116	32.2%
Vehicle Hire / Rental	296	110	37.2%
Plastering & Drylining	596	102	17.1%
ICT Equipment Wholesale	294	94	32%
Masonry & Stonework	356	75	21.1%
Postal & Courier	457	72	15.8%
Removals & Storage	262	57	21.8%
Photography	277	55	19.9%

Combinations with fewer than 250 measured companies are not listed separately. They are still counted in every total on this page.

Compare with the national index or another region.

Cite this page

These figures are free to quote and reproduce, including in commercial work, with attribution to ExitRadar and a link to this page.

ExitRadar, "Business succession in East of England", UK Business Succession Index, 13 August 2026. https://www.exitradar.co.uk/succession/east-of-england/

Need a cut that is not published here — a different trade grouping, a finer geography, or the underlying distribution? Get in touch and we will usually provide it. Methodology.

Method. Figures cover the 3,475,770 active UK companies where Companies House records an age bracket for at least one serving director — 93.8% of the 3,706,712 companies on the active register. A company counts as succession-exposed when its oldest serving director is 60 or over — not the board average, which would hide a 70-year-old founder sitting alongside younger co-directors. The business-quality figure covers only the subset our model assesses — see the methodology for why that is far smaller than the number with filed accounts. Data as at 13 August 2026; updated quarterly, next update October 2026. Full methodology.