Business succession in London

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

280,249 companies in London — 27.5% — have a director aged 60 or over.

5 points below the UK average of 32.5%.

Companies measured1,018,216

Director aged 60+280,249

Exposure rate27.5%

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

1,018,216

Companies measured

280,249

With a director 60+

27.5%

Exposure rate

101,156

With a director 70+

Of the 280,249 with a director over 60, 12,322 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 London

Trade	Companies	60+	Rate
Lettings	62,330	20,963	33.6%
Consultancy Services	69,668	19,678	28.2%
Investment	50,740	14,536	28.6%
Investment / Fund Management	30,013	10,116	33.7%
Other Leisure	37,900	10,038	26.5%
Media	33,264	9,313	28%
Retail	60,714	9,210	15.2%
IT Services / Consultancy	48,718	7,702	15.8%
Management	21,809	7,436	34.1%
Property Development	17,073	6,971	40.8%
Specialist Clinics / Allied Health	19,807	4,652	23.5%
Accounting / Audit	14,435	4,205	29.1%
Engineering Services	12,625	3,602	28.5%
Restaurant / Cafe	21,779	3,526	16.2%
General Construction	21,005	3,433	16.3%
Other Specialist Trades	16,063	3,112	19.4%
Software / SaaS	18,438	2,893	15.7%
Care Home / Nursing	8,249	2,795	33.9%
Hotel / Accommodation	6,322	2,763	43.7%
Marketing	14,700	2,513	17.1%
Architecture / Design	12,823	2,448	19.1%
Financial Advisory / Wealth	6,500	2,429	37.4%
Education / Training (General)	7,965	2,308	29%
Recruitment / Staffing	12,801	2,285	17.9%
Vocational & Professional Training	9,520	2,165	22.7%
Estate Agent	8,589	2,046	23.8%
Medical Practice / GP Surgery	8,059	1,909	23.7%
Wholesale Agent	7,418	1,870	25.2%
Household Goods Wholesale	7,433	1,784	24%
Data / Cloud / Hosting	8,810	1,728	19.6%
Arts / Entertainment	7,115	1,713	24.1%
Energy	5,195	1,674	32.2%
Legal Services	5,372	1,542	28.7%
Catering / Events	8,323	1,472	17.7%
Commercial Cleaning	8,164	1,439	17.6%
Electrical Installation	7,692	1,342	17.4%
Non-Specialised Wholesale	5,500	1,270	23.1%
Travel / Tourism	4,654	1,257	27%
Food, Beverage & Tobacco Wholesale	5,348	1,254	23.4%
Tutoring & Educational Support	6,222	1,197	19.2%
Beauty / Salon / Spa	10,879	1,194	11%
Passenger Transport	5,414	1,150	21.2%
Agriculture	2,514	1,045	41.6%
Pub / Bar	3,471	1,015	29.2%
Vehicle Repair & MOT	4,355	1,014	23.3%
Plumbing, Heating & HVAC	6,741	1,005	14.9%
Telecommunications	2,982	935	31.4%
Security Services	4,483	911	20.3%
Civil Engineering	3,582	863	24.1%
Home Care / Domiciliary	2,302	833	36.2%
Freight Forwarding & Support	3,074	812	26.4%
Fitness / Sports	4,424	808	18.3%
Motor Vehicle Dealers	4,623	776	16.8%
Road Freight	6,026	761	12.6%
Dental Practice	3,941	684	17.4%
Electronics / Electrical	1,684	620	36.8%
Specialised Wholesale (Building Materials, Chemicals, Fuel, Metals)	1,824	620	34%
Insurance	1,109	618	55.7%
Pharmaceuticals / Biotech	1,852	550	29.7%
Facilities Management	1,699	523	30.8%
Joinery & Carpentry	3,188	493	15.5%
Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance	2,250	466	20.7%
Painting & Decorating	2,802	436	15.6%
Pharmacy	1,223	434	35.5%
Events	1,550	429	27.7%
Childcare / Day Nurseries	2,285	427	18.7%
Early Years / Pre-Primary	1,316	379	28.8%
Equipment & Plant Hire	1,033	375	36.3%
Waste Management & Recycling	1,414	354	25%
Roofing	1,816	344	18.9%
Food & Beverage Manufacturing	1,585	344	21.7%
Chemicals & Coatings	1,149	341	29.7%
Precision Engineering / Machining	733	332	45.3%
Flooring & Tiling	1,571	315	20.1%
Bakery / Confectionery	1,807	308	17%
Sports Clubs & Recreation	568	305	53.7%
Motor Parts	1,393	276	19.8%
Print, Signage & Graphics	670	275	41%
Machinery & Equipment Wholesale	754	260	34.5%
Metal Fabrication / Structures	801	255	31.8%
Glazing & Windows	1,060	252	23.8%
ICT Equipment Wholesale	1,276	245	19.2%
Warehousing & Storage	609	215	35.3%
Postal & Courier	1,498	211	14.1%
Plastics & Rubber Products	535	209	39.1%
Vehicle Hire / Rental	1,139	209	18.3%
Scaffolding	944	175	18.5%
Demolition & Site Prep	750	160	21.3%
Photography	707	154	21.8%
Wood & Timber Products	664	139	20.9%
Textiles, Garments & Soft Furnishings	306	136	44.4%
Plastering & Drylining	1,126	130	11.5%
Removals & Storage	1,005	130	12.9%
Distillery / Spirits	363	128	35.3%
Agricultural Materials & Live Animals	424	115	27.1%
Brewery / Drinks Manufacturing	452	106	23.5%
Meat Processing / Butchery	480	104	21.7%
Veterinary Practice	492	102	20.7%
Pet Care & Boarding	267	102	38.2%
Driving Schools	595	99	16.6%
Packaging Manufacturing	300	85	28.3%
Motorcycles	308	71	23.1%
Digital Agency	608	71	11.7%
Masonry & Stonework	370	70	18.9%

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 London", UK Business Succession Index, 13 August 2026. https://www.exitradar.co.uk/succession/london/

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.