UK Business Succession Index

Business succession in North East

26,068 companies in North East (31.8%) have a director aged 60 or over.

0.6 points below the UK average of 32.4%.

Companies measured81,940
Director aged 60+26,068
Exposure rate31.8%
Companies House register·Measured base 3,631,842·Data as at 11 October 2026·Full methodology
81,940
Companies measured
26,068
With a director 60+
31.8%
Exposure rate
9,196
With a director 70+

Of the 26,068 with a director over 60, 1,857 score 50 or higher on business quality. That figure is an output of our own scoring model, not a Companies House figure. How we score it.

By trade in North East

TradeCompanies60+Rate
Lettings5,0411,65832.9%
Consultancy Services4,0681,46636%
Retail4,7871,13023.6%
Engineering Services3,03388829.3%
Investment3,32788426.6%
Other Leisure2,88486029.8%
Investment / Fund Management1,89367335.6%
Property Development1,43959841.6%
Management1,43453637.4%
Restaurant / Cafe2,58149019%
Specialist Clinics / Allied Health1,92148025%
Other Specialist Trades1,81647526.2%
Agriculture83844553.1%
General Construction1,25242533.9%
IT Services / Consultancy1,91839120.4%
Hotel / Accommodation88537242%
Pub / Bar96734135.3%
Accounting / Audit90333537.1%
Vehicle Repair & MOT1,01929929.3%
Media1,03028027.2%
Electrical Installation1,33726419.7%
Vocational & Professional Training74025334.2%
Energy88224227.4%
Care Home / Nursing52823945.3%
Education / Training (General)64323536.5%
Architecture / Design81721526.3%
Financial Advisory / Wealth54921439%
Road Freight62019431.3%
Motor Vehicle Dealers65419329.5%
Civil Engineering84117721%
Software / SaaS83117420.9%
Commercial Cleaning71816823.4%
Plumbing & Heating94016617.7%
Beauty / Salon / Spa1,25216212.9%
Wholesale Agent42015436.7%
Passenger Transport41015136.8%
Fitness / Sports61315024.5%
Medical Practice / GP Surgery69914821.2%
Equipment & Plant Hire31914445.1%
Legal Services37714137.4%
Marketing72714119.4%
Joinery & Carpentry62814022.3%
Recruitment / Staffing76313918.2%
Precision Engineering / Machining28413647.9%
Arts / Entertainment41812930.9%
Catering / Events56312922.9%
Estate Agent49912324.6%
Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance38911730.1%
Metal Fabrication / Structures26811542.9%
Household Goods Wholesale2999732.4%
Security Services3229128.3%
Tutoring & Educational Support3389026.6%
Roofing4168520.4%
Data / Cloud / Hosting3628423.2%
Telecommunications3258425.8%
Food, Beverage & Tobacco Wholesale2547730.3%
Painting & Decorating2617428.4%
Freight Forwarding & Support2687126.5%
Flooring & Tiling2556123.9%
Dental Practice3994310.8%

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 North East", UK Business Succession Index, 11 October 2026. https://www.exitradar.co.uk/succession/north-east/

Need a cut that is not published here, such as 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 3,631,842 active UK companies where Companies House records an age bracket for at least one serving director (94.0% of the 3,863,328 companies on the active register). A company counts as succession-exposed when its oldest serving director is 60 or over. We do not use 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 11 October 2026; updated quarterly, next update January 2027. Full methodology.