Business succession in South East

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

196,588 companies in South East (37%) have a director aged 60 or over.

4.6 points above the UK average of 32.4%.

Companies measured531,835

Director aged 60+196,588

Exposure rate37%

Companies House register·Measured base 3,631,842·Data as at 11 October 2026·Full methodology

531,835

Companies measured

196,588

With a director 60+

37%

Exposure rate

74,242

With a director 70+

Of the 196,588 with a director over 60, 10,747 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 South East

Trade	Companies	60+	Rate
Consultancy Services	38,995	16,025	41.1%
Lettings	26,313	11,044	42%
Retail	25,733	7,147	27.8%
Investment	18,217	6,093	33.4%
IT Services / Consultancy	23,363	5,861	25.1%
Other Leisure	17,561	5,831	33.2%
Investment / Fund Management	12,903	5,134	39.8%
Property Development	10,135	4,665	46%
Media	12,690	4,032	31.8%
Management	8,718	3,879	44.5%
Engineering Services	9,515	3,852	40.5%
General Construction	10,878	3,349	30.8%
Other Specialist Trades	10,252	3,207	31.3%
Specialist Clinics / Allied Health	11,450	3,084	26.9%
Accounting / Audit	7,492	2,975	39.7%
Agriculture	5,245	2,792	53.2%
Software / SaaS	7,305	1,972	27%
Restaurant / Cafe	9,548	1,875	19.6%
Hotel / Accommodation	3,610	1,872	51.9%
Architecture / Design	6,593	1,808	27.4%
Vehicle Repair & MOT	5,263	1,616	30.7%
Care Home / Nursing	4,306	1,562	36.3%
Marketing	5,995	1,532	25.6%
Financial Advisory / Wealth	3,469	1,477	42.6%
Vocational & Professional Training	4,019	1,429	35.6%
Recruitment / Staffing	6,150	1,413	23%
Electrical Installation	6,685	1,403	21%
Education / Training (General)	3,910	1,397	35.7%
Plumbing & Heating	6,034	1,224	20.3%
Wholesale Agent	3,004	1,160	38.6%
Estate Agent	3,290	1,146	34.8%
Electronics / Electrical	1,886	1,115	59.1%
Pub / Bar	2,961	1,106	37.4%
Commercial Cleaning	4,697	1,046	22.3%
Energy	3,051	1,024	33.6%
Passenger Transport	3,264	997	30.5%
Data / Cloud / Hosting	3,282	993	30.3%
Medical Practice / GP Surgery	3,794	980	25.8%
Motor Vehicle Dealers	3,303	960	29.1%
Civil Engineering	2,911	947	32.5%
Catering / Events	3,742	936	25%
Road Freight	4,465	869	19.5%
Arts / Entertainment	2,649	851	32.1%
Fitness / Sports	3,272	843	25.8%
Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance	3,584	824	23%
Telecommunications	2,092	815	39%
Beauty / Salon / Spa	5,444	811	14.9%
Legal Services	2,027	767	37.8%
Non-Specialised Wholesale	1,881	762	40.5%
Household Goods Wholesale	2,136	756	35.4%
Freight Forwarding & Support	1,894	707	37.3%
Travel / Tourism	1,763	632	35.8%
Security Services	2,167	621	28.7%
Joinery & Carpentry	3,060	619	20.2%
Food, Beverage & Tobacco Wholesale	1,621	613	37.8%
Tutoring & Educational Support	2,047	612	29.9%
Precision Engineering / Machining	1,080	577	53.4%
Specialised Wholesale (Building Materials, Chemicals, Fuel, Metals)	1,129	560	49.6%
Dental Practice	2,634	533	20.2%
Home Care / Domiciliary	1,354	526	38.8%
Roofing	2,213	497	22.5%
Equipment & Plant Hire	1,261	471	37.4%
Facilities Management	995	443	44.5%
Sports Clubs & Recreation	645	435	67.4%
Painting & Decorating	1,610	416	25.8%
Insurance	749	407	54.3%
Machinery & Equipment Wholesale	721	385	53.4%
Plastics & Rubber Products	716	381	53.2%
Waste Management & Recycling	1,129	374	33.1%
Glazing & Windows	1,022	348	34.1%
Flooring & Tiling	1,320	336	25.5%
Motor Parts	865	332	38.4%
Print, Signage & Graphics	683	330	48.3%
Chemicals & Coatings	688	327	47.5%
Metal Fabrication / Structures	748	324	43.3%
Childcare / Day Nurseries	1,100	314	28.5%
Pharmaceuticals / Biotech	824	312	37.9%
Events	829	266	32.1%
Early Years / Pre-Primary	756	254	33.6%
ICT Equipment Wholesale	645	248	38.4%
Warehousing & Storage	544	244	44.9%
Scaffolding	1,085	238	21.9%
Food & Beverage Manufacturing	741	229	30.9%
Wood & Timber Products	762	228	29.9%
Bakery / Confectionery	809	227	28.1%
Pet Care & Boarding	399	198	49.6%
Vehicle Hire / Rental	530	186	35.1%
Machinery & Industrial Equipment	284	183	64.4%
Demolition & Site Prep	547	177	32.4%
Veterinary Practice	660	171	25.9%
Funeral Services	285	169	59.3%
Postal & Courier	969	153	15.8%
Plastering & Drylining	809	146	18%
Distillery / Spirits	315	142	45.1%
Brewery / Drinks Manufacturing	375	139	37.1%
Masonry & Stonework	565	129	22.8%
Pharmacy	416	119	28.6%
Motorcycles	275	114	41.5%
Photography	450	109	24.2%
Commercial HVAC & Refrigeration	347	98	28.2%
Removals	472	89	18.9%
Driving Schools	333	84	25.2%
Meat Processing / Butchery	250	83	33.2%
Digital Agency	263	54	20.5%

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