Industry benchmark league

UK industry rankings by active companies

Eligible UK industry cohorts ranked by active companies. Largest eligible cohorts by active company count.

Ranked by active companies50-company minimum cohort Calculated 2 Jul 2026
Choose a metricRegional active companies
Ranked divisions88Eligible 2-digit SIC cohorts
Active company base5.1MAcross displayed cohorts
Leading active companies611.9KReal estate activities
Average active companies58.2KUnweighted across reported rows
Eligible rows882 excluded below cohort
Source rows91Snapshot input before gating

Full league table

Every eligible industry cohort

Ranked by active companies, highest to lowest. Open a division for its exact-SIC, regional and size comparisons.

88 rows
#Industry cohortCompaniesActiveHealth scoreProfitability scoreGrowthRisk
1Real estate activitiesSIC 68 · 93.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies653.7K611.9K624048.8%30
2Retail tradeSIC 47 · 82.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies495.9K409.0K604070.2%32
3Specialised construction activitiesSIC 43 · 85.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies331.9K283.4K634032.4%30
4Computer programming and consultancySIC 62 · 87.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies315.8K275.1K644052.4%30
5Head offices and management consultancySIC 70 · 88.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies301.2K266.3K654014.3%29
6Food and beverage service activitiesSIC 56 · 77.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies276.3K213.6K584030.6%34
7Construction of buildingsSIC 41 · 85.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies246.1K209.6K634017.5%29
8Other personal service activitiesSIC 96 · 84.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies226.3K191.1K624040.3%30
9Financial services (excl. insurance)SIC 64 · 92.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies204.9K189.3K6540115.7%28
10Office administration and business supportSIC 82 · 84.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies221.9K188.3K654017.6%28
11Wholesale tradeSIC 46 · 82.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies215.0K177.4K634145.6%29
12Human health activitiesSIC 86 · 89.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies182.9K163.8K654016.0%28
13Other professional and technical activitiesSIC 74 · 87.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies183.6K161.4K6640159.7%28
14Undifferentiated household activitiesSIC 98 · 97.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies129.9K126.2K69407.7%26
15EducationSIC 85 · 89.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies120.4K107.9K64417.6%29
16Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehiclesSIC 45 · 83.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies128.3K106.6K624012.3%31
17Extraterritorial organisationsSIC 99 · 85.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies122.5K104.7K70400.0%24
18Land transport and pipelinesSIC 49 · 80.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies114.3K91.6K614138.1%31
19Architectural and engineering activitiesSIC 71 · 88.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies94.7K83.7K64409.2%28
20Legal and accounting activitiesSIC 69 · 91.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies84.8K77.5K664012.2%28
21Film, video and TV productionSIC 59 · 89.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies82.2K73.7K6340117.4%29
22Sports, amusement and recreationSIC 93 · 88.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies76.9K68.0K634111.7%30
23Services to buildings and landscapeSIC 81 · 85.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies79.0K67.1K61403.1%32
24Creative, arts and entertainmentSIC 90 · 89.8% active · regional view · size view · find companies59.5K53.5K644177.3%29
25Employment activitiesSIC 78 · 81.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies58.8K47.8K634061.1%29
26AccommodationSIC 55 · 87.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies53.6K47.1K6341-4.3%30
27Publishing activitiesSIC 58 · 88.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies52.1K46.0K634130.3%30
28Advertising and market researchSIC 73 · 85.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies49.0K41.9K6240-6.5%30
29Crop and animal production, huntingSIC 01 · 92.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies36.1K33.4K66401.1%28
30Information service activitiesSIC 63 · 84.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies36.5K31.0K64402.1%30
31Repair and installation of machinerySIC 33 · 85.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies35.0K30.1K644062.1%29
32Residential care activitiesSIC 87 · 86.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies34.0K29.4K65414.5%28
33Other manufacturingSIC 32 · 87.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies32.5K28.3K654116.8%28
34Social work activitiesSIC 88 · 89.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies31.2K27.8K664123.0%28
35Warehousing and transport supportSIC 52 · 79.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies34.8K27.5K6141-1.8%31
36Civil engineeringSIC 42 · 80.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies33.4K26.9K644029.8%28
37Auxiliary financial and insurance activitiesSIC 66 · 88.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies27.5K24.4K6741242.3%27
38Manufacture of food productsSIC 10 · 85.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies27.8K23.7K6341-0.1%30
39Rental and leasing activitiesSIC 77 · 85.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies26.5K22.6K624034.8%30
40Activities of membership organisationsSIC 94 · 91.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies23.0K21.1K69412.4%26
41Manufacture of fabricated metal productsSIC 25 · 87.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies23.5K20.6K674110.7%26
42Travel agency and tour operatorsSIC 79 · 86.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies23.4K20.2K634079.1%30
43Security and investigation activitiesSIC 80 · 82.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies23.8K19.5K624041.4%30
44Electricity, gas and air conditioning supplySIC 35 · 89.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies18.9K16.9K664118.0%27
45TelecommunicationsSIC 61 · 83.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies18.4K15.4K644167.3%28
46Printing and reproduction of recorded mediaSIC 18 · 85.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies15.3K13.0K634015.3%30
47Scientific research and developmentSIC 72 · 86.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies14.0K12.1K6541-0.7%28
48Manufacture of wood productsSIC 16 · 86.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies13.1K11.3K6340-3.9%30
49Postal and courier activitiesSIC 53 · 77.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies14.2K11.0K5941-4.6%33
50Waste collection, treatment and disposalSIC 38 · 83.8% active · regional view · size view · find companies12.9K10.8K634177.1%29
51Public administration and defenceSIC 84 · 83.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies11.7K9,78763410.0%30
52Manufacture of wearing apparelSIC 14 · 82.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies11.4K9,3326241621.4%31
53Manufacture of furnitureSIC 31 · 83.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies11.0K9,146634066.6%30
54Manufacture of machinery and equipmentSIC 28 · 85.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies10.5K8,99468416.7%25
55Manufacture of computer and electronic productsSIC 26 · 87.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies9,5928,40267410.0%27
56Manufacture of chemicalsSIC 20 · 86.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies8,9487,72965412.1%29
57Manufacture of textilesSIC 13 · 81.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies8,5927,00063415.9%30
58Repair of computers and household goodsSIC 95 · 81.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies8,0686,5836140-11.5%31
59Manufacture of beveragesSIC 11 · 86.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies7,2846,318644019.9%30
60Insurance and pension fundingSIC 65 · 90.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies6,7366,069704111.3%25
61Manufacture of rubber and plastic productsSIC 22 · 85.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies7,0305,998674128.9%26
62Manufacture of electrical equipmentSIC 27 · 87.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies6,7855,9166841104.2%26
63Manufacture of non-metallic mineral productsSIC 23 · 86.3% active · regional view · size view · find companies6,2275,374644147.0%28
64Forestry and loggingSIC 02 · 91.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies5,7925,29164408.5%29
65Veterinary activitiesSIC 75 · 94.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies5,5485,24867400.0%25
66Manufacture of motor vehiclesSIC 29 · 81.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies6,3035,13562411.8%30
67Programming and broadcasting activitiesSIC 60 · 84.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies5,4224,5936441-87.5%29
68Mining support service activitiesSIC 09 · 84.8% active · regional view · size view · find companies4,5213,835654111.1%28
69Fishing and aquacultureSIC 03 · 90.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies4,1963,8016540-42.1%28
70Water transportSIC 50 · 83.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies4,3833,6676541-5.3%28
71Manufacture of other transport equipmentSIC 30 · 82.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies4,2633,51363413.4%29
72Air transportSIC 51 · 72.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies4,2823,08961410.0%31
73Manufacture of paper productsSIC 17 · 83.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies3,4422,87665414.7%28
74Remediation and other waste managementSIC 39 · 84.6% active · regional view · size view · find companies3,3802,860654112.5%28
75Manufacture of basic metalsSIC 24 · 84.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies3,3542,8256741200.6%26
76Libraries, archives and museumsSIC 91 · 93.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies2,9852,783704158.2%26
77Other mining and quarryingSIC 08 · 77.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies2,6402,0436641-18.3%27
78Manufacture of pharmaceuticalsSIC 21 · 84.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies1,9701,66466418.3%27
79Water collection, treatment and supplySIC 36 · 77.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies2,1281,639644052.0%29
80Manufacture of leather productsSIC 15 · 80.2% active · regional view · size view · find companies1,9651,575624135.4%31
81Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gasSIC 06 · 84.9% active · regional view · size view · find companies1,7161,457674016.4%28
82SewerageSIC 37 · 84.7% active · regional view · size view · find companies1,6031,35764400.0%30
83Gambling and betting activitiesSIC 92 · 74.4% active · regional view · size view · find companies1,8131,34963411.0%30
84Households as employers of domestic personnelSIC 97 · 80.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies83867063400.0%30
85Mining of metal oresSIC 07 · 82.8% active · regional view · size view · find companies5484546640-49.0%28
86Manufacture of coke and petroleum productsSIC 19 · 78.1% active · regional view · size view · find companies37028965413.4%28
87Manufacture of tobacco productsSIC 12 · 72.5% active · regional view · size view · find companies1671216641-5.4%28
88Mining of coal and ligniteSIC 05 · 72.0% active · regional view · size view · find companies1188563410.0%28
Benchmark context Companies House aggregate snapshot Minimum cohort 50 Calculated 2 Jul 2026