UK tutoring, training, nursery and school companies in numbers (October 2026)
Part of section P: Education.
Key figures compared with the UK
| Measure | SIC 85 | All UK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active companies | 104,984 | 5,166,057 | 2.0% of UK |
| Median company age (years) | 4.6 | 5.6 | 18% lower |
| Incorporated in the last 3 years | 38.7% | 34.0% | 4.7 pts higher |
| Filing micro-entity accounts | 32.6% | 32.4% | close to UK |
| Filing dormant accounts | 8.4% | 10.8% | 2.4 pts lower |
| Accounts overdue | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.3 pts lower |
| Under a proposal to strike off | 5.9% | 7.4% | 1.5 pts lower |
| In liquidation, administration or receivership | 0.8% | 2.0% | 1.2 pts lower |
| With outstanding charges (secured lending) | 5.4% | 12.1% | 6.7 pts lower |
| Median net assets | £1,617 | £3,113 | 48% lower |
| Negative net assets | 19.0% | 18.8% | close to UK |
| Net current liabilities | 31.7% | 36.2% | 4.5 pts lower |
| Median cash at bank | £8,274 | £10k | 18% lower |
| Cash covers creditors due within a year | 48.3% | 35.3% | 13.0 pts higher |
| Holding £100k or more in cash | 17.4% | 20.3% | 2.9 pts lower |
| Median employees (where stated) | 1 | 1 | close to UK |
Balance sheet measures use each active company's most recent machine-readable (iXBRL) accounts with a period ending in 2024 or later: 65,970 companies here (62.8% of active). Net assets 25th to 75th percentile: £1 to £21k. Cash 25th to 75th percentile: £636 to £52k.
What the numbers say
Private tutors, corporate trainers, coaching academies, nurseries and independent schools all register under SIC division 85, education. With 104,984 active companies it is the only division in the education section, so the section and division figures are identical. What makes it distinctive is the comparison with the UK as a whole: these are small companies that carry little debt and rarely fail formally.
The biggest codes show how much of the sector is informal teaching rather than schooling. 85590 other education n.e.c., where many tutoring, coaching and training businesses sit, has 40,629 live companies. 85600 educational support services, which covers education consultants, admissions advice and exam services, has 21,409. Then come 85510 sports and recreation education (14,197), 85100 pre-primary education (8,835), 85520 cultural education such as music and dance teaching (7,475), 85200 primary education (5,386), 85320 technical and vocational secondary education (3,869) and 85530 driving schools (3,843).
Two very different kinds of company share the division. Most are probably a tutor, coach or trainer with a laptop and no premises. A minority are nurseries, schools and colleges with buildings and payroll, and they are probably behind the 3% that file full accounts and the 0.8% that file group accounts. The first group sets the medians: net assets of £1,617, about half the UK's £3,113, an upper quartile of £20,776 against £47,001, and median cash of £8,274 against £10,127. Short-term creditors are small, a median of £5,911 against £13,788 nationally, so cash covers them in 48.3% of companies (UK 35.3%) and the median current ratio is 1.29 (UK 1.19).
Few lenders are involved. Only 5.4% of education companies have an outstanding charge, less than half the UK rate of 12.1%. Distress is also lower: 0.8% are in liquidation, administration or receivership, against 2.0% for the UK, and 5.9% face a strike-off proposal (UK 7.4%). Dormant accounts are less common at 8.4% (UK 10.8%).
Negative net assets sit at 19%, almost exactly the UK level of 18.8%. That was not always so: for financial years ending in 2014 the share was 19.3% against 16.4% nationally, and by 2025 it was 18.9% against 18.6%. The division barely moved; it was the rest of the economy that caught up.
The division is younger than average, with 38.7% of companies incorporated in the last three years (UK 34%). Of today's active education companies, 14,991 were incorporated in 2025 and 3,048 survive from 2016. Sports coaching businesses often overlap with sports and recreation. To look up a particular nursery, school or training provider, use the free company check.
Share with negative net assets, 2014 to 2025
Share of accounts with net liabilities (total liabilities larger than total assets) by financial year end, for companies on the live register. Dissolved companies are not included because the register no longer lists their industry, so earlier years show survivors. Negative net assets is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency: see what negative net assets means.
Accounts types filed
| Type of last accounts | Share here | Share UK |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | 32.6% | 32.4% |
| No accounts filed yet | 26.5% | 26.0% |
| Total exemption full | 23.9% | 23.8% |
| Dormant | 8.4% | 10.8% |
| Full (audited) | 3.0% | 1.5% |
| Unaudited abridged | 2.4% | 2.9% |
| Small | 1.7% | 1.2% |
| Group | 0.8% | 0.5% |
The type shows how much a company has to disclose. Micro-entity and abridged accounts contain no profit and loss account on the public record. Read more about accounts categories and micro-entities.
Active companies by year of incorporation
Companies incorporated in each year that are still active today. Younger cohorts are larger partly because older ones have been dissolved.
Most common activity codes
| SIC | Activity | Live companies |
|---|---|---|
| 85590 | Other education n.e.c. | 40,629 |
| 85600 | Educational support services | 21,409 |
| 85510 | Sports and recreation education | 14,197 |
| 85100 | Pre-primary education | 8,835 |
| 85520 | Cultural education | 7,475 |
| 85200 | Primary education | 5,386 |
| 85320 | Technical and vocational secondary education | 3,869 |
| 85530 | Driving school activities | 3,843 |
Methodology
Industry is the first SIC code each company declares on the Companies House register (snapshot 1 October 2026); the dormant placeholder 99999 is excluded. Status, accounts type and due dates come from the register. Financial measures come from our parse of 37 million iXBRL accounts filed since 2008; values above £100bn are treated as extraction errors. Companies filing paper or PDF accounts are not in the balance sheet figures. Full details: methodology.
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