UK professional, scientific and technical companies in numbers (October 2026)
Key figures compared with the UK
| Measure | This sector | All UK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active companies | 626,454 | 5,166,057 | 12.1% of UK |
| Median company age (years) | 6.9 | 5.6 | 23% higher |
| Incorporated in the last 3 years | 29.8% | 34.0% | 4.2 pts lower |
| Filing micro-entity accounts | 39.0% | 32.4% | 6.6 pts higher |
| Filing dormant accounts | 11.5% | 10.8% | close to UK |
| Accounts overdue | 1.7% | 1.8% | close to UK |
| Under a proposal to strike off | 5.9% | 7.4% | 1.5 pts lower |
| In liquidation, administration or receivership | 1.4% | 2.0% | 0.6 pts lower |
| With outstanding charges (secured lending) | 5.6% | 12.1% | 6.5 pts lower |
| Median net assets | £5,028 | £3,113 | 62% higher |
| Negative net assets | 14.7% | 18.8% | 4.1 pts lower |
| Net current liabilities | 26.8% | 36.2% | 9.4 pts lower |
| Median cash at bank | £12k | £10k | 23% higher |
| Cash covers creditors due within a year | 44.4% | 35.3% | 9.1 pts higher |
| Holding £100k or more in cash | 19.8% | 20.3% | close to UK |
| 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: 475,905 companies here (76.0% of active). Net assets 25th to 75th percentile: £6 to £45k. Cash 25th to 75th percentile: £669 to £68k.
What the numbers say
Professional services companies sell time and expertise rather than goods, and that shows in almost every balance sheet measure. The largest code is 70229 management consultancy (223,192 live companies), followed by 74909 other professional activities and 69201 accounting and auditing. Many are small consultancies or contractors trading through their own company.
Three differences from the UK average stand out:
- Liquidity: a median current ratio of 1.54 and a median cash ratio of 0.83, against 1.19 and 0.50. With no stock and few fixed assets, most of what these companies own is cash and money owed by clients, and owners often keep cash in the company to cover tax and quiet months.
- Borrowing: only 5.6% have outstanding charges, against 12.1%. There is little physical collateral to lend against, and the business rarely needs it.
- Cash coverage: in 44.4% of companies, cash alone covers current liabilities, against 35.3% UK-wide.
Negative net assets are less common, at 14.7% against 18.8%, and the trend has stayed flatter than the UK: 13.6% for financial years ending in 2014 and 14.6% in 2025, while the UK moved from 16.4% to 18.6%. Where a consultancy does show negative net assets, it is a warning sign, not proof of insolvency; overdrawn director accounts and dividends paid ahead of profit are common causes. See our guide to negative net assets.
One quirk of the codes: 74990 non-trading company has 40,156 live companies, which partly explains the slightly higher dormant share (11.5% against 10.8%). Read more about dormant companies. Compare the sector with information and communication, where many IT contractors sit, or check a supplier before paying.
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 | 39.0% | 32.4% |
| Total exemption full | 23.7% | 23.8% |
| No accounts filed yet | 19.2% | 26.0% |
| Dormant | 11.5% | 10.8% |
| Unaudited abridged | 2.7% | 2.9% |
| Full (audited) | 1.3% | 1.5% |
| Small | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| Audit exemption subsidiary | 0.7% | 0.7% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 70229 | Management consultancy activities other than financial management | 223,192 |
| 74909 | Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c. | 63,444 |
| 69201 | Accounting and auditing activities | 42,692 |
| 74990 | Non-trading company | 40,156 |
| 73110 | Advertising agencies | 33,221 |
| 74100 | specialised design activities | 32,215 |
| 71129 | Other engineering activities | 29,479 |
| 70100 | Activities of head offices | 27,302 |
Divisions in this section
| Division | Active companies | Negative net assets | Median cash | Overdue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 Head offices and management consultancy | 259,098 | 15.7% | £12k | 1.7% |
| 74 Other professional, scientific and technical activities | 153,901 | 14.2% | £7,642 | 1.9% |
| 71 Architectural and engineering activities | 81,179 | 13.3% | £19k | 1.3% |
| 69 Legal and accounting activities | 75,513 | 12.0% | £14k | 1.2% |
| 73 Advertising and market research | 39,808 | 17.4% | £14k | 1.9% |
| 72 Scientific research and development | 11,790 | 23.0% | £20k | 2.6% |
| 75 Veterinary activities | 5,165 | 16.7% | £70k | 0.9% |
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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