UK businesses by revenue and employee numbers

Release date:
1 December 2025

FOI reference: FOI-2025-3253

You asked

We are looking to understand the number of UK businesses by turnover and employee size band (cross cut) to better understand the volume of businesses impacted by the changes in business size categorisation recently introduced.

Would you be able to provide the number of registered UK businesses with:

  1. less than £632k revenue, less than 10 FTEs
  2. less than £632k revenue, greater than or equal to 10 FTEs
  3. £632k-£1m revenue, less than 10 FTEs
  4. £632k-£1m revenue, greater than or equal to10 FTEs
  5. £1m-£10.2m revenue, less than 50 FTEs
  6. £1m-£10.2m revenue, greater than or equal to 50 FTEs
  7. £10.2m-£15m revenue, less than 50 FTEs
  8. £10.2m-£15m revenue, greater than or equal to 50 FTEs
  9. £15m-£36m revenue, less than 250 FTEs
  10. £15m-£36m revenue, greater than or equal to 250 FTEs
  11. £36-£54m revenue, less than 250 FTEs
  12. £36-£54m revenue, greater than or equal to 250 FTEs
  13. Greater than £54m revenue, less than 250 FTEs
  14. Greater than £54m revenue, greater than or equal to 250 FTEs

As well as the total number of registered businesses 

  1. less than £632k revenue
  2. £632k-£1m revenue
  3. £1m-£10.2m revenue
  4. £10.2m-£15m revenue
  5. £15m-£36m revenue
  6. £36-£54m revenue
  7. Greater than £54m revenue

For the time period 2008 to 2025, aligned to the IDBR point in time snapshots. Conscious the ONS does not typically publish cross-cuts, if that is not possible then the revenue banding alone would be helpful (across the same time period).

We said

Thank you for your request.  

The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) contains all businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE. We create several publications using that data and they may be of interest to you. 

We have a publication called UK: Business, Activity, Size and Location and this is an annual snapshot of the IDBR taken in March. The latest data available are for 2025. In the publication we break down the number of UK businesses by geography, employment size-band, industry and legal status. 

However, the data you require by specific turnover size bands and employee has not previously been produced. We can provide you with data as part of our bespoke data service using our UK business, activity, size and location publication. Depending on the time needed to produce the request, the data could be chargeable. If you contact the data service team at IDBRDAS@ons.gov.uk they will be able to provide you with further information.

As this information is reasonably accessible via another route, even if only accessible on payment, Section 21(2)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies.

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