The number of UK entrepreneurs choosing to sell their businesses rather than scale up has reached an eight-year high, new research shows. A total of 5,774 businesses were sold last year, up from 5,684 in 2024 and 70 per cent more than in 2018, according to analysis of Companies House data by Rathbones.
Richard Greenhalgh, head of Rathbones’ Manchester office, said: “The UK doesn’t have a start-up problem. It has a scale-up problem. We speak to business owners who are still generating sales but tell us that the sacrifice and effort required to reach the next stage of growth is becoming increasingly hard to justify and deliver.” Entrepreneurs feel restricted by “red tape” and taxation, citing changes to national insurance and business property relief.
The research comes ahead of Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget on October 28, expected to bring relief for small business owners. Michelle Ovens, chief executive of Small Business Britain, welcomed the chancellor’s commitment to backing “bloody-minded” entrepreneurs.
Most businesses were sold before reaching meaningful scale, with median turnover at exit worth £15.9mn. The UK attracts a similar share of global venture capital for start-ups as the Bay Area, but its share falls to 6 per cent at the breakout stage and 5 per cent at the late-growth stage, compared to 16 per cent and 48 per cent respectively.
Trade sales remain the most common exit, accounting for 3,749 sales last year. The number of UK firms sold to private equity more than doubled the 2018 figure, while management buyouts rose by 22 per cent in 2025 to 284.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing