Biggest Industries by Revenue in the UK in 2024

1. Supermarkets in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $192.0B

The traditional 'big four' supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons) are under intense pressure from discounters like Aldi and Lidl, with their low prices and improving quality of products resonating with price-conscious shoppers. Sainsbury's and Asda sought to merge in 2018 to better position themselves against the threat of the discount chains. However, the CMA blocked their plans, stating that the merger could lead to higher prices and reduced choice and quality. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked initial stockpiling activity and paved the way for online delivery services to become essential to people's lives. According to the ONS, food store volume... Learn More

2. Construction Contractors in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $180.2B

Companies in the Construction Contractors industry are active across the building construction and civil engineering markets. Despite being remunerated for completing new building and infrastructure construction contracts or fulfilling maintenance, repair, renovation and remodelling contract obligations, the spectrum of services offered by civils and general building contractors in this industry is multifaceted. Some contractors focus on new dwellings construction, while civil engineering specialists afford clients services across the infrastructure value chain. Some contractors specialise in commercial building activity, while many independent contractors may focus on small-scale repair and maintenance contracts in local markets.

In the lead-up to the pandemic, the government's... Learn More

3. New Car & Light Motor Vehicle Dealers in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $146.6B

Revenue is anticipated to plunge at a compound annual rate of 3.5% to £120.1 billion over the five years through 2023-24, including revenue growth of 3.3% in 2023-24. New car registrations have inched downwards – the result of skyrocketing fuel prices and customers delaying sales. New car sales are rising in 2023 driven by electric sales and plug-in hybrids, despite squeezed household incomes. Stricter environmental laws, like the expansion of the ULEZ zone in London, are leading to higher business sales, boosting revenue in 2023.

In 2020-21, the COVID-19 outbreak decimated new car sales. Car dealers were forced to close their... Learn More

4. Banks in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $132.4B

Over the five years through 2023-24, UK banks' revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 0.3% to £123.2 billion, including anticipated growth of 9.9% in 2023-24. Low interest rates after the financial crisis limited the interest earned by banks from loans, hitting income. At the same time, a stricter regulatory environment, including increased capital requirements introduced under the Basel III banking reforms and ring-fencing regulations, constricted lending activity. To protect their profitability, banks have shut the doors of lots of branches and made substantial job cuts.

The COVID-19 outbreak triggered a dramatic decline in revenue during 2020-21... Learn More

5. Pension Funding in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $119.7B

Pension funds are undergoing a period of change. The past few years marked a shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes dominating the industry. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, equity markets were destabilised, causing asset values to decline in 2020. However, the steady recovery of economic conditions as the pandemic wound down was mirrored in equity values, supporting pension fund assets.

Pension funds were rocked in late 2022, when a fire sale of gilts meant that funds were forced to sell assets to meet margin calls. The hit taken to pension assets means that revenue is... Learn More

6. Hospitals in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $115.0B

A growing and ageing population has increased demand, but public healthcare budgets have failed to keep pace with this, which has aided demand for private hospitals as a greater number of patients seek private treatment. Over the five years through 2023-24, industry revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.8% to reach £118.2 billion.

The outbreak of COVID-19 necessitated the release of significant government funding to help hospitals boost their capacities to treat afflicted patients. NHS funding rose from £148.9 billion in 2019-20 to £191 billion in 2020-21, according to the King's Fund, as the government boosted... Learn More

7. Residential Building Construction in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $82.8B

Residential building contractors are contingent on the propensity of property developers to invest in new ventures; movements in property prices; government schemes intended to boost the housing supply; and underlying sentiment in the housing market. Revenue expanded prior to the pandemic, with the support of government programmes and new funding to induce land development and housebuilding activity mitigating the effects of market uncertainties stemming from the Brexit vote. Revenue is forecast to decline at a compound annual rate of 2.9% to £80.6 billion over the five years through 2023-24.

The pandemic caused a significant drop in output in 2020-21, as restrictions... Learn More

8. Management Consultants in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $78.6B

Over the five years through 2022-23, revenue is projected to climb at a compound annual rate of 2.3%. This growth has primarily been driven by an enhanced demand for IT consulting services. In addition, regulatory changes in the financial services sector, the industry's largest downstream market, have benefitted the industry, as banks and other financial institutions have required assistance to reformulate business strategies and operations to comply with new policies.

Plunging business confidence following the COVID-19 outbreak reduced demand for consulting services in 2020-21, as downstream companies held back on expanding their operations in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak. In... Learn More

9. Business Process Outsourcing Services in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $73.4B

Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies provide services to clients in all sectors of the economy, with the financial services and public sectors being particularly important markets. IT adoption and government expenditure have increased throughout the period, incentivising businesses to invest more heavily in IT systems and upgrades, supporting demand for BPO services.

Industry revenue is forecast to fall at a compound annual rate of 2.5% over the five years through 2023-24 to £71.5 billion, including expected growth of 4.6% in 2023-24. Advances in cloud computing, mobile technology and big data have also created new opportunities for industry operators to add value... Learn More

10. General Insurance in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $72.9B

Over the five years through 2022-23, the General Insurance industry's revenue is forecast to edge downwards at a compound annual rate of 1.5%. After Solvency II regulations were brought in at the start of 2016, buffer requirements constricted capital. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted insurance patterns and claims, with some lines (like car insurance) becoming considerably more profitable, with the opposite true for others (like income protection).

Following what looked like a strong recovery in 2021-22, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created yet more disruption the insurance sector, especially for aviation and maritime insurance, pressured by war-related risks... Learn More

11. Fuel Wholesaling in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $71.7B

Players in this industry sell a range of fuel products and some by-products from the petroleum refining process. Industry revenue has been volatile over the past five years, as it's heavily determined by shifting crude oil prices. Plummeting demand during the COVID-19 outbreak led to historically low prices over 2020-21, causing a sharp dip in profit. OPEC+ manipulates oil prices through controlling the global supply of oil, adjusting production quotas, strategic communication, and collaboration with other major oil producers. Cuts to production by OPEC+ led to prices recovering to pre-pandemic levels in February 2021. Demand for oil has remained elevated... Learn More

12. Consultant Engineering Services in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $69.7B

Over the five years through 2023-24, revenue is projected to dip at a compound annual rate of 1.6% to £62.3 billion. However, this is mainly the result of a sharp drop in revenue in 2020-21, as industry demand slumped amid depressed business investment and subdued construction activity during the COVID-19 outbreak. Commercial construction deteriorated amid plunging business confidence. Nevertheless, strong infrastructure construction activity, including electricity and telecommunications infrastructure construction, has underpinned industry revenue. In addition, government capital spending has increased over the period, as highlighted by the approval of large infrastructure projects, including High Speed 2.

Following a solid recovery in... Learn More

13. Computer Consultants in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $69.4B

The Computer Consultants industry is composed of businesses that provide expert advice and assistance in planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software and communication technologies. Computer consultants provide services to clients in all sectors of the economy, although the financial services and public sectors are particularly important markets. Demand for industry services is largely influenced by business confidence levels, which typically rise and fall in line with general economic conditions, and technological advancements, particularly those that are beneficial to businesses.

Over the five years through 2022-23, industry revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of... Learn More

14. General Secondary Education in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $66.0B

Following significant government support, 80% of secondary schools are now academies, with maintained schools increasingly converting. Both types remain under strict government guidelines, but academies can decide term dates, curriculums, subject choices and budget decisions. Despite several years of economic turmoil, government funding has remained strong because of the importance of maintaining and improving UK education standards.

Secondary education revenue is expected to have grown at a compound annual rate of 2.2% to £54.5 billion over the five years through 2022-23, dipping by 2.1% in 2022-23. The COVID-19 outbreak severely disrupted the day-to-day running of schools throughout 2020-21, with temporary closures... Learn More

15. Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $65.3B

The Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry has declined over the past five years. Car sales have dipped because of households tightening their budgets. Car production output fell by 14.2% and engines fell by 7.2% in 2019, when compared to the previous year, according to the SMMT. The COVID-19 outbreak deepened the industry's troubles with output falling by 29.3% in 2020, when compared to 2019. Revenue is forecast to fall at a compound annual rate of 5.9% to £46.6 billion over the five years through 2022-23, including a projected decline of 2% in the current year.

The car production industry has been plagued... Learn More

16. Pharmaceutical Wholesaling in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $64.2B

The extreme change characterises the pharmaceutical and healthcare supply chain. The loss of patent protection for several high-profile drugs has hampered performance because it has lowered revenue generated from such medications. Increasingly stringent regulation has encouraged greater consumption of generic medicines and intensified downward pricing pressures. Regulatory and funding challenges threaten wholesalers, favouring the retail of low-price generic drugs instead of high-end branded varieties.

Over the five years through 2022-23, UK pharmaceutical wholesaling revenue is expected to inch downwards at a compound annual rate of 0.7% to £51.8 billion. Before 2021-22, revenue shot up due to stockpiling behaviour ahead of the... Learn More

17. Charities in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $61.7B

Industry revenue is expected to contract at a compound annual rate of 4.3% over the five years through 2023-24 to £51.2 billion. Industry growth has been constrained by falling funding from the EU because of Brexit. High-profile scandals have prevented major players from claiming government funding and reduced support from the public. In combination with public funding cuts, demand for social services has risen. Cuts to overseas aid budgets, announced in November 2020, are constraining revenue over the two years through 2023-24.

In 2020-21, falling disposable incomes and weak consumer confidence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lowered voluntary donations,... Learn More

18. Universities in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $56.4B

Over the five years through 2022-23, the Universities industry's revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.3% to £47 billion. This expansion can be attributed to an increase in student numbers, rising tuition fees and growing investment returns over much of the period. The increase in tuition fees to £9,250 in 2017-18 has been an important driver of revenue growth. However, with tuition fees frozen since 2012, record inflation throughout 2022 has meant their real value has plummeted. The cap on undergraduate student numbers in the UK was lifted in 2020-21, leading to a rise in... Learn More

19. Convenience Stores in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $55.8B

Convenience stores' revenue is heavily influenced by disposable income, supermarket competition, the national living wage and online expenditure. The COVID-19 pandemic boosted sales at convenience stores as people adopted little, local and often shopping trends in light of travel restrictions and lockdowns. Smaller local stores were perceived to be safer than supermarkets, helping to drive footfall. There has been a string of merger and acquisition activity in the convenience store industry, with multiple major players being acquired since 2018. The Co-op acquired Nisa in 2018, Bestway acquired Costcutter in 2020 and Morrisons acquired McColl's in 2022. The new trading relationships... Learn More

20. Temporary-Employment Placement Agencies in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $55.2B

Temporary-Employment Placement Agencies' revenue is forecast to decline at a compound annual rate of 3.4% to £41.4 billion over the five years through 2022-23. The COVID-19 outbreak meant key employers of temporary workers in the sports and music events spaces completely shut their doors and businesses froze hiring, reducing clients for agencies. Sign-ups for temporary employment declined, hitting revenue in 2020-21. Companies pressed play immediately on hiring as the economy reopened in 2021-22 with record vacancies particularly in the service sector, boosting revenue for recruiters.

A tight labour market is encouraging employers to rely on temporary-employment placement agencies to fight... Learn More

21. Petroleum Refining in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $50.7B

A number of petroleum refiners have altered their production to focus on diesel as the new primary fuel. Diesel is more fuel efficient than petrol and until recently was considered more environmentally friendly. Nevertheless, both petrol and diesel face rising competition from alternatively fuelled vehicles due to their reduced emissions, lowering demand for industry products.

Industry revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.7% over the five years through 2023-24 to £55.5 billion, including forecast growth of 4.1% in 2023-24. The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant contraction in demand for fuel. Global border and travel restrictions took... Learn More

22. Electricity Supply in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $49.7B

The Electricity Supply industry has developed considerably since its liberalisation in 1999. Following a period in which the Big Six suppliers dominated, energy regulator Ofgem endeavoured to introduce greater competition to the market as part of attempts to drive down energy bills. Major mergers and acquisitions effectively bought the dominance of the former Big Six suppliers to an end at the end of 2019-20. Along with a declining electricity consumption, increased competition has placed significant pressure on revenue in recent years.

Electricity suppliers' revenue is forecast to increase at a compound annual rate of 7% to reach £53.6 billion over the... Learn More

23. E-Commerce & Online Auctions in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $49.1B

Companies in the E-Commerce and Online Auction industry sell a diverse range of goods through online portals. Over the past decade, the industry has undergone considerable change, switching from focusing on mail orders and direct TV and telephone sales to e-commerce, driven by the expansion and accessibility of internet services. The increasingly integrated nature of the internet and smartphones in everyday life has been pivotal in developing mobile applications and driving growth. Over the five years through 2022-23, e-commerce revenue is expected to expand at a compound annual rate of 8% to reach £47.4 billion.

E-tailers have sheltered themselves from economic... Learn More

24. Building Societies in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $49.0B

Building society revenue is anticipated to increase at a compound annual rate of 9% over the five years through 2023-24 to £26 billion. Low interest rates prior to the COVID-19 outbreak aided demand, as residential mortgage repayments became more affordable and the number of mortgage approvals picked up. Building societies have also benefited from an influx of re-mortgaging activity, as homeowners have sought to lock in lower rates before expected interest rate rises. However, societies faced challenging operating conditions, including intense competition from other financial institutions like retail banks, and a tightening regulatory environment.

The COVID-19 outbreak hurt revenue in 2020-21... Learn More

25. Legal Activities in the UK

Revenue for 2024: $47.4B

Over the five years through 2023-24, revenue is projected to contract at a compound annual rate of 0.1%. Widespread business uncertainty during the COVID-19 outbreak and ongoing inflationary pressures has limited industry growth. However, the industry is countercyclical, meaning that demand for legal work in certain areas, including litigation and insolvency matters, grows in times of economic downturn. This is expected to mitigate steeper declines. The largest firms have responded to the challenges posed by weaker business activity in the UK by expanding internationally, engaging in M&A initiatives and broadening their services to compete with accounting firms.

The introduction of legislation... Learn More