The UK Industry Growth Index: The Fastest Growing Industries in 2026
The landscape of the UK is changing rapidly. From the rising cost of living and growing adoption of AI to ongoing economic and political uncertainty, business leaders across the country are adapting to a fast-changing environment, with some industries emerging as clear growth leaders.
To determine the fastest-growing industries in the UK, Approved Business Finance analysed Office for National Statistics (ONS) business population data to assess five-year average annual growth across 615 industries, which were grouped into 19 broader industry categories by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes - the system used to classify businesses according to their main economic activity.
Key findings
Energy emerges as the UK’s standout growth sector: Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning recorded an average five-year growth rate of 12.5%, almost three times that of second-placed real estate at 4.2%.
Energy also dominates regional growth: Across nine UK regions, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning was the fastest-growing sector, led by the East Midlands (+13.33%), South West (+11.86%) and West Midlands (+9.62%).
Experiences and essential services led turnover growth: Arts, entertainment and recreation recorded the strongest turnover growth at 17.21%, followed by accommodation and food services (+11.69%), human health and social work (+10.56%) and construction (+9.64%).
Growth creates new funding considerations: Businesses looking to expand may need to consider how they fund new equipment, additional staff, stock or larger premises without placing unnecessary pressure on cash flow.
The UK business landscape shows mixed growth
Looking at the wider UK business landscape, the total number of active UK enterprises decreased by 15,085 businesses between 2020 and 2025, representing a fall of 0.55%.
However, the number of UK enterprises reached 2,734,615 in 2025, up 0.36% from 2,724,770 in 2024. This marked a return to growth after two years of decline, despite the overall business population remaining 0.55% below 2020 levels.
In the last year alone, 232 individual industries grew, while 258 declined and 106 remained unchanged. Rather than growth being felt across the board, the figures suggest a mixed picture, with some sectors bouncing back while others continue to struggle.
Total number of UK enterprises according to ONS figures
Year | Total UK enterprises |
2025 | 2,734,615 |
2024 | 2,724,770 |
2023 | 2,726,830 |
2022 | 2,767,700 |
2021 | 2,765,150 |
2020 | 2,749,700 |
Where are the UK’s booming industries – and which are facing decline?
When assessing the fastest-growing industries in the UK, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning ranks at the top over the last five years, averaging a 12.5% growth rate.
This puts the sector well ahead of every other industry category analysed, with growth almost three times higher than second-placed real estate (+4.2%), highlighting the particularly strong expansion across the energy sector.
Information and communication followed with average annual growth of 3.5%, while human health and social work (+2.8%) and water, sewerage and waste management (+1.8%) also experienced growth over the five-year period.
Construction recorded steady growth too, averaging 1.5% annually. While more modest than the sectors at the top of the ranking, its continued expansion highlights the resilience of the built environment and ongoing demand for construction across the UK.
Together, the results point towards strong performance in sectors linked to technology, essential services, infrastructure and changing consumer and business needs.
Further down the rankings, however, the picture becomes more challenging. Manufacturing (-1.2%), wholesale and retail (-1.5%), transportation and storage (-2.1%) and financial and insurance services (-2.5%) all experienced declines.
At the bottom of the ranking, mining and quarrying recorded the sharpest decline, falling by an average of 4.2% annually.
The contrast between the fastest-growing and declining industries highlights a changing UK economy, with growth increasingly concentrated in areas such as energy, technology, property and healthcare, while some more traditional sectors face sustained pressure.
The fastest-growing UK industries by five-year average growth rate
Industry | Average five-year growth |
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | +12.5% |
Real estate | +4.2% |
Information and communication | +3.5% |
Human health and social work | +2.8% |
Water, sewerage and waste management | +1.8% |
Construction | +1.5% |
Accommodation and food services | +1.2% |
Professional, scientific and technical | +0.8% |
Administrative and support services | +0.3% |
Education | +0.1% |
Arts, entertainment and recreation | -0.2% |
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | -0.5% |
Other service activities | -0.8% |
Manufacturing | -1.2% |
Wholesale and retail, including motor repair | -1.5% |
Transportation and storage | -2.1% |
Financial and insurance | -2.5% |
Public administration and defence | -3.0% |
Mining and quarrying | -4.2% |
How do the UK’s fastest-growing industries differ by region?
Following the wider UK average, electricity, gas and air conditioning was also found to be the fastest-growing sector in nine out of 12 regions, led by the East Midlands (+13.33%), South West (+11.86%) and West Midlands (+9.62%).
The rapid growth of the energy sector is likely being driven by rising demand for electricity, fuelled by the expansion of AI and data centres, electric vehicles, industrial electrification and the wider transition towards renewable energy.
Real estate is the second-fastest-growing sector at UK level (+4.2%) and ranks among the top three sectors in eight out of 12 regions, including London (+4.22%), the West Midlands (+4.05%) and the North East (+4.00%).
Financial and insurance services declined across the board. The sector was among the bottom three performers nationally (-2.5%), with particularly significant regional declines in the East Midlands (-12.39%), South West (-6.70%) and North West (-6.11%).
London presents an interesting contrast to the UK average. Information and communication ranks among the top three sectors nationally (+3.5%) but was the worst-performing sector in the capital (-3.05%).
Similarly, mining and quarrying recorded the sharpest decline across the UK (-4.2%), driven by substantial reductions in Scotland (-16.22%) and Wales (-7.14%). However, the sector grew by 3.70% in London, demonstrating how significantly industry performance can vary between regions.
The industries generating the fastest turnover growth
The financial data points to a clear shift in the industries generating the strongest turnover growth, with experiences, wellbeing and essential services performing particularly well, while some more traditional sectors are struggling.
Despite a decline in the number of enterprises, turnover across arts, entertainment and hospitality has grown strongly, rising by between 11% and 17%, pointing towards continued demand for areas such as eating out, leisure and entertainment.
There has also been significant turnover growth in sectors linked to healthcare (+10.5%) and construction (+9.6%), suggesting continued activity and investment across health, infrastructure and the built environment.
Meanwhile, more traditional sectors such as retail and manufacturing are seeing overall declines, despite pockets of growth in areas such as high-tech manufacturing.
At the other end of the scale, mining revenue has fallen by 37%, while transport and storage is down 12.6%, highlighting the challenges facing some of the UK’s more traditional industries.
Top five industries by turnover growth
Industry | Five-year turnover growth |
Arts, entertainment and recreation | 17.21% |
Accommodation and food service | 11.69% |
Human health and social work | 10.56% |
Construction | 9.64% |
Professional, scientific and technical | 8.06% |
How businesses can unlock their next stage of growth
Commenting on the research and how businesses can finance their next stage of growth, Mark Kozo, Commercial Director at Approved Finance Group, said:
“Our data shows that while some industries are expanding rapidly, growth is far from being evenly distributed across the UK economy.“For businesses operating in growth sectors, the challenge now is turning favourable market conditions into sustainable expansion.
Whether it is investing in new equipment, taking on additional staff, increasing stock, or moving into larger premises, growth often requires capital before the additional revenue arrives.
For SMEs in particular, having access to the right finance at the right time can be crucial to making these opportunities happen. Rather than waiting until cash flow becomes a barrier, businesses should consider where investment could help them increase capacity and improve efficiency.
Whether it’s new machinery or equipment, to avoid placing the full cost on existing cash reserves, asset finance can provide a way to spread the cost of essential investments while supporting continued growth.
With the UK’s fastest-growing industries showing where demand and investment are building, businesses that can identify these opportunities earlier and have the financial flexibility to act on them may be better placed to turn industry growth into their own competitive advantage.”
Methodology
To identify the fastest-growing industries in the UK, Approved Business Finance analysed data from the ONS UK Business: activity, size and location dataset.
Data covering 2020 to 2025 was collected for 615 individual industries across the UK. These industries were then grouped into 19 overarching categories based on their SIC codes, allowing broader areas of the economy to be compared.
The 19 categories were then ranked by average five-year percentage growth, with the industries recording the strongest growth ranking highest.
