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UK business sectors, A to Z

Browse the complete list of UK business sectors A-Z, from advertising agencies to zoos. Every sector shows live company counts, SIC codes, new formation trends, survival rates and regional hotspots.

Browse all sectors A-Z

Sector S

Most popular sectors

Live company counts for the sectors people research most.

Rental Property Management
235,749 companies

A large UK sector covering companies that let, manage and operate residential and commercial rental properties.

View sector → Management Consultancy
210,974 companies

A diverse professional sector spanning strategy, operations, organisational planning and specialist business advice.

View sector → Business Support Service
203,871 companies

Covers the many specialist services that help UK businesses with their day-to-day commercial and administrative needs.

View sector → Real Estate
201,737 companies

Tracks companies whose activity centres on acquiring and selling property held as part of their own real estate business.

View sector → Order Houses Online
147,571 companies

A growing sector of businesses that help customers order houses online, including property developers, house builders, modular home suppliers and companies offering prefabricated housing solutions.

View sector → Information Technology Consultancy Activities
130,755 companies

Covers firms advising organisations on IT systems, technology strategy, software and the practical use of digital infrastructure.

View sector →

What every sector page shows

Every UK company must choose a SIC code when it incorporates - the official classification of what the business does. Those codes power this directory of UK business sectors: 700+ industries, from advertising agencies to zoos. Start with a sector, and you can research every company registered in it.

From any sector page you can open a company profile to check its directors, filing history, financials, charges and group structure - or scan the sector's key companies and regional hotspots to shortlist businesses worth contacting. That's the point of starting here: size the sector first, then research the companies inside it, whether you're prospecting new leads, vetting a supplier, or watching a competitor.

Questions, answered

What is a SIC code?

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) is the official UK system for classifying business activities. Every registered company chooses one or more SIC codes - from 01110 (growing of cereals) to 99999 (dormant companies) - and Intelio indexes all 6.8 million UK companies by them.

How many business sectors are there in the UK?

Companies House recognises over 700 individual SIC codes, grouped into 21 top-level divisions from agriculture (A) to arts and recreation (R). Intelio tracks every sector with live company counts, updated daily.

What does each sector page show?

Every sector page shows the number of active businesses, new incorporation trends, company age and survival rates, turnover breakdowns, key companies and regional hotspots - all free, with every figure sourced from Companies House.

How is a company's sector determined?

Companies choose their SIC code when they incorporate and can change it by filing a confirmation statement. Intelio reads the current SIC code from the live register, so sector counts always reflect the latest filings.

How often is sector data updated?

Daily. The Companies House register is synced every day, so new incorporations, dissolutions and SIC code changes appear on sector pages within 24 hours of the filing.