Buckinghamshire’s Businesses, 2017

By Buckinghamshire Business First
10 October, 2017

There were 34,175 VAT / PAYE registered businesses in Buckinghamshire in 2017. Of these, 77.2 per cent employed fewer than five people, the highest share of any county council or Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.

Over the last year, the number of businesses in Buckinghamshire has risen 3.3 per cent (1,105 businesses), failing to match the national rate of growth (4.0 per cent), ranking 6th among county council areas and 17th among the 38 LEPs.

Table 1: Business population (local units) by number of employees, 2017

Source: IDBR, ONS, 2017

Despite having the highest share of businesses in the lowest employment bands, 9.0 per cent of Buckinghamshire’s businesses have turnovers of more than £1m, ranking 19th among the 38 LEPs, while only 17.2 per cent of Buckinghamshire’s businesses have turnovers below £50,000, ranking 22nd. Buckinghamshire businesses most commonly have turnovers between £100,000 and £249,999, with almost a third (32.3 per cent) of businesses falling into this band.

Table 2: Buckinghamshire’s business population by turnover, 2017

Source: IDBR, ONS, 2017

The professional, scientific and technical sector is the largest in Buckinghamshire, accounting for 21.2 per cent of all businesses in the county, the highest share of any LEP outside London. Management consultancies now account for 45.6 per cent of businesses in the sector and for 9.7 per cent of all businesses, the highest share of any LEP or county council area. More than a quarter of Buckinghamshire’s new businesses in the last year were in business administration and support services, with construction (up 15.4 per cent), also showing strong growth. Since 2010, the professional, scientific and technical sector has accounted for 32.9 per cent of Buckinghamshire’s growth, and 14.9 per cent of growth in the last year.