Acquisition lists

UK businesses to acquire, by sector and region

If you're looking to buy an accountancy practice, insurance broker or IT services firm, the businesses listed for sale are a small part of the market. Most owner-managed firms change hands after a direct approach, often long before a broker would list them. Firmbase covers about 88,000 UK limited companies and LLPs across 33 sectors. Each firm is ranked on public Companies House signals that suggest a first conversation is worth having: director age and tenure, ownership, size, financial position and recent filings.

Who uses these lists

Buy-and-build groups and PE-backed platforms use them to find bolt-ons in a region. Search funders and individual buyers use them to find one business to run. A growing number of buyers are acquiring services firms to rebuild them around AI. Accountancy, insurance broking, IT managed services and recruitment all carry a lot of repeatable work that software can now handle, and the list helps you find independents of the right size and ownership to approach.

UK services firms to acquire for an AI roll-up

How the ranking works

Each firm receives an Approach Score out of 100 from public Companies House signals: owner tenure and age, ownership, size, financial strength and recent changes on the register. Use the ranking to decide which firms to research first, and judge their fit yourself. Read the underlying records and use the methodology page to understand the calculation.

Read how the Approach Score works

These firms are not for sale

This is a sourcing tool. A high ranking means the public record makes an approach reasonable. It tells you nothing about what an owner intends, so qualify every firm directly.

Browse by sector

Professional and financial services

7 lists

Technology and telecoms

2 lists

Healthcare and care

8 lists

Property

3 lists

Marketing and recruitment

3 lists

Building and facilities services

7 lists

Consumer services

3 lists