drop in UK accountancy firms since 2019
That’s 3,115 fewer firms than at the 2019 peak, about 1 in 14. We analysed the ONS business register for every UK region, and the firms that remain now have more local businesses to serve than at any point since 2015, just as Making Tax Digital sends millions of new clients their way.
Published July 2026, updated November 2026 with the latest ONS figures. Rapport Digital analysis of ONS UK Business Counts. Download the data
Seven years below the peak 📉
The number of UK accounting and bookkeeping firms climbed steadily through the 2010s, peaked in 2019, then fell or flatlined every year to 2025. The 2026 figures show the first real rise since the peak, up 630 firms, but there are still 3,115 fewer firms than in 2019.
Enterprises classified SIC 6920 (accounting, bookkeeping, auditing and tax consultancy). Source: ONS UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2015 to 2026.
Britain hasn’t run out of businesses that need an accountant. There are more of them now than in 2019. What it’s run short of is accountancy firms.
Many of the ones that disappeared didn’t fail. They were bought by private equity groups, or their owners retired with no one to take over. For the firms that are left, that’s a rare position to be in: more potential clients and fewer competitors, just as Making Tax Digital sends millions of people looking for help.
London is driving the decline
London has 1,660 fewer firms than in 2019. That’s more than half the national fall, and about 1 in 7 of its accountancy firms. Meanwhile the North West and North East grew, and Northern Ireland and Yorkshire are back to their 2019 levels.
Change in SIC 6920 enterprise counts by region, 2019 to 2026. Source: ONS UK Business Counts via Nomis.
Where firms have the most local headroom 🗺️
Compare each region’s accountancy firms with its total business population and a clear ranking emerges. Every figure below counts local potential clients. Businesses can, of course, use accountants anywhere in the UK.
Fewer firms. Millions of newly mandated clients. 📈
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026. Over three years, HMRC estimates roughly 2.6 million sole traders and landlords will be required to keep digital records and report quarterly.
That’s a rising tide of demand meeting thousands fewer firms than in 2019. The firms that are visible when those clients start searching will take a disproportionate share.
Thresholds and estimates: HMRC and GOV.UK, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax policy papers.
More from this research
- Accountancy Firms Enjoy First Real Rise Since 2019Every UK region grew in 2026, and the growth is all small limited companies.
- UK Has Lost 3,115 Accountancy Firms Since 2019How the number of firms peaked in 2019, fell or flatlined for six years and rose slightly in 2026.
- London Has Lost 1 in 7 of Its Accountancy Firms in Seven YearsWhy the capital accounts for more than half of the national fall.
- Best Place in the UK to Be an Accountant? Data Says Northern Ireland113 local businesses per firm, twice as many as London, and how every region compares.
- UK Accountancy Firms Fall 7% as Biggest Opportunity in Decades ArrivesMaking Tax Digital brings millions of newly mandated clients to a profession with thousands fewer firms than in 2019.
How was the data sourced?
Firm counts are enterprises classified under SIC 2007 code 6920 (accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy) in the ONS UK Business Counts dataset, extracted via Nomis on 6 July 2026 and updated on 1 November 2026 with the 2026 figures. “All businesses” uses the same dataset with no industry filter, so both sides of every ratio come from the same register on the same snapshot date. Counts are rounded to the nearest 5 by ONS for disclosure control. Comparisons run from the 2019 peak to 2026, a period covered by a consistent ONS methodology. An enterprise is a whole firm, not an individual office, so multi-office practices are counted once.
This analysis was produced by Rapport Digital. If you cite these figures, please link to this page as the source.
Using these figures
You’re welcome to use any figure on this page in your own reporting. Please credit Rapport Digital and link to this page as the source.
Download the full data
Accountancy firms and all businesses for every UK region, every year from 2015 to 2026. Includes the UK trend, the regional comparison and methodology notes.
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The market is consolidating. The demand is arriving. The question is who gets found. 👇
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