The East of England is home: Green & Home Ltd runs from a warehouse in Mildenhall, Suffolk. Of the region’s 276,725 registered businesses, 17.7% are in construction and the specialist trades, the highest share of any UK nation or region and well above the UK figure of 14.1%.
This is the one region where we run events, in Bury St Edmunds. We do not have offices elsewhere in the East.
The local business mix
The flip side is that retail (6.6%) and hospitality (5.3%) both have the lowest share of any UK nation or region. This is a region of trades, builders and the firms that serve them, which is why GraftG and Quote Nudge lead here. If you are in Suffolk itself, the Suffolk page covers our Bury St Edmunds events.
| Sector | Businesses | Share | UK | vs UK · rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All businesses | 276,725 | 100% | — | 3 of 12 by count |
| Fewer than 10 staff | 248,305 | 89.7% | 89.1% | |
| Construction and specialist trades | 49,115 | 17.7% | 14.1% | above · 1 of 12 |
| Cleaning, facilities and landscaping | 6,355 | 2.3% | 2.0% | above · 4 of 12 |
| Wholesale | 10,145 | 3.7% | 3.6% | about the same · 7 of 12 |
| Retail | 18,335 | 6.6% | 7.7% | below · 12 of 12 |
| Motor trade and repair | 9,520 | 3.4% | 3.0% | above · 7 of 12 |
| Hotels, pubs, cafés and restaurants | 14,795 | 5.3% | 6.5% | below · 12 of 12 |
| Professional services (legal, accounting, consultancy, architects, marketing) | 32,675 | 11.8% | 12.3% | about the same · 4 of 12 |
| Software and IT services | 12,040 | 4.4% | 4.4% | about the same · 3 of 12 |
Source: ONS UK Business Counts 2026, via Nomis, March 2026. About these figures.
What fits here, and why
Ordered by how many local businesses each is likely to suit.
49,115 construction and trade businesses in the region. GraftG does their quotes, invoices and receipts over WhatsApp.
Find out more →For builders and contractors who quote in Xero or QuickBooks and lose jobs to silence.
Find out more →For everyone else: 89.7% of businesses here have fewer than ten staff, and that is who the report is written for.
Find out more →For the region’s 10,145 wholesalers and trade counters running Linnworks.
Find out more →No. Grafto is run from Suffolk, where Green & Home Ltd has its warehouse in Mildenhall (registered office: Hertford). We work with businesses in the East of England remotely: the AI Tools Report, the apps and support are all online or by email. Our only in-person events are in Bury St Edmunds.
It depends on what you do, but on the local mix we would usually start with GraftG. Quotes, invoices, jobs, mileage and receipts done over WhatsApp, for UK tradies. In beta, with founding places open.
From the Office for National Statistics’ UK Business Counts for 2026, published through Nomis. They count 276,725 enterprises registered for VAT and/or PAYE in the East of England, so very small unregistered sole traders are not included.
Nearby
Also in the East of England: Suffolk.
Neighbouring: London · South East · East Midlands. Or see everywhere we work.
Ten minutes of questions, then a costed plan for your business, wherever in the UK it is. £59.99 inc VAT.
Get my AI Tools Report →Questions first? Email hello@grafto.co.uk.