The South East has 412,080 registered businesses, the second-largest count of any region. It is unusual in having two strong sides at once: construction is 15.7% of businesses and professional services 14.1%, both the second-highest share of any UK nation or region.
We are not based in the South East and do not run events there. Our nearest event is in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; everything else is online.
The local business mix
Cleaning, facilities and landscaping firms are 2.4% of businesses, the highest share of any UK nation or region, and software and IT 6.0%, the second-highest share of any UK nation or region. Retail and hospitality are both below the UK average here. Put simply, a lot of South East businesses send quotes, which is the habit our tools are built around.
| Sector | Businesses | Share | UK | vs UK · rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All businesses | 412,080 | 100% | — | 2 of 12 by count |
| Fewer than 10 staff | 369,355 | 89.6% | 89.1% | |
| Construction and specialist trades | 64,570 | 15.7% | 14.1% | above · 2 of 12 |
| Cleaning, facilities and landscaping | 9,985 | 2.4% | 2.0% | above · 1 of 12 |
| Wholesale | 13,495 | 3.3% | 3.6% | about the same · 8 of 12 |
| Retail | 27,415 | 6.7% | 7.7% | below · 11 of 12 |
| Motor trade and repair | 11,930 | 2.9% | 3.0% | about the same · 11 of 12 |
| Hotels, pubs, cafés and restaurants | 22,220 | 5.4% | 6.5% | below · 11 of 12 |
| Professional services (legal, accounting, consultancy, architects, marketing) | 58,025 | 14.1% | 12.3% | above · 2 of 12 |
| Software and IT services | 24,800 | 6.0% | 4.4% | above · 2 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.
64,570 construction and specialist-trade businesses, plus 9,985 cleaning, facilities and landscaping firms. Most run their admin from a phone already.
Find out more →Trades and professional firms alike lose work to quotes nobody chased. Quote Nudge follows them up from Xero or QuickBooks.
Find out more →For the 58,025 professional-services firms: a costed view of which jobs are worth handing to AI.
Find out more →For the region’s 24,800 software and IT firms that build for Linnworks sellers.
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 South East 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 412,080 enterprises registered for VAT and/or PAYE in the South East, so very small unregistered sole traders are not included.
Nearby
Neighbouring: London · East of England · South West. 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.