Foreign-owned Businesses In The UK Non-financial Business Economy: 2021

9th July 2023

Annual estimates of the number of foreign-owned businesses, turnover and approximate gross value added (aGVA) in the UK non-financial business economy for 2021 and revised estimates for 2020, from the Annual Business Survey (ABS).

There were 2.5 million businesses operating in the UK non-financial business economy in 2021, of which 1.4% (36,724) were foreign-owned.

The number of foreign-owned businesses increased by 4.2% from 35,231 in 2020 to 36,724 in 2021.

Of the total approximate gross value added (aGVA) from the non-financial business economy, 29.0% was generated by foreign-owned businesses in 2021; foreign-owned businesses contributed £400 billion in aGVA.

Foreign-owned aGVA in 2021 bounced back from a year of decline in 2020, rising by 17.8%; aGVA from UK-owned businesses increased by 13.3%, also following a year of decline in 2020.

In 2021, 7.2% of foreign-owned businesses employed 250 persons or more compared with only 0.2% for UK-owned businesses.

The largest proportion of foreign-owned businesses were in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry (22.3%), contributing £75 billion in aGVA.

Contribution of foreign-owned businesses between 2015 and 2021
The number of foreign-owned businesses operating in the UK non-financial business economy has grown by 52.2% from 2015 to 2021, with the largest single year increase in 2018 (16.9%). Foreign-owned approximate gross value added (aGVA) has grown from approximately £320 billion to approximately £400 billion between 2015 and 2021 (24.1% increase).

The number of foreign-owned businesses in the UK non-financial businesses economy increased for each continent in 2021, with Oceania and Antarctica seeing the largest proportional increase (7.7%). Despite this, aGVA from Oceania and Antarctica owned businesses fell by 6.8%.

Asian foreign-owned businesses saw a 28.8% increase in aGVA in 2021, the largest proportional increase in aGVA of any continent. European-owned businesses continue to account for the largest proportion of foreign-owned businesses in 2021 (55.2%). European-owned businesses also contributed the largest proportion of foreign-owned aGVA (47.4%) in 2021, generating £190 billion.

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