50% Micro
29% Small
10% Mid
8% Large
3% Mega
INSIGHTS - APRIL 2025
UK Chemicals Industry
UK Chemicals Industry Information
The chemicals industry involves the transformation of raw materials using chemical processes to create products such as drugs, soap, paints, glues, industrial and agricultural chemicals
Active Businesses
4,552
Annual Sales
£50bn +
Employees
119,625
Economic Contribution
£14bn
Tags
Location of Chemicals Companies
Chemicals Companies by Size
Largest Chemicals Companies
Turnover
Johnson Matthey Plc
£12.8bn
Smith & Nephew Plc
£4.5bn
Inovyn Europe Limited
£2.6bn
Cargill Plc
£1.2bn
Chemicals Companies by Age
35% Mature
26% Young
20% Startup
19% Established
0% New
Oldest Chemicals Companies
Established
Fastest Growing Chemicals Companies
30% Declining
29% Healthy
16% High
14% Rapid
11% Low
Fastest Growing Chemicals Companies
3yr CAGR
Jt Agro Limited
111%
Chemicals Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Chemicals Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Chemicals Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Chemicals Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products Industry Insights
There are 4,552 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £50 billion .
The Industry employs around 119,624 people and contributes £14 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Chemicals companies is London with 860 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 86.
The largest Chemicals company is Johnson Matthey Plc with a turnover of £12.8bn. 50% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 10% Mid companies.
19% of the Chemicals Industry is made up of 19% Established but the majority are Mature businesses (35%) the oldest company is N & C Building Products Limited founded in 1856.
Chemicals industry has a number of high growth companies (14%), the fastest growing company is Jt Agro Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 111%. Other fast growing companies include Levertonhelm Limited (94%), Sarpsfoss Limited (82%) and Synthite (Mold) Limited (66%).
The UK Chemicals Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 8.06x, Turnover multiple of 1.26x and a Net Asset multiple of 1.91x.
