INSIGHTS - APRIL 2024

UK Scientific Research Industry

UK Scientific Research Industry Information

The social sciences research and development industry involves experimental and theoretical work with the aim of acquiring new insights, producing new materials, products, processes, systems and services.

Active Businesses

11,730

Annual Sales

£50bn +

Employees

160,494

Economic Contribution 

£20bn

Tags

Location of Scientific Research Companies

Scientific Research Companies by Size

76% Micro

19% Small

3% Mid

1% Large

1% Mega

Largest Scientific Research Companies
Turnover
Scientific Research Companies by Age
Fastest Growing Scientific Research Companies

40% Declining

20% Rapid

16% Healthy

12% High

11% Low

Scientific Research Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers

Scientific Research Industry Valuation

EBITDA Multiple

Scientific Research Industry Valuation

Turnover Multiple

Scientific Research Industry Valuation

Net Asset Multiple

Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Scientific research and development Industry Insights

There are 11,730 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £50 billion .

The Industry employs around 160,494 people and contributes £20 billion to the economy.

The most popular location for Scientific Research companies is London with 3,281 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 142.

The largest Scientific Research company is Astrazeneca Plc with a turnover of £35.9bn. 76% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 3% Mid companies.

17% of the Scientific Research Industry is made up of 17% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (31%) the oldest company is Philological Society.(the) founded in 1879.

Scientific Research industry has a number of high growth companies (12%), the fastest growing company is Stallion Holdings Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 414%. Other fast growing companies include Diurnal Limited (116%), Orchard Therapeutics Plc (115%) and Orchard Therapeutics (Europe) Limited (109%).

The UK Scientific Research Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 10.90x, Turnover multiple of 2.38x and a Net Asset multiple of 2.31x.