UK adviser research

Data-led stories on the UK advisory market

Verified Advisers analyses UK professional firm records to identify patterns in director demographics, filing signals and regional adviser supply. Latest research update: 17 May 2026.

80,623
firms analysed
114,368
directors profiled
50
research findings
Research reports
Retirement and succession4 min read
30,241
directors born in 1966 or earlier

The UK financial adviser retirement wave: 30,241 directors are already 60 or older

Verified Advisers analysis of 80,623 UK advisory firms found 30,241 directors born in 1966 or earlier, putting succession and acquisition pressure into plain numbers.

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Compliance signals4 min read
3.01%
of firms with due-date data are overdue

The compliance paradox: 2,400 UK advisory firms are overdue on statutory accounts

A Verified Advisers scan found 3.01% of UK advisory firms with filing due-date data were overdue on their Companies House accounts.

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Director demographics3 min read
10,008
directors in the sample were born in March

The financial leader zodiac: March is the most common birth month for UK advisory directors

March narrowly beats January as the most common birth month among 114,368 directors in the latest Verified Advisers research sample.

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Regional adviser supply4 min read
14,641
advisory firm records mapped in London

UK advisory firm density mapped: London leads, followed by Manchester and Birmingham

Verified Advisers mapped advisory firm concentration by city, with London at 14,641 records, Manchester at 1,466 and Birmingham at 1,336.

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Financial benchmarking5 min read
64,796
records with usable equity data

The wealth of the high street: what balance sheet equity reveals about UK advisory firms

Verified Advisers found usable equity data for 64,796 advisory firm records, with London, Leeds and Manchester leading by total mapped equity.

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Practice structure5 min read
11,453
records with zero average employees

The zero-employee practice: 11,453 advisory firms report no average employees

The research found 11,453 records with zero average employees, equal to 19.14% of records with usable employee data.

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Ownership diversity4 min read
80.21%
male-coded among title-based gender signals

Director gender signals in UK advisory firms: male-coded titles still dominate the visible sample

Among director names with clear title-based gender signals, 80.21% were male-coded and 19.79% were female-coded.

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Incorporation trends5 min read
27,027
records incorporated from 2021 onward

The post-pandemic advisory firm wave: 27,027 mapped firms were incorporated from 2021 onward

Verified Advisers found 27,027 mapped advisory firm records incorporated from 2021 onward, compared with 53,289 pre-2020 records.

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Director profiles4 min read
1,041
directors with visible title patterns

From Dr to MBE: 1,041 advisory firm directors carry visible professional or civic titles

Verified Advisers found 1,041 directors with visible Dr, MBE, OBE or Cllr title patterns in the latest research sample.

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Data quality3 min read
4
records with usable creditor data

The advisory firm debt data gap: creditor extraction is still too sparse for a sector ranking

Only four records had usable creditors-due-within-one-year data, so Verified Advisers is not publishing a debt-risk ranking from this field yet.

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Retirement and succession8 min read
27.63%
directors aged 60 or older in Companies House-matched firms

Accountants: director retirement pressure in 2026

What the public records show about director retirement pressure among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Compliance signals8 min read
3.77%
overdue accounts rate among firms with due-date data

Accountants: statutory filing discipline in 2026

What the public records show about statutory filing discipline among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Director demographics8 min read
6,904
accountancy directors born in March

Accountants: director birth-month distribution in 2026

What the public records show about director birth-month distribution among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Regional supply8 min read
11,025
accountancy firms mapped in London

Accountants: regional supply in 2026

What the public records show about regional supply among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Financial benchmarking8 min read
£34,004
average equity in usable Companies House-matched records

Accountants: balance sheet equity benchmarks in 2026

What the public records show about balance sheet equity benchmarks among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Practice structure8 min read
23.16%
zero-employee share among records with employee data

Accountants: zero-employee practices in 2026

What the public records show about zero-employee practices among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Incorporation trends8 min read
21,060
accountancy firms incorporated from 2021 onward

Accountants: new firm formation in 2026

What the public records show about new firm formation among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Director profiles8 min read
395
visible title signals among accountancy directors

Accountants: director title signals in 2026

What the public records show about director title signals among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Data quality8 min read
99.95%
postcode coverage across accountancy firms

Accountants: record coverage in 2026

What the public records show about record coverage among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Market coverage8 min read
72,377
accountancy firms available for market coverage comparison

Accountants: market coverage in 2026

What the public records show about market coverage among 72,377 accountancy firm records.

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Retirement and succession8 min read
21.79%
directors aged 60 or older in Companies House-matched firms

Solicitors: director retirement pressure in 2026

What the public records show about director retirement pressure among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Compliance signals8 min read
0.69%
overdue accounts rate among firms with due-date data

Solicitors: statutory filing discipline in 2026

What the public records show about statutory filing discipline among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Director demographics8 min read
815
solicitor directors born in January

Solicitors: director birth-month distribution in 2026

What the public records show about director birth-month distribution among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Regional supply8 min read
1,437
solicitor firms mapped in London

Solicitors: regional supply in 2026

What the public records show about regional supply among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Financial benchmarking8 min read
£134,128
average equity in usable Companies House-matched records

Solicitors: balance sheet equity benchmarks in 2026

What the public records show about balance sheet equity benchmarks among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Practice structure8 min read
6.91%
zero-employee share among records with employee data

Solicitors: zero-employee practices in 2026

What the public records show about zero-employee practices among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Incorporation trends8 min read
1,192
solicitor firms incorporated from 2021 onward

Solicitors: new firm formation in 2026

What the public records show about new firm formation among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Director profiles8 min read
27
visible title signals among solicitor directors

Solicitors: director title signals in 2026

What the public records show about director title signals among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Data quality8 min read
100.00%
postcode coverage across solicitor firms

Solicitors: record coverage in 2026

What the public records show about record coverage among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Market coverage8 min read
8,875
solicitor firms available for market coverage comparison

Solicitors: market coverage in 2026

What the public records show about market coverage among 8,875 solicitor firm records.

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Retirement and succession8 min read
24.50%
directors aged 60 or older in Companies House-matched firms

FCA-regulated advisers: director retirement pressure in 2026

What the public records show about director retirement pressure among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Compliance signals8 min read
0.73%
overdue accounts rate among firms with due-date data

FCA-regulated advisers: statutory filing discipline in 2026

What the public records show about statutory filing discipline among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Director demographics8 min read
2,389
FCA-regulated adviser directors born in September

FCA-regulated advisers: director birth-month distribution in 2026

What the public records show about director birth-month distribution among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Regional supply8 min read
2,177
FCA-regulated adviser firms mapped in London

FCA-regulated advisers: regional supply in 2026

What the public records show about regional supply among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Financial benchmarking8 min read
£92,099
average equity in usable Companies House-matched records

FCA-regulated advisers: balance sheet equity benchmarks in 2026

What the public records show about balance sheet equity benchmarks among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Practice structure8 min read
7.94%
zero-employee share among records with employee data

FCA-regulated advisers: zero-employee practices in 2026

What the public records show about zero-employee practices among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Incorporation trends8 min read
4,767
FCA-regulated adviser firms incorporated from 2021 onward

FCA-regulated advisers: new firm formation in 2026

What the public records show about new firm formation among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Director profiles8 min read
619
visible title signals among FCA-regulated adviser directors

FCA-regulated advisers: director title signals in 2026

What the public records show about director title signals among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Data quality8 min read
3.28%
postcode coverage across FCA-regulated adviser firms

FCA-regulated advisers: record coverage in 2026

What the public records show about record coverage among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Market coverage8 min read
19,490
FCA-regulated adviser firms available for market coverage comparison

FCA-regulated advisers: market coverage in 2026

What the public records show about market coverage among 19,490 FCA-regulated adviser records.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
directors aged 60 or older in Companies House-matched firms

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: director retirement pressure compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
overdue accounts rate among firms with due-date data

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: statutory filing discipline compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
top-month patterns in public director records

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: director birth-month distribution compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
directory records concentrated around the leading city

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: regional supply density compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
average equity in usable Companies House-matched records

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: balance sheet equity benchmarks compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
zero-employee share among records with employee data

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: zero-employee operating models compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
newer firms compared with older professional practices

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: post-pandemic incorporation trends compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
title patterns in public director data

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: visible director titles and professional signals compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
coverage quality across source records

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: data coverage and verification quality compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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Sector comparison9 min read
3 sectors
why verified coverage matters beyond simple listing volume

Accountants vs solicitors vs financial advisers: directory coverage across the adviser market compared

A cross-sector comparison of accountants, solicitors and FCA-regulated advisers using Verified Advisers directory and Companies House-matched data.

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