Scaling UK Enterprise Global Strategy in 2026

Trading businesses were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared to December 2025, leaving out any seasonal trading. Data are outlined in the middle of the period of each wave. Nearly a third (31%) of trading companies reported that their turnover had actually reduced in January 2026 compared with the previous month.

However, the motions are broadly in line with those observed around this time in previous years, with peaks in December followed by small falls in January. The industries with the highest proportion reporting that turnover decreased in January 2026 were: the lodging and food service activities industry (52%, which is a 21 portion point rise from December 2025) the other services industry (45%) the arts, home entertainment and entertainment industry (40%) Approximately 16% of trading organizations reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 percentage point increase compared to December 2025.

For trading organizations with 10 or more workers, 33% reported that their turnover had actually reduced, which was broadly steady compared with December and January 2025. More than one in 5 (23%) services reported that their turnover had actually increased, up 2 percentage points compared with December 2025. Usually, the percentage of businesses reporting that their turnover increased associated to the size of business.

The exception to this was the percentage for organizations with 250 or more employees, which was 25%, and 5 percentage points lower than December 2025 (30%). Trading services were asked how they expect their turnover to change in the coming month. This can then be used to forecast how business's turnover will actually change when that calendar month concludes.

Securing Resilient Supply Chains Within the UK Sector

Trends between expected turnover and actual turnover have actually broadly moved in the same instructions, the motions for expectations tend to be larger. For presentational functions, some response choices have been removed. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Caution must be taken when interpreting expectations concerns, as the staff members reacting on behalf of companies might not have complete oversight of all of their company's future expectations.

ANSR July UK PRs

More than one in five (21%) trading services anticipate their turnover to increase in March 2026. This is a 6 portion point rise from February 2026 however was broadly stable compared to expectations for March 2025 (22%). The proportion of trading companies expecting a boost in January 2026 was 13%, while the percentage that reported an actual increase in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a minor pessimism in services expectations.

The patterns have broadly followed each other considering that the concerns were presented in April 2022. The outcomes for March 2026 follow the pattern from previous years, with the percentage of businesses expecting turnover to increase peaking after a decrease in January. Bigger businesses were most likely to expect a boost in turnover in March, with the proportion ranging from 20% for services with 0 to 9 employees, to 42% for companies with 100 to 249 staff members.

For presentational purposes, some action choices have actually been removed. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave.

Mastering UK Enterprise Global Growth in 2026

The proportion of trading businesses that expected a reduction in January 2026 was 25%, while the percentage that reported a real decline in turnover in January 2026 was 31%. The proportion of services anticipating turnover to reduce for a specific month ahead of time has actually remained significantly lower than the percentage of services reporting a real decline in that month since April 2022.

Expectations for turnover to reduce have consistently followed the same pattern, as actual reported turnover reduces throughout this time. Trading organizations were asked what challenges, if any, were impacting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading businesses reported that financial unpredictability was having an effect on their turnover, which was broadly steady with early January 2026.

This is broadly stable compared to early January 2026 and 2 portion points down compared with a year earlier. For trading businesses with 10 or more workers, expense of labour was the most often reported challenge, at 36%. This was broadly steady compared with early January 2026. Services with 10 to 49 employees were most likely to report expense of labour as a difficulty than organizations with 250 or more staff members (37%, compared with 20%). One in five (20%) trading businesses with 10 or more staff members suggested that they were not currently experiencing any turnover obstacles in early February 2026. Additional information on financial performance, including all response alternatives categorised by market and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.