For information on where to access this local data and how to use it for your role, visit our Australia and UK Local Data FAQ article.
Where does IBISWorld source the region- and district-level data from?
We source the UK's local establishment data, specifically the dataset on local units by industry and employment size band, from Nomis's UK Business Counts.
How is the data processed?
To ensure local establishment data is consistent, reliable, and comparable across the UK, IBISWorld applies the following methodology:
Industry alignment: Establishment data is aligned to detailed UK-SIC subclass industries, ensuring consistency with IBISWorld’s UK Industry Reports.
Geographic standardisation: All data is standardised to 2019 region and district boundaries. Composite geographies are removed to maintain clear regional boundaries.
Conversion to national percentage shares: Local establishment counts are converted into percentage shares of national totals to help with smoothing, forecasting and reconciliation.
Forecasting for recent years: A quantitative time-series approach is used to produce forecasts for the most recent years.
Rounding-preserving algorithm: For districts, counts are rounded in a way that ensures region totals still reconcile correctly.
How many industries and locations are covered?
Regions
12 Regions
Approximately 370+ industries at the UK-SIC subclass level
Districts
382 Districts (Download list)
Approximately 370+ industries (Download list)
Coverage may vary depending on confidentiality rules and data availability.
How frequently is the data updated?
The local data in our Business Locations section is updated annually, typically around September or October, in line with the release cycle of the national business count dataset.
Forecast years are refreshed each update, and historical values may also be revised to reflect improved data and updated modelling.
Why can’t I find a specific region or district?
A region or district might be missing for one of the following reasons:
Combined or non-standard areas are removed: The raw dataset includes broad categories like “England,” “Great Britain,” or “United Kingdom.” These are composite regions and do not represent standalone geographic areas, so they are excluded.
We standardise to the 2019 UK geographic structure: All data is mapped to the 2019 region and district boundaries. Areas that no longer exist, were merged, or were reclassified may not appear.
Very low or confidential business counts: The Nomis source provides establishment numbers rounded to the nearest five. If the true counts are extremely low, the data may appear as zero. To clarify: rounding in the source data may cause districts with two or fewer establishments to appear as zero.
Why does an industry not have region or district-level data?
Certain industry reports may be missing this data for several reasons:
Incomplete historical data: Some industries do not have complete historical coverage at the region or district level.
Data rounding hides small values: Because values are rounded to the nearest five, smaller industries may appear to have zero establishments for multiple years.
District values depend on region-level patterns: District estimates use region-level distributions. If the region shows zero activity for an industry, the district will also show zero even when national data shows establishments.
Why has the data changed compared to the previous update?
You may see differences in the latest release because:
New NOMIS business count data is published annually.
Forecast values are recalculated each year.
Smoothing and outlier-handling methods update historical estimates.
Reconciliation against national totals may cause the previous region or district values to shift.
These adjustments ensure the dataset remains consistent, up-to-date, and aligned with the latest inputs.
Why don’t region or district totals match national industry totals?
Sometimes totals do not match exactly because:
Certain industries have incomplete historical data.
Rounded values at small geographies reduce precision.
Some regions or districts report zeros even when national totals are non-zero.
Reconciliation occurs at the region level first and then flows down to districts.
These limitations mainly affect small industries or small geographic areas.