I’m a business registration expert; here are my top 5 predictions for the 2027 entrepreneur landscape.

By Robert Engeham, Director of Your Company Formations

Nobody can say for certain what the next twelve months in business will bring. But at Your Company Formations, we see who is starting businesses and what they’re building every day. Our Business Formation Barometer allows us to find patterns and data to help us understand the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape right now and predict what comes next. So as we start the last quarter of 2026, here’s what’s around the corner in 2027.

1. AI will continue to boom

The AI boom of 2026 was huge, and it shows no sign of slowing down. In Quarter 1, overall UK company formations actually fell 3.3% year-on-year, yet software and AI development registrations surged by a huge 86%, rising from 4,035 to 7,506 in a single quarter. AI had already been growing, but 2026 was the year it really took off, with it doubling the 38.4% growth the same category saw across the whole of 2025. Even when Companies House doubled the incorporation fee from £50 to £100 in February, software development grew, and 14 of 19 sectors fell over the quarter.

I expect this to keep building in 2027, but the bigger change will be how far AI reaches beyond tech companies. Accountants and recruiters already use it, and tradespeople are starting to use it for quoting and invoicing. The founders who do best won’t necessarily be the ones building AI. They’ll be the ones using it to keep costs low from day one, which was the common thread among the sectors that grew in 2026.

1. Online retail stays on top while the high street changes shape.

Online retail is already the single most popular type of new business in Britain, with 36,279 new companies in the first 8 months of the year, around one in every 14 incorporations. Physical retail has had a tough year by comparison, with declines in every month of Q1 and clothing shops losing share.

I don’t think 2027 spells the end of the high street altogether, but I do think the traditional shop will keep losing its momentum. In its place, I expect more online brands to open pop-ups and short-term spaces to test demand before committing to a long lease. More and more retail businesses will start online and open a physical shop only once they’ve built a customer base.

1. Trades will keep growing

I’ve talked about AI, but some of the other strongest growth in our data came from traditional trades, and I hope these will keep growing in 2027. Joinery firms grew their share of new companies by 31%, taxi operators by 24%, plumbing and heating by 17%, and domestic house builders by 13%.

I expect this to continue into 2027. Demand for good tradespeople is always steady, skilled workers are in short supply, and even the most advanced AI can’t fit a boiler. I’d also expect more of these firms to incorporate earlier rather than trading as sole traders, so they can win bigger contracts.

1. The start-up map will keep moving away from London

London’s share of new companies fell 5% year on year in 2026, with every London postcode area declining. On the other hand, Scotland’s share rose 5%, with Motherwell and Edinburgh among the fastest risers, alongside Norwich in England, and Manchester remains the strongest area for new businesses in the North West.

I expect this shift to speed up in 2027. Remote working and lower costs mean founders no longer need a London postcode, and investors should be paying attention to the areas growing outside the capital.

1. The over-60 entrepreneur will continue to grow.

For a decade, the typical person starting a company with us has been in their late thirties. That’s still true, but the two ends are growing fast! More than one in ten directors we’ve registered this year is under 25, and for the first time in our records, 18 to 24-year-olds are founding companies at the same rate as everyone else. At the other end of the scale, one in sixteen of our directors is over 60, the highest share in eleven years.

I expect both groups to grow in 2027. Young people are building brands around jobs and studies, often starting as side hustles, while older founders are turning decades of experience into consultancies and second careers. Starting a company is becoming something you can do at any age.

Robert Engeham is the founder and CEO of Your Company Formations, one of the UK’s leading company formation and business support providers. Since launching the business in 2014, they have helped more than one million entrepreneurs and business owners.