UK research sector valued at £7 billion and largest supplier of research and insight in Europe
10 December 2020

The Research Live Industry Report 2021 estimates that the UK’s research, insight and analytics sector is worth at least £7 billion in 2020/21. MRS announced the results of its wide-ranging industry reappraisal today as it published its annual Research Live Industry Report 2021, including the latest MRS League Tables.

Click here to download the Research Live Industry Report 2021.

The role of evidence, insight and analytics in the UK economy is evolving and expanding, prompting MRS to conduct the comprehensive review of the whole sector. The revised estimate that emerged reflects a more accurate evaluation of the sector which has undergone significant change in recent years and is 40% higher than the previous value.

The new calculation utilises the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, based on two published data sources: the Annual Survey (ABS) conducted by the Office of National Statistics and the MRS Annual League Tables of the largest 100 research firms. Under the updated definition, the industry employs at least 64,000 people in at least 4,000 enterprises.

Based on 2019 financial data analysed during 2020, the new MRS League Tables reveal the best-performing research agencies and businesses based on UK turnover and international work managed and invoiced from the UK.

The Research Live Industry Report 2021 shows:

• the top 100 individual agencies generated a collective turnover of £3.756 billion during 2019, with year-on-year growth of 4.8 per cent
• 72 of the top 100 agencies recorded growth in 2019 and the UK is once again the largest supplier of market research and insight in Europe, accounting for 49 per cent of total output
• the UK remains the second largest market in the world behind the United States.

Jane Frost CBE, CEO of MRS, comments: “We are ending this extraordinary year on high and with justifiable confidence in our sector’s world-leading position. Our reassessment of the UK industry reflects how dynamic and far-reaching the business of evidence has become and the UK sector continues to punch above its weight internationally, once again the leading provider of research and insight in Europe and attracting investment from around the world. It puts our sector in a fantastic position heading into the new year and I am excited for us to build on the progress we have made this year as we continue to demonstrate the strategic importance of research, insight and evidence to a global audience.”

Click here to download the Research Live Industry Report 2021.