Wholesale trade in the United Kingdom
This page gathers the figures we hold on wholesale trade in the United Kingdom. Each section names its own source.
Each source groups industries its own way, so the edges of wholesale trade differ a little from section to section.
- EBITDA margin5.3%share of sales, 2024
- Still trading after three years43.6%of businesses started in 2021
- Earnings change+4.9%the year to June 2026
What businesses sold for
- Wholesale distributors7.0 times EBITDA, middle half 6.5 to 9.0, 10+ deals
Deal details
Wholesale distributors: median 7.0 times EBITDA. The middle half of deals ran from 6.5 to 9.0 times (10+ deals of £5.3 million to £263 million, announced 2017 to 2024).
Sizes are converted from our size range of A$10 million to A$500 million, at the fixed rate our database uses to place overseas deals: £1 = A$1.90. The rate stays fixed, so the range always describes the same deals.
See what UK businesses sell for, by sector.
These are deals for UK businesses in our database, not every deal in the market.
Source: deals in our database with a published value. Counts by onestepright.
Compare sale multiples across countries.
Margins
In 2024, what was left after bought-in costs and staff costs came to 5.3% of sales across the industry. The measure is close to EBITDA.
- Purchases86.4%
- Staff costs5.5%
- Other
- Close to EBITDA5.3%
Across every business in the industry added together.
What is the average profit margin in wholesale trade?
Across every wholesale trade business added together, sales less bought-in and staff costs came to 5.3% of sales in 2024. The measure is close to EBITDA.
Every business in the industry is added together, so the figures are not a typical business. The survey does not count owners' own pay as a cost, so the figure reads high where small businesses are many.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Business Survey, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratios computed by onestepright.
How many businesses are still trading
About 44 in every 100 were still trading three years later.
The ONS counts businesses registered for VAT or PAYE. The rate is our calculation from its counts.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Demography, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rates computed by onestepright.
Businesses that started and stopped
Each is a share of the businesses trading in 2024.
A business counts as stopped when it is no longer active on the ONS register of VAT and PAYE businesses. The rates are our calculation from ONS counts.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Demography, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rates computed by onestepright.
What costs did
What earnings and input prices did in this industry. Each comes from its own ONS series and grouping of industries. Earnings move with the mix of jobs and hours as well as with pay, so they are not a pay rate.
Each bar comes from its own ONS series, named below.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
No ONS price series measures this industry's inputs closely enough to show.
Prices businesses expect to charge
For October 2026, 25.6% of wholesale trade businesses expected to raise their prices. Across all businesses, 17.4% did.
Wholesale and retail trade, as ONS groups them.
The ONS asks trading businesses about the month ahead, before it begins. Each business counts once, whatever its size.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Insights and Conditions Survey, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
See wholesale trade in Australia.
See wholesale trade in New Zealand.
See wholesale trade in Canada.
See wholesale trade in the United States.
Who in your business can move a price, and by how much? The pricing check takes about ten minutes.