Purchases of owner-controlled British companies peaked in 2021 and have not returned to that level

Substantial British companies bought by an unconnected company after their owner let go: 557 in 2017, 595 in 2018, 662 in 2019, 593 in 2020, 916 in 2021, 739 in 2022, 762 in 2023, 870 in 2024 and 824 in 2025. The peak is 2021. The two years after it fell and the count has not returned to that level. The owners letting go had a median age of 57.

A cessation can be filed late, so the most recent years understate. The regime began in 2016, so the earliest years are partly a backlog of first-time filings rather than a true rate. The count is mine and the method is on the page.