Market Update: We break down the business implications, market impact, and expert insights related to Market Update: Business insights and impact on the UK economy – Full Analysis.
3. Financial performance
Turnover
Trading businesses were asked how their turnover in February 2026 compared with January 2026, excluding any seasonal trading.
Figure 1: 25% of trading businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in February 2026 compared with the previous calendar month
Turnover, businesses currently trading, weighted by count, UK, 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2026
Source: Business Insights and Conditions Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
- Data are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave.
Download this chart Figure 1: 25% of trading businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in February 2026 compared with the previous calendar month
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Approximately a quarter (25%) of trading businesses reported a decrease in their turnover in February 2026 when compared with the previous month. This is down 6 percentage points from January 2026 but is broadly stable with February 2025. These movements follow the trend seen in previous years when a peak in December is followed by a downward trend in January and February.
The industries with the highest proportion reporting a decrease in turnover in February 2026 were:
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the accommodation and food service activities industry (41%)
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the other services industry (35%)
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the human health and social work activities industry (34%)
Around 16% of trading businesses reported that their turnover increased in February 2026, which was broadly stable with January 2026. Approximately half (50%) reported that their turnover stayed the same, up 6 percentage points from January.
For trading businesses with 10 or more employees, 27% reported that their turnover had decreased, down 6 percentage points from January 2026, and down 2 percentage points from February 2025. More than one in five (24%) businesses reported that their turnover had increased, which was broadly stable with January.
Turnover expectations
Trading businesses were asked how they expected their turnover to change in April 2026.
Around one in five (19%) trading businesses reported that they expect an increase in their turnover in April 2026. This is 3 percentage points down compared with expectations for March 2026, but is broadly stable with April 2025, and in line with the movement seen around this time in previous years.
The accommodation and food service activities industry reported the highest proportion of businesses expecting an increase in their turnover in April 2026, at 24%. Around one in seven (15%) trading businesses expect their turnover to decrease in April 2026, this is broadly stable with March 2026 and April 2025.
Larger businesses were more likely to expect an increase in turnover; the proportion ranged from 17% for businesses with zero to nine employees, to 40% for businesses with 100 to 249 employees. This pattern has been seen since the question was introduced to the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) in April 2022.
Turnover challenges
Trading businesses were asked what challenges, if any, were impacting their turnover in early March 2026.
Figure 2: Economic uncertainty (32%) was the most commonly reported challenge impacting businesses’ turnover in early March 2026
Turnover challenges, businesses currently trading, weighted by count, UK, 19 April 2022 to 15 March 2026
Source: Business Insights and Conditions Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
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Data are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave.
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For presentational purposes, some response options have been removed.
Download this chart Figure 2: Economic uncertainty (32%) was the most commonly reported challenge impacting businesses’ turnover in early March 2026
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Around a third (32%) of trading businesses reported that economic uncertainty was having an impact on their turnover, up 2 percentage points from early February 2026. This has been the most reported challenge since early October 2022.
Other challenges reported included:
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cost of materials (21%)
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cost of labour (20%)
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competition (19%)
These proportions were all broadly stable compared with early February 2026.
Three in ten (31%) trading businesses indicated that they were not currently experiencing any turnover challenges. This is broadly stable compared with early February 2026 and early March 2025.
For trading businesses with 10 or more employees, cost of labour was the most frequently reported challenge, at 35%. This was broadly stable compared with early February 2026. Businesses with 10 to 49 employees were more likely to report the cost of labour as a challenge, at 36%, compared with businesses with 250 or more employees, at 21%.
More than one in five (22%) trading businesses with 10 or more employees indicated that they were not currently experiencing any turnover challenges in early March 2026.
Further details on financial performance, including all response options broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.