Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Team from a report by PropertyWire. Read the original article for full details.
UK Has Lost 3,745 Accountancy Firms Since 2019 — What It Means for Small Office Landlords
Analysis of ONS business register data shows the UK now has 39,975 accountancy firms, down from a peak of 43,720 in 2019 — a loss of 3,745 firms in six years, or almost one in every 11. Writing for PropertyWire, Ian Gargett, MD of Rapport Digital, argues small office landlords should pay close attention.
The count has fallen or stalled every year since 2019, with 2,260 firms disappearing in 2022 and 2023 alone. Gargett describes the trend as no blip.
Demand Hasn't Gone Anywhere
The decline is not down to falling demand. The total number of UK businesses has held broadly steady over the same six years. In 2019, there were 62 local businesses for every accountancy firm; today there are 68 — a rise recorded in 11 of the UK's 12 regions. London lost 1,855 accountancy firms, one in six of the total, while its business population grew 3.1%.
The profession is also short of people. In a survey of 500 accountancy firms across the UK, US, Canada and Australia, 73% said they were turning away potential clients because they did not have the staff.
Why Firms Are Disappearing
Some practices were bought out. The ONS counts whole firms rather than individual offices, so when a larger group acquires a local practice it drops out of the figures. Crowe reports that as many as 20 of the UK's top 60 accountancy firms are now backed by private equity. Others closed as partners retired with nobody to take over.
Those that remain need less space. Cloud software, AI tools and remote working mean the work can be done almost anywhere. The Institute of Financial Accountants points to rising high street rents, utility costs and cloud software as forces pushing practices out of their offices, with some going fully remote.
Return to Office Doesn't Solve It
Gargett argues return-to-office is about people, not tenants. A firm can call staff back to its office, but nobody can call back a firm that has been bought out or closed. When a group absorbs four local practices, its staff return to one hub, not four high street suites.
Remit Consulting recorded UK office occupancy of 44.1% this year, its highest since the pandemic. Yet in central London, deals under 10,000 sq ft ran 19% below their ten-year average in the first quarter of 2026.
What Landlords Can Do
Gargett suggests accountancy is unlikely to be alone, noting solicitors, surveyors, financial advisers and independent agencies share the same profile: small, office-based firms whose work increasingly happens on a laptop.
He points to two options. The first is offering the space small firms still want. In the same Savills data, over 80% of central London deals under 5,000 sq ft were for fitted space, ready to use from day one. The second is a change of use. In the decade to 2024, almost 96,000 homes in England were created by converting offices under permitted development rights.
Source: PropertyWire