Indian-owned companies in UK hit record 1,912, turnover surges

Indian-owned companies in the United Kingdom have reached 1,912, a record that makes the latest India Meets Britain Tracker a sharp measure of how far Indian corporate globalization has advanced. Combined turnover climbed to £105.77 billion from £72.14 billion a year earlier, while reported employment rose from 126,720 to 203,549.

The thirteenth edition of the tracker shows that the surge is not confined to one pocket of the economy. Grant Thornton said the strongest growth came across technology, manufacturing, life sciences and education, sectors that reflect a wider strategy by Indian groups to build scale in Britain rather than use it only as a sales outpost. The tracker covers Indian-owned corporates with turnover above £5 million, at least 10% year-on-year revenue growth and a minimum two-year track record in the UK.

The rise is also a sign of how Indian business is reshaping its outward investment playbook. Much of the turnover growth appears to be organic expansion, supported by companies that are already growing fast before they enter the tracker, while acquisitions add further heft to Indian-owned groups that are using Britain as a base for overseas expansion. Grant Thornton said the increase was still 49.5% after adjusting for a more detailed analysis of addresses, the strongest annual rise it has recorded.

The latest numbers land at a moment when the commercial relationship between the two countries has taken on new weight. The UK and India concluded talks on a free trade agreement on May 6, 2025, and the text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was published on July 24, 2025. The UK government says the deal is expected to lift annual GDP by £4.8 billion, raise wages by £2.2 billion and increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion in the long run.

That broader backdrop helps explain why Britain remains attractive to Indian owners. The UK says at least 1.9 million people with Indian heritage live there, giving the relationship a deep commercial and social base. P. Kumaran, India’s high commissioner to the UK, launched the 2026 tracker in London and said the relationship is now defined by opportunity rather than nostalgia. Anuj Chande of Grant Thornton said nearly all Indian mid-market firms are planning UK expansion, while British businesses are also looking to India for growth in technology, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

The record is therefore more than a milestone tally. It shows Indian firms becoming more embedded in the UK economy, with bigger payrolls, broader sector reach and a stronger role in the capital flows that will shape post-Brexit Britain.