The UK’s services sector is cementing its status as a global leader in AI-powered growth

The UK Professional and Business Services (PBS) sector is an economic powerhouse with a market opportunity of $2 trillion. Already the world’s second-largest exporter of these services, the UK government is doubling down on what makes UK expertise so competitive, with a Modern Industrial Strategy that places a big bet on the sector and prioritises it for growth.

As the UK Office for National Statistics reports that the economy grew faster than expected in November 2025, supported by a boost in professional services, current estimates put the sector’s contribution to the economy at over £315 billion a year, with £181 billion in exports in 2024 alone. That’s one in every seven jobs. And those roles are not just confined to the City of London either. More than half of UK PBS jobs are based outside London, with regional clusters that give businesses options on cost and connectivity.

The talent pipeline is also expanding. In 2022/23, 29% of all UK university graduates qualified in Business, Mathematics, or Computing, helping to meet rising global demand for professional expertise, and the skills base that fast-growing firms need to build and scale.

Alongside workforce development, the UK is also providing new business opportunities and improving the conditions in which services firms succeed. Record R&D funding is being protected alongside a clear AI action plan, while investment in the industries of the future continues to gather pace. Combined with a strategic time zone and trusted legal frameworks, these advantages help explain why Professional and Business Services are a central part of the Government’s vision to make UK industry the most dynamic and innovative in the world by 2035.

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy is building on the sector’s existing strengths, creating the stable, pro-innovation conditions for long-term investment in future-forward businesses.

International firms are already using the UK to fuel growth, like Version 1, a transformation partner specialising in AI, data, and cloud solutions across the public and private sector. Founded in Dublin, and now marking its 30th anniversary, the company has built a multi-city presence across the UK, including London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Birmingham.

“The talent here is exceptional,” Roop Singh, CEO of Version 1. “Each of our hubs taps into distinct talent pools with specific skill sets, and that variety strengthens what we can deliver for customers.”

Singh also points to the pace of innovation; ideas move quickly from universities and research institutions into commercial reality. Birmingham has become a microcosm of this process. Just two years after opening its hub in the city, Version 1 is already benefitting from diverse early-careers talent, research support, and competitive operating costs for technology businesses. “The city’s investment in digital infrastructure and its ambition as a key tech hub for the UK have been important in our own journey,” he adds.

As a result, Version 1 has grown its headcount in Birmingham by around 100 people last year, taking its regional total to 514 staff. It also runs Digital Academies, designed to open technology careers to graduates, career changers and returners, which engages and enriches the local community.

Describing the Modern Industrial Strategy as an important signal of intent, Singh highlights the credibility of the UK’s “serious commitment” to AI and technology. This shift, seen in long-term policy direction and multi-year decision making allows Version 1 to “move quickly from concept to commercial reality and that pace really matters in our industry.”

The government’s Modern Industrial Strategy has been conceived with companies like Version 1 in mind, with funding committed to AI and technology programmes to help firms flourish. These include programmes designed to help businesses turn emerging tech into commercial gains.

The broader Professional and Business Services Sector Plan is further evidence of the UK’s intent to build the infrastructure for a smarter, more connected services market. Take the development of Smart Data, now being trialled in the property sector. Smart Data makes it easier for businesses to safely share information, helping speed up transactions, remove duplication, and support better services and new growth in the ecosystem.

For internationally-minded firms, these changes matter. “The capabilities we’re building here become assets we can leverage internationally,” Singh notes, pointing to the UK’s delivery expertise and regulatory reputation as further reasons to ground international expansion in the UK ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the UK is determined to lead the industries of the future, with record investment in R&D, a clear plan for artificial intelligence, and Great British Energy helping drive the clean power transition. That ambition extends to Professional and Business Services. With a renewed commitment to long-term certainty through the Modern Industrial Strategy, the UK hopes to empower business to build services here, and then take them to the world.

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