High-Growth Sector

Smart & Functional Materials

A market overview of active UK companies in Smart & Functional Materials. Figures exclude dormant and dissolved companies. Data refreshed 30 Apr 2026.

Active companies
970
trading & on register
Reporting turnover
227
23% of active
Reporting employees
868
89% of active
Register health
9%
of 1,094 on register are dormant

Company size (employees)

Active companies reporting employee counts

1-9
514
10-49
236
50-249
95
250+
23

Turnover distribution

Active companies reporting turnover

<£100k
7
£100k-£1m
20
£1m-£10m
44
£10m-£100m
128
£100m+
28

Where they're based

Active companies by major UK city (30km London, 15–20km elsewhere)

Greater London
142
Manchester
76
Birmingham
29
Liverpool
23
Leeds
22
Cardiff
12
Edinburgh
11
Bristol
7
Glasgow
7
Belfast
4

New formations by year

Active companies incorporated under this category (dormant shells excluded)

33
17
27
18
53
19
52
20
47
21
32
22
17
23
6
24
2
25
0
26

Largest by turnover

#CompanyTurnoverEBITDAEmployees3y growth
1SDC TECHNOLOGIES INC.£11.4B--8%
2CRODA INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY£1.7B£322.8M--11%
3BAKELITE UK TOPCO LTD.£1.1B£114.0M1,40340%
4MORGAN ADVANCED MATERIALS PLC£1.0B£137.2M--3%
5CRODA EUROPE LIMITED£431.1M£15.0M960-16%
6DOW SILICONES UK LIMITED£406.9M£5.7M605-6%
7MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL UK LIMITED£395.0M£31.3M433-14%
8LUXFER HOLDINGS PLC£394.3M£258.0M-3%
9EMERY OLEOCHEMICALS UK LIMITED£349.4M£11.3M486-4%
10VICTREX PLC£292.7M£61.1M1,159-5%
11PPG ARCHITECTURAL COATINGS UK LIMITED£286.5M£34.6M1,3220%
12SPECIALIST BUILDING PRODUCTS LIMITED£283.0M£42.4M1,866-2%
13ROCKWOOL LIMITED£268.4M£21.3M59912%
14BILLIONS EUROPE LTD£267.0M£16.4M2518%
15SCOTT BADER COMMONWEALTH LIMITED(THE)£254.6M£1.3M800-2%
16SCOTT BADER COMPANY LIMITED£252.3M£2.2M800-2%
17ZEON EUROPE GMBH£227.5M£6.0M48-
18VICTREX MANUFACTURING LIMITED£204.8M£25.0M793-6%
19AURORIUM HOLDINGS UK LIMITED£177.8M£9.7M41122%
20BOREALIS UK LTD£174.2M£2.3M7-7%

Fastest-growing

Active companies with turnover ≥ £1m, sorted by 3-year turnover CAGR

#CompanyTurnoverEmployees3y turnover growth
1OWENS CORNING INSULATION (UK) LTD£39.4M1270%
2T.EN ADVANCED MATERIALS & CATALYSTS UK LIMITED£38.3M2552%
3ITACONIX PLC£6.5M2246%
4NANOCO TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED£7.5M4045%
5BAKELITE UK TOPCO LTD.£1.1B1,40340%
6NANOCO GROUP PLC£7.6M4139%
7GOODFELLOW CAMBRIDGE LIMITED£18.5M9532%
8TBA PROTECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED£22.4M8132%
9TRICOYA TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED£3.2M-32%
10OBEX PROTECTION LTD£40.5M6825%
11RAILKO LIMITED£1.2M-24%
12SMART TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LIMITED£23.9M7622%
13AURORIUM HOLDINGS UK LIMITED£177.8M41122%
14UMICORE COATING SERVICES LIMITED£5.4M3321%
15MACDERMID CANNING LIMITED£29.0M1920%
16VERDANT SPECIALTY SOLUTIONS HALIFAX LIMITED£30.7M6119%
17BILLIONS EUROPE LTD£267.0M2518%
18HARDIDE COATINGS LIMITED£3.1M2218%
19CABOT PERFORMANCE MATERIALS UK LTD.£4.0M1917%
20AGC CHEMICALS EUROPE, LTD.£172.9M22115%

Newest formations

Most recently incorporated active companies

#CompanyLocationIncorporated
1P2I HOLDINGS LTDAbingdon2025
2CONCRETE CANVAS KYRGYZSTAN LIMITEDPontyclun2025
3WILLIAM BLYTHE GROUP LIMITEDOswaldtwistle Accrington2024
4DYNAMIC-MATERIALS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITEDPinxton2024
5AILARIAN LTDSwansea2024
6VERSIV COMPOSITES UK LIMITEDLondon2024
7MORRELLS GROUP LIMITEDChipping Norton2024
8CUSP AI LIMITEDCambridge2024
9CAMVAC INTERNATIONAL LTDThetford2023
10BIOMR LIMITEDLondon2023
11PUW LIMITEDChelmsford2023
12MACDERMID EUROPEAN FINANCE LIMITEDWoking2023
13POLARON LTDThame2023
14REPLICA BIOMATERIALS LTDLondon2023
15VITROLITHIC LTDGillingham2023
16SHOPLIGHT HOLDINGS LIMITEDPeterborough2023
17BOREALIS A LTDLondon2023
18NACE GLOBAL LIMITEDLondon2023
19PLANET POLYMERS LIMITEDLondon2023
20PLANET SMART LTDLondon2023