No government study, trade body or published survey measures how many UK MSPs plan to sell, in five years or any other period. The figures that get quoted come from global vendor surveys that mostly measure appetite to buy. If you might sell, a market statistic wouldn't change much anyway, because a buyer pays for what their accountant finds in your contracts and billing records.
In this article
The short version
- There is no UK figure for MSPs planning to sell, whether from government, a trade body or a published survey.
- N-able's 90% and Kaseya's 53% figures are global and mostly describe MSPs interested in buying, and neither gives a UK breakdown.
- A DSIT study identified 12,867 active UK MSPs in March 2025, with 65% of those it could size micro businesses and 24% small.
- Three to five years out, reduce client concentration, move relationships from yourself to your team and put every recurring client on a signed contract.
- One to three years out, get billing into a regular pattern and move recurring clients to direct debit, so a full year of clean records is in place by completion.
What the quoted figures measure
Two numbers often come up in conversations about MSP exits, and neither is a UK figure or a measure of plans to sell.
N-able's MSP Horizons report found 90% of 451 channel partners worldwide interested in M&A, mainly to acquire skills or enter new regions, and Kaseya's 2025 benchmark has about 53% of respondents planning mergers or acquisitions, with no time frame. Both are global and mostly describe MSPs looking to buy.
That buying interest is good news if you're thinking of selling, but it can't tell you how many of your UK peers will be on the market at the same time. If someone quotes you a precise UK exit figure, ask who was surveyed, where, what the exact question was and over what period. "Interested in M&A" and "plan to sell" are different questions.
What the UK data does tell you
The best picture of the UK market is a study for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, published in November 2025. It identified 12,867 active MSPs in the UK in March 2025. Of those it could size, 65% were micro businesses and 24% were small. Only 977 had both 50 or more UK employees and turnover above €10m. It doesn't ask about exit plans.
That shape suggests two things, though neither is measured directly. For most UK MSPs, a sale is also the owner's retirement or next step, so timing tends to follow personal plans as much as the market. And the buyers, larger MSPs and investor-backed groups, have usually seen a lot of targets, so your records will be read by people who know what good ones look like.
What to do if you might sell within five years
Most of what a buyer tests covers the last twelve months before completion, including the working capital peg that's compared with your actual position on the day. That lets you plan backwards from a rough date. Most of the steps below also make the business easier to run, so they're worth doing even if you never sell.
Three to five years out:
- Decide what kind of exit you'd want: a trade sale, a sale to an investor-backed group, a management buyout or a merger. Each weighs growth, profit and continuity differently.
- Look at client concentration. If one or two clients make up a large share of revenue, a buyer will read those contracts closely, and reducing that share takes years.
- Move client relationships from you to your team, so revenue doesn't depend on you personally.
- Put every recurring client on a signed contract with a clear term, notice period and price.
One to three years out:
- Get billing into a regular pattern: recurring charges on a fixed date, seat changes billed in the month they happen, projects invoiced promptly and coded separately. You'll want a full year of this before completion.
- Move recurring clients to direct debit, so every collection is dated and tied to an invoice.
- Review aged receivables monthly and resolve disputed balances instead of carrying them.
- Keep schedules for deferred income and for supplier commitments such as annual Microsoft licence terms.
- Talk to a corporate finance adviser about timing and likely buyers. They can give you a view of comparable deals that no public dataset can.
In the final year, keep billing, collection and payment terms stable, and prepare the invoice export, contract register and month-end aged receivables the buyer's accountant will ask for.
In a small MSP the monthly items slip first, especially once you're also running a sale. Adfin keeps them running in the background: it collects recurring fees by direct debit, including per-seat amounts that change each month under one mandate, and reconciles every payment to its invoice in Xero or QuickBooks. Its Customer Agents chase overdue invoices over email, SMS or WhatsApp, retry failed payments and send statements when a client goes quiet, within rules you approve, so the aged receivables you hand over look the way the business really runs.
Common questions
Is there a UK statistic on MSPs planning to sell? No. The government's MSP market studies count firms and measure their size and revenue, but don't ask about exit plans, and no trade body or survey publishes a UK figure.
What does the N-able 90% figure mean? 90% of 451 MSPs surveyed worldwide were interested in M&A, mainly in acquiring skills or entering new regions. It mostly reflects appetite to buy and isn't a UK figure.
What does Kaseya's 53% figure measure? The share of respondents to a global survey who plan to pursue mergers or acquisitions. It covers buying as well as selling and gives no UK breakdown or time frame.
How many MSPs are there in the UK? A DSIT study identified 12,867 active MSPs in March 2025, most of them micro or small businesses.
How long before a sale should I start preparing? Three to five years for strategic changes such as concentration and owner dependency, and at least 18 to 24 months for billing, so a full year of clean records is in place by completion.
Does it matter how many other MSPs are selling? It may affect how many targets buyers can choose from, but no UK data measures it. Your contracts, revenue mix and records are what a buyer will test, and those are in your control.
Sources
- GOV.UK (DSIT) - Research on managed service providers 2025 (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-on-managed-service-providers-2025
- N-able - Second annual MSP Horizons report (press release) (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250304290876/en/N-able%E2%80%99s-Second-Annual-MSP-Horizons-Report-Shows-Significant-Growth-Opportunity-for-Global-MSPs-with-Cybersecurity-Leading-the-Way
- Kaseya - Key findings from Kaseya's 2025 Global MSP Benchmark Report (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.kaseya.com/blog/key-findings-from-kaseyas-2025-global-msp-benchmark-report/
- BDO USA - Net working capital is vital in M&A (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.bdo.com/insights/advisory/importance-of-net-working-capital-nwc-in-m-a
- Adfin - Next-generation direct debit (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.adfin.com/direct-debit-payments
