Why read this Software Company list — and how we built it
| Stage | What we did | Key references |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Market sweep | Pulled the latest public rankings and directories for 2025. | Clutch “Top Software Developers in the UK” Clutch· DesignRush UK software-dev leaderboard DesignRush· Limeup’s 2025 Top 10 Software Companies in the UK list Limeup. Built In London’s 55 Software Companies in London to Know piece Built In London |
| 2. Reality check | Cross-referenced head-count, revenue and funding with public filings and credible press. | Sage and ARM annual reports (FTSE releases). Companies House performance report 2023/24 GOV.UK· The Times tech & business coverage Latest news & breaking headlines. Latest news & breaking headlinesLatest news & breaking headlines. |
| 3. Score & shortlist | Applied a weighted grid (results 30 %, market traction 30 %, sentiment 15 %, capacity 15 %, thought-leadership 10 %) and kept only the 15 firms scoring ≥ 75 / 100. | Internal scoring sheet (available on request) |
What you’ll get in the next five minutes
- Credible names only – Each company appears in at least two of the sources above and passes the hard-data test.
- Sector spread – From FTSE stalwarts (Sage) to AI unicorns (Darktrace, Graphcore) so you’re not just seeing fintech or SaaS.
- Actionable intel – Head-count, core products, industry focus and recent milestones, ready to drop into your vendor shortlist or pitch deck.
TL;DR – We went through directories, financial reports, and the latest news to bring you this list—so you don’t have to. Discover 15 top software companies driving real impact in the UK tech scene in 2025. If you’re after teams building serious products and delivering real results, this is where to start!
1. Sage Group
Sage, a long-standing FTSE-100 company and the UK’s largest dedicated software provider, has shifted from selling boxed accounting software to offering cloud-based subscriptions and an AI tool called Sage Copilot.
Office Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Year Founded: 1981
Team Size: 11,000 +
Key Services: Accounting, Payroll, ERP, Payments
Industries Served: SMBs, Mid-market, Professional Services
Case Studies: View all case studies
2. Arm
Based in Cambridge, Arm licenses the CPU architecture that powers 99 % of the world’s smartphones and is now building its own AI chips for hyperscale data centres.
Office Location: Cambridge, England
Year Founded: 1990
Team Size: 6,000 +
Key Services: Processor IP, Development Tools, AI Chips
Industries Served: Mobile, Automotive, IoT, Datacentre
Case Studies: View all case studies
3. Sophos
From antivirus roots to a global MDR leader, Sophos protects 500,000 organisations with an AI-native security stack and 24/7 threat-hunting service.
Office Location: Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Year Founded: 1987
Team Size: 4,400 +
Key Services: Endpoint & Network Security, MDR, XDR
Industries Served: Mid-market & Enterprise across all verticals
Case Studies: View all case studies
4. Darktrace
Cambridge-based Darktrace, now valued at £4.3 billion after a private equity deal, uses its self-learning AI to protect 9,000 customers and is focusing on growing in the US.
Office Location: Cambridge & London
Year Founded: 2013
Team Size: 2,200 +
Key Services: Autonomous Detection & Response, Email & OT Security
Industries Served: Finance, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing
Case Studies: View all case studies
5. Endava
London-listed Endava blends 11,000+ engineers with an AI-native delivery framework to modernise core systems for global brands.
Office Location: London, England
Year Founded: 2000
Team Size: 11,700 +
Key Services: Digital Transformation, Cloud Engineering, Automation
Industries Served: Payments, Insurance, Retail, Media
Case Studies: View all case studies
6. Finastra
Formed by the Misys–D+H merger, Finastra supplies core banking, payments and treasury software to 45 of the world’s top 50 banks.
Office Location: Paddington, London
Year Founded: 2017
Team Size: 7,000 +
Key Services: Core Banking, Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets
Industries Served:Retail & Corporate Banking, Fintechs
Case Studies: View all case studies
7. Wise
The fintech formerly known as TransferWise runs cross-border payments for 11 million users and posted a £481 m profit in FY 2024.
Office Location: Shoreditch, London
Year Founded: 2011
Team Size: 5,000 +
Key Services: FX Transfers, Multi-Currency Accounts, Cards, API
Industries Served: Consumers, SMBs, Platforms via Wise Platform
Case Studies: View all case studies
Thought Machine is a cloud-native core banking vendor and Gartner Magic Quadrant leader, trusted by JPMorgan, Intesa and Standard Chartered.
Office Location: Holborn, London
Year Founded: 2014
Team Size: 800 +
Key Services: Vault Core, Vault Payments, Cloud Migration
Industries Served: Tier-1 & Challenger Banks, Fintechs
Case Studies: View all case studies
9. Ocado
The AI-and-robotics brain behind Ocado Group’s smart-warehouse platform, now licensing fulfilment tech to Kroger, Coles and Casino.
Office Location: Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Year Founded: 2000
Team Size: 3,000 +
Key Services: Warehouse Automation, Robotics, Logistics Software
Industries Served: Grocery, 3PL, Retail
Case Studies: Not available
10. Quantexa
A decision-intelligence company analysing data for HSBC, Shell, and the UK Government, recently raised $175 million in Series F funding.
Office Location: London, England
Year Founded: 2016
Team Size: 1,200 +
Key Services: Entity Resolution, AML, KYC, Data Ops
Industries Served: Banking, Insurance, Government, Telecoms
Case Studies: View all case studies
11. Featurespace
Cambridge spin-out (now a Visa Solution) that invented Adaptive Behavioural Analytics to stop fraud in real time.
Office Location: Cambridge, England
Year Founded: 2008
Team Size: 500 +
Key Services: Real-time Fraud & AML Detection, ARIC Risk Hub
Industries Served: Payments, Banking, Gaming, Insurance
Case Studies: View all case studies
12. Graphcore
A Bristol-based AI chip company whose IPU systems deliver a petaFLOP in 1U, now aligned with SoftBank’s AI strategy.
Office Location: Bristol, England
Year Founded: 2016
Team Size: 450 +
Key Services: IPU Hardware, Poplar SDK, Cloud IPU-Pods
Industries Served: AI Research, HPC, Cloud Providers
Case Studies: Not available
13. AutogenAI
A fast-growing gen-AI platform that slashes bid-and-proposal writing time for enterprises and government suppliers.
Office Location: London, England
Year Founded: 2021
Team Size: 120 +
Key Services: Proposal Generation, Knowledge Bases, Compliance Checking
Industries Served: Government Contracting, Professional Services, Construction
Case Studies: View all case studies
14. Improbable
Improbable is a metaverse infrastructure builder powering 30k-player live worlds and big-brand virtual events on its Morpheus engine.
Office Location: Shoreditch, London
Year Founded: 2012
Team Size: 1,000 +
Key Services: SpatialOS, M² Network, Web3/Game Studios
Industries Served: Gaming, Sports, Defence, Media
Case Studies: View all case studies
15. AVEVA
An industrial software company, now part of Schneider Electric, with cloud tools used at 20,000 sites worldwide.
Office Location: Cambridge, England
Year Founded: 1967 (as CADCentre)
Team Size: 6,500 +
Key Services: Digital Twin, MES, SCADA, Asset Performance
Industries Served: Energy, Utilities, Manufacturing, Marine
Case Studies: View all case studies
The Bottom Line
These 15 software companies have played a major role in driving software innovation and shaping how technology is used in business and everyday life. They’ve influenced business models, user experiences, and industry standards.
As digital solutions continue to grow in importance, they are likely to stay among the best players in the tech world.
FAQ — “Software Company” Explained
A software company is a business that develops, distributes, and supports software products or services. These may be standalone applications, cloud-based platforms, or bespoke systems tailored to client needs.
SoftwareOne is a global IT services provider specialising in software and cloud solutions. It helps organisations manage software licensing, migrate workloads to the cloud, and optimise IT costs through consultancy and managed services.
Sage Group is the largest UK-headquartered software company. Listed on the FTSE 100, Sage derives over 80% of its revenue from subscription-based software, making it the country’s biggest pure-play software vendor by turnover.
According to data from Companies House analysed by RSM UK, over 51,000 new tech firms were incorporated in 2023. An additional 13,802 companies were registered in Q1 2024 alone, bringing the total active count to well over 100,000. While not all are purely software-focused, the figures reflect the strength and scale of the UK’s software sector.
- Product vendors – Sell off-the-shelf or SaaS products (e.g., accounting, CRM).
- Platform providers – License underlying technology or IP (e.g., Arm’s chip designs).
- Service boutiques – Build custom software or integrations.
- Vertical specialists – Focus on one industry (fintech, healthtech, gov-tech).
- Perpetual licensing with annual maintenance fees
- Subscription-based pricing for SaaS offerings
- Usage-based billing (e.g., per user, per API call, or per transaction)
- Professional services such as onboarding, training, or bespoke development
