Professional and business services defy summer slowdown with 6% annual turnover growth
While the professional services sector has been said to be in a long-term slump, new data suggests that audit and advisory firms are still outperforming the wider services space. According to experts from RSM, this shows that even in the leaner summer months the sector usually faces, businesses saw year-on-year growth.
Chloe Austin, director in professional and business services at RSM’s UK wing said, “The latest Index of Services data for August 2025 reaffirms the strategic importance of the professional and business services (PBS) sector to the UK economy and in delivering growth ambitions as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy. Despite a seasonal dip in monthly turnover, most notably a 17% decline in legal services likely attributed to a slowdown during the summer holidays, the sector continues to demonstrate resilience.”
Summer is traditionally the slow period of the year for consultants, accountants and the legal sector, before a spike in activity from September onwards. Outperforming annual figures in August could therefore be seen as a sign that the sector, which has endured sluggish growth in recent years, is finally turning a corner.
The latest Index of Services statistics from the Office for National Statistics in August 2025 showed that response rates were 73.4%, accounting for 87.6% of total turnover. Total GVA for services remained flat compared to the previous month at 103.5 – something mirrored by professional, scientific and technical activities – though they also continued to outperform overall services at 105.0.
Comparatively, the UK economy is at 102.7, indicating that professional services have grown almost twice as fast as the UK economy since 2022. In addition, total turnover for professional services sustained a 6% year-on-year increase – a positive sign going into their infamous busy-season.
In addition, Austin noted that these figures reinforced the sector’s role as “a driver of productivity and innovation”. She explained that “notwithstanding the seasonal dip in monthly turnover”, the upward trend in annual figures demonstrates “the importance of professional and business services as a growth-driving industry to support other industries and bolster the UK economy”.
Austin concluded, “This aligns with the latest GDP figures released today which show that services output grew by 0.4% in the three months to August, compared with the three months to May. We therefore expect PBS firms to push forward with their long-term planning, with focus on refining internal structures and strategies to boost efficiencies in the coming years. However, to ensure these strategies are realised long term, businesses will be looking for enhanced tax reliefs in the autumn budget to incentivise investment and enable them to scale innovation and encourage further AI adoption.”
