With more than 4 million companies registered in the UK and over 500,000 new companies incorporated each year, it comes as no surprise that the UK startup market is booming. 

Despite the economic weight of the pandemic, entrepreneurs across the country have continued to take the plunge and launch their businesses, with more than 770,000 startups formed in 2020 alone.

This number is set to expand, with nearly 700,000 startups launched this year so far, but which sectors are these new businesses beelining towards? Research gathered by LegalTech company SeedLegals suggests that the below are the six ones to watch if you’re thinking about starting your own business in the UK, read on to see where entrepreneurs seem to be heading in 2022.

Alyson Read, Head of Sales at SeedLegals said

“Having worked with a number of these businesses since 2020, it's been a pleasure seeing the growth they've achieved, from pre-seed / seed rounds successfully raised to setting up options schemes to reward their employees.”

Take a look at them below..

Services on demand 

The sector that allows customers to adopt services in an instant, such as food delivery, healthcare and travel, services on demand has been identified as the UK’s fastest-growing sector, which has a 75% growth in investment rounds from 32 to 56 in 2021.

Services on demand start-up Foodstuff are taking the sector by storm with their independent and emission-free food delivery service, priding themselves on their support for local businesses and fair treatment of their riders.

Edtech

The second fastest on the list, Edtech, understood as IT tools for educational practice acquired 70 funding rounds in 2021. Another sector heavily impacted by the pandemic, educational officials adopted Edtech to produce accessible and digitally focused learning methods to keep up with the stay at home order.

Start-up The Bear Can Read are experts in the Edtech sector, creating curated learning and reading resources along with tailored expert advice to make reading easier for children, taking it from a frustrating to a fun experience.

Proptech

The sector assisting real estate needs, Proptech saw 60 funding rounds adopted in 2021, after a heavy decrease in 2020. Including digital dashboards, residential and commercial lending, and smart-home technology, PropTech streamlines the real estate process creating a faster and easier way of assisting sales operations.

Proptech start-up Propflo work to streamline this process and bring transparency to property, bring upfront information to customers whether you’re selling or buying.

Alternative finance

Emerging outside of the traditional finance system, Alternative Finance is another rising sector which has seen significant growth in funding rounds this year. Now, 210 of the UK’s active high-growth companies operate in Alternative Finance, providing financial channels and instruments such as regulated banks and capital markets.

Insurtech

A combination of insurance and technology, Insurtech operates to create an efficient form of the current insurance industry model. Securing 52 funding rounds in 2021, Insurtech has been on the rise for a number of years and managed to land fundraising totals of over £700m this year.

Insurtech start-up Hubb Insurance launched in 2019 and have since landed their 750th customer and reached £10m of gross written premium, and have since become the world's first metaverse-ready insurance broker.

Gamification 

Last to make the list is Gamification, where gaming mechanisms are adapted into non-gaming environments, such as across websites and learning management systems. Another sector that has been on the rise for a number of years, 32 funding rounds for gamification were secured in 2021, a huge jump from the less than 5 that were confirmed in 2011.

Gamification start-up Reset, founded in 2021, have paved their own path of gaming consultancy, racking up a selection of powerful and sterling testimonials in only a short period of time.