At Uscita, we work with a variety of business owners across a range of sectors and backgrounds, helping them to plan their exit strategy, create growth, and eventually sell their companies. While our work is diverse, female-owned businesses represent a minority of the sales and acquisitions we support. Since 2020, just 14% of our clients were women operating either in a solo capacity, or with equal and joint responsibility with a business partner (that’s Alex). Far more women acted as sleeping partners to a spouse’s business.
For International Women’s Day, we wanted to explore the reasons behind this. As we carried out our research, we were delighted to find several stories of successful female entrepreneurs buying and selling businesses. You can read and hear more about their stories below. First, let’s examine the facts.
Female-led businesses in the UK
- In the North West, Uscita’s home region, just 5% of working women are self-employed. This compares to 13.2% in London – the leading region for female entrepreneurship. Out of all the UK regions, the North West is 11th out of 12 for female-owned businesses.
- Department for Business and Trade figures from late 2025 show only 14% of UK small and medium-sized businesses with employees are female-led, falling from 19% in 2021.
- Despite this, female-led UK companies make a significant economic contribution – an average of £11.2 million each year.
Factors affecting female business ownership
- Lack of funding: female-owned businesses don’t receive the same level of funding as male-owned businesses. Research shows just 2p of every £1 invested in venture capital funding in the UK goes to female-founded businesses. The Government has responded by increasing investment in venture capital funding aimed directly at underrepresented groups, including female owners.
- Economic conditions: a global pandemic and economic instability have had a dramatic impact on business success. Many businesses had to cease trading and/or close their doors, irrespective of ownership.
- Family responsibilities: levels of female entrepreneurship are hindered by women having the main caregiver role in families. When family takes priority, women choose flexible working to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities, which may prevent them pursuing business ownership as a career.
- Sector of business: health, wellbeing and care is the sector with the highest female-led ownership in the UK (just under 40%). This may explain why we don’t encounter as many female owners as males in our line of work – we specialise in selling manufacturing, engineering, facilities management and B2B service businesses.
- Responsibility vs. risk: there is some evidence that male business owners are more focused on return on investment than women. Men tend to be more ruthless business owners, looking for the fastest path to profit, whereas women are less likely to take risks, preferring the safety and security of a stable business.
Tales of women breaking down barriers
When it comes to buying and selling businesses, we don’t believe for a second that women are less ambitious than men. Perhaps growing through acquisition is not an option that female owners are aware of. To encourage more women to consider buying and selling businesses, we’ve pulled together some inspirational success stories. These Built to Sell radio podcasts are examples of growing female-led businesses. Some of them reached a point where they became so profitable and attractive, large corporates came along and acquired them.
These international stories demonstrate that women are buying and selling businesses across the world, not just in the UK.
28 years of business growth through acquisition
Kristi Herold, founder of JAM, started out as a lifestyle business setting up and running adult sports leagues. She later added corporate team building events to her services. Growing through acquisition, she acquired 8 businesses in the four years leading up to the pandemic, and another 3 in the years that followed. She cares deeply about the customer and employee experience. In the podcast she describes how she carefully researches companies to find the right fit, and approaches them to enquire if they are ready to sell. Listen here
From personal brand to valuable asset
Kiri Masters founded Bobsled Marketing to help companies advertise and sell their products through global online retailers like Amazon.com and Walmart.com. She helped small businesses to navigate complex online platforms and transformed a personal brand into a lucrative business investment. Having built a credible reputation in her field, Kiri sold her business to Acadia in 2022. Listen here
Building a loyal customer base
In 1998, Lori Morton founded AerieHub, an award-winning app that helps facility managers control building information and operations, including compliance records, blueprints, and employee training. Her reputation is built on service and providing a high-quality customer experience. Her customer base includes several huge global manufacturing brands. In 2022, JDM Technology Group acquired Lori’s business in a lucrative 100% cash upfront deal. Listen here
Build a business that can thrive without you
Jaclyn Johnson founded Create & Cultivate to educate and inspire women to succeed in business. Like so many start-ups, she launched the business from her laptop based on the seed of an idea. Jaclyn reveals what happened when an offer to buy her business fell through, and the steps she took to ensure her business could thrive without her. It worked! In 2020, Corridor Capital acquired Create & Cultivate in a deal worth $22 million. Listen here
Are you a female owner looking to exit your business?
Has your business outgrown you? Are you ready to start planning your exit strategy? With 20+ years’ experience, we’ve supported hundreds of business owners with expert know-how and honest, friendly advice to guide them towards their ideal business exit. Read our case studies or book a discovery call to learn how we can help you find the best way to exit.
