Research and analysis

Geospatial sector market report 2024

Published 18 October 2024

Executive summary

Geospatial data describes where places, objects and people are in relation to a geographic location. Whether in the air, on the ground, at sea or under our feet. These data can be static, such as the address of a school or an image of the coastline taken from space. They can also be dynamic, showing the journey of an intercity train or ambulance on its way to a hospital. These data are important across the economy and in the delivery of public services.  

The geospatial data and technology market is an ecosystem, spanning sectors with a wide range of products and services and with distinct submarkets. This complex market is difficult to define, measure and evaluate. Traditional methods are unlikely to capture the full value of commercial geospatial activity.  

The government has set out to evaluate this market by focusing on the companies for whom the supply and provision of geospatial data is a core part of their offering – and they could not deliver their product or service without it.  

In 2024, we estimate that there are over 2,600 companies in the UK for whom the supply and provision of geospatial data is a core part of their product or service offering. Of these companies, 96% are fully registered in the UK, without overseas parent companies. 

Based on the 215 geospatial companies reporting 2022 and 2023 turnover data, we estimate the value of the geospatial sector to be at least £6 billion per annum. This conservative estimate is based on the 8.3% of the market with public accounts and excludes large multi-national technology companies. As such, the total turnover of the sector will be higher and this turnover estimate does not reflect the wider economic and social benefit that this ecosystem brings. 

Based on the 2,063 geospatial companies reporting 2022 and 2023 employment data, we estimate that the geospatial sector employs at least 37,500 people. This is based on data provided from 79% of the companies with available data. 

The geospatial sector has attracted at least £1.2 billion in fundraisings between 2013 and 2024. 

There are hundreds of geospatial companies in each of London (over 500, 20%), south-east of England (19%), south-west of England (10%), east of England (10%) and north-west of England (230, 9%). A combined 11% of the companies identified are registered in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

This report reinforces the findings from the 2020 Frontier Economics Geospatial Market study. 

Our estimates likely only capture a fraction of the geospatial ecosystem’s total economic contribution. This is an important sector for the UK and one that we anticipate will continue to provide essential location data and technology that benefits the country.

Geospatial data and the geospatial ecosystem

Geospatial data describes where places, objects and people are in relation to a geographic location. Whether in the air, on the ground, at sea or under our feet. These data can be static, such as the address of a school or an image of the coastline taken from space. They can also be dynamic, showing the journey of an intercity train or ambulance on its way to a hospital. These data are important across the economy and in the delivery of public services.  

Geospatial data collection mechanisms include:^{[footnote 1]}

• satellite constellations, airplanes and drones for earth observation imagery and navigation services 

• radar and lidar systems^{[footnote 2]}

• digitisation and scanning of analogue maps 

• location sensors in various connected devices, including mobile handsets and vehicles 

• optical instruments for detailed land surveys 

The geospatial data and technology market is an ecosystem, spanning sectors with a wide range of products and services and with distinct submarkets. This complex market is difficult to define, measure and evaluate. Traditional methods are unlikely to capture the full value of commercial geospatial activity. 

Given the complexity of this ecosystem, this report has set out to evaluate this market by focusing on the companies for whom the supply and provision of geospatial data is a core part of their offering – and they could not deliver their product or service without it. ^{[footnote 3]}  

This includes major users of geospatial data, such as retailers, marketing companies and large multinational technology companies. However, their activities and revenues intersect with multiple other markets. Focusing on companies where geospatial data is core to their products or services provides a robust estimation of value. It also highlights the challenge of defining a market with activities spanning across multiple sectors; this is a similar challenge in other data and digital industries.^{[footnote 4]}

Background 

This report is an update to the 2020 Frontier Economics Geospatial Market study that was commissioned to explore the role of geospatial data in the UK economy. It examined the market’s size, features and dynamics, emphasising the economic, social and environmental opportunities offered by geospatial data. 

The Frontier Economics study was based on 2019 data from multiple sources and was developed in partnership with the Geospatial Commission, a cross-cutting government unit that is now part of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. In this report, we update the Frontier Economics findings using Beauhurst data. Beauhurst is a comprehensive data platform that provides detailed information on UK private companies using various sources such as Companies House filings, HMRC data, press releases, news outlets and exclusive data partnerships. 

This report builds on the methodology developed with Frontier Economics. The foundational methodology remains consistent and is reproducible. We identified geospatial companies using a tiering system of search terms with specific inclusion and exclusion rules. 

However, the number of data sources and the nature of some data sources have changed in this report. As a consequence of this, the results in the report are complementary but cannot be compared with those in the Frontier Economics report. The findings in this report supersede the equivalent findings in the Frontier Economics report. 

Please refer to Annex A for more information on the methodology and validation process. The search terms used in the tiering system are set out in Annex B.

Size of the market 

In 2024, the total number of identified companies in the geospatial market was 2,606.  

To estimate the size of the market, we used the companies’ latest reported turnover and number of employees. Companies last reported their financials in different years. The majority of companies last reported their financials in 2023. A full breakdown is given in the data section of Annex A.

Parent companies 

2,495 (96%) of the identified 2,606 geospatial companies are fully registered in the UK, with parent companies based in the UK. This means that 111 (4%) have parent companies that are based outside of the UK.

Figure 1: 2024 analysis on geospatial parent companies’ based outside the UK - international location

Country	Parent companies’ based outside the UK- international location
Other	31
United States	27
France	8
Germany	8
Netherlands	7
Ireland	6
Switzerland	6
Australia	5
Sweden	5
India	4
Spain	4

Note: Data available from 111 of 111 identified companies. Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst.

Turnover 

All 2,606 geospatial companies identified via our methodology are registered as active companies in 2024, with 92 companies reporting their turnover in 2022 and 123 companies reporting their turnover in 2023. ^{[footnote 5]} . The 92 geospatial companies reporting turnover in 2022 totalled £3.4 billion. The 123 geospatial companies reporting turnover in 2023 totalled £2.7 billion. 

Therefore, based on the 215 geospatial companies reporting 2022 and 2023 turnover data, we estimate the value of the geospatial sector to be at least £6 billion per annum.^{[footnote 6]} 

We believe that this is a conservative estimate for several reasons, such as:  

• small companies benefit from certain reporting exemptions which means that not all turnover data is reported ^{[footnote 7]} 

• our methodology is unable to identify every single geospatial company as some might not have been captured by our specific search terms 

• it does not include turnover data for large companies for which geospatial data accounts for a share of their activity - it is difficult to attribute a portion of their turnover data to geospatial activities, so we exclude them 

The identified companies have a range of different turnover levels. Around 44% had a turnover in excess of £10 million and around 24% of companies (with turnover data available) had a turnover of under £1 million. The remaining companies had turnover between £1 million and £10 million.

Figure 2: UK Geospatial companies’, annual turnover, based on 2022 and 2023 financial accounts

UK Geospatial companies’ annual turnover	Number of identified companies
£1-£1m	51
£1m-£2m	19
£2m-£3m	7
£3m-£4m	7
£4m-£5m	9
£5m-£6m	7
£6m-£7m	6
£7m-£8m	8
£8m-£9m	4
£9m-£10m	2
> £10m	95

Note: Turnover data in 2022 and 2023 is available from 215 of 2,606 identified companies (data coverage around 8.3%). Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst.^{[footnote 8]}

Employment  

All 2,606 geospatial companies identified via our methodology are registered as active companies in 2024, with 551 companies reporting their employment in 2022 and 1,512 companies reporting their employment in 2023. ^{[footnote 9]} The companies reporting their employment in different years are separate companies. The 551 geospatial companies reporting employment in 2022 employed around 15,400 people. The 1,512 geospatial companies reporting employment in 2023 employed around 22,100 people. 

Therefore, based on the 2,063 geospatial companies reporting 2022 and 2023 employment data, we estimate that the geospatial sector employs at least 37,500 people.^{[footnote 10]}

Around 97% of the companies had 100 or fewer employees. Around 75% of the companies had 10 or fewer employees.

Figure 3: Number of people in the UK employed by geospatial companies, based on 2022 and 2023 financial accounts

Number of people in the UK employed by geospatial companies	Number of identified companies
1-10	1,556
11-20	203
21-30	77
31-40	51
41-50	29
51-60	26
61-70	21
71-80	12
81-90	11
91-100	12
> 100	65

Note: Employment data in 2022 and 2023 is available from 2,063 of 2,606 identified companies (data coverage around 79%). Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst.

Fundraisings  

Fundraisings are calculated as the total known inward equity investments for identified geospatial companies. This does not include grants (e.g. from UKRI). 

Based on available fundraisings data (around 7% of all companies report their fundraisings) the geospatial sector attracted around £1.2 billion in the period between 2013 and 2024. Around 62% of companies that report their fundraisings raised more than £500 million. Around 7% raised less than £50,000.

Figure 4: Geospatial companies, fundraisings between 2013 and 2024, 2024 analysis

Funds raised by geospatial companies between 2013 and 2024	Number of identified companies
£1-£50,000	16
£50,001-£100.000	17
£100,001-£200,000	22
£200,001-£300,000	16
£300,001-£400,000	13
£400,001-£500,000	8
> £500,000	148

Note: Fundraisings data available from 240 of 2,606 identified companies in 2024 (data coverage around 9%). The fundraisings data covers the period between 2013 and 2024. Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst.

Registered UK location 

Around 20% of geospatial companies are registered in London, 19% are registered in the south-east of England. There are over 200 companies in each of the south-west of England (10%), east of England (10%) and the north-west of England (9%) regions. A combined 11% of the geospatial companies identified are registered in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Figure 5: Number of geospatial companies per UK region or nation

UK region/Nation	Number of geospatial companies per UK region or nation
London	518
South East	492
South West	273
East of England	259
North West	230
Yorkshire and The Humber	169
Scotland	162
West Midlands	158
East Midlands	153
Wales	82
North East	74
Northern Ireland	36

Note: Data available from 2,606 of 2,606 identified companies. Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst

Figure 6: Geographical distribution of geospatial companies, 2024 analysis

Note: Data available from 2,606 of 2,606 identified companies. Source: Analysis based on data from Beauhurst.

End notes 

Our estimates likely only represent a fraction of the total economic contribution of the geospatial ecosystem as geospatial organisations will generate value for a range of economic actors and individuals. This is an important sector for the UK and one that we anticipate will continue to provide essential location data and technology that benefits the country. 

Our £6 billion turnover estimate for geospatial companies does not account for these wider economic benefits, suggesting the actual value is much higher.  

In addition, geospatial is a relatively new and non-traditional sector; therefore, has no traditional sector classification (i.e. no Standard Industrial Classification code). The methodology we use in this report is experimental and was developed specifically for the geospatial sector. It could potentially be used for other emerging and non-traditional markets.  

Due to the novel and experimental nature of our methodological approach, we welcome feedback and suggestions on it. Please contact us at geospatialcommission@dsit.gov.uk

Annex A

Methodology 

The approach we used to identify geospatial companies matches the one in the 2020 Frontier Economics Geospatial Data Market Study. The Frontier Economics methodology was developed in conjunction with the Geospatial Commission’s analysis team and incorporates insights from previous internal research on geospatial market sizing.  

To be included in the market sizing, geospatial data has to be a key part of a company’s commercial activity, as without geospatial data the company could not provide its goods and services.  

We used a variety of search terms and inclusion rules and applied them to company descriptions to create a list of geospatial companies. In addition, we incorporated a list of selected companies that were identified by previous research and the Geospatial Commission’s sector expertise to create a complete list of companies.  

Search terms  

The primary method of identification involved flagging companies based on the content of their company descriptions. These descriptions came from the Beauhurst database, which tracks the companies’ commercial activities and the company website descriptions.  

The list of search terms was devised based on Geospatial Commission’s previous market sizing work and Frontier Economics industry engagement and qualitative evaluation of descriptions of companies on initial company lists.  

The terms are diverse in nature and cover, such as:  

• different types of data capture, e.g. earth observation, drone, satellite 

• forms of activity, e.g. oil exploration, route optimisation 

• types of analysis, e.g. topographical, hydrographic  

• types of data, e.g. address, visualisation 

• economic sectors, e.g. marine, maritime 

Tiering of search terms  

The initial analysis revealed that certain search terms almost always identified relevant companies while others flagged many irrelevant ones. During the iterative review and validation phases, specific inclusion and exclusion rules were established for companies identified through search terms. These rules aimed to narrow down inclusion criteria and reduce false positives. This extra layer of granularity was necessary because the initial analysis identified companies across many different sectors and with many different use cases for geospatial data. Therefore, broad rules were not able to identify only the relevant companies.  

Some rules applied to all sectors, for example companies that used ‘professional society’ or ‘training’ anywhere in the description. Other rules were specific to certain sectors or search terms. For example, a company with ‘radar’ was excluded when ‘manufacture’ was also in the description and ‘map’ was excluded when the company was in the automotive sector. This logic-flow for when rules are triggered is described in ‘tiers’: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. Note that a company is not more important or more geospatial because it is identified to be in Tier 1. The tier numbers reflect the rules in the data collection process rather than any kind of ranking system.

In total, the final list consists of 99 Tier 2 search terms and 157 Tier 3 search terms. 

Methodology validation 

The methodology has undergone a rigorous validation process via random sampling of the results to confirm that it identified appropriate companies. The methodology validation process was completed by Frontier Economics in 2020. 

A 10% sample of companies, which were identified in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 by Frontier Economics, were manually reviewed in conjunction with the Geospatial Commission. The Top 10% of companies by turnover (those which would have a material impact on the sizing of the results) were also reviewed to make sure that they were correctly identified, i.e. they matched the definition of a geospatial company. 

Data 

We used the Beauhurst platform to identify geospatial companies. Previously, Beauhurst would mostly track and provide information on companies that are small and high growth. In 2023 Beauhurst have expanded their coverage to all companies on Companies House from early-stage startups to established businesses. 

For our company identification purposes, Beauhurst provides a company description in the company’s own words, descriptions from business filings as well as company description from the company’s website.

Table A.1: Years of latest filed accounts for core geospatial companies 

Year of last reported financials	Number of companies
2024	109
2023	1,751
2022	631
2021	25
2020	8
2019	4
No financial information	78
Total	2,606

Annex B

Search terms and sector lists

Tier 1 rule:

Geospatial: Iterations of geospatial such as geo-spatial, geo – spatial, and geo spatial should also be included.

Tier 2 rule

Companies were included if they were classified as operating in specific sectors that involve geospatial activity and had descriptions that included specific geospatial search terms. For example, if the company operates in the ‘energy’ sector and its company description contains search terms such as ‘aerial survey’, ‘autonomous vehicle’ and ‘cadastral’, then it would be counted as a Tier 2 geospatial company.

Table 2: Sectors included in Tier 2

Sector Grouping	Sector
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	Agriculture and farming
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	Fishing
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	Forestry
Energy	Energy production
Energy	Energy utilities services
Energy	Coal
Energy	Oil and gas
Energy	Other fuel production
Energy	Other energy
Leisure and Entertainment	Tour operators
Leisure and Entertainment	Travel agents
Leisure and Entertainment	Other consumer travel services
Retail	E-commerce
Retail	Arts and antiques dealers
Retail	Arts and crafts shops
Retail	Book shops
Retail	Car showrooms
Retail	Clothes shops (including footwear and accessories)
Retail	Corner shops and supermarkets
Retail	Electrical (including hire and repair)
Retail	Florists
Retail	Garages
Retail	Garden centres
Retail	Gift shops
Retail	Hardware stores (including hire and repair)
Retail	Jewellery shops
Retail	Newsagents
Retail	Off licenses
Retail	Pharmacies
Retail	Post Offices
Retail	Stationery shops
Retail	Toy and sport shops
Retail	Other retail outlets
Technology/IP-based businesses	Clean energy generation
Technology/IP-based businesses	Energy reduction technology
Technology/IP-based businesses	Other CleanTech
Technology/IP-based businesses	Chips and processors
Technology/IP-based businesses	Consumer electronics hardware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Internet and networking hardware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Mobile and wireless hardware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Server hardware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Other hardware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Pharmaceuticals
Technology/IP-based businesses	Research tools / reagents
Technology/IP-based businesses	Materials technology
Technology/IP-based businesses	Clinical diagnostics
Technology/IP-based businesses	Medical devices
Technology/IP-based businesses	Medical instrumentation
Technology/IP-based businesses	Nanotechnology
Technology/IP-based businesses	Desktop software
Technology/IP-based businesses	Embedded software
Technology/IP-based businesses	Internet platform
Technology/IP-based businesses	Middleware
Technology/IP-based businesses	Mobile apps
Technology/IP-based businesses	Server software
Technology/IP-based businesses	Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
Technology/IP-based businesses	Other software
Technology/IP-based businesses	Other technology/IP-based businesses
Telecommunications services	Fixed-line
Telecommunications services	Mobile
Telecommunications services	Other telecommunications services
Transportation operators	Other transportation operators
Built environment and infrastructure	Property/land development and construction
Built environment and infrastructure	Property/land management
Built environment and infrastructure	Property/land ownership and trading
Built environment and infrastructure	Other built environment and infrastructure
Business and Professional Services	Accountancy services
Business and Professional Services	Advertising and branding services
Business and Professional Services	Analytics, insight, tools
Business and Professional Services	Business architectural services
Business and Professional Services	Consumer architectural services
Business and Professional Services	Business banking and financial services
Business and Professional Services	Consumer banking and financial services
Business and Professional Services	Payment processing
Business and Professional Services	Business travel services
Business and Professional Services	Civil engineering services
Business and Professional Services	Design services
Business and Professional Services	Consumer estate agency services
Business and Professional Services	Information services
Business and Professional Services	Insurance services
Business and Professional Services	Legal services
Business and Professional Services	Management consultancy services
Business and Professional Services	Marketing services
Business and Professional Services	Outsourcing and shared services
Business and Professional Services	Public relations services
Business and Professional Services	Recruitment agencies and personnel supply services
Business and Professional Services	Security services (physical and virtual)
Business and Professional Services	Other business and professional services for businesses
Industrials	Aerospace
Industrials	Automotive
Industrials	Building materials
Media	B2B websites
Media	B2C websites
Media	Social network
Media	Other online publishing
Media	Other media
Personal services	Other personal services
Supply chain	Distribution
Supply chain	Wholesale
Supply chain	Other supply chain

Table 3: Tier 2 search terms

Search terms
aerial survey	gps-enabled
aerial surveying	indoor positioning
asset mapping	land survey
atmospheric research	lidar
automatic vehicle location	location data
autonomous system	location information
autonomous vehicle	location intelligence
autonomous vessel	location tracking
building information management	location-based marketing
building information modeling	location-based service
building information modelling	location-based technology
cadaster	low earth orbit
cadastral	map data
cadastral surveying	mapping data
cadastre	mapping software
cartograph	meteorology
cartography	mineral exploration
city plans	mobile mapping
computer aided cartography	navigation charts
digital cartography	navigation devices
digital map	navigation equipment
digital mapping	oceanography
earth observation	oil exploration
environmental mapping	polar orbiting sattelite
geobehavioural / geo-behavioural / geo - behavioural	precision agriculture
geobusiness	property developer data
geocaching	property development information
geoconsulting / geo-consulting / geo - consulting	proximity marketing
geodata / geo-data / geo - data / geo data	radar
geo-demographics / geodemographics / geo - demographics	radio-frequency identification
geodesy	real-time data sensor
geodetic	remote sensing
geo-encoded	route optimisation
geo-fencing	routing optimisation
geographic data	satellite data
geographic information	satellite imagery
geographic information system	smart sensor
geographical information	soil mapping
geographical information system	soil testing
geointelligence / geo-intelligence / geo - intelligence	spatial analysis
geolocation / geo-location / geo - location	spatial awareness
geomatics	spatial data
geopositioning	spatial resolution
geostationary satellites	topographic map
geo-traceability/ geotraceability	topography
geovation	track location
gps data	tracking system
gps systems	urban planning
gps technology
gps tracking
gps tracking devices

Tier 3 rule 

Regardless of the sector in which it operates, if a company description contains at least two search terms that are Tier 3 terms, then it was identified as a relevant company. The Tier 3 terms are more generic than the Tier 2 ones and include terms like 3D visualisation and drones. 

However, multiple relevant terms are needed within a company description for it to be classified as a geospatial company. Some terms are very similar to each other, so they were grouped together. For instance: ‘map’, ‘map data’, ‘mapping data’ and ‘mapping software’ are considered as one group.

Table 4: Tier 3 search terms 

Search terms
3D  visualisation	lidar
aerial photography	location data
arc GIS	location information
atmospheric research	location intelligence
bathymetric	location tracking
city plans	location-based marketing
digital elevation models	location-based service
DigitalGlobe	location-based technology
drones	maritime surveillance
earth observation	maritime survey
environmental data	meteorology
Esri	mineral analysis
gas exploration	mineral exploration
geobehavioural / geo-behavioural / geo - behavioural	mobile mapping
geobusiness	navigation charts
geocaching	navigation devices
geoconsulting / geo-consulting / geo - consulting	navigation equipment
geodata / geo-data / geo - data / geo data	off-shore exploration
geo-demographics / geodemographics / geo - demographics	oil exploration
geodesy	Oracle Spatial
geodetic	Ordnance survey data
geo-encoded	photogrammetry
geo-fencing	post GIS
geointelligence / geo-intelligence / geo - intelligence	precision agriculture
geolocation / geo-location / geo - location	precision-GNSS
geomatics	proptech
geophysical survey	proximity marketing
geopositioning	qgis
geostationary satellites	radar
geotechnical/ geo-technical / geo - technical	radio-frequency identification
Geosoft	satellite data
geostationary satellites	satellite imagery
geotechnical/ geo-technical / geo - technical	seabed
geo-traceability/ geotraceability	simultaneous localisation and mapping
geovation	smart city
Geowise	soil mapping
GLONASS	soil testing
GNSS	structural mapping
hexagon	telematics
hydrographic survey	telemetry
indoor positioning	track location
internet of things	tracking system
journey planning	unmanned aerial systems
Landsat	urban planning

Similar terms grouped together in buckets for Tier 3

• aerial survey
  

• aerial surveying
  
  

• aerial mapping
  

• asset tracking
  
  

• automatic vehicle location
  
• autonomous system
  
• autonomous vehicle
  

• autonomous vessel
  
  

• building information management
  
• building information modelling
  
• 3d mapping
  
• BIM
  

• building information modeling
  

• cadaster
  
• cadastre
  
• cadastral
  

• cadastral surveying
  
  

• cartograph
  
• cartography
  
• digital aided cartography
  
• computer aided cartography
  
• Map
  
• Map Data
  
• Mapping Data
  

• Mapping Software
  
  

• digital map
  

• digital mapping
  
  

• electronic navigation charts
  

• precision positioning
  
  

• geographic data
  
• geographic information
  

• geographical information
  
  

• geographic information system
  

• geographical information system
  
  

• gps tracking
  
• gps tracking devices
  
• gps data
  
• gps-enabled
  

• gps systems
  
  

• indoor positioning
  
• indoor mapping
  

• location analytics
  
  
  

• marine survey
  
• bathymetric surveying
  

• coastal mapping
  
  

• oceanography
  

• oceanographic
  
  

• off-shore surveying
  
• multibeam
  
• ROV
  

• remote operated vehicle
  
  

• physical map
  

• area map
  
  

• property developer data
  

• property development information
  
  

• remote sensing
  
• smart sensor
  

• real-time data sensor
  
  

• route optimisation
  

• routing optimisation
  
  

• spatial analysis
  
• spatial awareness
  
• spatial data
  

• spatial resolution
  
  

• surveying
  
• surveyors
  

• land survey
  
  

• topographic map
  
• topography
  
  

Specific inclusion and exclusion rules 

There are specific inclusion and exclusion rules in Tiers 2 and 3 to reduce the incidence of false positives (incorrectly including a non-geospatial or non-core geospatial company). Even with a specific sector and search word combination for Tier 2, or a requirement of at least two search terms from different buckets for Tier 3, some of the companies were false positives: identified by the methodology but not fitting the definition of a geospatial company. 

For instance, company descriptions containing the phrase ‘journey planning’ led to mostly false positives with companies which talked about the career journeys of key individuals or success journey planning - not in the locational sense. Therefore, this is to be included only if the description did not contain ‘customer journey planning’, ‘user journey planning’ or ‘executive minibus service’.

1. These collection mechanism and other emerging geospatial technologies are discussed further in the Commission’s Future Technologies Review, 2019 ↩

2. Lidar stands for Light Detection and Ranging and is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. ↩

3. Frontier Economics Geospatial Market Study, 2020 ↩

4. Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel, 2019 ↩

5. Data coverage for 2022 is 3.5%. Data coverage for 2023 is 4.7%. ↩

6. Data coverage is 8.3%. This estimate has been made by combining the totals for turnover for 2022 and 2023 using the most recent available financial statement has been used for each company. Therefore, companies have not been double counted and are registered as active in 2024. This has been done to give a more valid picture of the geospatial market, as not all active companies have publicly available accounts for each year. ↩

7. Companies do not need to file if they meet two of: annual turnover of £10.2 million or less; balance sheet of £5.1 million or less; no more than 50 employees on average. ↩

8. Turnover categories are rounded. Example of real turnover categories: £1 - £1,000,000; £1,000,001 - £2,000,000; £2,000,001 - £3,000,000; etc. ↩

9. Data coverage for 2022 is 21%. Data coverage for 2023 is 58%. This estimate has been made by combining the totals for employment using the most recent available information for each company. Therefore, companies have not been double counted and are registered as active in 2024. ↩

10. Data coverage is 79%. ↩