Businesses for sale in Derby

Derby's commercial character is distinctly engineering-led, with a compact city centre and strong sector clustering across the Pride Park and Infinity Park areas.

Submarkets and where listings come from

City-centre listings cluster around the Cathedral Quarter (independent retail, food and drink, professional services), the Sadler Gate and Friar Gate areas (independent food and drink, hospitality), and the Intu Derby and St Peter's Quarter areas (national retail). Neighbourhood listings concentrate in Allestree, Mickleover, Littleover, and Spondon. Manufacturing, engineering, and supply-chain businesses cluster around Pride Park, Infinity Park, and the wider industrial estates extending toward Burnaston and Stenson Fields.

Aerospace, rail, and automotive supply chain

Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace operations, Alstom's rail engineering presence, and Toyota's Burnaston plant anchor an exceptionally deep manufacturing supply chain across Derby and the surrounding area. Many manufacturing, engineering, and specialist services listings in the Derby region will sit somewhere in this ecosystem. Customer-concentration diligence is critical: a tier-three supplier dependent on a single OEM relationship carries materially different risk than one with diversified clients.

University and life sciences

The University of Derby and the more research-intensive sites at the University of Nottingham (a short drive away) drive a smaller life sciences and digital cluster, with related listings emerging across software, biotech, and specialist consulting.

Visitor and event economy

Derby's visitor economy is smaller than the larger northern cities but draws on the proximity to the Peak District, the heritage rail attractions, and Derby County FC's matchday economy at Pride Park. Hospitality businesses near the stadium and the city core show event-day uplift.

Business rates and the East Midlands

Derby operates the standard English business rates regime with Small Business Rate Relief. The new East Midlands Combined Authority (covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) has growing devolved powers in transport and economic development.

Transport and connectivity

Derby station provides direct services to London St Pancras in around 1 hour 30 minutes and to Birmingham New Street in around 40 minutes. East Midlands Airport sits 20 minutes south of the city. The A38 and A50 link Derby to the surrounding region. The practical catchment for a Derby business extends across Derbyshire and into parts of Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.

How sectors and listings interact

Active listings appear under "Live listings in Derby" higher up this page. As more businesses list, sector cross-pages will appear below for combinations with three or more live listings, for example "Manufacturing in Derby" or "Service and trades in Derby".