Where trade counter is growing in the UK
1,533 trade counter outlets across 2 brands are in the h3hex Data Store in the November 2026 release. In the local-area tables Cornwall has the most, with 24, or 0.4 per 10,000 residents; the top 25 local areas together hold 321 (21% of outlets with a mapped local area). The largest like-for-like net gain since the previous release is in Vale of White Horse (+1).
Outlet and brand counts are the Data Store's: every brand on sale, with every outlet in its file. The local-area and growth tables count the trading outlets in h3hex's master dataset that map to a local area, so their totals can be lower.
Which local areas have the most trade counter outlets?
| # | Local area | Outlets | Brands present | Per 10,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwall | 24 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.4 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 23 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 3 | ONS area E06000066 | 21 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.4 |
| 4 | ONS area E06000065 | 19 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 5 | Wiltshire | 16 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 6 | County Durham | 14 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 7 | Glasgow City | 14 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | - |
| 8 | Leeds | 14 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 9 | Dorset | 13 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 10 | Bristol, City of | 12 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 11 | Buckinghamshire | 11 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 12 | City of Edinburgh | 11 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | - |
| 13 | Northumberland | 11 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 14 | Shropshire | 11 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 15 | South Gloucestershire | 11 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.4 |
| 16 | Bradford | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 17 | Cheshire East | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 18 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 19 | Fife | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | - |
| 20 | Hounslow | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
| 21 | North Lanarkshire | 10 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | - |
| 22 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 9 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 23 | Cheshire West and Chester | 9 | 2: Toolstation, Screwfix | 0.2 |
| 24 | Coventry | 9 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.2 |
| 25 | Dudley | 9 | 2: Screwfix, Toolstation | 0.3 |
Local areas are local authority districts. Brands present shows how many brands have an outlet there and the five with the most.
Which local areas added the most trade counter outlets?
| # | Local area | Net change | Previous release | This release | All outlets now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vale of White Horse | +1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | Mid Sussex | +1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Westminster | +1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | Aberdeen City | +1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Cornwall | 0 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 6 | Birmingham | 0 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| 7 | ONS area E06000066 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| 8 | ONS area E06000065 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 9 | Wiltshire | 0 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 10 | County Durham | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 11 | Leeds | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 12 | Glasgow City | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 13 | Dorset | 0 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Bristol, City of | 0 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 15 | South Gloucestershire | 0 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Net change in outlets for brands present in both releases, for local areas with at least 5 outlets in the sector. No brand in this sector is new to this release.
How these figures are made
Counts are h3hex's own store-by-store record of each brand's published UK locations for the brands listed in the Trade counter sector of the h3hex data store, November 2026 release (scrape window 30 Oct - 3 Nov 2026), page built 2026-11-12. Closed, pre-opening and head-office records are left out. 3 outlets with no mappable postcode are counted in the totals but not in the local-area tables. 4 districts created in 2023 are shown by their ONS code because the postcode lookup used here carries no name for them. Net change compares this release with the 29 October 2026 edition of the same dataset and reflects openings and closures as well as improved coverage of each brand's own locator. Resident population is Census 2021 usual-resident population by output area, summed to local authority district through the ONS postcode-to-output-area lookup (May 2024). The population table does not join to the lookup for districts in Northern Ireland and Scotland, so outlets per 10,000 residents is shown as - for them.
Use the data
Prospect site reports assess a single address against these brands, and the data store sells the trade counter store lists brand by brand or as a sector bundle.
More DIY & hardware sectors
- All DIY & Hardware5,822 outlets · 22 brands
- Builders merchant1,364 outlets · 5 brands
- Trade kitchen supplier1,082 outlets · 2 brands
- Decorator centre624 outlets · 3 brands
- DIY retailing544 outlets · 2 brands
- Plumbers merchant362 outlets · 2 brands
- Bathroom retail221 outlets · 2 brands
How many trade counter outlets are there in the UK?
h3hex tracks 1,533 branded trade counter outlets from 2 brands in the UK as at the November 2026 release. In the local-area tables, Cornwall has the most, with 24.
Which trade counter brands are growing?
Between the previous release and the November 2026 release, the brands adding the most outlets were Screwfix (+4) and Toolstation (+1).
Which trade counter brands have the most UK outlets?
Screwfix (941) and Toolstation (592), as at the November 2026 release.