Sheffield is home to a substantial and diverse business base. The city has approximately 296,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of around 2.7% — significantly lower than the England average of 3.9%. Its largest sectors by employment are healthcare (16.5% of all jobs), education, advanced manufacturing, retail and technology. Sheffield’s top employers span public institutions, construction giants, legal firms, edtech companies and global manufacturers, several of which have their headquarters in the city or hold significant operational bases here.

This article covers the major companies headquartered in Sheffield and the large businesses with significant presences in the city, covering what each does, how many people they employ, and why Sheffield remains an attractive location for major organisations more than a century after its steel industry made it globally famous.

Major Sheffield Companies at a Glance

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the city’s largest single employer, with over 16,000 staff across five adult hospitals and a range of community services. The Trust runs the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, the Northern General Hospital, Weston Park Cancer Hospital, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital and Jessop Wing maternity hospital. Healthcare accounts for 16.5% of all Sheffield employment, making it by far the dominant sector in the city’s economy.

The Trust also has a research and education function closely tied to the University of Sheffield’s medical school, creating a pipeline of clinical talent that keeps Sheffield at the forefront of healthcare innovation in the north of England.

SIG plc – Sheffield’s Largest Private Company

SIG plc

SIG plc, originally founded as Sheffield Insulations Limited in 1957 by Ernest Adsetts, is Sheffield’s biggest private company by revenue. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SHI), it is an international supplier of insulation, roofing, commercial interiors and specialist construction products. Revenue for 2025 was £2,591 million. The company employs more than 10,000 people across its UK and European operations.

SIG’s Sheffield roots run deep — the Adsetts family shaped the company from a small local insulation supplier into a pan-European construction materials group. It remains headquartered in Sheffield and is one of the clearest examples of how a local business founded in the city’s industrial tradition has grown into a major international company without leaving its home base.

The Two Universities: Combined Economic Powerhouse

Sheffield’s two universities — the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University — together employ approximately 13,000 people and contribute enormously to the city’s economy through direct employment, student spending, research income and business spin-outs.

The University of Sheffield is a Russell Group research university with particular strength in engineering, materials science and computer science. It generates significant research income and partners with major manufacturers through the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) — a joint initiative with Boeing that has become one of the most important aerospace and advanced manufacturing research hubs in Europe. Sheffield Hallam, the 11th-largest university in the UK, employs around 4,500 staff and has particularly strong courses in business, health sciences and creative arts.

Irwin Mitchell – A Top 20 UK Law Firm

Irwin Mitchell

Irwin Mitchell is one of the largest and most recognisable law firms in the UK, and its national headquarters are in Sheffield. The firm has over 3,000 staff across multiple offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and beyond, but Sheffield is where it began and where its leadership is based. It specialises in personal injury, clinical negligence, employment law, family law and business legal services.

The presence of a top UK law firm headquartered in Sheffield is significant for the city’s professional services economy. Irwin Mitchell sits alongside other legal and professional services firms including DLA Piper’s Sheffield office, Taylor Emmet and CMS — making legal services one of Sheffield’s strongest professional sectors alongside accounting firms including BHP, Hawsons and Hart Shaw.

Twinkl – Sheffield’s EdTech Success Story

Twinkl is one of Sheffield’s most remarkable recent business success stories. Founded in February 2010 by Jonathan and Susie Seaton, the company creates digital educational resources for teachers, parents and students across the world. Headquartered at Wards Exchange on Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, Twinkl has grown from a small local startup to a global educational publisher serving over six million educators across nearly 200 countries.

Revenue for the year ending April 2025 was £98.9 million — up from £79 million the previous year — reflecting consistent growth built on a subscription model and a library of over 1.5 million educational resources. The company has received investment from Vitruvian Partners and employs over 1,800 people globally, with its main base and leadership team in Sheffield. In September 2025, Twinkl announced a partnership with Disney to develop new educational resources — a collaboration that signals the scale of ambition the company now operates at. For more on Sheffield’s growing digital businesses, see our article on Sheffield tech startups.

Henry Boot PLC – Sheffield Property and Construction

Henry Boot PLC is a FTSE-listed property development and construction services company headquartered in Sheffield. Founded in 1886, it is one of the city’s oldest established businesses. The company operates across three divisions: property investment and development, land promotion, and construction. It develops commercial property, residential land and infrastructure projects across the UK.

Henry Boot’s longevity — over 130 years in Sheffield — makes it one of the most tangible examples of how the city has maintained a continuous thread of major business activity from the Victorian era through to the present day.

Gripple – Employee-Owned Manufacturing

Gripple

Gripple is a Sheffield-based manufacturer that produces wire joining and tensioning systems used in fencing, construction, viticulture and agriculture worldwide. Founded by Hugh Facey in 1988 and still based in Sheffield, the company is employee-owned — a model that gives every member of staff a financial stake in the business.

Gripple exports to over 80 countries and employs more than 900 people, the majority of them in Sheffield. It is a regular award-winner for its manufacturing excellence and its approach to employee ownership, and is frequently cited as one of the best examples of how Sheffield’s manufacturing tradition has successfully modernised rather than disappeared.

Plusnet – Broadband from Sheffield

Plusnet is a broadband and telephone service provider founded in Sheffield in 1997, originally as Force9. The company built its reputation on no-nonsense customer service and transparent pricing, and was acquired by BT Group in 2007 while retaining its Sheffield identity and headquarters. It now serves over one million customers across the UK and employs over 1,200 people, the majority of them in Sheffield.

Plusnet has been notable for its ‘do you fancy a brew?’ northern directness in marketing — a brand voice that is explicitly rooted in its Sheffield origin. Its continued success as a major BT subsidiary operating from Sheffield demonstrates that the city can sustain national-scale consumer businesses as effectively as it sustains industrial ones.

Advanced Manufacturing: Boeing, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems

Beyond companies headquartered in Sheffield, the city hosts significant operations for some of the world’s largest aerospace and defence manufacturers. Boeing, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems all have manufacturing and research presences in Sheffield and the surrounding Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), a partnership between the University of Sheffield and Boeing, sits at the heart of this cluster. It researches and develops advanced manufacturing techniques used in aerospace and automotive production. The AMRC has attracted a concentration of high-value manufacturing businesses to the Sheffield city region that represents one of the most significant industrial investments in the north of England in recent decades.

Why Companies Choose Sheffield

Sheffield’s business community is supported by Sheffield City Council through its economic development function and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. For more on the city’s governance and how public funding supports economic growth, see our article on Sheffield City Council. For the emerging digital and startup side of Sheffield’s economy, see our guide to Sheffield tech startups — a sector that is growing rapidly alongside the city’s established business base.