A while ago I wrote about how to chose a hosting company. One of the points in the checklist was to check the technologies that they offer you - with the big distinction being:

• Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP (LAMP) or
• IIS, ASP/ASP.NET, Access/SQL Server

The hosting companies that I've come across that host in the UK include Fasthosts.co.uk, names.co.uk, streamline.net, 123-reg.co.uk.

A new thing that I'd add to my checklist is to look into how they offer the database capability. Fasthosts for example offer a dedicated mySQL server - which means your database server is not the same as the server that is hosting your pages. All well and good - but if you are trying to setup blogging scripts such as Wordpress it might make your setup procedure considerably more difficult than it would be with another hosting company. Names.co.uk for example actively promote the fact that it is easy to setup a Wordpress blog using them as hosting.

Potentially also consider the control panel they offer too - for example popular control panels are cPanel and Plesk. You might want to check what the control panel is that your prospective hosting compaby offers - and then research that a bit.