Statistics

• There are 4.5 million small businesses in the UK
• SMEs account for 99% of all enterprise in the UK, 58.8% of private sector employment and 48.8% of private sector turnover.
• SMEs employed an estimated 13.8 million people and had an estimated combined annual turnover of £1,500 billion
• Businesses with employees account for a quarter of all enterprises - a fall of 29,000 since 2010
• There are 876,000 businesses in construction - a fifth of all UK enterprises
• London has 748,000 enterprises - more than any other region
• The South East has the second largest number of enterprises with 745,000. Combined with London a third of all businesses are based here
• 45.3% of businesses are registered for VAT and/or PAYE
• The number of sole proprietorships increased by 87,000 in 2010 and the number of companies, 6,000

Micro business: 0-9 employees. Small Businesses: 10-50 employees. Medium Businesses: 50-249 employees

(Updated November 2011)

Figures obtained from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Home working figures courtesy of Enterprise Nation.