Small and Medium Sized Enterprises 2010

Some Facts and Figures

C W Mobbs July 2011

Introduction

• For the purposes of this analysis, small and medium sized enterprises are defined as those with less than 250 employees (large enterprises have 250+)

• Small enterprises have less than 50 employees; medium ones between 50 and 249

• An enterprise is defined as a profit, non-profit or government organisation

Data Source: Department for Business Innovation and Skills ‘Business Population Estimate for the UK and Regions, 2010’, unless otherwise stated.

SMEs

• UK SMEs accounted for 99.9% of all private sector enterprises, 59.2% of private sector employment and 48.6% of private sector turnover

• Enterprises comprising one employee director and self employed owner-managers alone accounted for 73.4% of all enterprises, 15.7% of employment and 6.6% of turnover

• Small enterprises alone accounted for 99.3% of all enterprises, 47.1% of employment and 35.0% of turnover

• Turnover in SMEs is estimated at £1,562 bn, £27 bn (1.7%) lower than 2009

UK Enterprises (1)

• There are 4,572,015 enterprises in the UK economy

• Of these, 98.1% are private sector organisations, realising 93.6% of whole economy turnover

• A further 0.1% are Central or Local Government, employing 18.1% of total employment and 1.8% are non-profits, employing 6.4% of total employment

UK Enterprises (2)Enterprises Employment Turnover

All enterprises 4,572,015 29.8 m £3,433 bn

Private sector 98.1% 75.6% 93.6%

Central and Local Government

0.1% 18.1% 4.5%

Non-profit Organisations

1.8% 6.4% 2.0%

Private Sector EnterprisesNumbers

• 73.4% of enterprises have no employees (ie, consist of sole director or self-employed owner-manager)

• 0.06% of organisations have more than 500 employees

• Small enterprises account for 99.3% of enterprises and medium enterprises for 0.6%

No of Employees

Enterprises

4,484,535

0 73.4%1-9 22.1%10-49 3.8%50-249 0.6%250-499 0.1%500+ 0.1%

Employees by Enterprise (1)

15.7% of all employment is in enterprises comprising a sole director or self-employed owner-manager

Employees by Enterprise (2)

• Total employment stands at 22.5 m

• 15.7% of total private sector employment is in enterprises comprising sole directors or self-employed owner-managers

• Small business with between 1 and 49 employees account for 31.5% of total employment

• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 12.0%

• Large companies account for 40.9%

Enterprises and Turnover (1)

Turnover of large enterprises accounts for 51.4% of all private sector turnover

Enterprises and Turnover (2)

• Total private sector turnover amounts to £3,212.3 bn

• Despite having 73.4% of all private sector enterprises, organisations with a sole director or self-employed owner-manager only produced 6.6% of turnover

• Small business with between 1 and 49 employees account for 28.4% of total turnover

• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 13.6%

• Large companies account for 51.4%

About Innovation for Growth

Founded in 2010, Innovation for Growth is a business consultancy firm that specialises in the provision of advice to small and medium sized enterprises. We work with companies from all sectors undertaking:

innovation audits, innovation advice and the provision of strategy advice so our clients can maximise their business capabilities and achieve their growth aspirations.

We also undertake desktop, business research and analysis, enabling our clients to concentrate on running their business.

For more on our services, please see our website: www.innovationforgrowth.co.uk

© 2011 Innovation for Growth