SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED

ENTERPRISES 2011

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES

C W Mobbs

November 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, 2011’, unless otherwise stated.

SMEs

• UK SMEs accounted for 99.9% of all private sector enterprises,

58.8% of private sector employment and 48.8% of private sector

turnover

• Enterprises comprising one employee director and self

employed owner-managers alone accounted for 74.1% of all

enterprises, 15.8% of employment and 6.6% of turnover

• Small enterprises alone accounted for 99.2% of all enterprises,

46.2% of employment and 35.0% of turnover

• Turnover in SMEs is estimated at £1,489 bn, £73 bn (4.7%)

lower than 2010

UK Enterprises (1)

• There are 4,613,125 enterprises in the UK economy

• Of these, 98.5% are private sector organisations, realising

93.1% of whole economy turnover

• A further 0.1% are Central or Local Government, employing

18.4% of total employment and 1.4% are non-profits,

employing 5.0% of total employment

UK Enterprises (2)

Enterprises Employment Turnover

All enterprises 4,613,125 30.5 m £3,278 bn

Private sector 98.5% 76.6% 93.1%

Central and

Local

Government

0.1% 18.4% 5.1%

Non-profit

Organisations1.4% 5.0% 1.8%

Private Sector EnterprisesNumbers

• 74.1% of enterprises have no

employees (ie, consist of

sole director or self-

employed owner-manager)

• 0.07% of organisations have

more than 500 employees

• Small enterprises account for

99.2% of enterprises and

medium enterprises for 0.7%

No of

Employees

Enterprises

4,542,765

0 74.1%

1-9 22.1%

10-49 3.8%

50-249 0.6%

250-499 0.1%

500+ 0.1%

Employees by Enterprise

(1)

15.8% of all employment is in enterprises

comprising a sole director or self-employed owner-

manager

Employees by Enterprise (2)

• Total employment stands at 23.4 m

• 15.8% 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 30.4% of total employment

• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 12.6%

• Large companies account for 41.2%

Enterprises and Turnover

(1)

Turnover of large enterprises accounts for

51.2% of all private sector turnover

Enterprises and Turnover

(2)• Total private sector turnover amounts to £3,052.6 bn

• Despite having 74.1% 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 28.3% of total turnover

• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 13.8%

• Large companies account for 51.2%

About Innovation for

GrowthFounded 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