Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.9% of all private sector enterprises in the UK, employing 60.3% of the private sector workforce and generating 47.3% of private sector turnover. SMEs had a total turnover of £1,754 billion in 2015. The majority (75.7%) of all enterprises were sole proprietorships consisting of only the business owner. London had the largest number of private sector enterprises at over 975,000, while the agriculture, fishing and forestry industries relied most heavily on small businesses.

1. Small and Medium Sized
Enterprises 2015
Some Facts and Figures
C W Mobbs
October 2015

2. 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, 2015”, unless otherwise stated.

3. SMEs
• UK SMEs accounted for 99.9% of all private sector enterprises, 60.3%
of private sector employment and 47.3% of private sector turnover
• Enterprises comprising one employee director and self employed
owner-managers alone accounted for 75.7% of all enterprises, 17.2%
of employment and 6.4% of turnover
• Small enterprises alone accounted for 99.3% of all enterprises, 48.0%
of employment and 32.8% of turnover
• Turnover in SMEs is estimated at £1,754 bn, £106 bn (6.5%) higher
than 2014

4. UK Enterprises (1)
• There are 5,479,300 enterprises in the UK economy, up 2.8% on
2014.
• Of these, 98.4% are private sector organisations, realising 93.4% of
whole economy turnover.
• A further 0.2% are Central or Local Government, employing 15.5%
of total employment and 1.4% are non-profits, employing 5.9% of
total employment.

5. UK Enterprises (2)
Enterprises Employment Turnover
All enterprises 5,479,300 32.9 3,971.2
Private sector 98.4% 78.7% 93.4%
Central and
Local
Government
0.2% 15.5% 4.5%
Non-profit
Organisations
1.4% 5.9% 2.0%

6. Private Sector Enterprises
Numbers
• 75.7% 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
5,389,450
0 75.7%
1-9 19.8%
10-49 3.8%
50-249 0.6%
250-499 0.07%
500+ 0.06%

7. Employees by Enterprise (1)
17.2% of all employment is in enterprises comprising a
sole director or self-employed owner-manager

8. Employees by Enterprise (2)
• Total employment stands at 25.9 m
• 17.2% 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
30.8% of total turnover
• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 12.3%
• Large companies account for 39.7%

9. Enterprises and Turnover (1)
Turnover of large enterprises accounts for 52.7% of
all private sector turnover

10. Enterprises and Turnover (2)
• Total private sector turnover amounts to £3,710.3 bn
• Despite having 75.7% of all private sector enterprises,
organisations with a sole director or self-employed owner-
manager only produced 6.4% of turnover
• Small business with between 1 and 49 employees account for
26.4% of total turnover
• Medium sized enterprises account for a further 14.5%
• Large companies account for 52.7%

11. Enterprises and Legal Status
Of all private sector enterprises, 30.2% are companies, 8.1% are
partnerships, and 61.7% are sole proprietorships (by number)

12. Enterprises and Industry (1)
Enterprises Employment Turnover
Private sector enterprises 5,389,400 25.9 mn £3,710 bn
Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry;
Fishing
2.8% 1.8% 1.1%
Mining and Quarrying; Electricity,
Gas and Water Supply
0.5% 1.4% 5.5%
Manufacturing 5.1% 10.2% 16.2%
Construction 17.7% 7.9% 6.6%
Wholesale and Retail Trade;
Repairs
9.7% 19.2% 36.6%
Accommodation and Food
Services
3.4% 8.4% 2.3%

13. Enterprises and Industry (2)
Enterprises Employment Turnover
Transport and Storage 5.1% 5.3% 4.6%
Information and Communication 6.3% 5.0% 5.8%
Financial and Insurance Activities 1.6% 4.1% N/A
Real Estate Activities 1.9% 1.8% 1.4%
Professional, Scientific and
Technical Activities
14.7% 9.5% 7.2%
Administration and Support
Service Activities
8.2% 10.9% 5.9%

14. Enterprises and Industry (3)
Enterprises Employment Turnover
Education 5.0% 2.1% 0.6%
Human Health and Social Work 6.9% 6.9% 2.0%
Arts, Entertainment and
Recreation
5.0% 2.7% 3.2%
Other Service Activities 6.0% 2.7% 0.9%

15. Enterprises and Industry (4)
• In Financial and Insurance Activities, only 19.0% of employment
was in small enterprises, in Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry it was
86.8%
• 72.4% of Financial and Insurance Activities employees are in
businesses employing more than 250.
• Of the 30.8% of turnover in small enterprises, it also varies in
sector – 9.4% in Mining, Quarrying and Utilities to 82.7% in
Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry
• 92.9% of businesses in the Education sector are sole
owners/directors, compared to 29.7% in the Accommodation and
Food Service sector.

16. Enterprises and Country
Enterprises Employment Turnover
Private sector enterprises 5,389,450 25.9 mn £3,710 bn
England 87.6% 88.0% 90.6%
Wales 3.9% 3.3% 2.2%
Scotland 6.3% 6.7% 5.6%
Northern Ireland 2.2% 2.0% 1.5%

17. Enterprises and Region
Region Enterprises Employment Turnover
North East 2.5% 2.6% 1.8%
North West 9.9% 9.3% 7.7%
Yorkshire and Humberside 7.1% 7.9% 6.0%
East Midlands 6.6% 7.4% 5.8%
West Midlands 7.4% 8.2% 8.1%
East of England 9.8% 10.6% 9.2%
London 18.1% 19.6% 29.4%
South East 16.3% 14.8% 17.7%
South West 9.9% 7.5% 5.1%

18. Enterprises and Location (1)
• London had more than 975,000 private sector enterprises, more
than any other UK region.The South East had a further 878,000
companies. Compare this to Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland
who had a combined 670,000
• London and the South East together account for more than a
third of all private sector enterprises in the UK
• Most of the regions in the UK experienced growth in the number
of enterprises between 2014 and 2015.The biggest increases were
inYorkshire and the Humber (8.1%), East Midlands (7.6%) and
Scotland (5.5%), and the largest fall was in the North East (-10.1%)

19. Enterprises and Location (2)
• All regions and countries saw rises in levels of employment save
for the North East (-1.6%).The largest increase was in the South
East (4.2%)
• The West Midlands and the South East saw the largest growth in
turnover (18.5% and 10.4% respectively).The lowest rise was in
Scotland (1.9%)
• In the UK, there are approximately 1,028 businesses per 10,000
adults, ranging from 629 in the North East to 1,434 in London

20. 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, and providing innovation advice so our clients can
maximise their innovation 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 download our
Corporate Services Document.
© 2015 Innovation for Growth

21. 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