Statistics:

• There are 4.5 million small businesses in the UK
• SMEs account for 99 per cent of of all enterprise int he UK, 58.8 per cent of private sector employment and 48.8 per cent 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 per cent 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: 0-9 employees, small: 10-50 employees, medium: 50-249 employees

(updated November2011)

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