Numbers of small businesses growning

There were an estimated 4.3 million business enterprises in the UK at the start of 2005, an increase of 59,000 (1.4 per cent) on the start of 2004.

Almost all of these enterprises (99.3 per cent) were small (0 to 49 employees). Only 27,000 (0.6 per cent) were medium-sized (50 to 249 employees) and 6,000 (0.1 per cent) were large (250 or more employees).

At the start of 2005, UK enterprises employed an estimated 22 million people, and had an estimated combined annual turnover of £2,400 billion.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) together accounted for more than half of the employment (58.7 per cent) and turnover (51.1 per cent) in the UK.

Small enterprises alone (0 to 49 employees) accounted for 46.8 per cent of employment and 36.4 per cent of turnover.

Industry Patterns

At the start of 2005, 46.8 per cent of business employment was in small enterprises.

But this varied between industries. In agriculture, fishing and forestry, 93.8 per cent of employment was in small enterprises but in section Financial Intermediation only 14.7 per cent of employment was in small enterprises.

The share of turnover in small enterprises also varies between industries.

Overall, 36.4 per cent of turnover was in small enterprises. Again, there are variations by industry, ranging from 18.0 per cent in manufacturing to 89.0 per cent in agriculture, fishing and forestry.

The number of enterprises with and without employees

At the start of 2005, the number of enterprises with no employees was 3.2 million, equivalent to 72.8 per cent of all enterprises. However this proportion varies among different industries, from 87.5 per cent for SIC M (Education), to 25.3 per cent for SIC H (Hotels and Restaurants).

Enterprises with no employees are sole proprietorships and partnerships comprising only the self-employed owner-manager(s), and companies comprising only an employee director. They had an estimated combined turnover of £190 billion.

At the start of 2005, the number of enterprises with employees was 1.2 million. They had an estimated combined turnover of £2,250 billion.

Legal status

There are an estimated 2.7 million sole proprietors in the UK, and 320 thousand (11.7 per cent) of them have employees.

There are an estimated 520 thousand partnerships and 190 thousand of them (37.3 per cent) have employees.