Dafferns

55 Top SME Facts & Figures

The number of small businesses has grown by 55% over the past 20 years. The Labour party have described small business as the ‘beating heart of our economy’ and promised to ‘hardwire the voice of small business into everything we do’. Greater stability and certainty in business taxation take centre stage. 

Lifting business rate relief could take 200,000 SME’s out of the payment. Legislating on late payers could unlock £20bn of SME cashflow, addressing calls for 100% expensing in areas of future skills shortages and delivering new ‘Technical Excellence Colleges’ could boost the skills base.

Export growth has languished at the bottom of G7 nations, and with the EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement up for renewal (2025) Labour have pledged to work alongside the FSB to create a Small Business Export Taskforce.

Our Business Development consultant, Simon Cossey, has been surfing the small business worldwide web (whilst on holiday in Portugal) to collate 55 top facts and figures reflecting areas from marketing to ESG, technology, the business of being a small business, people to leadership and customer experience!

199%UK businesses are SME’s
296%SME’s employ less than 10 employees
395%Are incorporated as Private Limited Companies
492%Small business owners have ‘No Regrets’
591%Small Business owners work overtime
690%SME’s are profitable
789%SME’s considering environmental considerations
884%SME exports are EU bound
977%Social stance contributes to companies reputation
1075%Believe that technology will have a impact in the next 5 years
1172%SME owners are optimistic about the future
1271%Use social media to promote services
1366%Labour say businesses unable to acquire skills to expand
1465%Case studies are biggest value drivers for business
1562%Digital marketing is a top priority
1661%Private sector employment
1759%Consumers prefer to buy from SME’s
1859%Family businesses are 1st generation
1957%Family businesses happy with current financial reporting
2056%SME owners struggle to find suitable staff
2156%SME have less than hour a day for marketing
2255%Business state AI could provide benefits
2353%Consumers believe SME’s more trustworthy
2452%Global SME’s put off marketing in favour other things
2552%SME owners have no plans to retire
2651%UK Plc turnover
2749%Small SME’s consider social implications
2846%SME’s started to pursue a passion
2946%SME owners lack skills to utilise AI
3045%Invested in cybersecurity measures
3144%Small business owners are 39 – 54 years old
3241%See Taxation / VAT / PAYE as obstacle to growth
3340%Baby boomers own a business
3439%Cite red tape as barrier to growth
3538%Survive 5 years or more
3637%SME experienced presenteeism
3736%Plan to pass to NextGen but not discussed
3835%Consumers willing to pay more to buy from SME’s
3934%SME’s based in London and South East
4033%Use technology for customer insights
4132%Reported cyber security breaches in last 12 months
4230%Achieve faster growth with a plan
4330%Pandemic entrepreneurs have no physical store
4429%Motivated to start to be own boss
4529%See late payments as obstacle to growth
4625%SME remain profitable over 15 years
4724%Family businesses don’t use accounting software
4823%SME’s impacted by Brexit
4923%SME R&D claims from manufacturing
5020%Small businesses use AI tools
5119%SME’s are female led
5216%All small businesses are construction related
5312%Small business owners are millennials
5412%SME unable to source loans from mainstream funders
551%Less than 1% UK businesses reach 250 employees

Simon Cossey is Dafferns’ Business Development Consultant and part of our Strategic Advisory team.