UK Small Business Statistics 2026: SMEs, Jobs, Turnover and Growth

The UK had an estimated 5.69 million private-sector businesses at the start of 2025, and approximately 5.68 million of them were small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). That means SMEs represented around 99.85% of the UK private-sector business population.

Their economic contribution extends well beyond business numbers. SMEs supported an estimated 16.9 million jobs and generated approximately £2.83 trillion in turnover, accounting for around 60% of private-sector employment and 51% of turnover covered by the Department for Business and Trade’s measure.

But the latest growth in business numbers needs context. According to the Department for Business and Trade’s Business Population Estimates 2025, the private-sector business population increased by approximately 191,000 between 2024 and 2025. Over the same period, the number of employing businesses fell by around 9,000, while non-employing businesses increased by about 201,000.

Audit Consulting Group’s analysis of these figures shows why the headline 3.5% increase in business numbers should not be interpreted as equivalent growth in the UK’s employer base. Most of the increase in non-employing businesses came from the estimated unregistered business population.

UK Small Business Statistics at a Glance

Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025. Turnover figures exclude SIC 2007 Section K — Financial and Insurance Activities — because comparable turnover data are not available.

How Many Small Businesses Are There in the UK?

There were an estimated 5,643,495 small businesses with 0–49 employees in the UK private sector at the start of 2025. They represented approximately 99.18% of all private-sector businesses.

Adding 38,435 medium-sized businesses with 50–249 employees produces an SME population of 5,681,930. Only 8,335 businesses were classified as large, with 250 or more employees.

Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025. Turnover excludes Financial and Insurance Activities.

The comparison illustrates an important feature of the UK business economy: SMEs dominate by number, but economic activity is less concentrated by business count. The 8,335 large businesses represented only around 0.15% of businesses while accounting for approximately 40% of private-sector employment and 49% of measured turnover.

Three-Quarters of UK Businesses Have No Employees

The UK’s SME population is dominated by very small businesses. DBT estimated that 4,272,535 private-sector businesses had no employees beyond their owners at the start of 2025. Audit Consulting Group calculates that this represents approximately 75.1% of the total private-sector business population.

The official category includes sole proprietorships and partnerships consisting only of self-employed owner-managers, as well as companies with one employee who is assumed to be a working proprietor.

This distinction matters when interpreting UK SME statistics. A population of 5.68 million SMEs should not be interpreted as 5.68 million conventional employers with workforces.

UK Business Numbers Increased by 191,000 — But the Employer Base Fell

The estimated UK private-sector business population increased from approximately 5.50 million at the start of 2024 to 5.69 million at the start of 2025 — an increase of approximately 191,000 businesses, or 3.5%.

The composition of that increase is more revealing than the headline total. DBT data show that employing businesses decreased by approximately 9,000, or 0.7%, while non-employing businesses increased by about 201,000, or 4.9%.

Source: DBT Business Population Estimates 2025. Changes are rounded, so component figures may not sum exactly to the headline change.

Audit Consulting Group calculation: approximately 86.6% of the reported increase in non-employing businesses came from the estimated unregistered population, based on 174,000 of the approximately 201,000 increase.

This result requires an important qualification. Unregistered business numbers are estimates rather than administrative counts. DBT explains in its Business Population Estimates methodology that the unregistered population is estimated using survey and administrative evidence and is subject to statistical uncertainty.

The result is therefore best interpreted as evidence about the composition of the published estimate, rather than proof that precisely 174,000 new unregistered businesses were created during the year.

The UK Still Has Fewer Businesses Than at the 2020 Peak

The latest annual increase also needs a longer historical perspective.

Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates. The historical series is produced on a consistent basis using the latest BPE methodology.

Business numbers peaked at approximately 5.98 million at the start of 2020. Despite the 2025 rebound, DBT estimates that the latest business population remained approximately 290,000 businesses, or 4.9%, below the 2020 level.

The longer-term picture remains one of expansion. Between 2010 and 2025, the UK private-sector business population increased by approximately 1.2 million, or 26.9%.

SMEs Support Around 16.9 Million UK Jobs

SMEs supported an estimated 16.882 million jobs at the start of 2025, equivalent to approximately 60% of UK private-sector employment.

Small businesses accounted for around 13.144 million jobs, while medium-sized businesses accounted for another 3.738 million.

Between the 2024 and 2025 estimates, DBT reports that total SME employment increased by approximately 1.5%. This was slower than the 3.5% increase in the estimated overall business population.

This is a comparison between changes in two estimated annual stocks, not a productivity measure. It does, however, show why growth in the number of businesses should not automatically be interpreted as equivalent employment growth.

UK SMEs Generate Around £2.83 Trillion in Turnover

UK SMEs generated an estimated £2.829 trillion in annual turnover, accounting for approximately 51% of private-sector turnover covered by the DBT estimates.

Small businesses generated approximately £1.880 trillion, while medium-sized businesses accounted for another £948.6 billion.

These figures are expressed in current monetary values and are not adjusted for inflation. Changes in SME turnover over time should therefore not automatically be interpreted as equivalent changes in real economic output.

The DBT turnover measure also excludes Financial and Insurance Activities under SIC Section K because comparable turnover data are unavailable for that sector.

Which Industries Have the Most SMEs?

SMEs are not evenly distributed across the UK economy. Construction contained the largest SME population at the start of 2025, with approximately 885,000 businesses, equivalent to around 16% of UK SMEs.

Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities followed with approximately 819,000 SMEs, or 14%, while Wholesale and Retail Trade contained approximately 547,000, or around 10%.

Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025.

The Sector With the Most SMEs Is Not the Sector With the Most SME Turnover

Business counts and economic contribution produce different pictures of the UK’s SME economy.

Construction contained around 16% of all SMEs, making it the largest SME sector by business count. Wholesale and Retail Trade contained only around 10% of SMEs, yet accounted for approximately 32% of SME turnover and 14% of SME employment.

Construction and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities each accounted for around 11% of SME turnover, while Administrative and Support Service Activities contributed approximately 10% and Manufacturing around 9%.

The sector with the largest number of SMEs is therefore not necessarily the sector making the largest contribution to SME turnover. Business counts, employment and turnover measure different aspects of economic activity.

Why Do Official Sources Give Different Numbers for UK Businesses?

Readers searching for UK small business statistics can encounter apparently conflicting official figures.

DBT estimated 5.69 million private-sector businesses at the start of 2025. By comparison, the ONS UK Business: Activity, Size and Location 2025 publication recorded approximately 2.73 million VAT and/or PAYE businesses in March 2025.

The difference is methodological rather than contradictory.

DBT’s Business Population Estimates are designed to estimate the total UK private-sector business population, including businesses below VAT and PAYE registration thresholds. ONS Activity, Size and Location covers businesses appearing on the Inter-Departmental Business Register.

For a question such as “How many SMEs are there in the UK?”, the DBT Business Population Estimates provide the broader official measure. For analysis specifically concerning registered enterprises, the ONS dataset may be more appropriate.

Business Births Exceeded Business Deaths in 2024

The ONS Business Demography 2024 dataset provides another perspective on the development of the UK business population.

ONS recorded approximately 317,000 business births in 2024, compared with approximately 280,000 business deaths. The business birth rate was 11.1%, while the death rate was 9.8%.

These figures should not be substituted directly for DBT’s total business population estimates. ONS Business Demography is based on active enterprises on the Inter-Departmental Business Register, while DBT’s estimates include an estimated population of unregistered businesses.

Business births should also not be treated as equivalent to Companies House incorporations. The underlying statistical populations, definitions and timing differ.

14,330 UK Businesses Met the ONS High-Growth Definition

ONS identified 14,330 high-growth businesses in 2024, up from 13,750 in 2023.

Among 292,125 active businesses with at least 10 employees included in the measure, the high-growth rate was 4.9%. This was the highest rate since 2018, when it stood at 5.0%.

The term “high-growth business” has a specific statistical meaning. The ONS measure is based on employment growth and applies only to businesses meeting defined employment and continuity criteria. It should not be interpreted as meaning that only 14,330 UK businesses increased their revenue, workforce or wider economic activity.

Sector differences were substantial. Information and Communication recorded the highest high-growth rate at 9.2%, followed by Finance and Insurance at 7.3%, while Motor Trades recorded 2.7%.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Demography, UK: 2024.

What SME Employers Said About Turnover Growth

Business population estimates describe the scale and structure of the SME economy. Survey evidence provides a different perspective on how individual SME employers experienced trading conditions.

The Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 found that 36% of SME employers reported higher turnover than 12 months earlier. That was down from 40% in 2023 and 46% in 2022.

At the same time, 30% reported lower turnover, compared with 27% in 2023 and 23% in 2022.

Source: Department for Business and Trade, Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024: SME Employers. The survey relates to businesses with employees and should not be extrapolated to the entire SME population.

Business size also mattered. Medium-sized employers were more likely to report turnover growth than smaller employers: 49% of medium-sized businesses reported growth, compared with 41% of small businesses and 35% of micro businesses.

SME Employers Became More Cautious About Future Growth

The same survey found that 31% of SME employers expected turnover to increase over the following 12 months, down from 38% in 2023. Meanwhile, 17% expected turnover to fall, compared with 13% a year earlier.

Expectations varied by size. Around 29% of micro employers expected turnover to increase, compared with 40% of small businesses and 52% of medium-sized businesses.

This survey evidence adds an important qualification to the headline increase in business numbers. The estimated business population expanded strongly between the 2024 and 2025 snapshots, while SME employers surveyed during 2024 reported weaker turnover growth than in the previous two survey years.

The findings are not contradictory. They measure different populations, periods and aspects of business activity.

What the Latest UK SME Statistics Actually Show

The UK’s SME economy remains exceptionally broad. SMEs account for approximately 99.85% of private-sector businesses, around 60% of private-sector employment and approximately 51% of measured turnover.

But the composition of recent growth matters. The total business population increased by 3.5% between the 2024 and 2025 estimates while the number of employing businesses fell slightly. Around 86.6% of the reported increase in non-employing businesses came from the estimated unregistered component, based on Audit Consulting Group’s calculation using DBT’s rounded figures.

The business population also remained 4.9% below its 2020 peak, while SME employment increased more slowly than business numbers.

Taken together, the official datasets show why business count alone is an incomplete measure of UK small-business growth. Business population, employer numbers, employment, turnover, business births and high-growth rates each measure a different part of the SME economy.

Methodology and Data Limitations

This analysis was checked against official data available up to 21 September 2026. The principal source is the Department for Business and Trade’s Business Population Estimates 2025, which measures the UK private-sector business population at the start of 2025.

The title refers to UK Small Business Statistics 2026 because this article presents the latest relevant official evidence available to a 2026 reader. It should not be interpreted as meaning that the principal business-population figures measure the business population during 2026.

Under the employment-size definitions used in the DBT data, small businesses have 0–49 employees, medium-sized businesses have 50–249 employees, and SMEs have 0–249 employees. Large businesses have 250 or more employees.

The DBT estimates combine businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE with an estimated population of unregistered businesses. DBT classifies the 2025 Business Population Estimates as Official Statistics in development, reflecting uncertainty associated particularly with the Labour Force Survey data underlying estimates of unregistered businesses.

Changes involving the estimated unregistered population may therefore reflect genuine changes in business numbers, sampling variation, or a combination of both. Greater caution is required when interpreting more detailed industry and geographic estimates.

ONS Business Demography and UK Business: Activity, Size and Location measure narrower registered-business populations and should not be treated as directly equivalent to the DBT total.

Turnover estimates exclude Financial and Insurance Activities under SIC Section K because comparable turnover data are unavailable. Monetary values are nominal unless stated otherwise.

Audit Consulting Group calculations use published source values and are identified separately from statistics reported directly by DBT or ONS. Calculations based on rounded published figures may differ slightly from calculations using underlying unrounded data.

Sources

• Department for Business and Trade — Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions 2025
• Department for Business and Trade — Business Population Estimates 2025 Methodology Note
• Office for National Statistics — Business Demography, UK: 2024
• Office for National Statistics — UK Business: Activity, Size and Location 2025
• Department for Business and Trade — Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024: SME Employers