In 2024, there were approximately **** million small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the United Kingdom. Micro-sized enterprises that employ up to nine people constitute the majority of SMEs in the UK, at over **** million. Enterprises that have between 10 and 49 employees are classed as small enterprises, and numbered around ******* in the UK, while there were ****** medium-sized enterprises. Business landscape dominated by SMEs As of this year, the vast majority of business enterprises in the UK were SMEs, accounting for almost ** percent of private sector employment, and just over half of its collective turnover. Over ******* SMEs were based in the construction sector, with a further ******* in the professional, scientific, and technical activities sector. SMEs in wholesale and retail trade employed more people than both these sectors, however, at around **** million people. In terms of turnover Outlook for SMEs in 2025 Towards the end of 2024, ** percent of SMEs surveyed advised that increasing costs would be the main obstacle to running an SME in 2025, with a further ** percent indicating that the current economic climate would also be an obstacle. Higher than expected inflation, as well as tax increases for businesses, are just some of the challenges businesses are facing this year. Perhaps as a result, businesses have been shedding jobs for several months, with an increasing share of SMEs looking to either maintain current staffing levels, or to start cutting jobs.

In 2024, there were approximately 870,040 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector in the United Kingdom, the most of any sector in that year. The sector with the second-highest number of SMEs was the Professional, Scientific and Technical activities sector, at 754,520 SMEs.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, 70 percent of SMEs in the United Kingdom reported that they had made a profit in the previous 12 months, compared with six percent that broke even, and 14 percent that made a loss. The share of SMEs that made a profit was relatively stable until 2020, when it fell from 73 percent in the first quarter of that year to 47 percent in the second quarter, 2021.

Success.ai’s UK SME Database gives your business a powerful edge in reaching verified small and medium-sized companies across the United Kingdom. Whether you’re selling business services, SaaS, finance tools, or logistics solutions—this dataset offers direct access to growth-stage companies that are ready to buy.

With rich company data and verified contact info for founders, directors, and operational managers, you’ll have everything needed to identify, engage, and convert high-potential UK SMEs.

Included Data Points:
- Company name and domain
- Business category and industry
- Company size (employee range)
- Location (city, postcode, region)
- Contact name, job title, email, LinkedIn

Why Success.ai?
- Covers 2.5M+ UK small and mid-sized businesses
- Verified data for owners, directors, and decision-makers
- Great for outreach in services, SaaS, HR, and legal sectors
- Curated for accuracy and delivered your way
- Best Price Guarantee – always competitive, always complete

Use Cases:
- B2B sales outreach to UK growth companies
- Local ABM for regional campaigns
- Market expansion for service providers
- SME-focused research and segmentation
- Email marketing and CRM enrichment

This sample dataset includes information for five different SMEs across various locations. The data includes the SME's capital, turnover, pre-tax profit, tax, and number of employees for both 2018 and 2019.

Please note that the data provided is completely random and is for illustrative purposes only. In practice, the data for a particular SME would need to be based on actual financial and business metrics.

Presents the number of enterprises (businesses) in the UK along with the turnover and employment in these enterprises. Source agency: Business, Innovation and Skills Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: SME Statistics

Numbers of enterprises and local units produced from a snapshot of the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) taken on 14 March 2025.

Introducing Our Global Small Business Contact Data Solution

In today’s dynamic business landscape, connecting with small businesses is essential for growth. Our Global Small Business Contact Data provides you with the tools to reach and engage with millions of small business owners and decision-makers worldwide.

What Sets Our Data Apart?

Our data is specifically focused on small businesses, offering you a targeted and efficient way to connect with your ideal customers. With over 41 million verified contacts, including business emails and phone numbers, we prioritise accuracy to ensure your outreach is effective.

Our Data Collection Process

We employ a robust data collection process that combines the power of ten dynamic publication sites with our dedicated Contact Discovery Team. This dual approach guarantees a comprehensive and reliable database of small business contacts.

Applications Across Diverse Industries

Our data is versatile and applicable to a wide range of industries. Whether you’re in finance, technology, or retail, you can leverage our small business contact data to identify new opportunities, expand your customer base, and build strong partnerships.

Seamless Integration

Our small business database seamlessly integrates with our broader data collection framework. This allows you to access additional valuable insights, such as market trends and competitor analysis, to inform your business decisions.

Building Strong Relationships

Connecting with small business owners is about building relationships. Our data helps you identify key decision-makers and reach out to them directly. Whether you’re offering products, services, or partnerships, our data empowers you to connect with the right people at the right time.

Privacy and Security

We are committed to protecting your data and the privacy of our contacts. Our data collection and handling processes adhere to strict privacy regulations, ensuring your peace of mind.

Continuous Improvement

We are constantly enhancing our small business contact data solution to provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information. Our commitment to quality ensures that you have the best possible data to support your business growth.

Global Coverage

Our small business contact data covers a wide range of countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and many more.

Industries We Cover

Our data spans across various industries, including finance, technology, healthcare, retail, energy, transportation, hospitality, and more.

Comprehensive Business Information

In addition to contact details, our database includes valuable information about business size and revenue, enabling you to target specific segments of the small business market.

Our Global Small Business Contact Data is more than just a list of contacts; it’s a powerful tool to help you achieve your business goals. By providing accurate, comprehensive, and actionable data, we empower you to connect with small businesses, build lasting relationships, and drive growth.

Monthly dataset showing change in sales and jobs recorded by Xero, an online accounting software platform. This dataset is updated on a quarterly basis. These are official statistics in development. Source: Xero.

In 2024, small and medium-sized enterprises in the United Kingdom had a combined turnover of over **** trillion British pounds, with businesses that had less than ten people working there contributing the most, at over ***** trillion pounds.

In 2024, the average profit made by SMEs in the UK was around 13,000 British pounds, compared with 12,000 in 2023.

Explore 2M+ verified UK SMEs with rich company data: size, domain, industry, contacts & more. Ideal for marketing, research, and B2B targeting. GDPR-compliant. Best Price Guarantee

Success.ai’s UK SME Dataset gives you unmatched access to 2 million small and medium-sized enterprises across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Whether you’re targeting small business owners or departmental heads in growing firms, this dataset provides structured and verified company records for precise targeting.

Built for B2B sales, marketing, investment prospecting, and market research, each dataset includes detailed firmographics, ownership structure, and (optional) verified contact data for C-level or decision-making staff.

What You’ll Get:
- Company name, domain, and LinkedIn URL
- Headcount and revenue range
- Region, country, postal code
- SIC/NAICS codes or industry categories
- Contact info (owner, founder, CMO, etc. – optional)

Why Success.ai?
- 2M+ updated SME records in the UK alone
- Segment by geography, sector, or company size
- Perfect for SMB-focused B2B vendors and service providers
- Best Price Guarantee for small business data
- GDPR-ready datasets for peace of mind

Use Cases:
- Small business marketing campaigns
- B2B CRM data enrichment
- Investor scouting and growth tracking
- Local ABM by city or region
- Lead generation for SME-focused SaaS and fintech tools

Underlying data from the publication 'Research to understand the barriers to take up and use of business support' [URN 11/1288]. Data from a survey of 1,202 employer SMEs in England undertaken in March 2011. The survey was designed to provide statistically robust evidence of business use and non use of external business support services, differentiating between private sector and public sector sources of both routine information and strategic advice. The survey aimed to produce a broadly representative sample of SME employers and used a random stratified sample from the Experian database adopting quotas in order to capture sufficient numbers of businesses across key categories (age, size, sector, region). The data presented in the published report was weighted by size band to correct for over-sampling amongst larger SMEs.

Data on SME performance and the factors that affect this. Based on a series of surveys among small and medium-sized (SME) employer enterprises across the UK. The survey assesses how well or badly small businesses are performing, their needs, concerns and barriers to growth.

Findings of the Small Business Survey on the performance of small and medium-sized businesses with employees and with no employees. Official Statistics

Ofcom undertakes research on the availability and experience of communications services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, defined as businesses with fewer than 250 employees. A survey of 1501 SMEs (0-249 employees) was undertaken using CATI (computer aided telephone interviewing). The survey data were weighted to be representative of the SME universe on size. Fieldwork took place between 9 May and 18 July 2016.