In 2024, there were approximately 5.49 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 5.23 million. Enterprises that have between 10 and 49 employees are classed as small enterprises, and numbered around 219,900 in the UK, while there were 37,750 medium-sized enterprises.

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.

In 2024, SME's in the UK collectively employed 16.64 million people. In this year, micro-sized enterprises that had an employee headcount of nine or fewer employed around 8.64 million people in the United Kingdom, with small businesses employing around 4.32 million people, and medium-sized ones 3.68 million.

As of 2024, 40 percent of SMEs in the United Kingdom reported that increasing costs were one of the main obstacles to running their business, with a further 35 percent reporting the current economic climate as a main concern.

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.

The median profit made by SMEs in the UK in 2024 was approximately 13,000 British pounds, with SMEs in property / business services, and construction sectors having the highest average profit, at 14,000 pounds.

In 2024, approximately 29 percent of SMEs in the UK reported that they had achieved growth in the previous 12 months, with SMEs in the retail sector, and hotels and restaurant sector the most likely to report annual growth, at 32 percent of SMEs.

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

During a 2019/2020 survey carried out among owners of small and medium-sized enterprises from the United Kingdom, 27 percent of respondents stated they used Facebook to market their business. The same survey found that 75 percent of UK SMEs used social media for marketing purposes.

This statistic shows the value added by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the United Kingdom economy in 2018, in billion euros. Micro-sized enterprises added 264.1 billion euros to the UK economy during this year. In total, SMEs in the United Kingdom generated a total value of 643.2 billion euros.

Approximately ** percent of SMEs made a profit in the UK in 2024, compared with ** percent that made a loss. Among medium-sized enterprises that employed 50 to 249 employees, ** percent of them made a profit, compared with ** percent of enterprises that employed 10 to 49 employees.

In 2024, approximately 77 percent of SMEs in the UK made a profit, with SMEs in the construction sector being the most likely to have made a profit in that year, at 83 percent each. By contrast, just 67 percent of hotel and restaurant SMEs made a profit in 2024.

This statistic shows the share of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom (UK) engaged in international trade from February 2016 to January 2018. From the responding SMEs in February 2017, 17 percent were conducting business with international partners.

In a survey conducted between October 2023 and April 2024, small and medium enterprise (SME) employers in the United Kingdom (UK) were asked what amount of external finance they obtained in the past 12 months. The largest share of SMEs (23 percent) stated that they did not obtained any external finance or obtained finance amounting to between 25 thousand British pounds and 100 thousand British pounds at that time. Only less than 0.5 percent of SMEs in the UK stated that they secured financing amounting to more than ten million British pounds in 2023.

There almost 1.1 million small and medium-sized enterprises located in London in 2019, the most of any region of the United Kingdom, followed by South East England having 939 thousand, and East England at 598 thousand. Northern Ireland had the fewest SMEs at 124 thousand in 2019.

This statistic shows the most important challenges small and medium enterprise (SME) face in the United Kingdom (UK) from February 2016 to January 2018. From the responding SMEs in January 2018, 79 percent stated that their most important challenge was attracting new customers and 27 percent the uncertainty over the economic conditions to be a challenge.

This statistic shows the number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the food and drink manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2022, by product type. In that year, there were 550 SMEs manufacturing dairy products, and 40 SMEs manufacturing oils and fats.

This statistic shows the reasons for small and medium enterprises (SME) in the United Kingdom (UK) for using online tools and platforms as of April 2018. From the responding SMEs in April 2018, 89 percent stated that they used online tools to show their products or services, whereas 40 percent used these services to manage internal business processes.

During a 2019/2020 survey carried out among owners of small and medium-sized enterprises from the United Kingdom, 29 percent of respondents stated social media helped raise brand awareness of their business. The same survey found that 75 percent of UK SMEs used social media for marketing purposes.

This statistic shows the gender distribution of the management of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom (UK) from February 2016 to January 2018. From the respondents in January 2018, the share of SMEs with predominantly male management was equal to those with predominantly female management.