Small Business Stats | Kent Business Radio

There were an estimated 5.4 million businesses in the UK which employed 25.9 million people, and had a combined turnover of more than £3,700 billion

Small firms accounted for 99.3 per cent of all private sector businesses in the UK, 48 per cent of private sector employment and 33 per cent of private sector turnover

Small and medium sized businesses employed 15.6 million people and had a combined turnover of £1.75 trillion

Of all businesses, 62 per cent (3.3 million) were sole proprietorships, 30 per cent (1.6 million) were companies and eight per cent (436,000) partnerships

The biggest percentage increase in the number of businesses between 2010 and the start of 2015 was in London (up 36%)

Just under a fifth of all SMEs in the UK private sector operate in the Construction sector while 15% operate in the Professional, Scientific and Technical sectors and 10% in Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair sectors

The professional, scientific and technical industry group accounts for the largest proportion of Kent businesses with 17.4% whilst the construction industry is the second largest in Kent with 15.1%. The professional, scientific and technical industry group is also the largest within the South East (20.3%) and in England and Wales (18%) whilst construction is the 2nd biggest industry in the South East (12.7%) and in England and Wales with (11.6%).

Kent has a high proportion of small businesses – the latest data shows that 76.5% of all Kent’s businesses employ 1 – 4 people.

Those firms employing 100 or more employees account for 0.9% of all businesses. Find out more on the state of the Kent economy.

Kent Businesses in the wholesale and retail trade have the largest proportion of employees (17.9%) followed by 12.3% working in human health and social work activities and then 10.3% in education.

The latest 1 year survival rate for businesses in Kent is 90%. This is slightly higher than survival rates in the South East

Find out about the business demography.