SME Companies In The UK
Providing finance and leasing for SME companies in the UK.
Definition of SME Companies in the UK
A “small or medium sized enterprise” is defined by the European Commission as a company that employs fewer than 250 people. Furthermore, there is another category called “micro business.” The definitions are broadly based round the number of employees and company turnover. The table below lays out how it works:
| Definition | Employees | Company Turnover |
| Micro Business | Under 10 employees | Under £2m |
| Small Business | Under 50 employees | Under £10m |
| Medium Business | Under 250 employees | Under £50m |
How many SME companies are there in the UK?
One report on Google says 5.2m companies in the UK, another says 2.2m. We think the most accurate number is from a House of Commons Briefing Paper produced on the 28th December 2017. This report states that there are 5.7m SME businesses in the UK.
If you use the technical definition above, most reports are wrong. There is nowhere near 5.7m companies employing more than ten people in the UK. The House of Commons Briefing Report gives the clearest and most honest picture. They say there are 5.5m micro businesses in the UK. That leaves 200,000 companies that fit into the SME and large sector.
99% of companies are SME in the UK!
That’s right, 99% of UK companies employ less than 249 people. 96% are actually micro businesses employing less than 10 people.
How many women run SME companies in the UK?
Sadly, only 21% of women run SME companies in the UK. Compare that to FTSE companies, only 28% of board positions are held by women.
WestWon are proud to say that 54% of our staff are female and our sales team is 46% female.
We need to change the definition of a micro business in the UK!
The vast majority of our WestWon leasing customers employ less than 10 people. These are great, amazing companies that we already know employ vast amounts of people. If I turned around to a business owner of less than 10 people and said “You run a micro business” they would think I am insulting them. Even calling WestWon, a “small” company employing under 30 people is an insult to me.
We need to change the definition so a micro company becomes small company and a small company becomes a medium sized business!
Leasing for micro businesses and SME companies in the UK
Circa 95% of the leasing we do will be for a micro or UK SME company. I do not know the exact number, but I would suggest this makes up about 80% of the lease value. (Clearly, a lot of the larger deals we do are for companies employing more than 250 people).
So if you employ less than 10 people, please call us so we can chat about your leasing needs. Likewise, for those companies employing more than 10 people but less than 250, again, get in touch and we would like to help out with any lease requirements you have. Call us on 01494 611 456 or email on hello@westwon.co.uk
