The UK is now home to over two million micro-businesses

The UK is becoming a hotbed for micro enterprise with approximately 2.17 million micro-businesses (those with fewer than nine employees) active in the UK in 2015, according to analysis from Direct Line for Business.

Said to demonstrate how success “isn’t necessarily tied to business size”, the study found that there are more than 23,500 micro-businesses in the UK with turnover of over £1m while the average turnover for micro-businesses stands at £286,879.

London and the South East of England have the highest proportion of micro-businesses with 400,000 (18.4% of the UK total) and 337,785 (15.5% of the UK total) micro-businesses respectively – which translates to 47 and 38 micro-businesses for every 1,000 people.

Northern Ireland and the North East were found to have the smallest number of micro-businesses; totalling 59,600 and 57,050 respectively.

Nick Breton, head of Direct Line for Business, said the report highlighted that “Britain is a nation of entrepreneurs”:

“These enterprises account for 89% of all companies across the UK which is a huge contribution to the business economy.It is unsurprising to see that London and the South East account for more than a third of the nation’s micro-businesses, as families in these areas are often seeking to gain extra sources of income by turning their hobbies into professions.”