Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for £1.6 trillion of total national business turnover, greater than the whole of the FTSE 100.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for £1.6 trillion of total national business turnover, greater than the whole of the FTSE 100, according to a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

SMEs spend £1.1 trillion on goods and services annually and account for 49 per cent of UK business expenditure, says the report, commissioned by British Gas Business. They also account for 53 per cent of business tax contributions.

By the end of 2010, a record 312,000 start-ups will have been created, with an additional 297,000 forecast for 2011, despite bank lending to SMEs decreasing by 4.5 per cent in the past year, the report finds.

Charles David, managing economist at CEBR, says, ‘This report shows the sheer scale of the contribution that small and medium-sized businesses make to the UK economy and how this compares to their larger counterparts.’

He calls for the big business community and government to support SMEs in order to safeguard economic success as public spending is cut.