Office admin and business support leading SME growth

It’s been revealed the number of SMEs has grown by 23 per cent from 2011 to 2016.

A study from Hampshire Trust Bank, conducted in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, has uncovered office admin and business support (CEBR) as the highest growth sectors.

The research uncovers the transportation and distribution industry as the most positive, with 60 per cent of respondents stating that they were optimistic about the long-term economic prospects of their sector, compared to 53 per cent in 2016.

Nina Skero, Head of Macroeconomics at CEBR, said:

“The service industries account for around 78% of UK GDP, hence it is encouraging to see that over the past five years growth in the number of SMEs has been particularly strong in these sectors. The buoyant confidence among SMEs is a further sign that these businesses will continue supporting economic growth. The UK is undergoing a period of great economic change and cultivating this optimism must be a priority.”

Here’s a full list of the top ten micro sectors by SME growth:

Office admin and business support (76 per cent)

Human health services (50 per cent)

Motion picture, video, TV, sound recording and music publishing (50 per cent)

Other professional, scientific and technical (48 per cent)

Land transport and pipeline transport (46 per cent)

Head office and management consultancy (45 per cent)

Computer programming (44 per cent)

Architectural, engineering and technical testing (44 per cent)

Transportation and storage (41 per cent)

Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities (40 per cent)

Lucy Liddiard