BME people and small businesses
Data published in 2011 show that in 2009, 8% of small or medium sized businesses (SMEs) that are employers were owned or led by people from BME backgrounds.
London accounts for 46% of all BME led small business
There was considerable regional variation in the proportion of SMEs that are owned or led by people from BME backgrounds – areas with larger BME populations would be expected to generally have a higher proportion of BME small business owners:
· In London, 28% of SME employers were from BME backgrounds. London accounted for 46% of all BME led SME employers in the UK
· In Northern Ireland, less than 1% of SME employers were BME led
Most BME business’ are in the retail sector
The sector that BME led SME employers mostly worked in was the retail sector – 35% of MEG led SME employers were in the retail sector (only 23% of all SME employers were in this sector). This compares to 9% of BME led SME employers which were in the hotel and restaurant sector – 5% of all SME employers were in this sector.
BME business’ tend to be younger business’
BME led SME employers tend to be younger businesses – 3% of BME led SMEs were less than a year old, compared to 1% of all SMEs. 24% of BME led SMEs were over 20 years old, compared to 40% of all SMEs.
BME business’ have lower turnover
BME led SME employers generally had lower turnovers than other SMEs. The Median average annual turnover for BME led SME employers was 207,000, compared to 345,000 for all SMEs. 16% of BME led SME employers had a turnover of under £67,000, compared to 12% of all SMEs.
The Majority of BME business’ are family led
58% of BME led SME employers were family led business, compared to 62% of all SMEs.