Striking a balance – How SME accountants are driving regional growth in UK

Research we’ve undertaken with Oxford Economics suggests established businesses - those firms with between 5 and 250 employees - could be the key. And, as trusted advisors to established businesses, this puts accountants centre stage – both in helping drive growth for their clients, and also in delivering a more balanced economy. So what does the data tell us?

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Our research shows that while a subset of the broader SME category, established businesses have a disproportionate impact on the UK’s GDP. In fact, these firms account for more than a third of employment and turnover in the UK, with their impact being especially pronounced in the regions.

While established businesses still have a big impact in London - accounting for 30% of private sector employment - outside of the capital, the impact is much greater. In Northern Ireland for example, established businesses account for 46% of private sector employment, with the figures for Wales and Scotland being 44% and 39% respectively.

In fact, in every region of the UK, the percentage of private sector employment from established businesses is greater than it is in London.

Another stand-out finding was the impact that these businesses have across rural Britain. Outside of metropolitan Britain, established businesses are responsible for 49% of total private sector employment.

So, closing the economic gaps between London and the regions, and between urban and rural Britain, means supporting established businesses. The reality is however, that established businesses are often lumped into the broader SME category, leaving their particular needs unmet.

When it comes to business banking for example, high-street banks don’t differentiate between established businesses and the larger SME segment. So established businesses with significant turnover and tens of staff find themselves being offered the same banking platforms, products and services as a two-person micro-business - despite having fundamentally different needs.

This broad-brush approach by high-street business banks has contributed to lending to established businesses having retrenched significantly in recent decades. This has left the UK with some of the lowest levels of business lending in the G7 and left many great businesses struggling to put business plans into action. As our data shows, this isn’t just bad for individual businesses, it’s also contributing to ongoing regional disparities.

At a policy level too, established businesses are subsumed into the broader SME category along with micro SMEs and sole traders. This means the particular needs that established businesses have and the challenges they face are often overlooked in policy development.

Despite the challenges, accountants are optimistic. Reflecting the crucial role they play in established businesses as they step into the advice gap left by high-street lenders, 70% of accountants we surveyed in H2 last year forecast client growth in 2026. Clearly, intervening events have shaken business confidence somewhat but the accountants I work with remain focused on growth.

To deliver this, accountants are moving beyond filing returns and towards becoming genuine strategic partners to the established businesses they work with. This means signposting clients towards better business banking to unlock lending opportunities and better rates on business savings. It means helping established businesses access the opportunities that do exist. And it means helping businesses remain proactive when it comes to managing financial information to increase the chances of securing finance with clear business plans backed by transparent financial data and projections.

More than this however, by helping established businesses grow, accountants are helping challenge the regional economic imbalances that can have such a negative impact on businesses and communities outside of London and the South East.

Established businesses are the engine that can help the UK finally find a greater balance between London and the South-East and the rest of the country. With recent data pointing towards growing unemployment, especially amongst the young and in the regions, this should be a key ambition for government, financial services and businesses alike.

Accountants can’t set the base rate or force high-street banks into taking a more balanced approach to lending. They can however help their clients navigate the challenges that they face and find the opportunities that exist. This puts accountants not just at the heart of established businesses, but also at the heart of the UK’s ongoing efforts to build a balanced economy that works for the whole country, and not just London and the Southeast.