Whitings SME Growth Index
27th February 2014Data Source: Whitings’ SME Growth Index
The Whitings’ SME Growth Index is a barometer to measure and bench-mark how successful our clients are in being able to grow their businesses. It is constructed as follows:
- Year on year turnover (excluding Covid grants and other exceptional income sources) is continually measured over the review period.
- Results are assigned to the year in which the year end falls,
- Data is extracted from the accounts of a random sample of approximately 1,500 anonymized local SME business clients.
- Sample only includes trading businesses (excludes investment businesses, clubs and charities).
- Average growth is calculated as the median of the sample.
- Sample includes businesses in start-up and cessation phases.
- Sample includes both entrepreneurial and lifestyle businesses.
- The data breaks down into 14 trade sectors.
Annual Snapshots:
2024 | +0.4% (Stagnation, partly relating to election year)
2023 | +4.2% (Good steady growth, partly due to businesses passing on high cost inflation to customers)
2022 | +11.8% (Post Covid ‘revenge spending’)
2021 | -4.5 % (Covid year 2)
2020 | -1.8% (Covid year 1)
2019 | +1.3% (Anticipation of Brexit implementation)
2018 | +1.4% (Anticipation of Brexit implementation)
2017 | +2.6% (Normal steady year)
2016 | -0.1% (Anticipation of Brexit vote)
Client performance bench-marking: 
example
Blog entry by: Ian Piper
Disclaimer - All information in this post was correct at time of writing.
