The number of private sector businesses in the UK at the start of 2010 increased by 48,000since the start of 2009, according to statistics from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) today

At the beginning of 2010, there were an estimated 4.5 million private sector enterprises in the UK, employed an estimated 22.5 million between them and with an estimated combined annual turnover of £3,200 billion.