What is an SME?
The definition of an SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) used by the London Technology Fund is a business or company that:
- has fewer than 250 employees; and
- has either (a) annual turnover not exceeding €50m or (b) annual balance sheet not exceeding €43m.
Note
In determining whether your business meets the various ceilings above, you will need to consider whether it is an 'autonomous' enterprise - by far the most common category - a 'partner' enterprise (generally involving holdings of 25% or more, but not a controlling position), or a 'linked' enterprise (generally involving majority holdings, a controlling position or positions of dominant influence). To do this, you must take account of any relationships you have with other enterprises. Depending on the category in which your enterprise fits you may then need to add some, or all, of the headcount, turnover or balance sheet data from those enterprises to your own.
As a simple guide, an enterprise is likely to be classified as autonomous (in which case only data relating to itself need be included) if less than 25% of its capital or voting rights are owned by another enterprise. An enterprise may also be classified as autonomous despite this threshold being exceeded, if it is exceeded through holdings by certain types of investors (including venture capitalists, business angels, universities and non-profit research centres). Note that restrictions apply to this exemption. For example, it only applies if the relevant parties do not have a majority holding. For a full explanation, including details of the restrictions relating to the exemption, see this page.
Please be sure to read this important legal information.