Offences against businesses are the "forgotten fifth" of British crime, costing companies £19bn a year, a small business group will claim today.

The Federation of Small Businesses will urge government and police forces to tackle business crime, which accounts for 20 per cent of all offences in Britain. It said that 40 per cent of employers they surveyed did not report crimes because "it wouldn't achieve anything" and 12 per cent estimated crime cost their business more than £10,000 a year.