Number of businesses in the UK reaches record high

The number of businesses in the UK has reached a record high, passing 4 million for the first time, according to new figures from software company Inform Direct.

The research, which used data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics, showed that at the end of February this year, there were 4,005,093 registered businesses in the UK.

Highest

The data identified the locations across the UK that have the highest number of registered businesses, with London being home to the most companies at 1,082,600.

Other locations in the UK that were found to have the highest number of businesses were Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are home to 228,631, 106,636 and 55,889 companies respectively.

Greater Manchester was found to have the highest number of businesses in England outside of London, with the city being home to 171,065 businesses. This was followed by the West Midlands at 158,305 and Essex at 113,225.

The increase in businesses comes mostly as a result of a surge in company formations, with the number of companies started in the UK last year reaching a record high of 664,720.

Positive

Commenting on the data, Inform Direct Director of Operations, John Korchak, said: “These figures underline the positive entrepreneurial culture in the UK, with small business continuing to drive economic growth.”

He added that so far, at least, we’re not seeing evidence that the UK’s vote to leave the EU has dented confidence amongst those thinking about starting up in business.