UK company incorporations at highest level since 2011

The amount of companies incorporating in the UK is at the highest point in eight years, official figures show.

According to Companies House, there were 182,742 new incorporations between January and March 2019.

At the end of March, the UK total register listed 4,202,044 companies, an increase of 168,689 compared to the first quarter of 2018.

There were 3,926,374 firms on the effective register which excludes businesses in the process of dissolution and liquidation.

Company increases occured in all countries; England and Wales increased by 1.0%, Scotland by 1.0% and Northern Ireland by 1.6%.

UK total and effective register sizes, 2012 Q1 to 2019 Q1

At the same time however, businesses shutting down also rose with 142,390 dissolutions between January and March, an increase of 12,702 on the same period last year.

"UK's entrepreneurs are showing no sign of abating"

Commenting on the figures, Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, said: "It may come as a shock to some that despite everything that's going on, the UK's entrepreneurs are showing no sign of abating.

"With this year's incorporation figures at the highest level since 2011, it's clear that the start-up trend is still going strong and what we need to do now is make sure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business.

"It's now critical to get advice and support to these start-ups so they have the greatest chance of success. Our view is that support should be locally delivered, yet enable start-ups and growing ventures to have a national voice and access national networks."

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