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New business in the Uk reaches a high

24th May 2017
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New figures just out show that the number of companies formed in the UK reached a record high in 2016, writes John Korchak. Across the UK as a whole, there were a record-breaking 664,720 companies formed – up from 612,565 in 2015.

Of the 601,418 formations in England, 209,869 were in London; 35,502 companies were formed in Scotland; 15,795 in Wales; and 7,389 in Northern Ireland. March and April are the most popular months for new company formations. Despite the increase the number of companies dissolved in 2016 increased by 25%. This can in part be explained by legislative changes introduced in early 2016 to speed up the process of companies being dissolved.

Some 95% of formations were companies limited by shares. Of the rest, 11,538 Guarantee companies were formed, 11,201 LLPs and 5,867 Limited Partnerships (mainly in Scotland).

The total number of UK companies now stands at 3,962,909, representing a 37% increase over the past five years.

More than 1 million companies are registered in London. Greater Manchester and the West Midlands are the next highest in the league table of registered companies. Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are the highest in their respective nations.

This information comes from the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations 2016, which includes a detailed analysis of formations. You can read the report at http://www.informdirect.co.uk/company-formations-2016/

We produce this report annually based on combining data from the official register of companies held by Companies House, the ONS and our own company formation, dissolution and registration data.

• John Korchak is Operations Director at Inform Direct

This article is taken from “Accounting Practice” the ICPA quarterly magazine. Dedicated to supporting and promoting the needs of the general practitioner. You can find us at www.icpa.org.uk or email [email protected] or by phone on 0800-074-2896.

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