Record number of new businesses started in 2013

New business formation data shows that 2013 has been a record-breaking year for start-ups, with over 520,000 new businesses expected to have been formed by the end of the year

The Startup Britain figures, which are verified and subsequently audited by Companies House, are certainly impressive.

By mid-December 2013, 499,000 businesses had already been formed, so the 500,000 barrier is certain to be broken for the first time by December 31st.

The statistics also show a significant rise in start-up numbers compared to previous years; 440,000 were formed in 2011, and 484,224 last year.

Emma Jones, who co-founded the site, commented; “We’ve been looking at these figures for three years since the campaign began and it’s clear the UK’s start-up community is fit and healthy – and shows no sign of abating.”

The latest Government report, Business Population Estimates (BPE) for the UK and Regions 2013 (PDF), also shows a marked increase in the number of new businesses formed over the past two years.

Between the start of 2012, and start of 2013, 61,000 new sole traderships and 54,000 new limited companies were formed.

Small businesses have often been referred to as the ‘life blood’ of the UK economy, especially by politicians. For good reason, too. According to the Department of BIS data, 99.2% of all UK businesses are defined as ‘small’ (i.e. they have between 0 and 49 employees).

Interestingly, this 99.2% of businesses is responsible for 47% of all private sector employment in the UK, and around one third of all turnover created by private enterprise.

Surprisingly, the number of people deciding to start up businesses on their own has increased each year since 2000, despite the recession. The Government estimates that the total number of business entities increased from 3.5m to 4.9m between 2000 and 2013.

So, with the ever-changing nature of UK employment, the rise in popularity of flexible and remote working, and credible evidence of an economic recovery, 2014 could be an exciting year to start up a new venture.

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