- 27 Feb 2021 marked the start of the week when the UK’s largest number of new companies were created
- Seven day figure surpassed 19,000 incorporations for the first time since records began in 2019
New research has revealed that the final weekend in February 2021 marked the start of the week when a record number of British businesses were created.
The study by tax app Ember found that “week 10” of 2021 – from Saturday 27 February to Friday 5 March – saw 19,104 new business created at Companies House. This was the first time since records of weekly data began, at the start of 2019, that the seven day figure passed 19,000.
The data reveals that an average of 14,668 companies are being created each week so far this year (from week 1 to week 39, which ends on 24 September), which puts it ahead of the 2020 rate at the same point of the year, when the average stood at 14,249. Pre-pandemic incorporation levels were lower, with the average up to week 39 in 2019 standing at 13,226.
Commenting on the figures, Ember co-founder Daniel Hogan said: “The weekly incorporation data offers a compelling insight into business trends through the year. Looking at 2020, we can clearly see the impact of the pandemic and the first lockdown in the middle of March, with incorporation figures dropping by half.
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“However as restrictions were gradually lifted, new British businesses came roaring back into life. From June 2020 onwards the pace of new incorporations picked up significantly, and by the end of the year, there had been five separate weeks with more than 18,000 new business created in each. That level hadn’t been reached before then, and so far this year the 18,000 barrier has only been surpassed once.
“Interestingly, the UK-wide lockdown that began at the start of 2021 didn’t negatively impact incorporations in the same way the March 2020 lockdown did. Weekly numbers remained high in January and February, with an average of 15,048 new incorporations per week, building up to the record 19,104 new businesses created in the seven days between 27 February and 5 March.
“The impact of the pandemic appears to have sparked a passion for entrepreneurialism in the UK. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the coming months, with the country on track for the largest number of new businesses ever created in a year.”
The research was conducted by Ember, the tax app that automates users’ accounting and sorts their taxes to help make business admin simpler and more cost effective.
