During the first four months of this year there were 15.7% more businesses starting up in England than compared to the same period last year. Looking at each region’s less prosperous areas, the North have seen a higher proportion of starts forming in these less prosperous localities than their counterparts in the South.
Simon Anderson, Managing Director of BankSearch said “In England 40,725 new businesses started up in April and this continues the upward trend in the number of starts seen since the beginning of the year. Within the regions there are wide variations. Places like the North East and North West have achieved a very high level of new business start ups in their less prosperous areas. Over a third of all company formations in the North were situated in the less prosperous areas within these regions. Whereas the proportion of starts in the less prosperous areas of the South East (8%), East of England(10%) and South West (13%) was not as strong”.
Stephen Pegge, Chairman of the British Bankers Association Small Firms Advisory Panel said “there are always pockets where the uplift in the number of business starts is stronger than the national average. What is interesting here is that enterprise is proving to be the activity of choice where employment markets are not so strong especially in the north of England”.