Transport among the North West’s fastest growing sectors in 2015

Transport became one of the North West’s fastest growing sectors over the last 12 months, with the number of transport firms in the region growing by 30%.

According to new data from R3, the insolvency trade body, there were more than 4,400 active transport businesses as of last month, a year-on-year increase of more than 1,000.

R3’s North West chair, Richard Wolff, who is also law firm JMW’s head of corporate recovery and insolvency, said: “The phenomenal growth in the transport sector perhaps reflects the increasing popularity of internet shopping and home deliveries and lower fuel prices but could also be due in part to the ‘Uber effect’ which has brought a wave of new entrants into the taxi market.”

The other most popular sectors in the region in 2015 were retail, restaurants and pubs, according to R3 research.

The number of restaurants in the North West rose to over 4,600, an increase of 13%, while the number of pubs grew by 9% to almost 2,100. Further, retailers were found to number over 15k in December, a year-on-year increase of 8%.

Richard continued: “Similarly in the retail market, internet shopping has broken down the barriers to entry to the sector, making it relatively cheap and easy to start an online store, whilst at the same time bringing greater competition for traditional businesses.”

Despite the growth, some of the region’s best performing sectors are considered among the most at risk, with 31% of transport and retail companies, 37% of pubs and 38% of restaurants in the North West considered at a heightened risk of failure in 2016, R3 has said.

The total number of active companies in the North West stood at more than 314k in December 2015, rising by an average of around 2,000 every month last year.

Richard added: “More and more people are taking the opportunity to start their own business – whether through necessity, for example if they have lost their job and decide to create their own livelihood, or because they are pursuing an ambition to run their own business.”