North West outpaces London on new business figures

The number of businesses in the North West has grown at a record pace so far in 2016, according to new research.

Analysis from R3, the insolvency trade body, found that the number of active companies in the region grew by 7% during the six months to June, which is more than twice the number of new firms setting up in London (3%) over the same period.

A total of 20.5k companies were established in the North West during H1 2016, bringing the overall number of active businesses in the region past the 335k mark.

The fastest growing sector was transport, which increased by 10% or 428 additional firms, followed by the restaurant sector, which grew by 5% with the launch of 222 new businesses.

The number of pubs, meanwhile, rose by 4% or 77 companies.

The construction sector saw the biggest increase in terms of new business numbers, with 660 firms set up in the first six months of the year. The figure represents an increase of 3%.

R3’s North West chair Richard Wolff, who is also head of corporate recovery and insolvency with Manchester law firm JMW, commented: “The rate of company formations appears to have speeded up significantly this year in the North West and in other parts of the North.

“In part this may due to increased business confidence in the Northern Powerhouse regions, however it also reflects perhaps the growing spirit of entrepreneurialism.”

He continued: “Attitudes have changed in recent times. There is arguably greater interest in business generally and people are certainly being more flexible in their approach to work. Going it alone and being your own boss is now a valid career choice.

“Meanwhile the rise of the sharing economy, including networks such as Airbnb, Deliveroo and Uber along with easy-to-use e-commerce platforms have opened up new possibilities. In some cases people are running small businesses alongside their day jobs or as part of a ‘portfolio career’.”

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