Growth report Bristol saw 4,000 new businesses

It’s clear that the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way that those in the UK view their relationships with their careers

MORE than 30,000 new businesses were incorporated in the South West during the Covid lockdown year, new figures show.

And Bristol saw an increase of 4,000 – above the regional average but falling below the national average. The statistics, for June 2020 to June 2021, reveal a 12 per cent increase for the South West on the previous year, with more than 6,300 of the new enterprises being retailers, a jump of more than 45 per cent, ahead of more than 4,200 new construction firms and a similar number of new professional services businesses.

There were 3,500 new property businesses and about 3,000 new hospitality enterprises were incorporated too.

It is thought that a combination of furlough, redundancies and difficult working conditions encouraged entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Read the full report here.

Devon saw the biggest increase in startups, with more than 7,000 new businesses, a 12 per cent hike, slightly higher than the figure for Gloucestershire, which was 14% up but not quite the same total. In Devon, Teignbridge was the fastest-growing Devon start-up district during the 12 months, with a 17 per cent increase of new firms, about 600 enterprises created, yearonyear. Exeter St David’s, with a 47 per cent spike, was the ward with the highest number of new businesses and Castle ward in Mid Devon had the lowest growth, with 29 per cent fewer than the previous year.

Plymouth had the largest total number of start-ups in the county, with about 1,500 new incorporations, a rise of 15 per cent on the 2019 to 2020 figure.

Dorset and Somerset both registered more than 6,000 new ventures, with Wiltshire at just under 5,000, Bristol having more than 4,000, and Cornwall at just above the 3,000 mark, which was nonetheless a 16 per cent rise.

The figures were compiled by Growtion, the start-up support organisation which produces the Business Growth Index, and compiles two major annual reports, and monthly ones, based on Companies House data.

The report said: “Gloucestershire and Devon tussled to claim South West region’s top spot in the county startup stakes over the last year. Despite a spirited 14 per cent (874) spurt in growth from Gloucestershire, Devon’s 12 per cent (779) maintained its dominance by a tiny margin, with 7,125 overall com

pared with 6,994.

“Overall, despite a 12 per cent increase in new businesses across the region, South West remained some way behind the UK average growth of 18%.

“Whilst Cornwall (16 per cent) and Bristol (13 per cent) joined Gloucestershire in achieving higher than the 12 per cent regional average, none posted gains in excess of the mean achieved by the rest of the country.”

The report added that retail, up by 35 per cent, was the biggest winner in terms of industry category in the region.

But it added: “However, whilst in every other region the growth rate of new startups in online and mail order was 67 per cent or more, in the South West this was just 53 per cent.

“Having perhaps the least accessible regional transport network in the country, it might be argued, is impeding creation of these businesses.”

Nationally, the Growtion Business Growth Index Report 2020-2021 showed 18 per cent more UK businesses were incorporated in the year to June 30, 2021, than the year before - and the biggest gains (84 per cent) were in online retail.

The report said: “Lockdowns, furloughs, challenging working conditions and redundancies created a perfect environment for those with an entrepreneurial bent, not only to reflect on their lives and where their purpose lay, but also to finesse their business ideas and get launching out into the world.

“From Bangor to Battersea, Belfast to Basingstoke, Balbeggie to Bridlington, the UK’s start-up scene surged in the past 12 months – and the Growtion Business Growth Index Report 2020-2021 shows exactly which regions, counties and towns saw the highest activity in that most unusual of years.

“It also details the types of businesses that were created over the period compared with the previous one, and which sectors saw the highest and lowest increases.”

The report stressed: “It’s clear that the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way that those in the UK view their relationships with their careers – and that more people than ever before are starting their entrepreneurial journeys as a result.

“The Growtion Business Growth Index Report 2020-2021 quantifies this seismic change and provides pathways for each geographical area to sustain its fresh-faced founders.”

The Growtion Business Growth Index is created from Companies House information using a “unique algorithm” which can accurately track trends across geographies and industries.

Growtion Business Growth Index Report 2020-2021

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