Support experts are ready for the new business boom
New business support experts in Sunderland say they are ready to help launch the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Almost 4,200 new businesses were set up in the North East during the first quarter of 2022 – and the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) says it is ready to help them grow.
The BIC – with sites in Sunderland, Washington and Darlington – has helped over 4,000 people set up businesses since its formation in 1994, creating 7,500 jobs and providing workspace for over 1,000 firms to innovate and grow.
Paul McEldon, chief executive of the North East BIC, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many budding entrepreneurs continuing to make the leap into self-employment.
“Some of the world’s biggest brands have been born out of adversity – from AirBnB and Whatsapp during the financial crisis of the early 2000s to Disney and IBM during the Great Depression.
"It’s fantastic to see that the North East certainly hasn’t lost its entrepreneurial spirit, which will be key to rebuilding the regional economy after the pandemic."
He added: “Since the turn of the year, we’ve received hundreds of inquiries from people across the region wanting to learn more about setting up in business and many of them have turned their dreams into reality.
"Hopefully this is a trend that we see continue throughout the year.”
The start-up figures come from research by insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.
It found that there were 4,187 new businesses set up in the region in January, February and March.
Insolvency-related activity also fell by more than two-thirds between March and April, with industry leaders praising the ‘confidence’ and ‘resilience’ the region’s businesses in bouncing back from the pandemic.
Chris Ferguson, North East chair of R3, said: “The North East has always been a hotbed of business and industrial ideas, whatever the prevailing economic conditions, and enthusiasm for putting these ideas into practice clearly remains strong.”
For more information on the North East BIC, go to http://www.ne-bic.co.uk