Number of start-ups in Wales has fallen since the EU referendum

The number of start-up businesses in Wales has fallen significantly since the referendum decision to leave the EU.

A new analysis of start-up activity across the nations and regions of the UK from Creditsafe shows that over a two year period since the referendum vote in June 2016, the number of new businesses in Wales declined by 18.56% the biggest fall of any nation or region in the UK.

The analysis is based on the percentage change in start-ups from May 2016 to April 2017, compared with the following financial year ending April this year.

Wales recorded 22,415 start-ups between May 2016 and April 2017, but dropped to 18,255 in 2018-2019.

Scotland and the South West were the only other parts of the UK to see a decrease over the same period, at 3% and 0.59% respectively.

Creditsafe also gathered data on the number of insolvencies and found Wales to have had a 66% increase in insolvencies over the past three years.

It sits in the middle of the table, with Northern Ireland recorded as the region with the most insolvencies (up 114%), and the West Midlands as the region with the fewest (10.3%).

Ian Price, CBI Wales director said: “New data from Creditsafe is always

hugely instructive and gives great insight into business conditions on the ground. Unfortunately the findings make disappointing reading for Wales, with it seemingly lagging behind other regions and nations.

“There’s a clear need to understand why these statistics suggest that entrepreneurship in Wales in Wales is stalling and how we can learn positive lessons from those parts of the UK that seem to be in a stronger position.

“We also need to check that Brexit is not having a more negative affect on Wales than on other UK regions. A better understanding of the regional impact of Brexit uncertainty could be crucial, particularly as we continue to face the unappetising prospect of no deal.”

Professor Roger Awan-Scully, head of politics and international relations at Cardiff University, said: “We know that Wales is particularly exposed to the economic downside risks of Brexit, and this important new data suggests that it may already be suffering negative consequences. Given that Wales was already one of the economically weakest parts of the UK, this news is very worrying indeed for the future”.