Rate of company registrations increases throughout 2018

John Korchak

Figures just published show that Greater Manchester saw an increase in the number of new company formations during 2018 – despite the challenges of political and economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

In terms of new companies, 31,875 were registered in the county compared with 31,124 in 2017, which represents an increase of 2.4%.

This brings the total number of registered companies in Greater Manchester to 184,396, up from 177,360 at the end of 2017, which equates to 4% growth.

The statistics come from the Inform Direct Review of UK Company Formations using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.

Manchester formed the most new businesses (9,162), followed by Bolton (3,536) and Trafford (3,488).

John Korchak, director of operations at Inform Direct, said: “These figures demonstrate strong growth for new company formations in Greater Manchester.

“It presents a very positive picture for business against a background of political and economic uncertainty and shows that the county continues to provide a supportive environment, both for new business ventures and existing enterprises.”

He added: “This achievement is replicated in a number of counties and in the UK as a whole which has seen a new record total of registered companies.”

Across the UK as a whole, a record number of new companies were formed – 669,855 compared with 634,116 in 2017.

The number of registered companies in the UK also continued to grow, finishing the year with a total of 4,308,022.

Of the 598,323 formations in England, 217,617 were in London. The latest research showed that 33,333 companies were formed in Scotland, 18,079 in Wales and 8,173 in Northern Ireland.

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