Southampton’s Koozai reports on businesses and the cost of living crisis

This research, which compiled results based on analysis of the latest records from the Office of National Statistics of businesses registered with Companies House, shows that 202,130 new UK businesses were set up in the first 12 weeks of 2023. This number is a 19.5 per cent increase on the final 12 weeks of 2022.

The increased number of UK businesses indicates that budding entrepreneurs have not been dissuaded by the Cost of Living crisis. In fact, in the last 64 weeks, a period covering the majority of the Cost of Living Crisis so far, there have been 52,130 more new UK businesses set up than in the preceding 64 weeks.

Despite the enthusiasm and optimism of new UK entrepreneurs there has also been a marked increase in the amount of compulsory dissolutions of UK businesses in 2023. So far this year there have been a record 143,154 compulsory business UK dissolutions, which is 51.7 per cent more than in the same period of 2019 (the year before the onset of Covid-19). This is also seven per cent more than in the same period last year. Compulsory dissolutions made up nearly two in three (65.4 per cent) of all businesses struck off in the first quarter of this year.

Senior organic data specialist at Koozai Gary Hainsworth said: 

“Our analysis shows that the challenging economic environment has not yet put off UK entrepreneurs. In fact, quite the opposite is true, as the number of new companies continues to grow YoY since the pandemic. It’s possible that confidence may wane if business dissolutions and costs continue to rise, however this hasn’t so far deterred people from taking the plunge to set up a new business.”

Source: The Business Magazine