Business

Number of new businesses on the rise in Northern Ireland

The number of new business set up in Northern Ireland continues to grow
The number of new business set up in Northern Ireland continues to grow The number of new business set up in Northern Ireland continues to grow

THE number of new business set up in Northern Ireland continues to grow according to the latest figures.

In contrast to the UK, which saw overall reduction in new company formations, 7,398 local firms were registered in 2017 compared to 7,389 in 2016.

This brings the total number of registered companies in Northern Ireland to 58,754, up from 55,135 at the end of 2016, which equates to 6.6 per cent growth.

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

Belfast formed the most new businesses (1,903), followed by Newry, Mourne and Down (1,129) and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (675).

Across the UK as a whole, there was a reduction in the number of new company formations – 634,116 compared with 664,720 in 2016.

However the number of registered companies in the UK continued to grow, passing the 4,000,000 milestone during 2017 and finishing the year with a total of 4,120,349.

John Korchak, Director of Operations at Inform Direct said: “These figures for new company formations during 2017 show that Northern Ireland continues to be a fertile ground for entrepreneurs and new business ventures.

“The results buck the national trend which saw an overall reduction in the number of new company formations compared to 2016. This slowdown could be attributed, at least in part, to ongoing political uncertainty and concern in the business community over the impact of Brexit.”

Of the 569,585 formations in England, 205,527 were in London. 34,002 companies were formed in Scotland, 17,408 in Wales and 7,398 in Northern Ireland.