The number of businesses in Cumbria reached a record high during 2021, new figures show.
The total number of registered companies in the county rose to 22,499, despite the economic challenges posed by the pandemic. During the year 2,286 new businesses were registered in the county.
The statistics come from the secretarial software company Inform Direct’s Review of Company Formations using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.
Carlisle formed the highest number of new businesses (593), followed by South Lakeland (563) and Allerdale (394).
John Korchak, Operations Director at Inform Direct said: “It is excellent news to see so many new businesses being started in Cumbria, a trend which has propelled the county to a new record number of resident companies.
“Cumbria boasts an active economy, demonstrated by this latest increase in the number of businesses based in the county. Entrepreneurs are clearly motivated to invest in new businesses which meet current and emerging demands for goods or services. The overall picture for the UK as a whole is also an optimistic one with the total number of companies now exceeding five million for the very first time.”
The UK saw 771,617 new businesses formed, compared to 780,760 in 2020. The overall number of UK companies totalled 5,005,147, a 3.5 per cent increase on the total of 4,837,426 at the end of 2020. This continues a 10-year trend which shows the number of businesses in the UK doubling in that period.
Whilst company formations grew, the number of dissolutions across the UK – 606,912 during 2021 – hit a record high. Reasons for this may be that new enterprises set up early in the pandemic may no longer be operating as people have returned to full-time employment or businesses thriving pre-COVID-19 have suffered as behavioural and spending patterns have changed.
The total number of new companies by district in 2021 is accompanied in brackets by the total number of companies by the end of 2021:
- Carlisle – 593 (5,507)
- South Lakeland – 563 (6,402)
- Allerdale – 394 (3,904)
- Barrow-in-Furness – 274 (2,249)
- Eden – 265 (2,633)
- Copeland – 190 (1,630)
