Latest figures show that more new businesses were established in Cornwall during 2021 than in any previous year – despite the continuing economic challenges resulting from the pandemic.
While 2,145 businesses were dissolved in Cornwall last year, the 2,993 new companies that were registered in the county brings the total number of registered companies in Cornwall to 24,752.
The statistics come from the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.
John Korchak, operations director at Inform Direct said: “It is excellent news to see that Cornwall has achieved a record year for new company formations during 2021 despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic.
“This demonstrates an active economy with entrepreneurs 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.”
However, Cornwall does languish behind the national average. According to the stats, at the end of 2021, there were 46.2 companies in Cornwall per 1,000 people, which compares to a national average of 79.1. And there were 5.6 new incorporations in Cornwall per 1,000 people compared with 12.2 per 1,000 nationally.
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% increase on the total of 4,837,426 at the end of 2020. This continues a ten-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.
Inform Direct Infographic – Company formations in Cornwall 2021
