Record breaking 2,095 businesses are created in the UK every day

New research has revealed that more British businesses were set up this year than any second quarter in history

About us

Startups was founded over 20 years ago by a serial entrepreneur. Today, our expert team of writers, researchers, and editors work to provide our 4 million readers with useful tips and information, as well as running award-winning campaigns.
Written and reviewed by:

A recent study carried out by Tax app Ember has found that the UK is on course for 800,000 new companies to be created this year – the most ever recorded in a single year.

Ember analysed data from Companies House, the UK’s registrar of companies, from the start of April up until the end of June 2021, and concluded that over 190,639 new businesses were registered across the country during this period, equating to 87 businesses every single hour.

This is the first time the UK has ever hit such a milestone, and is an encouraging sign that industries across the country are beginning to recover after the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first six months of 2021, 402,007 businesses have been created in total, which is close to surpassing the 440,638 new companies incorporated in the whole of 2011.

The number of new businesses totalled 768,777 in the calendar year of 2020, an average of 192,194 per quarter, or 2,106 each day.

Commenting on the study, Ember co-founder Daniel Hogan said: “July of 2020 seems to have been the starting point for a new business boom in the UK – the third quarter of 2020 saw the highest number of business incorporations in British history. That has been followed by three more quarters of impressive growth, and it’s great to see so many new companies being created.”

The table below shows the top ten quarters of new businesses incorporated over recent years.

RankYearQuarterNumber of new businesses incorporated
12020Q3221,020
22021Q1211,368
32020Q4201,820
42021Q2190,639
52019Q1182,742
62020Q2176,115
72016Q2172,935
82016Q1172,096
92017Q1170,143
102019Q2169,976
Written by:
Ross has been writing for Startups since 2021, specialising in telephone systems, digital marketing, payroll, and sustainable business. He also runs the successful entrepreneur section of the website. Having graduated with a Masters in Journalism, Ross went on to write for Condé Nast Traveller and the NME, before moving in to the world of business journalism. Ross has been involved in startups from a young age, and has a keen eye for exciting, innovative new businesses. Follow him on his Twitter - @startupsross for helpful business tips.

Leave a comment

Leave a reply

We value your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy.

Back to Top