New-start businesses reach record high

The minor increase - 10,646 were registered in the county compared to 10,600 in 2016 - stands in contrast to the national trend which saw an overall reduction in new company formations.

Blackpool formed the most new businesses (1,358), followed by Blackburn with Darwen (1,315) and Preston (1,276).

“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.”

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. 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.