2014 a record-breaking year for start-ups in Wiltshire

2014 was a record-breaking year for company formations in Swindon and Wiltshire, according to new data.

Online company records management company Inform Direct crunched the numbers to discover that 4,208 new companies had been formed in Swindon and Wiltshire last year – up more than five percent on 2013.

This compares favourably with the 2,707 businesses that were dissolved in the same period.

That means the number of companies operating in Wiltshire has grown by 28 percent over the past five years.

In Swindon alone, 1,430 new businesses were registered.

The total number of active companies based in the county passed 30,000 for the first time, standing at 31,016 by the end of 2014.

However, the number of company formations in the county – at 6.2 per 1,000 people – is below the national average of 9.2 / 1,000.

And the number of companies in the county per 1,000 people is also below the national average: 45.3 per 1,000 compared with 55.3 per 1,000.

The statistics also show that although the net number of businesses is growing, the rate of increase is slowing down: 6.2 percent in 2011, 6.9 percent in 2012, 5.7 percent in 2013, and 5.1 percent in 2014.

Just over 96 percent of the new businesses registered as Private Limited Companies. The remaining 3.8 percent formed as Limited Liability Partnerships, Companies Limited by Guarantee, Limited Partnerships, and Community Interest Companies.

For an easy-to-digest infographic, log on to http://www.informdirect.co.uk/company-formations-2014/wiltshire/