New businesses in London grew by 6.9 per cent last year
Britain’s economy continues to grow as new figures show 89,000 new businesses opened between March 2015 and 2015 – a 3.8 per cent increase.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the number of businesses in the UK, which it defines as having VAT or PAYE systems, has been picking up since the recession as GDP increases. This year there were 2.45m enterprises.
London has the largest number of businesses, with 18.2 per cent of the UK total, and has also experienced the largest growth – 6.9 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
The largest industry groups are professional, scientific and technical services, which account for 17.8 per cent of all registered businesses in the UK compared with 17.3 per cent in 2014.
Construction and the retail and repair of motor vehicles are the next largest sectors, accounting for 11.6 and 15 per cent of total businesses respectively.
The vast majority, 66.8 per cent, are public corporations or companies, not partnerships.