Some 351,000 new businesses were created in 2014, one per cent more than the previous year and the highest number since records began in 2000.
The figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that 246,000 businesses closed down in 2014, 3.5 per cent more than the previous year. However the total number of active businesses rose by four per cent to reach 2.6 million, the highest on record.
According to SME finance provider Ashley Business Finance, the figures indicate that the UK has entered a new age of entrepreneurship.
Lisa Mayers, sales manager at Ashley Finance says, ‘The number of start-ups has been rising year on year since 2010. Successive waves of redundancies during the downturn have helped to create a new generation of entrepreneurs.
‘Advances in IT have made it easier to set up alone, while ‘celebrity entrepreneurs’ such as Richard Branson have inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to run their own business.’
Mayers adds that, at a time when traditional bank lending has been in decline, alternative finance providers have been playing an important role in supporting this new wave of early-stage businesses.
‘Although funding still remains a challenge for some, there are now many more options for start-ups and SMEs. The alternative finance market has been growing rapidly. Firms need to be aware that we are in a completely new funding landscape and find out more about the options available.’
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