Record year for business start-ups across region
More new businesses were established in the West Midlands during 2022 than in any previous year to date – making it one of the UK’s most successful regions.
A total of 39,355 new formations were registered in the West Midlands during the last 12 months, an increase of 7.9 per cent on 2021 when 36,485 were recorded. This brings the number of registered companies in the region to an all-time high of 211,766.
The number of new businesses was second only to London
The statistics are taken from the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations, using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.
Birmingham formed the highest number of new businesses (18,128), followed by Coventry (5,053) and Sandwell (4,405).
Wolverhampton had 3,754, Walsall 2,997 and Dudley 2,720.
Staffordshire had 8,072, Worcestershire 4,941 and Shropshire 3,132.
John Korchak, managing director at Inform Direct said: “It is great that the West Midlands can celebrate a record year for the number of new businesses established.
“The last few years have been turbulent for businesses, with inflation and a cautious economic outlook following the impact of the pandemic. However, in these figures we see evidence of the ambition, creativity and resilience of entrepreneurs in the West Midlands, as well as the benefits from the county’s support for a range of enterprises.
“This positivity is mirrored in the overall picture for the UK which saw a record number of new companies established during 2022, exceeding 800,000 for the very first time.”
The UK saw 805,141 new companies, compared to 771,617 in 2021, which represents an increase of 4.3 per cent and brings the total number of companies to 5,236,227.
Dissolutions of UK companies totalled 578,679, down on 2021 when 606,912 were recorded, suggesting that new and existing businesses are adapting to survive in a post-pandemic business environment.
