smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

The number of businesses starting up in the first three months of 2006 was up almost 25 per cent on the same period last year, according to figures from Barclays, making it one of the strongest first quarters of recent times.

Barclays’ regular report estimates that 110,300 new businesses started up in the first quarter of 2006, compared to 88,800. It was the second strongest first quarter on record since Barclays started tracking the market in 1988.

‘A strong cyclical rebound in people starting a business has occurred in the first quarter but despite the high levels, the trading conditions for small business are still quite tough,’ comments John Davis, marketing director for local business at Barclays. ‘We expect a more widespread improvement in small business trading conditions to occur later in 2006 and into 2007 as the current economic conditions pick up, providing improving opportunities for more individuals to set up and grow their business.’

More women set up their own businesses at the start of this year: 20,600, up from 16,700 last year. This is still significantly lower than the 75,400 men becoming their own bosses.

However, on a bleaker note, the number of closures also increased, slightly outpacing openings with 111,200 shutting down, an increase of almost a half on 2005. Barclays tempers these figures by pointing out that this follows several years of strong start-up growth so ‘there was likely to be some correction’ and so this increase is not a matter for great concern.

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