Number of small business start ups falls

After achieving record highs last year the number of small business start ups fell in the first quarter of 2005 from 129,500 in Q1 2004 to 116,300, according to data released by Barclays last week.

Louise Fowler, small business marketing director for Barclays said

“Despite this slight fall, start ups are still 15 per cent higher than average for this time of year (99,000). However despite the good start, the fall in consumer spending on the high street and uncertainty surrounding the housing market are set to dampen start ups for the remainder of the year. We expect start up figures to end the year at around 430,000 compared to 460,000 in 2004.”

Barclays quarterly start ups survey also reveals that 21,900 females started businesses compared with 78,600 for men in the first quarter of 2005. To encourage women to buck this trend, handbag.com and Barclays Business Plan Awards are calling for women to turn their business idea into reality. Entries can be submitted by visiting http://www.handbag.com/yourbusiness.

Key regional highlights of the quarterly start up survey:

- Wales was the only region where start ups didn’t see a fall, followed by London which saw a small decline of 3 per cent.

- There were 45 local authorities across England and Wales where start ups actually increased, the top three being Torfaen in Wales, Barking and Dagenham (London) and Rotherham in Yorkshire (62 per cent, 59 per cent and 56 per cent respectively).

- The South West saw the greatest proportion of solely female start ups accounting for 22 per cent of new businesses in the region compared to the national average of 19 per cent. They were closely followed the East of England (20 per cent). However, in the North West only 17 per cent of start ups were solely by women.