BERKSHIRE is well and truly open for business.
Latest figures show the county saw more start-ups last year than at any other time since records began.
A total of 9,166 new companies were registered compared to 8,679 in 2017 – an increase of 5.6%.
This brings the total number of registered companies in Berkshire to 68,855, up from 66,738 at the end of 2017, which equates to 3.2% growth.
The statistics come from the Inform Direct Review of UK Company Formations using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.
Slough formed the most new businesses (2,025), followed by Windsor and Maidenhead (1,782) and Reading (1,654).
John Korchak, Director of Operations at Inform Direct said: “These record high figures for new company formations in Berkshire show a very positive picture for business against a background of political and economic uncertainty.
“It is clear that the county continues to provide a supportive environment, both for new business ventures and existing enterprises.
“It is heartening to see entrepreneurs making their mark with increasing numbers of new businesses being formed.
“This picture is mirrored elsewhere in the UK, with a number of regions seeing more new formations in 2018 than at any time in their history and the UK as a whole achieving a new record total of registered companies.”
Across the UK as a whole, a record number of new companies were formed– 669,855 compared with 634,116 in 2017.
The number of registered companies in the UK also continued to grow, finishing the year with a total of 4,308,022.
