New business creation reaches all-time record high

An all-time record high number of new UK businesses were created during lockdown at 302,000*, with aspiring entrepreneurs using the pandemic as a springboard to start a new venture, says Growthdeck, the private equity investment firm.

One year on from lockdown, 35,633 new UK businesses were registered in March 2021, the highest monthly figure since HMRC began keeping records in the late 1980s. Despite a slight dip in new business creation at the beginning of lockdown, these numbers have quickly recovered since.

Growthdeck says although the pandemic has caused temporary and even permanent closures of businesses, individuals have not been deterred. Instead, they have taken this opportunity to make use of advances in technology and the rising popularity of social media to scale up and market their idea, which is now easier to do than ever.

Gary Robins, head of business development at Growthdeck, says: “British entrepreneurs have quickly bounced back from the shaky start at the beginning of lockdown and far exceeded previous levels of new business creation.”

“Despite the devastating shock of Covid to the economy, people are holding out for a fast recovery as Covid restrictions are lifted.”

Research earlier this year by Growthdeck found that e-commerce start-ups in particular boomed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

An average of 4,613 online retail businesses were set up per month during the peak coronavirus months of April, May and June 2020, up 66% from 2,783 on average per month in the previous year**.

Growthdeck says that the sudden surge in new business creation is a reminder that the government should do everything it can to ensure these businesses have access to the investment they need to scale up. It is vital that schemes such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the government’s flagship tax-advantaged investment scheme for growth businesses, is protected from any tax increases.

Adds Gary Robins: “As the economy reopens and businesses begin to get back up on their feet again, this presents an opportunity for the government to turn its focus to supporting start-ups and growth businesses.”

“The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a crucial initiative that gets vital equity investment to SMEs and accelerates business growth. Keeping the scheme in place and even increasing tax incentives will be key in ensuring these businesses continue to get the investment they need.”

All-time record high number of new UK businesses registered during lockdown

* National statistics on new VAT registrations, covering April 1 2020 – March 31 2021; January, February and March 2021 provisional figures from HMRC
**2019/20; year-end March 31