Start-ups - a surge in new businesses post recession

Some interesting stats here which point to a surge in entrepreneurial activity in the UK as the economy slowly emerges from recession.

204,361 new businesses opened in the first half of 2010 according to The Yoodoo Green Shoots of Recovery Report. That is an impressive number and is some 50% higher than the first half of 2008 when the credit crunch and resulting recession really started to bite.

The longer-term picture of start-up growth is also encouraging. According to Companies House, the total number of firms in the UK has increased by 41% in the last five years. The number of small business entrepreneurs in the UK has risen by 117% in the same period. Many of the new start-ups are the result of changed circumstances - e.g. where people find themselves unemployed.

There is also evidence that start-ups are becoming more resilient to weak economic conditions. Perhaps start-ups are planning their business model more effectively? Perhaps they are structuring their businesses more flexibly and efficiently? According to a comment from the Yoodoo surbey:

““The old adage that the majority of new businesses go bankrupt in their first year of trading is simply no longer true. The report confirms that the recession has created a new generation of kitchen table entrepreneurs who are setting up companies based on leaner business models, enabling them to adapt to realities of the new economy.”