Gloucestershire sees 20% drop in new business start-ups
New figures show drop in Gloucestershire start-ups are down 20% in just one year.
Companies House data, analysed by Gloucestershire law firm WSP Solicitors, found that new business incorporations in the county have dropped to 685 since Labour’s Autumn Budget announcement on 30th October.
That’s down from 862 during the same period the previous year.
The marked decrease was also evident six months prior to the Autumn Budget, just ahead of the new government being elected, where the number of new businesses was already down 15%.
The number of local companies getting dissolved is also rising with a 3% increase since October last year compared to the year before.
Peter Mardon, Commercial Director at WSP Solicitors, said: “The Government’s Autumn Budget sent shockwaves across organisations in Gloucestershire.
“With increases to both Employer National Insurance Contributions and the minimum wage hiking up labour costs.
“Business Asset Disposal Relief, which is valuable financial relief for owners when they sell their business, has also risen.
“There is a sense that the Government’s persistent tax hikes on businesses are creating an anti-entrepreneur environment.
“Especially when we read reports that a record number of millionaires left the UK last year.
“Our data echoes this sentiment with signs of fewer people forming new companies in the county, alongside the number of organisations closing their doors.”
WSP’s findings follow the latest ONS reports in May, showing the sharpest rise in UK unemployment in nearly four years.
Figures have reached 4.5% in the first three months of this year which is up 0.2% on the previous quarter and the highest since the summer of 2021.
A government spokesperson said:
“We are a pro-business government, and we know the vital importance of small businesses to our economy and have already achieved a great deal in a short period of time, including protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise and late payments, and capping corporation tax.
“We are now focused on creating opportunities for businesses to compete and access the finance they need to scale, export and break into new markets."