Under 24s lead surge in formation of limited companies

by James Agate

A recent report by Experian found that there was a 62% increase in the number of under 24s starting private limited companies. The business information giant also found that the number of entrepreneurs setting up a limited company in general had risen by over 100% in the past five years.

Incredibly there has been a over 40% increase in the total number of companies in existence here in the UK – naturally, to a degree, down to the fact that more people are starting limited companies. But quite encouraging is the fact that Experian says that small companies have managed to maintain the lowest insolvency rate when compared with other  types of companies – demonstrating the resilience and ability to weather the storm of small business owners.

Other key findings include:

• The number of LTD companies that are 1 or 2 man bands has increased by 146% – indicating a clear decision to stay lean and financially healthy. Although not good for our reputation as employment creators.
• The number of female entrepreneurs starting LTD companies also increased with a rise of over 70% with older women leading the way.

Unsurprisingly London saw the highest increase in new LTD company formations with 105% growth over the previous 5 years.

The report by Experian took into account all 4.3million directors on the firm’s business database.