Record number of Barking and Dagenham small business launches
All the award winners, runners-up and highly commened local companies from the Barking and Dagenham Business Awards 2014. - Credit: Archant
A wave of entrepreneurial spirit has seen a record number of businesses launched in Barking and Dagenham over the past year.
Chamber of Commerce president Mark Bass. - Credit: Archant
New figures reveal a 23.4 per cent rise in the number of companies formed compared to the previous 12 months – a higher rate of growth than Westminster.
A total of 2,832 new companies were registered in
2014 across the borough, compared to 2,295 the previous year.
The numbers, compiled by Inform Direct, show Westminster registered a 9.2pc increase in business formations.
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Barking and Dagenham Chamber of Commerce president Mark Bass has welcomed the news.
“It is great to see that Barking and Dagenham continues to be one of the boroughs with the highest level of business start ups,” he said.
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“This builds on good results in 2013 and previous years.
“It is encouraging on many levels, it shows the good work done by the chamber, the business enterprise centre and, even in these straightened times, positive support from the council.
“The opportunities in Barking and Dagenham for enterprise and growth are fantastic, with facilities available for Ssmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”
Henry Catchpole, chief executive of Inform Direct, said: “It is great to see entrepreneurial spirit flourishing in Barking and Dagenham – and to see a 23.4pc increase in a single year is very good news for business in the area.
“It’s a vibrant, diverse and exciting part of London.”
Islington had the second-highest number of new start-ups with 16,814 companies formed in 2014, followed by Barnet with 13,143 and Camden with 12,377.
Last year in the UK as a whole, 586,784 new businesses were registered with Companies House.
Of these, 191,915 were in London, accounting for 32pc of
the start ups across the country.
He added: “While Britain has long been famed as an enterprising nation, the recent explosion in start-up activity has been exceptional.”
