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LONDON, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The number of registered businesses in Britain grew by more than 4 percent in the past year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Tuesday.
London continued to be Britain's business powerhouse with the largest number of registered businesses, accounting for almost a fifth of the total across the country. Britain's capital also experienced the largest growth of 7.2 percent between 2015 and 2016.
ONS said 2.55 million businesses registered in March 2016 compared with 2.45 million in March 2015, a rise of around 105,000, representing a 4.3 percent increase.
The number of companies and public corporations continued to rise and now represents 68.8 percent of total businesses registered in Britain. The number of businesses run by sole proprietors or partnerships has continued to decline and now represents 27.4 percent of total.
The largest industry group remains professional, scientific and technical, accounting for 18.0 percent of all registered businesses, compared with 17.8 percent in 2015. Wholesale, retail and repair of motor vehicles was the second largest sector in 2016, with 14.5 percent of all businesses registered, while construction, accounting for almost 12 percent of all businesses was the third largest sector.
ONS in its analysis said strong growth and low inflation may have provided a good environment for businesses to set up in Britain. Furthermore, through 2015 and 2016, the oil price has remained historically low which may have put downwards pressure on businesses' operating costs. During the period from March 2011 to March 2016, the Bank of England base rate was 0.5 percent.
The historically low interest rate, added ONS, may have encouraged more businesses to set up over the period.
ONS said the employment rate rose to 74.2 percent in the three months to March 2016, meaning three quarters of working age people in Britain are in employment.
The figures are based on the number of businesses registered to pay value-added tax (VAT) as well as those registered to collect income tax under the PAYE (Pay as you Earn) scheme.
Although London experienced the largest increase in businesses set up in the last year, with 32,000 new firms registered, ONS said all regions of Britain also reported an increase in businesses. The growth of businesses in London accounted for 30.5 percent of total growth in Britain between 2015 and 2016, with southeastern England second highest, with a 15.3 percent increase.
Northern Ireland and northeastern England reported the smallest number of new businesses registered during the year, each seeing an increase of just 2.7 percent. Enditem
