OVER 20 businesses were created per day in Glasgow in the first half of 2022, according to new research by iwoca – one of Europe’s largest small business lenders.
Analysis of Companies House data reveals that 3,742 businesses were registered in Glasgow between January and June 2022, an increase of 15% from 2021, and an increase of 48% from the same period in 2019. In Edinburgh, 2,952 new businesses were created in the same period.
iwoca’s Small Business HotSpots UK 2022 shows that Glasgow saw the highest rate of new business creation per capita out of all local authorities in Scotland in the first half of this year with 589 businesses being created per 100,000 people. Edinburgh saw the second highest business growth in Scotland, with 561 per 100,000, followed by Dundee (384).
Scotland experienced the lowest rate of new business creation per capita out of all UK regions, with 338 per 100,000, up 19% from 2021.
Across the UK, 93 new businesses were created every hour in the first half of 2022 with over 402,000 businesses registered in the UK between January and June 2022, an increase of 18% from 340,500 over the same time period in 2021.
London saw the highest rate of business creation in the first half of this year per 100,000, followed by the West Midlands (571) and North West (554).
The rise in new businesses sits alongside an increase in the number of workers seen moving jobs this year. Total job to job moves within the UK increased to a record high of 997,000 during the first quarter. The ONS states that this rise has been driven by resignations – suggesting that some workers are deciding to quit their jobs and set up new businesses.
Seema Desai, iwoca’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Despite the prevailing headwinds of an impending recession, we are encouraged to see that so many businesses have been created during the first half of this year.”
“As many of these businesses struggle with cash flow in the coming months due to skyrocketing business costs, it is vital that lenders step in to provide a helping hand. We are proud to do our part at iwoca adapting to the needs of small businesses. We do this mainly by deploying the latest embedded technology so that SMEs across the country can access our finance through the services they already use day-to -day.”
iwoca was accredited to the Recovery Loan Scheme, having distributed nearly £400 million to small businesses through the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). In June 2020 the lender launched iwocaPay – an online buy now pay later invoice checkout to help small businesses get paid. iwoca is reaching 1.8 million businesses across the UK and Germany through its embedded lending technology, which allows businesses to access loans through a range of platforms such as accountancy software apps and digital neo-banks. The company has also recently launched free mental health support for all small businesses in the UK, in partnership with online therapy platform Spill.
