More than 200 companies set up in Peterborough just three months

​More than 200 companies were created in Peterborough in the final three months of last year – outperforming the national trend.

​New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 235 businesses were created in Peterborough in the last quarter of the year.

And while the figure is lower than 275 businesses created in the city over the same period in 2023 it is still better than the national trend, which saw a record low number of businesses.

However, the number of company creations in Peterborough as last year ended is among the lowest per quarter seen in the city over the last five years.

The best performing quarter was in January to March in 2022, when 455 companies were created. The lowest was April to June 2024 when 230 companies were set up.

There are currently more than 7,800 businesses in Peterborough, according to Opportunity Peterborough.

Across the UK, 65,450 businesses were created in the final quarter of 2024 – down 8.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, and the lowest figure since records began in 2017.

The trend of falling company creations has triggered concerns among business leaders who fear that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ national insurance hike and increases in minimum pay are likely to further flatten business optimism.

It has prompted a call to the Government to ease the ‘significant pressures on business’.

Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said the drop in business births is "concerning".

She said: “It is clear that the breadth and scale of cost increases announced at the Budget will continue to dampen entrepreneurial activity and economic growth.

"Until the Government seeks opportunities to ease the significant pressures on business, there’s a very real risk that the job of lifting the UK’s potential growth is made harder."

Mike Greene, chairman of the Peterborough and Stamford Chamber of Commerce, said: “No one really wants to start up a business in really challenging times or if there is lots of uncertainty.

“But if companies are closing it may be wiser to buy an existing company and repivot it.

He added: “Anything that threatens jobs, growth and businesses will be bad for Peterborough.”

The ONS figures also show that 235 businesses closed in Peterborough between October and December – down from 310 across the same period the previous year.

Across the UK, 69,435 businesses closed in the three months to December, which was 7.3% lower than in the same quarter in 2023.

A government spokesperson said: "We’re backing British business through our Plan for Change, which includes tackling the scourge of late payments and introducing a fairer business rates system which incentivises investment.

"We will be publishing our plan to help small businesses start up and grow later this year."