New company start-ups in Peterborough power record growth across county

​More than 2,000 new businesses were registered in Peterborough last year despite challenges posed by rising prices and supply chain difficulties. ​

A new survey has revealed that 2,698 start up businesses were registered in Peterborough alone last year – up from 2,629 in 2022.

The new figure is more than in any of the six districts that make up Cambridgeshire, including the city of Cambridge.

The figures also show that 2,106 companies in Peterborough were dissolved in 2023. By the end of the year, there were 14,243 registered businesses in the city.

And for the county as a whole, the total number of new business registrations was a record at 8,677 – up 12.1 per cent on 2022 when 7,739 business registrations were recorded.

It brings the number of registered companies in the county to an all-time high of 60,023.

According to figures from business services specialist Inform Direct, 1,865 businesses were registered in Cambridge and 1,614 in South Cambridgeshire while in Huntingdonshire there were 1,281, plus 706 in Fenland and 490 in East Cambridgeshire.

John Korchak, managing director at Inform Direct, said: “It is excellent news that Cambridgeshire can celebrate a record year for new company formations during 2023.

“The year undoubtedly presented a range of challenges for business including tepid predictions of economic growth, volatility in energy prices and uncertainty from world events.

"However, the formation figures demonstrate very clearly that Cambridgeshire entrepreneurs remained undeterred and pursued their ambitions to establish new ventures.”

Mr Korchak added: “This positive picture is mirrored in the overall position for the UK which saw the highest ever number of new companies established during 2023 at 900,006.”

This was compared to 805,141 new company registrations in 2022 – up 11.8 per cent.

It brings the total number of UK companies to 5,476,772.

The number of company dissolutions was 662,915.