Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit stays robust, with 84 new corporations launched each hour within the first half of 2025, based on contemporary evaluation from SME lender iwoca.
The annual Enterprise Hotspots report, which pulls on Firms Home information, discovered that greater than 363,000 companies have been registered between January and June 2025. Nevertheless, this marked a 21% fall in contrast with the identical interval in 2024 — the primary nationwide decline since iwoca started its index in 2021.
The drop follows reforms to Firms Home guidelines in spring 2024, which elevated registration necessities and charges to assist deal with fraud and tax evasion. Persistently low SME confidence has additionally weighed on start-up exercise.
Wales was the worst-hit area, with new registrations down 39% year-on-year. Cardiff skilled the sharpest fall of any native authority, halving from 15,679 in H1 2024 to 7,485 this 12 months. In contrast, Somerset bucked the pattern with a 167% enhance in registrations, rising from 603 to 1,612.
The South West weathered the slowdown greatest, with only a 9% fall, whereas most areas noticed double-digit declines. General, 201 native authorities recorded fewer new companies, with solely three registering a rise.
London retained its crown because the UK’s entrepreneurial hub, with 1,307 new companies created per 100,000 residents — the very best within the nation for the fifth 12 months operating. That dominance got here regardless of a 25% fall within the uncooked variety of registrations, from 152,439 in H1 2024 to 114,905 this 12 months.
The North West climbed to second place with 570 companies per 100,000 individuals, outperforming the nationwide common with solely a ten% decline in whole registrations. The West Midlands adopted with 532 per 100,000, whereas Wales dropped to fourth place and Scotland slid to the underside of the desk with 328 per 100,000.
On the native stage, Camden as soon as once more topped iwoca’s listing, recording 7,031 new companies per 100,000 residents. Westminster got here second (5,084 per 100,000) and Islington third (4,749). Cardiff was the one non-London authority within the prime 10, inserting sixth, whereas Manchester ranked thirteenth general with 1,168 per 100,000.
Regardless of the general slowdown, iwoca’s CEO and co-founder Christoph Rieche insisted that the figures highlighted Britain’s enduring entrepreneurial resilience.
“Begin-ups are the contemporary organisms in our financial ecosystem, driving innovation, effectivity and future prosperity,” Rieche stated. “Whereas new enterprise registrations fell in 2025 as a consequence of stricter Firms Home guidelines, it’s encouraging to see over 363,000 new companies nonetheless launched within the first half of the 12 months. This clearly reveals that Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit stays extremely robust. We want all these founders each success.”
