Record number of businesses close across the UK

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that a record number of businesses closed across the UK last year, surpassing the ‘birth rate’ of new businesses.

The research found that 345,000 businesses shut their doors in 2022, the highest figure since records began in 2002. Meanwhile, 337,000 new businesses started trading, down from the previous year.

Transport and storage businesses were the hardest hit, with a death rate of 23.8%. London had the highest birth rate, while the East Midlands had the highest death rate. Northern Ireland had the lowest closure rate and the highest five-year survival rate.

Commenting on the figures Roger Barker, Director of Policy and Corporate Governance at the Institute of Directors said “2022 was a difficult year for UK businesses, as they emerged out of the restrictions of the pandemic and straight into the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”