Number of registered UK companies shrinks for the first time since 2012
The UK’s official firm register contracted on the shut of 2024, marking the primary recorded decline since Firms Home started publishing statistics in 2012.
There have been 5,408,707 companies listed on the register on the finish of December—19,879 fewer than the earlier quarter. In the meantime, the so-called “efficient register,” which excludes companies in dissolution or liquidation, dropped by 59,495.
Firms Home attributes a part of this decline to its new powers that allow stricter policing of the register, dissolving corporations that fail to supply an acceptable registered workplace tackle. Nevertheless, the continued financial squeeze can also be a big contributor: within the final three months of 2024 alone, 203,584 firms dissolved, up 24.6 per cent on the identical interval in 2023, whereas registrations fell by 15.5 per cent to 181,261.
Consultants level to a number of components. Henry Whorwood, managing director of analysis at Beauhurst, cites “a double whammy of inflation and the [tax rises in the autumn] price range” as drivers behind the closures. Rachel Reeves’s October increase to employers’ National Insurance from 13.8 to fifteen per cent—alongside a discount within the wage threshold—raised labour prices additional. From April 6, companies should additionally shoulder an additional £2,000 per employee for these on minimal wage.
Michael Steed, a chartered tax adviser and president of the Affiliation of Accounting Technicians, provides that many entrepreneurs might decide to stay sole merchants quite than incorporate, partly due to these rising tax and administrative burdens. “You’ve acquired to do your compliance with Firms Home. You’ve acquired to maintain your minutes, your dividend funds. All these should be in actual time,” he explains. “Whereas in case you evaluate that to being a sole dealer, solely you, HMRC and the Holy Spirit know your outcomes.”
Firms Home had initially postponed publication of its statistics for This autumn 2024 after detecting “anomalies,” later attributed to human error. It has since revised figures for earlier reporting intervals. Regardless of the blip, the most recent information underscores actual pressures on British companies, as regulatory scrutiny, tax obligations, and rising prices proceed to weigh on house owners’ selections about their firm constructions.
