Business Demography, Quarterly, UK - October To December 2023

7th February 2024

The number of businesses added to the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) (business creations) in the UK in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023 was 2.6% higher than in Quarter 4 2022.

There was an increase in creations in 14 out of 16 main industrial groups in Quarter 4 2023 compared with Quarter 4 2022, with the most significant increase coming from the accommodation and food service industries.

The number of businesses removed from the IDBR (business closures) in the UK in Quarter 4 2023 was 9.8% lower than in Quarter 4 2022.

There was a decrease in the number of closures in 11 out of 16 main industrial groups in Quarter 4 2023 compared with Quarter 4 2022; the most significant decrease came from professional, scientific and technical activities.

Business creations
Business creations are new enterprise entries in the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). These are referred to as business births in our annual Business demography, UK bulletins and other data. For more information, see Section 6: Measuring the data, and Section 5: Glossary of this bulletin.

The number of IDBR business creations in the UK in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023 was 71,795. This figure is 2.6% higher than the number of business creations in Quarter 4 2022.

The number of business creations increased in 14 out of 16 main industrial groups during this quarter compared with Quarter 4 2022. The most significant increase came in the accommodation and food service industries, where business creations were up by 22%. Within accommodation and food service industries, take-away food shops and mobile food stands showed the biggest increase.

Read the full ONS report HERE