New start-ups boost business confidence

THE number of new business start-ups in the area covered by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) rose by 11.9 per cent in the past year.

When broken down into individual districts, Warwick performed best with a 22.5 per cent increase in start-up activity, followed by Nuneaton and Bedworth (15 per cent up),

Rugby (3.7 per cent), North Warwickshire (3.6 per cent) and Stratford (3.2 per cent).

The national average is an increase of 1.2 per cent.

Craig Humphrey, managing director of the CWLEP Growth Hub, said: “These figures bode very well for our regional economy.

“Of course, everyone knows some of the wonderful names we have in this region, from Jaguar Land Rover through to Holland and Barrett.

“And while they are key to our regional success, smaller companies account for a huge number of jobs and have a major economic impact on our area.

“So to see our LEP area coming out strongest when it comes to business start-ups over the past year is extremely positive news.

“We will continue to create the right conditions for entrepreneurs to flourish and we recognise the challenges involved in starting and then moving a business on to the next level.

The high number of new start-ups comes as business confidence is high, according to the findings of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s first Quarterly Economic Survey of the year.

Louise Bennett, chamber chief executive, said: “This is a very robust survey, especially as we had such a strong response from businesses in the region.

“Our first QES of 2017 was very healthy and we are doing extremely well when you compare us to the rest of the UK, and the wider West Midlands, which bodes well for the next year and beyond.”

The full QES results can be downloaded here: