February 2019.

More than 216,000 new businesses were registered in the greater London area last year, a 6.45 per cent increase on 2017. Across the UK as a whole, the number of new companies registered last year rose by 5.7 per cent to over 660,000 – a record high.

The number of start-ups in London was more than 10 times that recorded in second-placed Birmingham as the capital continued to dominate entrepreneurial activity.

“It is encouraging to see formation numbers recover and hit a new high,” said Matt Smith, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE), the think tank which compiled the figures using data from Companies House.

“These figures demonstrate the resilience and confidence of entrepreneurs across the country, confirmed by…the strengthening of London as Europe’s leading startup hub,” he added.