Government figures show fewer businesses shut their doors in Ashfield last year

But the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warned business confidence ‘remains low’, adding the recent Budget lacked ‘specific growth measures’ for business investment and recruitment.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, which are rounded to the nearest five, show about 360 businesses closed their doors in Ashfield in 2024 – a fall from 370 the year before.

The data also shows some 340 businesses were created in the area last year, a fall from 370 in 2023.

Across the UK, the number of new businesses increased from 316,000 in 2023 to 317,000 last year.

They accounted for 11.1 per cent of active businesses last year, up slightly from 11 per cent in 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of business closures fell from 310,000 in 2023 to 280,000 in 2024.

It meant 9.8 per cent of active businesses last year shut their doors, down from 10.8 per cent in 2023 and the lowest rate since 2016.

Jonny Haseldine, head of business environment policy at the BCC, said: "Starting and growing a business is a hugely rewarding but challenging task.

"These latest figures are encouraging, particularly seen alongside the difficult economic backdrop of recent years."

He warned business confidence ‘remains low’, adding the Government needs to ‘be doing much more to help firms across the UK’.

He continued: "While the Budget didn't pile another tax hike on all businesses, the Chancellor's statement lacked specific growth measures that will really spark business investment and recruitment."

The figures also show 38.4 per cent of UK businesses created in 2019 survived to 2024.

Across Ashfield, 395 businesses were created in 2019 – 175 (44.3 per cent) were still active last year.

Additionally, 14,330 ‘high-growth’ businesses were recorded in the UK last year – making up 4.9 per cent of active business last year. It was the highest rate since 2018.

A high-growth business is defined as a firm where the average annual growth in the number of employees surpasses 20 per cent over a three-year period.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the increase in high-growth firms is welcome, but added small businesses outside this group are predicting stagnation.

The FSB's Small Business Index for the third quarter of this year showed a 30 per cent increase in the proportion of small firms expecting to downsize, close, or sell in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, some 18 per cent of small businesses said they expect to grow over the same period.

Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the FSB, said: "The survey was carried out before the Budget, and shows that, after the domestic economy, the tax burden was small businesses' second-largest perceived barrier to growth, followed by labour costs.

"With a Budget that did not alleviate these concerns, the majority of small firms could find the next year tough going.

"One issue where the action taken by the Government could be decisive, stemming the loss of dozens of small firms each day, is tackling late payment.

"The very sensible proposals to make large companies more accountable for their payment practices, included in the summer's Small Business Plan, need to be included in the King's Speech, so that small firms in supply chains can have more security about their cashflow, and not have to waste time and effort chasing up overdue invoices."

A Government spokesperson said: "This Government is determined to make the UK the best place in the world to do business and last week’s Budget doubled down on this long‑term plan.

"This increase in businesses helping to grow the economy shows why our plan for small businesses is so important, not to mention our proposals to slash red tape, speed up licensing reforms and create a fairer business rates system."