Greater Manchester reaches landmark business figure as it registers its 150,000th company

As of today (29 September), there are 150,000 independent businesses operating out of Greater Manchester.

According to data compiled by Inform Direct, the landmark firm registered by Companies House brings the total number of businesses running in the region to a record high.

Henry Catchpole, CEO of Inform Direct, said: “Britain has long been famed as an enterprising nation but in the last year there has been an explosion in start-up activity.

“Since the recent recession, and at least partially sparked by it, we are seeing a real resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit.”

Last year in the UK as a whole, 586,784 new businesses were registered with Companies House taking the total number to a record high of 3,509,084. Private limited companies made up over 95% of all formations.

Mr Catchpole said there are a number of complementary factors fueling this growth.

“There is the ease and speed with which a company can be started – usually within hours and generally for less than £20,” he said.

“And there is the fact that many companies can successfully operate from home and need little more than a website before they can start trading.”

He also pointed out that there are improved channels for accessing capital such as crowdfunding.

And, in addition, social media has allowed entrepreneurs to tune a product, build a brand, and grow the business with interactivity never before possible.

Inform Direct provides a cloud-based solution enabling businesses and their professional advisers to manage all their company records. The service provides an online platform for a range of actions including submitting annual returns, updating shareholder records, creating share certificates, changing your company name, producing dividend vouchers and of course forming new companies!