UK tech incorporations reached a five-year high at the beginning of the year despite a slowdown in venture capital funding, according to new research.
Analysis of Companies House data by accountancy firm RSM found that there were 13,802 tech incorporations in the first quarter of 2024, up 11% compared with the same period the year before.
According to RSM, 2023 was a record year for UK tech incorporations with a total of 51,017 new startups.
“UK tech continues to go from strength to strength, despite ongoing macro-economic uncertainty in the UK and overseas,” said RSM UK partner Ben Bilsland.
“A key factor is the strength in depth of the UK’s tech sector. Our advice to tech entrepreneurs is to engage with tech businesses around them to collaborate, innovate and grow together.”
RSM’s research also found that across the 12 regions of the UK, all but two – Wales and the South West – saw a greater number of tech incorporations than the same period in 2023.
London as expected saw the most incorporations in the first quarter of the year, with 7,253 new firms. In second and third place were the South East and the North West respectively.
It comes as the cost of registering a new business on Companies House – the process of incorporating a UK business – rose from £12 to £50 on Wednesday.
The government agency said the price increase would go towards the integrity of the business register, with the hope of decreasing fraud.
Joseph Murray, Startup advisor at Start Up A-Z, a company formation agency, said the rising cost “hits small businesses the hardest”.
“However, if the increased revenue is used wisely by Companies House, it will mean a more robust public register of information, which will give greater confidence in UK businesses,” he added.
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