Suffolk is a proving to be a great place for business start-ups, official figures reveal

More companies were registered in Suffolk last year than in any year previously, according to new figures.

There were 4,031 new companies formed in the region in 2015 - up from 3,701 the year before.

This represents a 8.9% growth and means there are now a record number of firms in the area.

The statistics were compiled by www.informdirect.co.uk, a provider of online company formations and secretarial software, using data available from Companies House and the Office of National Statistics.

Its report - The Inform Direct Review of UK Company Formations in 2015 - includes a league table of company formations county by county as well as statistics on firms registered and dissolved and percentage growth.

It has revealed that for the 12 months ended 31st December 2015, there were a record-breaking 612,565 firms formed across the United Kingdom - up from 586,784 the year before.

Of those, 551,886 companies were in England, 34,711 in Scotland, 14,689 in Wales and 7,254 in Northern Ireland.

Henry Catchpole, managing director of Inform Direct said: “Our dynamic economy and business-friendly environment are the reasons there is a ‘Great’ in Great Britain.

“All around the world, governments are spending time and money to figure out the best way to foster an entrepreneurial culture that helps boost the economy.

“But here in the UK, our politicians can nurture this business mentality that has established itself organically.

“Of course London has always stormed ahead in business but our figures from 2015 demonstrate that the rest of the UK is also displaying a growing confidence in entrepreneurialism.

“Suffolk has had a very successful year and the figures indicate a surge in entrepreneurialism in 2015 for this region.”

Of the new companies created last year in Suffolk, 955 were in Ipswich, 698 were in Suffolk Coastal, 593 were in St Edmundsbury, 539 were in Mid Suffolk and 468 were in Waveney.

A further 471 were registered in Babergh and 307 in Forest Heath.

Inform Direct used its software to identify not only start-ups, but also the number of UK companies dissolved in the same period.

This has created an accurate picture of firms now registered county by county in the UK.

There are now a total of 30,944 firms in Suffolk.

The total figure for the UK at the start of 2016 stood at 3.76 million.