Record year for company start-ups in the Banbury district - and Oxfordshire overall

On top of that, more new businesses were established in Oxfordshire last year than in any previous year to date – making it one of the UK’s most successful counties.

And topping the table in the county was the Cherwell district, with 1,187 new businesses, followed by Oxford (1,141) and South Oxfordshire (924).

The total number of registered companies in Oxfordshire rose to 46,748 over the last 12 months, showing an increase of 1.9 per cent on 2021. During the year 4,842 new businesses were established

The statistics are taken from the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations, using data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.

John Korchak, managing director at Inform Direct, said: “It is great that Warwickshire can celebrate a record year for the number of new businesses established.

“The last few years have been turbulent for businesses, with inflation and a cautious economic outlook following the impact of the pandemic. However, in these figures we see evidence of the ambition, creativity and resilience of entrepreneurs in Warwickshire, as well as the benefits from the county’s support for a range of enterprises.

“This positivity is mirrored in the overall picture for the UK which saw a record number of new companies established during 2022, exceeding 800,000 for the very first time.”

The UK saw 805,141 new companies, compared to 771,617 in 2021, which represents an increase of 4.3 per cent and brings the total number of companies to 5,236,227.

Dissolutions of UK companies totalled 578,679, down on 2021 when 606,912 were recorded.