Liverpool saw a surge in the number of new businesses registered in the first quarter of 2020, new data shows, with home delivery and takeaway ventures dominating, Tony McDonough reports

Almost 9,000 new businesses were registered in Liverpool in the first quarter of 2020 despite the coronavirus crisis, new data shows.

Figures compiled by small business consultancy Tide revealed that 8,832 new Liverpool-based business entities were registered at Companies House between January 1 and May 31 this year. Home delivery and takeaway businesses were the most popular across the country.

Liverpool saw the fifth-highest number of registrations in the UK, Sheffield was top of the league with 21,291 new business registrations, followed by Birmingham (17,099), North London (13,566) and West London (9,765). Manchester was in seventh place with 7,269 registrations.

Across the UK there were more than a quarter of a million new businesses registered (278,325) during the quarter, according to Tide’s figures. The COVID-19 pandemic saw new registrations fall from 60,000 in January to 42,651 in April.

With lockdown being enforced over several months, this has also created a surge in demand for delivery services in particular. Companies House data also showed that e-commerce and home delivery companies are the second most popular company type registered up to the end of May 2020, with 10,568 new companies formed. 

Ranking in at number 10, takeaway food shops and mobile food stands were responsible for 5,004 new companies, compared to just 2861 licensed restaurants.

Sarah Young, vice-president of member engagement at Tide, said: “As the Companies House data shows, thousands of people are starting companies right now, including plenty of savvy business owners in Sheffield.

“The virus has certainly been catastrophic for the economy as a whole, but people are still living, working, and shopping from home, ensuring a steady supply of demand for companies that can cater to their needs. 

“If your new venture is designed to operate in these challenging conditions, and has the ability to adapt and shift as lockdown eases and the world returns to normal, then you have the best chance of success.”