FIGURES have shown that more new businesses were established in Northumberland in 2018 compared to any previous year.

Despite the challenges of political and economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, 1,422 new companies were registered in the county.

This compares to 1,360 start-ups in 2017 – an increase of 4.6 per cent.

This brings the total number of registered companies in Northumberland to 10,423 up from 10,100 at the end of 2017, which equates to 3.2 per cent growth.

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

John Korchak, director of operations at Inform Direct said: “These record high figures for new company formations in Northumberland show a very positive picture for business against a background of political and economic uncertainty.

“It is clear that the county continues to provide a supportive environment, both for new business ventures and existing enterprises.

“It is heartening to see entrepreneurs making their mark with increasing numbers of new businesses being formed. This picture is mirrored elsewhere in the UK, with a number of regions seeing more new formations in 2018 than at any time in their history.”

Across the UK as a whole, a record number of new companies were formed – 669,855 compared with 634,116 in 2017.