Reference: FOI-2024-1975
You asked
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act regarding the number of start-up companies in the United Kingdom as of the year 2023.
Understanding the complexity of distinguishing between Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, I kindly request assistance in discerning the data. Start-ups are typically characterized by their innovative nature, potential for rapid growth, and their pursuit of disruptive technologies or business models. If there are specific criteria or definitions used to identify start-ups within the provided data, please include this information to ensure clarity in the analysis.
Specifically, I am seeking the following information:
- The total number of start-up companies registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2023.
- The distribution of these start-up companies by city (headquarters location).
- The distribution of these start-up companies by sector (e.g., technology, finance, healthcare, etc.).
- The total number of start-up companies created from 1 January 2015 onwards.
I understand that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) may hold relevant data for the aforementioned enquiries. If the requested data is available for the year 2023, I would greatly appreciate receiving it. If the data is available for a different year, please provide the most recent information possible.
Furthermore, if the data could be broken down by city and sector, it would greatly assist in my analysis of the start-up ecosystem within the UK.
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request enquiring the number of start-up companies in the UK in 2023.
Unfortunately, ONS does not produce data on businesses start-ups. We do however produce an annual statistical publication called Business Demography. The publication shows annual data on business births (registrations), deaths (de-registrations) and survival of businesses in the UK, by geographical area and Standard Industrial Classification 2007. The most recent data available are 2022. Data which relates to 2023 will be available in November 2024.
We do also produce a quarterly publication called Business demography, quarterly, UK release. These data are regarded as official statistics in development.
Please note the above publications differ in methodology used, and our annual publication is produced at a lower level of both geography and SIC.
Within our annual Business Demography publication we produce reference tables relating to all of your questions stipulated in your request.
If you require any assistance or bespoke data, you can contact our IDBR data service team via idbrdas@ons.gov.uk. Such bespoke data request would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure controls, resources, and agreement of costs.