THE number of new companies formed in Dorset fell last year as the county grappled with the pandemic crisis.

The drop puts the county behind the UK as a whole, with a record-breaking number of new companies registered nationwide.

There were 7,253 new companies registered in Dorset last year – a drop of 9.6 per cent on 2019.

The total number of registered companies at the end of 2020 stood at 54,841.

Bournemouth had the highest number of new businesses at 2,221, followed by Poole (1,552) and Purbeck (1,233).

The figures are contained in the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations, based on data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.

John Korchak, operations director at Inform Direct, said: “These figures showing a fall in the number of new company formations in Dorset underline how challenging 2020 was for many sectors and parts of the UK.

“As we are all aware, the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdowns have had a severely detrimental effect on our economy, which has led to businesses having to close, impacting on jobs and livelihoods.”

The UK saw 780,766 new companies registered last year, compared with 690,763 in 2019. Hampshire also had a record-breaking figure, with 15,534 company formations.

The total number of UK companies grew 8.2 per cent to 4.83million.

The number of company dissolutions across the UK – 418,427 during 2020 – was the lowest since 2015.

Inform Direct – which provides company secretarial and formation software – said it remained to be seen whether the positive national trends would last, especially with government support for businesses due to be withdrawn.

It warned that some new enterprises set up during the pandemic might be short-lived, as people return to full-time employment or struggle to take the business to the next level.

Bournemouth’s 2,221 new companies bring its total to 16,081, while Poole now has 12,210 and Purbeck 4,375.

East Dorset saw 671 new businesses (a total of 5,986), West Dorset 652 (7,854), North Dorset 380 (3,373), Christchurch 304 (2,731) and Weymouth and Portland 230 (1,852).