DORSET achieved a “successful” year for business growth despite the ‘continuing challenges of the pandemic’, it has been revealed.

Latest figures show more than 7,500 new businesses were registered across Dorset in 2021.

The figures are based on data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics and compiled by company secretarial software specialists Inform Direct.

John Korchak, operations director at Inform Direct said: “It is excellent news to see that Dorset has achieved a successful year for business growth despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic.

“Recording an increase in new formations as well as the total number of companies within the county demonstrates an active economy, with entrepreneurs motivated to invest in new businesses which meet current and emerging demands for goods or services.”

During 2021, a total of 7,584 new businesses were formed in the county with the total number of registered companies rising to 56,465 by the end of the year.

Bournemouth saw the highest number of new businesses created across the county at 2,166.

The was followed by 1,739 in Purbeck and 1,473 in Poole.

Elsewhere, 676 companies were formed in west Dorset, 639 in east Dorset and 312 in north Dorset.

However, a total of 6,001 companies ceased trading in Dorset during the course of 2021, which was above the 10-year average of 4,642 businesses dissolved annually.

The UK saw 771,617 new businesses formed last year, compared to 780,760 in 2020.

The overall number of UK companies totalled 5,005,147, a 3.5 per cent increase on the total of 4,837,426 at the end of 2020.

This continues a ten-year trend which shows the number of businesses in the UK doubling in that period.

Mr Korchak added: “The overall picture for the UK as a whole is also an optimistic one with the total number of companies now exceeding five million for the very first time.”

Despite a growth in the number of companies forming, figures show the number of dissolutions across the UK hit a record high.

Data shows that a total of 606,912 businesses were dissolved during 2021.

Reasons given for this may be that new enterprises set up early in the pandemic may no longer be operating as people have returned to full-time employment or businesses thriving pre-Covid have “suffered as behavioural and spending patterns have changed”.