UK creates 15,000 IT companies in just 12 months

The number of IT companies in the UK has jumped by 15,000, having risen from 306,000 in 2013 to 321,000 at the end of last year, an accountancy firm calculates.

In counting the 5% increase, NoPalaver suggested it was largely thanks to individuals ‘going it alone’ to capitalise on the growing ‘app economy’ and the need for FinTech.

“It is these areas and broader work in big data and data security that is creating high levels of start-up growth,” said NoPalaver spokesman Sean Cope.

According to the group, the vast majority of the UK’s 321,000 technology companies are single-person businesses (79%), or small companies with fewer than 50 employees (21%).

But even without such sole traders, the number of IT companies over the last year is still up by 11%, from 62,040 to 68,990. This compares to a 5% increase for all industries.

Google says the UK app economy is worth £4bn (forecast to hit £31bn by 2025), but Cope says it is tricky to isolate how many of the new IT start-ups are solely due to apps or FinTech.

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Written by Simon Moore

Simon writes impartial news and engaging features for the contractor industry, covering, IR35, the loan charge and general tax and legislation.
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