Number of Dumfries & Galloway Start-Ups Increase Despite National Slow-Down

Number of Dumfries & Galloway start-ups increase despite national slow-down

• 351 new companies were registered in Dumfries & Galloway, a rise from 335 in 2016
• The region bucks the national trend, with the UK-wide start-up figures dropping for the first time in seven years

Business start-up increased in Dumfries & Galloway, with 351 new companies registered in the region in 2017, according to new research.

Statistics published by Centre for Entrepreneurs, analysed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), show that the region saw more companies launched in 2017 than in 2016, when 335 firms were registered.

This increase puts Dumfries & Galloway among the few local authority areas in Scotland where more companies were registered in 2017 than in 2016. Apart from Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Perth & Kinross, North Ayrshire, Midlothian and Na h-Eileanan an Iar saw an increase from 2016.

The south of Scotland region also bucks the national trend of slow-down in start-up activities. Across the UK, 589,008 new businesses were launched in 2017 – a drop from 657,790 in 2016.

Brian Sherman,( main image) Leader of FSB in Dumfries & Galloway, said: “It is great to see hundreds of new businesses starting up in Dumfries & Galloway. We have been aware of this positive trend as we have seen a number of start-ups joining FSB recently.

“Those start-ups are graduates with great ideas, skilled migrant entrepreneurs and former employees with experience and expertise who all decided to become their own boss. These new firms help make Dumfries & Galloway’s business community more unique, diverse and resilient.

“Some of these new bosses are from this region and it might be natural for them to start up here. But, importantly, there are many others who chose Dumfries & Galloway as a place to start their business, either trying to seize opportunities this region offers or attracted by the lifestyle which is different from that of larger places.

“Dumfries & Galloway is a small business economy, and it is these new start-ups, as well as existing smaller firms, who will drive our local economy forward. We all need to get behind these ambitious entrepreneurs and do what we can to keep this positive trend.”