Slowdown in business start-ups

Business start-up activity in Scotland fell slightly in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest figures from the banking industry.

The Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers recorded 3,986 business start-ups in the three months to 30 June, 0.6 per cent behind the previous quarter and 1.1 per cent behind the same quarter last year, when 4,029 new businesses were detected.

The figures are based on the number of business accounts being opened with four banks – Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds TSB Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland – but are regarded as a guide to the start-up rate.

The data show that start ups in the Aberdeen area continuing to grow. The city and surrounding area saw 507 accounts opened in the second quarter of 2011, compared to 487 in the previous three months and 429 in the second quarter of last year.

In Edinburgh, the number of new accounts was down 11 per cent year-on-year at 393, while in Glasgow the figure was down 13 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2010, at 412.

New accounts from manufacturing businesses were up by a third, but start-ups in health and social work, recreational services, and construction were all lower.