Norfolk and Suffolk celebrate record start-ups during 2022

The data shows Norfolk with 5,384 new company formations and Suffolk with 6,749 - representing a 3.3pc and a 23.9pc rise respectively compared to 2021.

Both counties are now home to an all-time high number of businesses with Suffolk at 45,867 and Norfolk at 45,968, according to secretarial company Inform Direct.

It used data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics to compile a national review of company formations.

In Suffolk, Forest Heath formed the highest number of new businesses (1,886), followed by Ipswich (1,836) and Suffolk Coastal (695).

St Edmundsbury had 621 start-ups,  Mid Suffolk 566 and Babergh 534.

In Norfolk, Norwich led the way with 1,569 start-ups, followed jointly in second place by Breckland (714) and South Norfolk (714).

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk had 690, Broadland 668 and North Norfolk 396.

In Suffolk, Ipswich is now home to the biggest concentration of businesses (9324), followed by Suffolk Coastal (6781), St Edmundsbury (6751), Forest Heath (6428), Mid Suffolk (5838) and Babergh (5394).

Norwich at 12481 has the biggest number of businesses in the region. In Norfolk it is followed by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (6374), Broadland (6343), South Norfolk (6180), Breckland (6085) and North Norfolk (4153).

Inform Direct boss John Korchak, Managing Director at Inform Direct said it was "great" that the two counties could celebrate a record year for start-ups in spite of a turbulent few years.

“This positivity is mirrored in the overall picture for the UK which saw a record number of new companies established during 2022, exceeding 800,000 for the very first time.”

The UK saw 805,141 new companies, compared to 771,617 in 2021, which represents an increase of 4.3% and brings the total number of companies to 5,236,227, the study found.

Dissolutions of UK companies totalled 578,679, down on 2021 when 606,912 were recorded.