More than 120 start-ups a day in last quarter

An average of 127 new businesses and companies opened their doors every day during the first three months of the year, according to figures published today by corporate analyst, Vision-net.

The organisation said that there were 10,741 new business and company start-ups during the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 6 per cent on the same period last year.

The number means than an average of 127 new businesses and companies began trading every day during the three-month period, Vision-net added.

When it comes to new limited companies, 3,989 were established during the period, the third highest figure for the first quarter over the last 10 years.

Personal services
Professional services, wholesale and retail, social and personal services, IT, and construction companies accounted for 60.1 per cent of these companies.

Commenting on the figures, Christine Cullen, managing director of Vision-net said that the last three months once again show that the Irish economy appears to be recovering.

“Insolvencies, receiverships and creditors’ meetings have all fallen,” she noted.

“The large number of new business start-ups, combined with the highest number of company incorporations in the first quarter since the crash, indicates that businesses are operating in a less hostile environment, where greater access to credit is improving,” added Ms Cullen.

Building businesses
The figures also reveal signs of a turnaround in the large number of companies going to the wall over the last five years.

The overall number of insolvencies was down 23 per cent in the three-month period.

Construction led the way, accounting for 18 per cent of all insolvencies. However, the number of building businesses being wound up fell while the accounted for close to one in three of all start-ups during the period.

Despite the recovery in tourism, Vision-net said that two-thirds of businesses in the hospitality industry remained at high risk of closure.

Across 979 corporate and consumer judgments during the quarter, €64.1 million was awarded to creditors for non-payment of debts.

Of these, 719 judgments worth €51.1 million were awarded against consumers – an average of €71,024 for each ruling.