Almost 1,900 new company start-ups (1,878) were formed, on average, each month in the first half of 2017, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year.
Bar June, company start-ups were up every month compared to 2016 – including by almost 20% in January and 9% in April.
When combined with new business start-ups (new registered business names e.g. sole traders and partnerships), which declined by nearly 4% year-on-year, overall new start-ups were up slightly, by 0.7% year-on-year. This is according to according to new figures from leading business and credit risk analyst, Vision-net.ie.
The most popular sector for company start-ups is professional services. Almost 1 in 5 established in the first half of 2017 operate in it (2,183), up slightly by 1% year-on-year.
This was followed by finance, which saw an 18% rise in start-ups (1,604 vs 1,356) and social and personal services, up 50% (1,298 vs 865). Other sectors performed well: construction start-ups increased by 14% (1,118 vs 978), real estate start-ups increased by 17% (491vs 420), and agriculture start-ups by almost 50% (470 vs 314).
Dublin’s economic dominance continues: 45% of all new start-ups were established in the capital region (5,090 in HY1 2017 vs 4,683 in HY1 2016, up almost 9%).
The number of new start-ups in Cork decreased by 14% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year (1,126 vs 1,312).
Other counties experienced an increase in new start-ups: Galway (+5%), Kildare (+7%), Meath (+21%).
INSOLVENCIES RISE
Insolvencies rose 13% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year. 569 companies were declared insolvent, compared to 502 in 2016. Dublin accounted for the most insolvencies (43%), up 11% on 2016 (244 vs 220). Cork was the second most insolvent county, followed by Galway, Limerick and Kildare.
The only county not to record an insolvency in the first half of 2017 was Cavan.
