Winter months are most active

The first three months of the year are proving to be the most popular time to set up new businesses, with the impetus to start afresh before the new tax year in April, a Barclays Bank survey reveals. And generally, this is a good period to start up in, according to David Lavarack, Small Business Services director at Barclays. “The environment for starting up in business is now more favourable than at any time since the boom of the 1980s. Not only are interest rates low and inflation holding steady, start-ups now have access to a wide range of business support organisations which are able to advise on making the most of a business idea,” he says. However, a fifth of all start-ups fold in the first 18 months, according to the survey.