The latest analysis from the DTI's Small Business Service shows that 91.4 per cent of VAT-registered businesses are still trading after a year in 2000 - up from 85.5% in 1993. The percentage surviving three years or more has increased from 60% to 64%
Other figures show that:
- the North East experienced the highest percentage point increase of all the English regions, with an 8.1 per cent change in the number of businesses surviving after a year;
- Northern Ireland witnessed a 6.2 percentage point increase in businesses still trading after a year, with an increase from 87.6 per cent to 93.8 per cent; and
- three-year survival rates across the UK have also increased, with latest figures showing 64 per cent of businesses had survived up to three years or more, compared to 59.8 per cent in 1993 - a 4.2 percentage point increase.
Nigel Griffiths, Small Business Minister, said:
