Dorset hotbed for new business

30/May/2012

Dorset is proving something of a hotbed for new UK company formations.

The county is defying the recession with a record number of new businesses registered in March and April, according to Companies House figures reported by the BBC.

In March, 40 businesses were founded in Dorchester alone, the most for any month in the county town for nearly a decade.

Other parts of the county showed similar entrepreneurial spirit – in Weymouth, 54 new businesses were created in March and April while Bournemouth broke its previous April record by 27 per cent as 132 companies started up.

Matt Pye, chairman of Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, believes investment in the local infrastructure and economy has created an optimistic climate.

He told the BBC: "Lots of money is currently being spent in Dorchester with the second phase of the Charles Street redevelopment and the work going on at Brewery Square just two of the examples.

"On top of that, there's also the new relief road from Dorchester to Weymouth and a host of new developments going on there in the town and in Portland."

The figures are even more impressive when taking into account the economic climate and news this week that the UK economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.