Business: Closures
(asked on 20th February 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of business closures on the UK economy.
Answered by
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The latest statistics show that, on average, 312,000 businesses closed per year between 2019-2024, with 280,000 businesses closing in 2024. However, business births have exceeded closures over this period.
The table below illustrates the total business closures from 2019-2024, broken down for each year:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
303,495 | 300,475 | 328,495 | 348,675 | 309,685 | 280,375 |
The table below illustrates the total business births from 2019-2024, broken down for each year:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
363,825 | 333,015 | 363,995 | 336,925 | 316,025 | 317,435 |