The number of business start ups in Cumbria rose by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2019.

According to data collected by BankSearch, there were 454 start-ups in the county between the beginning of January and the end of March – up by 45 compared to the previous three months and 41 more than for the same period in 2018.

There was also a rise in the number of new Companies House incorporations in Cumbria in March.

In total there were 221 new incorporations – an increase of 15 from February, and two more than for the same period last year.

The start-up figures, collated by Cumbria Observatory, come from BankSearch, which collects data from Barclays, Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and TSB Bank.

According to the figures, most of the county’s start-ups fall within the real estate, professional services and support services sector.

A total of 104 new businesses were created in the sector, accounting for almost a quarter of the overall figure.

It was followed by construction, which 68 new businesses (15 per cent) and wholesale and retail, 58 new businesses (12.8 per cent).

South Lakeland was home to the highest number of start-ups with 125 (27.5 per cent).

Barrow had the highest rate per 100 active companies. With 12.1 start-ups per 100 active companies – it is almost double for the figure for the district with the lowest, Eden, which had 6.1.

South Lakeland also had the highest start-up rates as a proportion of working age population.

With 74.1 per 10,000 working age residents – it was also well ahead of Copeland’s figure of 38, the lowest in Cumbria.

Of the 221 new Companies House incorporations during March, Carlisle was home to almost a third, with 64. 

Suzanne Caldwell, deputy chief executive at Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, described the jump in start-ups as encouraging.

“One of the reasons for the increase is the depth and range of support available to start-ups here – Cumbria is blessed in that respect,” she said.

“The Business Start-Up Support (BSUS) scheme run by Cumbria Business Growth Hub has helped more than 1,200 people looking to start a business and we have secured funding to extend it for another three years.”

BSUS – which has on average 25 enquiries each week – provides free one-to-one advice from expert advisers, sort-courses covering the basics of how to start a business and access to grant funding. 

It is funded by Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and partners including Sellafield Ltd, the European Regional Development Fund and several local authorities.

Cumbria Business Growth Hub also delivers the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, which helps unemployed people go into business.

Mrs Caldwell also stressed that the assistance provided was available throughout the first three years of trading and not just at the point of starting a business.

“That’s a major reason why Cumbria has a lower rate of business failure,” she said.

“Fifty per cent of new businesses here are still trading after five years, which is well above the national average.”