MORE new businesses were established in Hampshire during 2019 than in any previous year.

Despite last year’s political instability and the uncertainty over of Brexit, the county saw 15,174 new companies registered – up 6.5 per cent on the previous year.

The rise brings the total number of registered companies in the county to 114,831, up three per cent on the end of 2018.

The statistics come from the Inform Direct Review of Company Formations, based on data from Companies House and the Office for National Statistics.

East Hampshire saw the highest number of new businesses formed, at 2,464, but Southampton was second at 1,913, followed by Portsmouth with 1,705.

John Korchak, director of operations at Inform Direct, a company secretarial and formations specialist, said: “Reporting a record year for new company formations in Hampshire during a turbulent year, politically and economically, is a major achievement. Attracting new ventures and encouraging entrepreneurs to set up there, means that the county is clearly delivering positive support for business.

“With Brexit uncertainty casting a shadow – and some companies experiencing falling sales or choosing to relocate internationally – it is heartening that we are seeing signs of business optimism with so many new companies being created. This picture is mirrored nationally with an all-time high of nearly 700,000 new businesses formed in the UK as a whole.”

Nationally, there were 690,763 companies formed, compared with 669,855 in 2018. This took the overall number of UK companies to 4.47million, a 3.8 per cent increase on 2018.

The full list of Hampshire company formations in 2019, by district, was: East Hampshire 2,464; Southampton 1,913; Portsmouth 1,705; Winchester 1,266; New Forest 1,144; Basingtoke and Deane 1,092; Eastleigh 1,033; Fareham 931; Havant 923; Test Valley 911; Rushmoor 688; Hart 676; Gosport 400.

That takes the total number of companies, at the end of 2019, to: East Hampshire 9,620; Southampton 12,833; Portsmouth, 11,527; Winchester 12,881; New Forest 10,447; Basingstoke and Deane 9,535; Eastleigh 9,890; Fareham 7,247; Havant 7,865; Test Valley 8,143; Rushmoor 5,465; hart 6,040; Gosport 2,516.