Written Question·Department for Business and Trade·UIN 102221

New Businesses: Operating Costs

Tabled: 2 January 2026
Answered: 7 January 2026

Question

Callum Anderson

LabourBuckingham and Bletchley

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the average start up costs incurred by first-time business founders in the UK.

Answer

Blair McDougall
The United Kingdom is one of the best places to start a business, boasting one of the highest business start-up rates in the OECD – 18.6 start-ups per 1,000 people in 2022. This compares to an average of 4.5 start-ups per 1,000 people across OECD members....

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