Number of start ups 'on the rise'

More new UK businesses have started up in the past three months than in the same period last year, according to a new survey.

Figures from direct marketing company Selectabase suggest that the number of businesses that started up from June to August 2008 was up 11.4% on the same period last year.

The company's Startupsplus marketing list identified 22,824 new start-ups over the three months this year, compared to 20,849 in 2007.

The research also showed a change in the most common types of new business.

This year, hairdressers top the list of most popular business start ups, with plumbers and builders making up the rest of the top three.

Plumbers, driving schools and beauty salons were the top three start-ups last year.

The Federation of Small Businesses said it was not surprised that "during these difficult times, individuals are still key on going it alone when setting up their own small business."

John Wright, national chairman of the FSB, told More Than Business News: "Unlike the recession of the 80s and 90s, when people who were made redundant were given little or no info on what to do for the future, in today’s climate there is an abundance of help encouraging those who have lost their jobs in city or reconstruction to consider self employment."