West Midlands on track to hit 200,000 registered companies by the end of 2022 after another strong year in 2021.

An impressive 36,485 new companies were formed in the West Midlands during 2021 – this is over 325% more than Staffordshire which is the closest competing county in terms of new incorporations. This brings the county to a staggering total 198,781 existing companies only behind London and Greater Manchester on the league table. Perhaps to be expected, but Birmingham made up over 45% of the new incorporations. It is therefore unsurprising that the West Midlands boasted 13.3 new company incorporations per 1000 people by the end of 2021 – above the national average of 12.2.

This may seem like a disproportionate number of new company incorporations giving the performance of surrounding counties however when considering the fact that 30,607 businesses closed down in the West Midlands during the year, this balances out to a modest growth rate of 3.7%, round about the UK growth rate of 3.5%.

Take a look at our infographic which examines company start-up activity in the West Midlands in 2021. As well as summarising the area, our analysis breaks down performance by borough and even looks at individual wards.

If you want to register a company in the West Midlands, you’ll find our simple company registration service helpful.