1,623 new companies were formed between the 1st and 28th September 2015 - an average of almost 60 per day. Over a quarter of these new companies (430) operate in the professional services sector (accountants, consultants, legal practices etc).

The wholesale & retail and social & personal services sectors were the second and third most popular industries for start-ups and accounted for 315 new companies between them.

There was good news for the construction sector which saw a 50% increase in numbers this September (146 v 97), but while the news on start-ups was encouraging the situation with corporate insolvencies was less so.

110 companies were declared insolvent in the first four weeks of this September - up 24% on the same period in 2014. The professional services sector was worst affected - accounting for over 25% of insolvencies (29).

The finance sector did not see as many insolvencies but the six fold increase in numbers it experienced can be seen as a contributing factor in the increase in insolvencies - more than 6 times as many insolvencies affected the sector this month compared to the same period last year (19 v 3).