Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Record number of companies register with Companies House
The number of new company creations reached a record high at the start of this year, driven by prospective directors incorporating their companies before the introduction of stricter reporting requirements and amid an improvement in economic conditions.
According to figures published by Companies House, Britain’s corporate register, 244,717 businesses were incorporated in the first three months of this year, the highest number since records began in 2012. Nearly 900,000 companies were incorporated last year, also a record.
When accounting for companies that were dissolved from the register, the net increase in incorporations reached 84,669 in the first quarter, well above the ten-year quarterly average of 41,000.
The government has carved out a range of new powers giving it greater oversight of the Companies House register and designed to curb corporate fraud.
Economic uncertainty drives profit warnings
Nearly one in five London-listed companies have issued a profit warning in the past 12 months, new research shows.
Just under 19% of companies quoted in London have said that their profits would be lower than expected, according to a report by EY-Parthenon, the consultancy service.
Contract delays and cancellations were cited as the main reason behind the warnings, driven by wider economic uncertainty.
One in three profit warnings have come from businesses in consumer discretionary sectors.
Average cost of UK car insurance rises by one-third in a year, analysis finds
The average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance in the UK was about a third (33%) or £157 higher in the first quarter of this year than a year earlier, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Based on analysis of policies sold, the typical price paid in the first quarter of 2024 was £635, marking a 1% increase on the previous quarter, the ABI said.
In the first quarter of 2023, the average premium paid for private comprehensive motor insurance was £478.
The ABI said the 1% quarterly increase indicated an easing of the rises seen in 2023.
Aberdeen IT firm Alto invests £250,000 in cybersecurity, AI and automation
Increasing demand for new technologies has prompted Aberdeen-based IT firm Alto to invest more than £250,000 in boosting its offering to businesses.
Over the next three years the company will invest the cash in streamlining products and services, with a particular focus on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and automation.
Alto told The Press and Journal cybersecurity products and services continued to account for more than one-third of its total revenue.
This revenue share is expected to rise further during 2024.