Watford, Hertfordshire

Q1 2014 Business Confidence Report

Headlines

  • February 2014 saw a new record in company registrations in Watford when compared to any previous February.
  • January 2014 saw a new record in company registrations in Watford when compared to any previous January.
  • February 2014 saw a new record in company closures in Watford when compared to any previous February.

Contents

  1. New Company Registrations
  2. Closed Companies (dissolved)
  3. Net Company Growth
  4. UK Company Share
  5. Director Age
  6. Director Gender
  7. Naming Trends
  8. SIC Data
  9. Recent Companies

New Company Registrations

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    A total of 437 companies were registered in Watford during the first quarter of 2014 (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014).

    This figure is an increase of 33.2% versus the same period last year (Q1 2013). This figure compares well to the UK as a whole, which saw an increase of 11.8% against the same period last year.

    first quarter (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014)WatfordUK
    2014437150,722
    2013328134,802
    % change33.2%11.8%
    Record Year 2007 (706) 2007 (166,814)
    New Companies by Quarter
  2. Monthly Data (Jan, Feb & Mar 2014)

    February 2014 saw a new record in company registrations in Watford when compared to any previous February.

    January 2014 saw a new record in company registrations in Watford when compared to any previous January.

    New Companies by Month
    JanuaryFebruaryMarch
    New companies in 2014143137157
    New companies in 201399103126
    % change44.4%33.0%24.6%
    Record Year2014 (143)2014 (137)2007 (478)

Closed Companies (dissolved)

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    A total of 264 companies were dissolved in Watford during the first quarter of 2014 (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014).

    This figure is an increase of 5.2% versus the same period last year (Q1 2013). This figure compares well to the UK as a whole, which saw an increase of 5.7% against the same period last year.

    first quarter (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014)WatfordUK
    201426482,370
    201325177,914
    % change5.2%5.7%
    Record Year 2009 (625) 2009 (108,066)
    Dissolved Companies by Quarter
  2. Monthly Data (Jan, Feb & Mar 2014)

    February 2014 saw a new record in company closures in Watford when compared to any previous February.

    Dissolved Companies by Month
    JanuaryFebruaryMarch
    Closed companies in 20149110370
    Closed companies in 20131157066
    % change-20.9%47.1%6%
    Record Year2009 (160)2014 (103)2009 (376)

Net Company Growth

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    Net company growth for Watford during the first quarter of 2014 (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014) was 173 companies.

    first quarter (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014)WatfordUK
    201417368,352
    20137756,888
    Record Year 2007 (564) 2007 (111,282)
    Net Growth by Quarter
  2. Monthly Data (Jan, Feb & Mar 2014)

    Net Growth by Month
    JanuaryFebruaryMarch
    Net growth in 2014523487
    Net growth in 2013-163360
    Record Year2007 (53)2007 (74)2007 (437)

UK Company Share

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    In the first quarter of 2014, Watford formed 0.3% of all UK companies.

    first quarter (Jan 2014 - Mar 2014)Watford
    20140.3%
    20130.2%
    20120.2%
    20110.2%
    20100.3%
    Record Year (since 1960) 2007 (0.4%)
    Company Share by Quarter
  2. Monthly Data (Jan, Feb & Mar 2014)

    Company Share by Month
    JanuaryFebruaryMarch
    UK formation share in 20140.3%0.3%0.3%
    UK formation share in 20130.2%0.2%0.3%
    % change35.1%22.8%4.0%
    Record Year1993 (0.4%)1991 (0.4%)2007 (0.7%)

Director Age

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    The average age of a director in the first quarter of 2014 was 43.5.

    The percentage of directors under the age of 25 was 3.5% compared to the UK figure of 4.6%.

    The percentage of directors over the age of 65 was 2.9% compared to the UK figure of 3.5%.

    Director Age by Quarter

Director Gender

  1. Quarterly Data (Q1 Jan-Mar 2014)

    The record first quarter for female directors in Watford was in 2005 when 27.9% of all directors were female.

    25.4% of all director appointments in Watford in the first quarter of 2014 were female. This compares to a UK average of 26.4% for the same period.

    Director Gender by Quarter

Naming Trends

  1. Previous 12 months (Mar 2013-Mar 2014)

    Excluding: LIMITED, LTD, &, UK, SERVICES, THE, (UK), AND, LTD., A, LLP, SOLUTIONS, COMPANY, OF.

    wordpercentageuk worduk percentage
    CONSULTING2.94%CONSULTING5.22%
    MANAGEMENT1.67%MANAGEMENT4.67%
    CONSULTANCY1.45%CONSULTANCY3.49%
    PROPERTY1.18%PROPERTY2.64%
    WATFORD1.04%TRADING2.05%
    LONDON1.04%LONDON1.88%
    DESIGN0.81%ENGINEERING1.86%
    ELECTRICAL0.77%CARE1.79%
    CARE0.72%CONSTRUCTION1.75%
    MEDIA0.68%DESIGN1.75%
    FINANCIAL0.63%CONSULTANTS1.73%
    INVESTMENTS0.63%BUSINESS1.71%
    SECURITY0.63%PROPERTIES1.60%
    BUSINESS0.63%INVESTMENTS1.60%
    NUTRA0.63%GLOBAL1.58%
    DEVELOPMENTS0.59%J1.48%
    IT0.59%ASSOCIATES1.48%
    LEASING0.54%MEDIA1.48%
    TRADING0.54%IT1.33%
    PROJECTS0.54%TRANSPORT1.30%
    J0.50%DEVELOPMENTS1.29%
    PROPERTIES0.50%BUILDING1.24%
    PRODUCTIONS0.50%M1.21%
    M0.45%CAPITAL1.20%
    GLOBAL0.45%ELECTRICAL1.19%

SIC Data

  1. Previous 36 months, excluding companies less than 12 months old

    sic codenumber of companiesuk companies
    None Supplied686280,210
    70229 - Management consultancy activities other than financial management14737,882
    62020 - Information technology consultancy activities12127,750
    82990 - Other business support service activities not elsewhere classified8756,411
    99999 - Dormant Company8347,084
    96090 - Other service activities not elsewhere classified6526,700
    62090 - Other information technology service activities4412,813
    74909 - Other professional, scientific and technical activities not elsewhere classified3218,491
    41100 - Development of building projects319,855
    62012 - Business and domestic software development269,509
    68209 - Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate249,284
    41202 - Construction of domestic buildings236,559
    69201 - Accounting and auditing activities237,313
    74990 - Non-trading company2314,135
    86900 - Other human health activities2210,273
    43390 - Other building completion and finishing205,521
    56290 - Other food services203,980
    78109 - Other activities of employment placement agencies183,840
    47990 - Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets175,988
    43999 - Other specialised construction activities not elsewhere classified168,155

Recent Companies

  1. Randomly selected companies from this quarter

    COMPANY NUMBERCOMPANY NAMEINCORPORATION DATE
    08830036 FINDLAYK LTD 02 Jan 2014
    08837421 CRAFT PRECISION MODELLING LIMITED 08 Jan 2014
    08842674 BELMONT BUSINESS CONSULTING LIMITED 13 Jan 2014
    08854286 SCREEN 53 LTD 21 Jan 2014
    08855175 SOLUTIONS RESOURCE GROUP LIMITED 21 Jan 2014
    08856955 EXCEL AUTOMATION LTD 22 Jan 2014
    08857862 HWSUFFS LTD 23 Jan 2014
    08859852 NITRO PROPERTY LTD 24 Jan 2014
    08865010 BARGAIN HUNTERS (LONDON) LTD 28 Jan 2014
    08865795 KONEKT IT LTD 28 Jan 2014
    08865940 WAYNE COETZEE IT SERVICES LTD 28 Jan 2014
    08867355 VORWAERTS LIMITED 29 Jan 2014
    08867544 HALLSWORTH PRESS LTD 29 Jan 2014
    08871454 11 PLUS PREPARATION LIMITED 31 Jan 2014
    08842967 PICASSO CATERERS LTD 13 Jan 2014
    08854613 A&A TRAVELS (WATFORD) LTD 21 Jan 2014
    08860343 SIMPLE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED 24 Jan 2014
    08860458 ACADEMIA2LINK LTD 24 Jan 2014
    08862823 M&G TRADERS LTD 27 Jan 2014
    08870594 PINNACLE LINK LTD 31 Jan 2014
    08829952 THE BARBER CORPORATION LTD 02 Jan 2014
    08834368 CAROLINE KERR CONSULTING LTD 07 Jan 2014
    08838049 MNL TRADES LIMITED 09 Jan 2014
    08851082 JSN LONDON TRADING LIMITED 20 Jan 2014
    08853534 ALPHA PLUMBING & HEATING SOLUTIONS LIMITED 21 Jan 2014