Cornwall business closures near 2,000 but openings stay ahead

Nearly 2,000 businesses in Cornwall closed last year. That sounds like bad news. But the fuller set of figures tells a different story, one where the county is holding up better than most of the UK.

What the research found

New research has placed Cornwall among the South West’s stronger areas for local business survival. The county ranks 10th-lowest in the region for overall closure risk and 288th across the UK.

The study came from insurance experts at Alan Boswell Group, who looked at official ONS Business Demography data across UK local authority areas. Each area was given a risk score based on three things: the business closure rate in 2024, the five-year survival rate for businesses that started in 2019, and the balance between new businesses opening and existing ones closing.

Cornwall scored 37.7 out of 100. The county recorded 1,920 closures from 23,255 active businesses in 2024, a closure rate of 8.3%. That sits below the UK average of 9.8%.

More openings than closures

Cornwall also saw more businesses open than shut in 2024. There were 2,115 openings across the county, which means openings outnumbered closures by 195. That gives Cornwall a positive net balance of 0.8%.

The county’s five-year survival rate points the same way. Of the 2,190 businesses born in Cornwall in 2019, 1,025 were still trading five years later. That works out at a survival rate of 46.8%, well ahead of the UK figure of 38.4%.

Why the closure number looks high

Cornwall recorded one of the highest raw numbers of closures in the South West. Much of that comes down to size. The county has one of the largest business bases in the region, so the totals run higher even when the rate is lower.

Its closure rate came in below areas including North Somerset, Plymouth, Swindon, Bristol, Torbay and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

What it means for local businesses

Heath Alexander-Bew, Personal Lines Director at Alan Boswell Group, said the numbers were more mixed than the headline closure figure suggested.

“Nearly 2,000 business closures in one year is still significant, but the county also has a large business base, and its closure rate sits below the UK average,” he said.

Heath pointed to the openings and survival figures as signs that local businesses are holding on, while noting that many owners are still dealing with higher costs, quieter trading periods and unpredictable demand.

He said seasonal pressures make planning harder for a county built on tourism, hospitality, retail and service work. Cash flow, staffing, stock, premises and supplier costs can all shift quickly through the year.

His advice to owners was to keep checking the basics before problems build up.

“A business may have taken on more stock, moved premises, added staff or started selling online, and if the protection in place has not kept up, an already difficult situation can become much harder to recover from,” he said.