Most Popular Month to Start a Business in the UK Revealed

The truth is, there’s no right or wrong time to start a business. 

The past two decades have presented significant challenges for business owners. From the 2008 financial crisis, through to Brexit, COVID-19 and the ongoing cost of living crisis, SMEs across a number of industries have faced instability and an environment which limits growth.  

Yet, despite these disruptions, entrepreneurship continues to thrive across the United Kingdom (UK). In January 2025, the number of private new business formations increased by 3.5% to 5.7 million [1].

Whilst there’s no rule book, when it comes to launching a business, a solid level of strategic planning can help you identify the best possible time based on three variables: 

1. Founder circumstances and readiness - how your business idea, commitments and personal life intertwine and could help or hinder the launch. 
2. Corporate budgets - tax efficiencies, forecasted cashflow predictions and budgets for the business. Ask yourself, when is it best to align with HMRC? 
3. Market conditions - this is the external factor and covers seasonal demand and product or service needs.  

Founders may find that one of these factors may dominate the decision making process more than others. For example, eCommerce companies may plan around Festive and summer quarters but consultants could launch in spring when finances are stable. 

To discover when entrepreneurs are most likely to take the leap, we looked at more than 29,000 historical virtual offices and registered address subscriptions from businesses across the UK. Our analysis reveals the most popular month to start a business in the UK and uncovers the seasonal trends shaping modern entrepreneurship.

Key findings from the study

• March is revealed as the most popular month for new business launches according to virtual office and registered address subscription increases with 2,908 signups across the eight year period taking place that month. 
• More than 1 in every 10 annual signups occurred in March alone, accounting for roughly 10% of all signups recorded. 
• Startup activity is heavily concentrated in spring, with March, April and May accounting for the peak month of 12 different business sectors. 
• March generated 55% more virtual office signups than the quietest month of December (2,908 vs 1,879). 
• Knowledge-led sectors dominated demand, with Information and Communication and Professional Services combining for 17,180 signups, equating to almost 60% of all signups recorded. 
• Information and Communication is the UK's largest startup sector, generating 8,965 signups. This is almost 9% more than Professional, Scientific & Technical businesses (8,215).
• The UK's fastest-growing startup sectors are overwhelmingly digital and expertise-based, suggesting entrepreneurs are building businesses around knowledge, services and technology, rather than physical premises or inventory. As such, we’re entering an “expert economy”.

The spring startup surge 

Analysis of more than 29,000 signups reveals that March generates more new business launches - based on virtual office subscriptions and registered addresses -  than January. This suggests entrepreneurs spend the start of the year planning before taking the plunge in spring. 

Here are the most popular months to start a business in the UK: 

Why could spring be a perfect time to launch a business? 

Our findings show that March is now overtaking January as Britain’s most popular month to start a business, with 2,908 subscription signups for virtual offices and registered addresses at the start of Spring, followed by May with 2,738 and April with 2,687.

Rather than experiencing a start up boom in January - often a time of new beginnings - the data shows that entrepreneurs are taking the start of the year to finalise planning, create marketing materials and test products and services before going to market. Launching in spring also lets founders make the most of the new tax year starting in April, providing a natural milestone for founders who have invested in financial planning and efficiency. Finally, March, April and May often bring improved market conditions due to consumer purchase activity and better trading conditions before the peak summer months.

In contrast, we can also reveal the least popular month is December with 1,879 signups followed by October with 2,215 subscriptions:

Different industries, different launch months

Knowledge-led sectors dominate virtual office and registered address demand, with Information and Communication and Professional Services combining for 17,180 signups, equating to almost 60% of all signups recorded. Specifically, Information and Communication is the UK's largest startup sector, generating 8,965 signups. This is almost 9% more than Professional, Scientific & Technical businesses (8,215).

March emerged as the UK's most popular month overall for starting a business; however, the data reveals significant differences across sectors. Information, communication and professional services businesses are most likely to launch in early spring (March), whilst construction and administrative businesses are most likely to launch later in May, and real estate companies in August. 

Delve into the table below to learn which sectors peak during specific months:

Are you inspired by Britain's spring startup boom? 

If you're ready to join the growing number of entrepreneurs launching companies across the UK, start with these five key steps. 

1. Validate your business idea - before registering your company, you need to take a step back and understand if there’s genuine demand for the offering. Undertake market research, speak to possible investors and customers, and assess if your product solves a problem. The more time you spend validating, the lower the launch risk. 
2. Create a business plan - to be clear, you don’t need a 100-page slide presentation for this. You need to know who your customers are, how you’ll generate revenue, startup investment and costs, go-to-market strategy and goals for the first 12 months. 
3. Financial planning - spend time calculating your startup expenses and create a budget that considers tax commitments and runway time. Good financial planning will support good cash flow further down the line. 
4. A solid set-up - decide on your business structure, register your company and put foundations in place. This could include registering with Companies House, opening a business bank account or securing a registered office address. 
5. Plan your launch - it’s easy to spend too much time planning the launch, rather than getting on with it. When all of the above is in place, gather feedback and refine your offering, once more, then take it out to market. Continue to test and evolve in the coming months whilst you’re in the “building” stage. 

While there is no single “perfect time” to launch a business, our insights reveal clear patterns in how today's entrepreneurs approach virtual offices and registered addresses, highlighting broader trends in company formation and business creation. Britain's entrepreneurial spirit remains strong, and spring has become the season when many founders choose to turn their plans into reality.

More importantly, the findings highlight a wider shift in the UK's startup landscape. Knowledge-led businesses now dominate new company formation, with technology, communications and professional services accounting for the majority of signups. As digital tools continue to lower the barriers to entrepreneurship, more founders are building businesses around expertise, services and innovation rather than traditional premises and inventory.

If you’re about to start a business, Hoxton Mix’s solutions may be able to play a crucial role in providing a virtual address, a business mail forwarding address in London and WhatsApp Business numbers, removing administrative pain points so you can focus on building the company, working backwards from whatever month you choose to launch.

Methodology statement

This report analyses virtual office subscription data from Hoxton Mix to identify trends in UK startup formation, location, and industry sectors.  The dataset was extracted on 27th May 2026 and includes 29,070 virtual office subscriptions recorded between 2017 and May 2026. Businesses were categorised using their primary UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, with startups grouped across 21 industry sectors to analyse sector-specific patterns in virtual office adoption.

Sources

[1] Government Statistics on Business Population Estimates 2025 - YouGov.