By Sarah Dale
6 August 2024
More than 150,000 new all-women-led companies including SASS media were founded in the UK in 2022 – more than any year previously – according to new research.
The report by Finder also revealed that almost one in five UK companies (18%) are led by women in 2024 – more than 880,000.
However, when the figures are broken down regionally, the North-East is lagging the national picture. London has the highest percentage of women-led businesses (19.8%) with Northern Ireland with the lowest at 14.7%. In the North-East, it is 16.2%.
A rise in the number of female-led companies is a fact that Teesside business owner Stacey Nottingham relishes.
And it shows a more diverse change in the business community since she founded her creative design and digital marketing agency, Bombshell Design, 23 years ago.
“At that time, in my experience, there were no other design companies run solely by women in Teesside and a very limited number across the North-East,” says Stacey, from Wynyard.
Over the years, Bombshell has expanded to incorporate more services including branding, website design and development, SEO (search engine optimisation), social media marketing and printed literature.
Now Stacey has a team which includes a head designer, website designer, admin and social media executive and a recently appointed head of web and digital SEO and intends to grow the team further with a junior designer and/or an apprentice.
“The fact that one in five new businesses is now female led is massive,” says Stacey.
“It’s fantastic to see so many women-led creative design companies in Teesside too. I still think we have a long way to go but seeing the rise in female entrepreneurs is great to see and very different from when I started out.”
Catherine Turner and Dawn Carney are the new franchise owners for the North at J Brown International, a luxury property agency. They took over the franchise three weeks ago and credit businesswomen like Stacey for paving the way to success.
“I started out in sales in my twenties and my energy was very masculine; I was very driven and cut-throat, but that made me very poorly,” says Catherine, who also owns skincare brand Tutti Organics.
“Now I believe that feminine energy is a strength. A rise in female-led companies is not a surprise to me in the slightest. I believe women are catching on to creating something for themselves. We are heading into some really exciting times and it’s our time to shine.”
Lucy Knight opened her home-based beauty salon, The Glow House, in Stokesley, in March having trained in medical grade skincare and lash extensions. She used a personal loan of £3,000 to pay for accredited courses and equipment needed to set up her business, and says more information and clarity was needed to apply for business funding.
“I want to make a good life for me and my daughter, who has just turned two, and if I can do it by not working for someone else and show her ‘Look I did it on my own as a single mum’, I can be a positive role model for her.”
The report also unveiled funding discrepancies between men and women – on average, a female-founded business receives £763,000 in funding compared to £4.7m for a male-owned company and the average loan approved for women-led businesses is £174,000, around a third of the average of £507,000 approved for companies led by men. The report also states that £250bn could be added to the UK economy if women matched men in receiving business investment.
Victoria Lawrence, from Redcar, who runs graphic design company Art Kitten, believes women may be taking a more cautious approach to borrowing money.
She said: “I’ve done funded courses but I don’t think I’d feel comfortable applying for a chunk of money. It could be that men are more confident when it comes to financial matters.”
Shak Asghar, a grant funding and business finance specialist and CEO of Like Us, which is currently running a fully funded digital programme for SMEs, said: “I would say we deal with a lot of female entrepreneurs who are ambitious and want to raise finance and funding.
“The institutional structure has been white men in pinstripe suits holding the purse strings – they are the ones doing the deals and it may be that they are not on the same wavelength as someone who’s different to them – but it is getting better.”
Two Teesside-based organisations established to celebrate women’s achievements and raise the aspirations of women and girls in the North-east view the rise in female-founded businesses as a huge positive.
Sophie McKenna, campaign manager for Power of Women (POW), said: “As advocates for gender equality and women’s empowerment, we are heartened by the encouraging statistics on women in business in the UK. The fact that one in five companies are now led by women demonstrates significant progress towards achieving gender parity in leadership roles. Additionally, the surge in new all-women-led companies, with over 150,000 founded in 2022 alone, showcases the incredible potential and entrepreneurial spirit of women.
“These statistics not only highlight the increasing presence of women in the business world but also underscore the importance of promoting an environment that supports and nurtures their ambitions. Women in business serve as powerful role models for the future generation, inspiring them to dream big and break barriers.”
Max Freer, creator of Female Founder UK, says: “Female Founder UK was created to spotlight amazing females from the North-east to inspire inclusion and equality to bridge the enterprise and entrepreneurial gap that exists between the north and south.
“Many women in our region struggle to tell their stories and research shows we’re less likely to vocalise our achievements than men. We need to see ourselves reflected in all aspects of business and industry. The phrase you can’t be what you can’t see is very true.”
Full report at Women in business statistics: 2024 (finder.com)
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