City moves from a net loss to a net gain in businesses as creation falls across Wales and the UK
Swansea has bucked a general downturn in business creation across both Wales and the wider UK, with business creations in the city soaring by 9.9% in the first half of 2026. This comes according to new research by Swansea-based accountancy firm, eAccounts.
Analysis of ONS business demography data recorded 445 business creations in the city between January and June 2026, up from 405 in the same period of 2025. That represents 40 additional creations.
The increase comes despite business creation falling 5.2% across Wales, from 5,315 to 5,040, while the UK as a whole recorded a 3.1% decline, dropping from 163,075 new businesses to 157,980.
Swansea had the strongest growth of the seven Welsh local authorities meeting the study’s threshold of at least 250 business creations in the first half of 2025. It ranked 15th among 223 eligible UK local authorities, based on the percentage increase in business creations.
In the first half of 2025, Swansea recorded 405 business creations and 430 closures, a net loss of 25. A year later, creations had risen to 445 and closures had fallen to 415, giving the city a net gain of 30. That represents a 55-business improvement.
For eAccounts, which is headquartered in Swansea and works with small businesses across the UK, the figures highlight how local entrepreneurial trends can look very different from the wider national picture.
eAccounts founder Kris Corbisiero, said, “What stands out isn’t simply that Swansea created more businesses this year. It’s that the city has moved in the opposite direction to Wales as a whole.
“A year ago, Swansea had more businesses closing than being created. Now it has moved into positive territory, while new business creation across Wales has fallen by more than 5%. That is a significant turnaround in a relatively short period.
“As a Swansea business ourselves, we know the city has a strong community of entrepreneurs and small firms. Digital tools, online platforms and remote working have also made it much easier to start and build a business without needing to be based in one of Britain’s traditional commercial centres.
“The challenge now is making sure these new businesses have the support they need to survive, grow and turn that early momentum into something sustainable.”
The findings form part of a wider eAccounts analysis of ONS business demography data examining where business creation is growing fastest across the UK.
While overall business creation fell nationally, the research found that individual towns and cities are moving sharply against the wider trend, highlighting how national and even country-level figures can mask very different patterns at local level.
“While business creation is falling across most of the UK, and across Wales as a whole, Swansea has gone from more businesses closing than opening to a solid net gain in the space of a year. That’s the kind of local resilience the national figures alone don’t capture.”
eAccounts argues that these results reinforce the case for looking beyond national totals when assessing the health of UK entrepreneurship – with local authority-level data revealing hotspots that broader regional figures can mask entirely.
For more information, visit https://www.e-accounts.co.uk.