BUSINESS start-ups fell 15 per cent last year, according to a survey. But Barclays Bank, the company that commissioned the survey, insisted that even though the total of 342,000 was down, the small business picture was not as bad as it might seem.

In the final quarter of 2001, 79,300 new businesses started, nearly six per cent fewer than in the same quarter in 2000. Despite these less than rosy figures, seasonally adjusted data shows the closing months of 2001 to have been encouraging with an upturn in start-up activity.

A sharp drop in starts in the first half of 2001 was largely responsible for the dramatic nature of the 2001 figures. Business closures in the last three months of 2001 (109,000) were up 10 per cent on the fourth quarter of 2000.

Phil Johnson, head of small business for Barclays in Kent said: "These figures, while not entirely positive, were to be expected given a general slowdown in the economy, the foot and mouth disease outbreak earlier in the year and the impact of the events of September 11. It's important to retain a long-term view, and we believe that signs are quite encouraging, that a steady upturn in GDP growth in 2002 is likely, and that this will assist recovery and create a more attractive climate for starts in Kent this year."