Ceredigion has been crowned the new business capital of Wales.

A study conducted by UK packaging supplier, Carrier Bag Shop, revealed that the area saw 25.6 per cent more enterprises registered in the past year compared to pre-pandemic levels.

This makes Ceredigion the region with the highest rate of new business launches in Wales.

The growth is particularly notable in the context of an 8.21 per cent decrease in new business creation nationwide during the same period.

Between mid-2017 and mid-2018, Ceredigion saw 215 new businesses registered.

This figure has grown by 25.58 per cent to 270 between mid-2023 and mid-2024.

Isle of Anglesey ranked second in Wales for startup increases, with 22.22 per cent more startups last year (220) compared to six years before (180).

Cardiff registered the highest volume of new businesses last year with 1,600 startups, however, this is a relatively modest increase of 10.34 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels (1,450).

In total, Wales had 10,420 new businesses set up last year, a 9.04 per cent decline from 11,455 two years prior to the covid-19 lockdown.

Sujan Shah, CEO of Carrier Bag Shop, said: "In the first year after our lockdown started, we saw a 7.86 per cent increase across the UK in new businesses being set up.

"Increased use of remote working, a turbulent job market, and the economic and emotional impact of Covid-19 may have spurred the leap towards entrepreneurship."

However, he noted that after this momentum slowed down for almost another year, it made mid-2022 until mid-2023 appear as if setting up new ventures reduced sharply by 15.72 per cent.

Mr Shah attributed this to the more accelerated entrepreneurship during the more intense lockdown periods.

He said: "It seemed like the stricter the lockdown, the more entrepreneurial it made us."

He highlighted that the comparison of statistics from two years on either side of the pandemic offered a unique perspective into the areas that have flourished as great places to set up a business.

He said: "This can either be a result of local authorities’ efforts to encourage entrepreneurship, cost-effective business infrastructure or new business owners seeing great potential in these areas off the beaten path.

"Either way, we aimed to find these hidden gems for anyone still unsure where to set up shop locally, without having to move to big cities."

Other top-rated places in each UK region for the highest growth in new businesses include Middlesbrough in the North East, Pendle in the North West, Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire and the Humber, and Mansfield in the East Midlands.