MORE than 2,000 businesses in Bradford shut their doors for good in 2022, new figures show.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show around 2,255 companies in Bradford ceased trading in 2022 – up from 1,930 the year before.

Some 18,770 firms were active last year, meaning the 'business death rate' – the percentage of businesses that closed – has risen to 12 per cent.

This is below the 'business birth rate' – the percentage of companies that began trading – of 13.7 per cent, with around 2,575 created last year.

According to the ONS, 345,000 firms across the UK shut their doors in 2022 - up five per cent on the previous year and the highest figure since records began in 2002.

Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research described the rising number of closing businesses as a "potential warning sign for the British economy", blaming high energy costs and the end of coronavirus pandemic support schemes.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a range of tax cuts to aid companies.

Mr Hunt confirmed that a tax break for firms which invest in new equipment would be made permanent, which he claimed was the "biggest business tax cut in modern history".