SMALL businesses for the East of England are on the rise, new figures suggest.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show some 45,400 new businesses that have been set up by entrepreneurs across the East.

Maldon based small business specialists TaxAssist Accountants is reporting a surge in businesses looking for professional support.

The business has provided tax and accountancy advice and services to small businesses in the area for more than ten years, and has reported a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of district-based businesses coming to them for help filing their January tax returns.

Christina Pease, who runs TaxAssist Accountants, said: “It’s great to see such a thriving entrepreneurial spirit in our community, but we need to continue to support small businesses.

“The owners are facing increasing challenges, particularly around the new digital tax reporting requirements and the need to auto-enroll their staff on company pension schemes.

“Increased operating costs and weak domestic growth, has also seen the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) report a drop in business confidence, so it is even more important that we provide all the help we can to local start-ups and existing business owners.

“We’re seeing a marked increase in requests for advice on workplace pensions and tax returns, as well as general payroll and accounting inquiries, many of them through word of mouth recommendations.

“We’re delighted to support small businesses and start-ups in our community to help free up their time to do what they do best – get on with running their business.”