A DRAMATIC drop in new business ventures has hit Yorkshire, according to the latest start and closure figures published by Barclays today.

The county had the worst record in Britain for the year 2000 in spite of a national rally in the numbers of start ups in the final quarter.

And there are no early indications in North Yorkshire that 2001 will be any different, although there are interesting indications that the tendency for fledgling operations in the region is towards IT related businesses.

The problem is cue for Barclays to help foster Start Right seminars for start-ups, with one planned for Bedale, on April 26, and another for York, on May 15.

Roger Anderson, Barclays' head of local business for North Yorkshire said: "So far this year we have not experienced a big change, but we have been pleased by the high number of new IT related businesses opening accounts - perhaps 50 per cent of all new ventures. It is a noticeable shift from traditional one-person businesses taking wing like plumbers and joiners."

Overall three regions saw an increase in new ventures in 2000, with Greater London up by 12 per cent, East Midlands up by nine per cent and the south east up by two per cent. But Yorkshire plummeted by 23 per cent while the North and Wales were both down by 11 per cent on new start-ups. The paucity of pioneers in the Yorkshire and the north as opposed to London and the south east generally could be linked to the huge north south divide which opened up in the property market throughout last year when in the south growth of new firms linked to property and finance sectors was up five per cent, and new businesses in professional sectors were also up by five per cent.

Mike Rogers, managing director of small business and start-ups at Barclays said: "While the economy as a whole was doing quite well in 2000, we know that the small business and start-up market always works at a slight lag to the economy overall.

"So what we saw in early 2000 was the impact of the slowdown of about 18 months earlier filtering down to the start-up market."

He said the success of business start-ups this year would be reliant, as always, on "combining a good idea with a robust business plan."