THE number of businesses starting up in Scotland in the first quarter of this year was down on the opening three months of 2014, the latest figures for bank account openings have revealed.

This fall was driven mainly by fewer sole traders and partnerships setting up. The number of company start-ups in the opening three months of 2015 was down only slightly on the first quarter of last year.

The Committee of Scottish Bankers recorded 3,032 business start-ups in Scotland in the first quarter, down by 8.8 per cent on the corresponding figure of 3,326 for the opening three months of 2014.

Based on these figures for bank account openings, 1,100 sole traders set up in the first quarter, down from 1,314 in the corresponding period of last year. There were 1,774 company start-ups in the first quarter, compared with 1,809 in the year-earlier period.

The figures show 158 partnerships were started up in the first quarter. In the opening three months of last year, the corresponding figure was 203.

Comparing the first quarter with the same period of last year, there were fewer start-ups in many sectors, including manufacturing, construction, and hotels and restaurants, as well as in the wholesale and retail trade and repairs category.

However, there were 206 start-ups in the transport, storage and communications sector in the first quarter, compared with 159 in the opening three months of 2014.

The comparison of the first quarter with the same period of last year strips out the impact of seasonal fluctuations.

The number of business start-ups in Scotland in the first quarter was up by 19.4 per cent on the preceding three months, according to the figures for account openings with Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, TSB Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.