Standing view · business · Mid Sussex
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2026-06.
Business deaths in Mid Sussex fell from 170 in the second quarter of 2025 to 145 in the third and 130 in the fourth, then rose to 190 in the first quarter of 2026 and 210 in the second. Business births fell to 140 in the fourth quarter of 2025 before rising to 200 in the first quarter of 2026. Closures end the period at their highest reading and above formations, having fallen for three quarters first. There were 710 businesses employing between five and nine people in 2025.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Mid Sussex. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Business deaths | 2025-06 | improving |
| Business deaths | 2025-09 | improving |
| Business births | 2025-12 | deteriorating |
| Business deaths | 2025-12 | improving |
| Business births | 2026-03 | improving |
| Business deaths | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Business deaths | 2026-06 | deteriorating |
These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.
| Measure | Period | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses employing 5 to 9 people | 2025 | — |