Standing view · business · Chichester
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2026-06.
Business births in Chichester rose to 150 in the first quarter of 2025 and 180 in the second, fell to 125 in the third, recovered to 155 in the fourth, then fell to 130 in the first quarter of 2026. Closures moved from 180 in the second quarter of 2025 to 125 in the third. Formations have changed direction four times in five quarters and end the period below their level a year earlier, which is why the reading is unfavourable despite the volatility. There were 5,375 businesses employing four people or fewer 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 Chichester. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Business births | 2025-03 | improving |
| Business births | 2025-06 | improving |
| Business deaths | 2025-06 | deteriorating |
| Business births | 2025-09 | deteriorating |
| Business deaths | 2025-09 | improving |
| Business births | 2025-12 | improving |
| Business births | 2026-03 | 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 0 to 4 people | 2025 | — |