Offshore company formation popular amongst young people

18/11/2008

Young people are twice as likely as the general UK population to form an offshore company, according to new research.

A new YouGov survey says that 18-24 year olds are the most likely demographic to expand a start-up business overseas.

The survey has been released to mark the launch of Global Enterprise Week, which aims to encourage young people to start and develop their own businesses. 54% of respondents to the survey also revealed their opinion that entrepreneurs and business could get the UK through the global economic downturn.

In his speech to launch Global Enterprise Week, Peter Mandelson, secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, spoke about the importance of offshore company formation for young entrepreneurs: "For entrepreneurs the world is their market, not just the UK," he said. "We have to do all we can to ensure that young people can become the next generation of entrepreneurs, because they don't find it as difficult to think outside the box."

Other results from the survey show that people running their own businesses are more affected by the economic downturn than those employed within other organisations. Despite this, entrepreneurs are also the most optimistic - 65% of respondents said they believe there are still opportunities for new business ventures and ideas.