More 1,000 firms set up shop in Bermuda last year — a four per cent jump on 2013.

The latest On the Register report from legal firm Appleby said 1,113 new companies opened on the Island, compared to 1,066 the previous year.

Appleby Services managing director Rory Gorman said: “Having topped over a thousand new incorporations for the first time in five years in 2013, Bermuda improved on that figure in 2014.

“The quarterly spread of these new companies was very even over the year, without any apparent peaks and troughs.”

The biggest sector was international business, with 888 exempted company incorporations. There were 69 overseas companies set up and 156 local firms.

Across offshore jurisdictions where Appleby operates, there are now 672,500 registered — around 45,000 more than there were five years ago.

Farah Ballands, an Appleby partner and global head of fiduciary and administration services, said: “Most offshore jurisdictions have had a good year, reporting increases to the total number of active companies on their registers of between one and four per cent.”