MORE than 850 new companies registered in Renfrewshire last year.

The news comes as Scotland enjoyed a record number of new company registrations in 2015 bringing the total number of businesses in the country to a record high.

Figures from Inform Direct show that 34,711 new companies registered in Scotland last year, up by 8.8 per cent on the previous year and compared with a UK year-on-year increase in start-ups of 4.2 per cent.

Dundee City and Fife were the most impressive parts of Scotland for new start-ups in 2015 after securing a place in the top of a UK-wide league table.

In total, 19,772 firms registered in Scotland dissolved in 2015.