A GWENT business is the oldest continually-operating firm in the whole of Wales according to a new study.

Monmouthshire Building Society was founded in 1869 and, according to BusinessFinancing.co.uk, is the longest-running company in Wales.

Founded as a mutual building society, the company celebrated its centenary in 1969.

Monmouthshire Building Society is a founding member of the Building Societies Association and Council of Mortgage Lenders.

BusinessFinancing.co.uk decided to take a look at the longest-running, continually operating businesses across the UK.

South Wales Argus:

They used sources such as Companies House, city location guides, local
authorities, historical societies, and chambers of commerce to find the oldest companies in each city.

In cases where a business was bought out, they included said business if there was a reasonable degree of continuity.

For merged businesses, the team used the date of the oldest business.

South Wales Argus:

The UK’s oldest company is Aberdeen Harbour Board,
founded in 1136.

England’s oldest company is Trinity House, founded in London in 1514.

The Derry Journal newspaper, founded in 1772, remains Northern Ireland’s oldest business.

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Despite Covid, the number of new companies created in the UK rose by 14 per cent in 2020.

However, government figures suggest fewer than half of the UK’s 726,000 new businesses will survive their first four years.

Around 25-30 per cent won’t even make it to their second anniversary – and that’s not even accounting for the post-pandemic economy.