The majority of offshore centres experienced a year-on-year rise in company formations in 2014, according to new data from Appleby.

Six of the eight key offshore jurisdictions welcomed a rise in new company incorporations last year, according to Appleby, a provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administrative services.

In total, 2014 gave rise to 93,159 new offshore company incorporations, slightly behind the previous year’s number.

“There are 672,500 companies now registered across the offshore jurisdictions in which we operate, some 45,000 more than there were five years ago in the immediate aftermath of the global recession,” said Appleby's global head of fiduciary and administration services, Farah Ballands.

“Most offshore jurisdictions have had a good year, reporting increases to the total number of active companies on their registers of between 1 per cent and 4 per cent.”

Mauritius appeared to be a particular hotspot among offshore centres. The island saw 2,639 new company incorporations in 2014, a 20 per cent climb from the previous year. Close behind, the Cayman Islands enjoyed a 17 per cent year-on-year increase to 11,010 new incorporations.

The British Virgin Islands and Isle of Man proved to be the exceptions, where the level of new company incorporations fell 5 and 10 per cent respectively from 2013. 

Despite the comparative drop, the BVI continued to dominate offshore new company registration by volume, with 50,834 new companies registered last year. Meanwhile, the Isle of Man's year-on-year dip came in contrast to the other British Crown Dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey, where new company incorporations jumped 10 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

Appleby based its report on data from the national registers and authorities of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius and Seychelles