ALMOST 500 businesses across the Test Valley collapsed last year, according to figures released this week.

Statistics revealed by the Money Advice Trust showed that 485 firms in the borough went out of business during 2013.

Those figures contributed to a total of 6,505 ‘business deaths’ in Hampshire throughout the year, with neighbouring Basingstoke and Deane suffering 640.

But the figures also showed that 640 new companies were started up in Test Valley over the same period, with 9,105 ‘business births’ registered across the county.