- Fasthosts reveal the top cities in the UK for start-up businesses by looking into a large variety of regional metrics from business survival rates to the cost of office space.
- Luton is the UK’s top city to start a business right now, study finds.
Without a doubt, the pandemic has changed our economy forever; and it may not have felt like the most obvious year to launch a business, but with Britons locked down entrepreneurial spirit seems to be inflated as 2020 saw a 12.3% increase in new businesses, the highest growth on record1.
But, have you ever wondered where the best places are in the UK to set up a new business or follow your entrepreneurial enterprise? Analysing average download speeds, business birth and death rates, five-year survival rates, office renting costs, and average working productivity across the nation, Fasthosts have conducted a new study to reveal the top 15 cities for business opportunities.
Luton crowned top UK city for start-up businesses
Luton crowned as the best-all round UK location to start a new business with an overall index score of 3.375 – prove to have one the best rates of production, office prices, and business survival rates out of any other UK city.
Next up is Reading who boasts a super high productivity rate – even higher than Luton – but falls short at office costs and internet speeds. In 3rd place is Nottingham, a major midlands player that takes third place on the index.
The Bedfordshire town ranks marginally higher than fellow southern start-up hotspot Reading (3.312), which can only claim second spot.
In the battle of the capitals, its pride for Scotland as Edinburgh outperforms Central London by the slimmest of margins, to rank as our 4th best city for overall enterprise opportunities, while the English metropolis takes 5th.
The top 15 UK cities to launch a business can be seen below:
| Ranking | City | Average download speed (Mbit/s) | Business Death rate | Business Birth rate | 5 Year Survival Rate | Cost of Office Space per sq. ft. (£) | Productivity level |
| 1 | Luton | 63 | 1040 | 1455 | 410 | 22 | 102.97 |
| 2 | Reading | 54 | 930 | 1145 | 435 | 38 | 126.9 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 69 | 1410 | 1510 | 20 | 14.88 | 86 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | 63 | 2540 | 2885 | 1150 | 35 | 104.8 |
| 5 | Central London | 51 | 5750 | 5190 | 32895 | 112 | 132.3 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 62 | 2445 | 3110 | 805 | 23 | 91.7 |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 55 | 845 | 1275 | 320 | 16.9 | 94.3 |
| 8 | Coventry | 58 | 1410 | 1620 | 605 | 18.5 | 91.6 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 61 | 1110 | 1245 | 380 | 16 | 84 |
| 10 | Bristol | 60 | 2370 | 2895 | 1140 | 35 | 97.6 |
| 11 | Birmingham | 58 | 5970 | 7870 | 2080 | 34 | 91.5 |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 56 | 1105 | 1295 | 455 | 24 | 90.9 |
| 13 | Stoke-on-Trent | 53 | 810 | 965 | 385 | 16 | 85.5 |
| 14 | Northampton | 44 | 1275 | 2000 | 520 | 13.6 | 93.6 |
| 15 | Bradford | 49 | 1875 | 2305 | 945 | 14.6 | 86.2 |
Michelle Stark, Sales and Marketing Director at Fasthosts comments:
“Even in a vastly increasing digital world, choosing the right city to launch a business is an important decision. And it’s great to see such a variety of cities across the country among the top 15 from Portsmouth to Edinburgh and Bradford to choose from. It’s important to be strategic when deciding in your business location and we urge all start-ups to check out our rankings before choosing their desired location for business.”
The full Fasthosts study can be found here: https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/blog/best-uk-areas-for-startups/
