Leicester revealed as UK start-up hotspot

Leicester: a start-up hotspot

A new study has shown that Leicester is the second best place in the UK to start up a business.

The report, by business information firm DueDil, shows that Leicester comes second only to Salford for entrepreneurs looking to set up a new enterprise.

Leicester experienced a 34.45% increase in the number of new businesses (1,163) starting up in the first quarter of 2017, than in the same period last year.

Derby also experienced a healthy startup growth rate of 16.11%, with 591 new companies starting up in the first quarter of this year, compared to 509 for the first quarter of 2016.

Lincoln experienced growth of 18.05, and created 157 new companies starting up in the first quarter, while Northampton’s new business creation shrank by 1.68%.

And the number of new businesses starting up in Nottingham in the first quarter of 2017 increased by 13.66% from the previous year.

DueDil says that based on its startup growth rate, Leicester can expect to produce an estimated 4,813 new companies for the whole of 2017.

London experienced a modest startup growth rate of 5.12%. However, despite failing to clinch a spot in the top five for startup growth, London continued to produce more startups than anywhere else in the UK, with 57,235 new companies starting up in the capital in the first quarter of 2017.

Justin Fitzpatrick, COO and co-founder of DueDil said: “Interestingly, just a handful of the UK’s major cities made the overall top 20 for startup growth, with cities such as London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds all absent from the top rankings, suggesting that they are slowly losing their grip on their status as the UK’s startup growth.”

He added: “The overall decrease in startup growth across the UK, is perhaps demonstrating a cautious attitude towards enterprise with Brexit looming. Banks and alternative finance providers have an opportunity to play a role in growth through investment.”

Town/City YOY % Change First Quarter 2016 First Quarter 2017 Full Year 2016 Forecast for 2017
Salford 85.49% 751 1393 2850 5286
Leicester 34.45% 865 1163 3580 4813
Norwich 22.12% 312 381 1115 1362
Liverpool 21.71% 1207 1469 4928 5998
Oxford 18.32% 273 323 996 1178
Swansea 18.29% 339 401 1383 1636
Lincoln 18.05% 133 157 500 590
Swindon 16.35% 312 363 1241 1444
Derby 16.11% 509 591 2153 2500
Stoke-on-trent 15.62% 333 385 1314 1519
Southampton 14.47% 477 546 1914 2191
Nottingham 13.66% 659 749 2449 2783
Plymouth 12.99% 308 348 1195 1350
Bolton 12.74% 738 832 2788 3143
Peterborough 11.90% 462 517 1602 1793
Sunderland 9.09% 330 360 1139 1243
Kingston Upon Hull 8.87% 372 405 1405 1530
Exeter 8.08% 198 214 789 853
Belfast 7.99% 488 527 1911 2064
Wolverhampton 7.60% 592 637 2668 2871
Worcester 6.21% 161 171 559 594
Birmingham 6.08% 3912 4150 16569 17577
Middlesbrough 5.83% 326 345 1240 1312
Cardiff 5.19% 732 770 2786 2931
London 5.12% 54449 57235 213064 223966
Glasgow 2.47% 2021 2071 7847 8041
Aberdeen 2.34% 470 481 1700 1740
Manchester 1.90% 2471 2518 9491 9672
Gloucester 1.08% 186 188 710 718
Bradford 0.97% 1033 1043 3815 3852
Leeds 0.44% 1809 1817 7291 7323
Sheffield -0.51% 977 972 3622 3603
Newcastle upon Tyne -0.61% 493 490 1911 1899
Chelmsford -0.72% 416 413 1493 1482
Cambridge -1.25% 319 315 1155 1141
Coventry -1.35% 817 806 3075 3034
Northampton -1.68% 594 584 2283 2245
York -1.78% 338 332 1251 1229
Bristol -2.60% 1347 1312 5122 4989
Milton Keynes -4.14% 797 764 3035 2909
Southend-on-sea -4.66% 579 552 2107 2009
Edinburgh -8.38% 1742 1596 6666 6107
Dundee -11.73% 392 346 1136 1003
Portsmouth -17.64% 584 481 2260 1861
Warrington -18.86% 1336 1084 5189 4210
Brighton and Hove -19.11% 1324 1071 4451 3600
Bournemouth -19.24% 629 508 2099 1695
Luton -75.02% 2586 646 6880 1719

 

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