Leicester revealed as UK 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.”