Salford revealed as UK start-up hotspot

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

The report, by business information firm DueDil, reveals that Salford experienced an 85.49% increase in the number of new businesses (1,393) starting up in the first quarter of 2017, up from 751 in the same period last year.

DueDil says that based on its startup growth rate, Salford can expect to produce an estimated 5,286 new companies for the whole of 2017.

Liverpool also experienced a healthy startup growth rate of 21.71%, with 1,469 new companies starting up in the first quarter of this year, compared to 1,207 for the first quarter of 2016.

Bolton saw growth of 12.74%, and created 832 new companies starting up in the first quarter, while Manchester recorded growth of 1.90%, with 2,518 new starts compared with 2471 in the first three months of 2016.

Meanwhile, the number of new businesses starting up in Warrington the first quarter of 2017 was down -18.86%.

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.”