Revealed – The UK’s homepreneur hotspots
Whilst the coronavirus pandemic has delivered one of the fastest economic shocks in history and the long-term financial ramifications remain precarious, it has been historically proven that downturns can fuel a start-up boom, with every day ‘homepreneurs’ likely to emerge over the coming months.
London and the South East has been unveiled as the entrepreneurial hotspot of the UK, with 39% of the businesses born in the UK over the last eight years establishing in the region, according to ONS data.
Although the strongest start-up activity is in the South East, cities further north such as Manchester and Birmingham have seen increasing growth throughout the last decade. The North West is the second most entrepreneurial area with 1-in-10 UK businesses established in the region, followed by the East of England (9%) and West Midlands (8%).
The hotspots data has been gathered by High Speed Training to create an interactive map which shows the top 10 best places in the UK to start a business: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/best-cities-to-start-a-business-uk/#mapJumplink.
The map provides an overall picture of the most entrepreneurial areas of the UK in the decade since the last recession.
- London and the South East (39%)
- North West (10%)
- East (9%)
- West Midlands (8%)
- South West (7%)
- Yorkshire and The Humber (6%)
- East Midlands (6%)
- Scotland (5%)
- Wales (3%)
- North East (3%)
- Northern Ireland (1%)
High Speed Training has also seen a 61% increase in the number of people completing its Starting a Business course over the first six weeks of lockdown, compared to the same period last year.
It comes at a time when the UK could slide into its deepest recession in decades. According to data from the Enterprise Research Centre, a group of several leading universities, the number of new companies dropped by 23% in March, and some 21,000 UK businesses collapsed compared to the same month last year.
Dr. Richard Anderson, head of learning & development at High Speed Training, said: “The teeth of a recession can actually be the ideal time for innovators and entrepreneurs to create and launch their start-ups. Economic downturns have previously shown that new businesses can gain market opportunities and provide income for those struggling to secure – or who’ve lost – their job. The lockdown may provide an opportunity for homepreneurs to use their physical-distancing time to pick up a new skill or create a business plan to launch an Etsy shop or consultancy from their kitchen table.”
High Speed Training is a leading online training provider, delivering accredited digital training that helps people to be engaged, effective and safe in the workplace. It is the authority on personal development and compliance, providing the tools that can help individuals to achieve their aspirations, whether progressing an existing career path or breaking down the barriers to starting a new one.
