Small Business Boom: Research reveals the top spot for new biz
From furlough to working from home, the pandemic has changed how millions of people earn a living. Yet the change in circumstances has had an unusual impact on new businesses, as a record 400,000 startups were launched during lockdowns.
A report by online lettings agency Mashroom has revealed the best locations across the UK to start a new business by evaluating a range of factors that contribute to the success of a business.
Manchester took the number one spot, with companies such as Co-op, Reebok and PG Tips all hailing from the northern city.
The cities were scored on the following five factors. Each factor was scored out of one, giving a possible score out of five.
| City | Motorway Links | Networking Groups | Co-Working Space | Commercial Property to Let | Airports | Total |
| Manchester | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 3.7 |
| Cambridge | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.6 |
| London | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| Oxford | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.1 |
| Exeter | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.9 |
| Norwich | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Bristol | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Liverpool | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
| Brighton | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| Leeds | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
Links to the M6 and Manchester Airport make it the top city to grow a business. Manchester also has access to funding such as the Greater Manchester Investment Fund (GMIF), where businesses can receive loans of up to £5m to help grow their business.
Jane Hunt, co-founder of JBH Digital Agency relocated her business from Northampton to Manchester in 2018. She said “We saw an opportunity to take advantage of the wealth of talent Manchester had to offer from all the universities and we wanted to be part of a city where industries like tech are booming.”
“Moving our business to Manchester meant we were able to triple the size of our agency within the space of a few months back in 2020. There’s a constant need for business, with new opportunities presenting themselves daily. We also have access to a range of talented freelancers who work within the city.
“The transport links from London, Liverpool and Newcastle also mean that we can stay well connected with other areas of the country.”
Cambridge took second place, with the oldest publishing house in the world being founded in the city, Cambridge University Press.
London, Bristol and Liverpool also all made the top ten.
Stepan Dobrovolskiy, CEO of Mashroom said: “Thousands of businesses have been born during lockdown, with the pandemic giving people the time and opportunity to explore their hobbies.
These businesses thrived in periods of lockdown, in people’s garages, spare bedrooms or even taking over their living spaces.
For successful businesses, they will be looking to expand their operation. Either by moving to a bigger property and continue working from home or to move to a more business-savvy neighbourhood – taking into account things like the number of co-working spaces, the number of commercial properties or even the number of networking events. They will look for the amenities needed to make their business a success.”
You can find the full set of data here.