Starting a business: The UK statistics

Discover the essential stats behind the top 25 regional start-up cities, from the start-up ecosystem and quality of life to access to talent and business support

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To compile the Start-up Cities Index 2017, the Startups team have gathered data and statistics from a range of credible sources in order to get an accurate picture of the levels of start-up activity across the UK.

From the number of start-ups in each city, to survival rates, and even weekly earnings and working age population, the tables below reflect how each city ranks as an ideal start-up location.

Discover how each city fares for each criteria below…

The start-up ecosystem and quality of life

quality of lifeAverage property price: £183,396

Average crime rate: 84.23

 

CityBusiness populationNew start-upsBusiness closuresSurvival rate (%)Property prices (£)Crime rates (per 1000)
Aberdeen10,2301,0901,05546.00£205,36560.8
Belfast10,5901,16580037.00£112,287–
Birmingham37,2007,3104,03036.00£234,77068.35
Brighton14,7652,1151,46046.00£285,20680.99
Bristol19,2252,7951,82543.00£412,09098.50
Cambridge5,2953,41049049.00£217,25287.23
Canterbury5,56070054538.00£219,02656.37
Cardiff12,0901,8001,19540.00£154,19791.67
Coventry10,5201,8651,04539.00£120,00062.85
Edinburgh20,2603,0552,07037.00£228,24073.1
Glasgow20,2353,1852,33539.00£140,42685.2
Hull6,44587063036.00£072,255101.94
Leeds28,9054,3152,78542.00£234,92083.45
Leicester11,8601,9151,27540.00£120,13682.93
Liverpool14,0552,4351,56038.00£201,68090.86
Manchester21,8154,1902,67536.00£238,050109.39
Milton Keynes12,9752,2251,24041.00£18962370.57
Newcastle8,6951,26093039.00£121,45680.2
Norwich5,11062053544.oo£163,30494.67
Nottingham9,4851,4001,07540.00£089,784101.02
Oxford5,26568548045.00£296,47630.71
Plymouth6,47087578042.00£136,071171.83
Sheffield16,9052,2851,75042.00£125,83268.19
Southampton7,3801,38582540.00£157,914102.45
Swansea6,73089074038.00£108,54968.19
*Business population (number of active businesses 2015), Number of new start-ups (new businesses launched in 2015), business closures (number of business deaths in 2015), survival rates (percentage of new enterprises started in 2010 still trading in 2015, figures rounded): Business Demography Report, published 23 November 2016 (Office for National Statistics)
Property prices: September 2015 statistics (Land Registry), for Scotland June to September 2015 (Registry of Scotland)
Crime rates (total number of crimes over a 12 month period per thousand residents): June 2015 statistics (Police UK)

Access to talent and business support

business talentAverage commercial rent cost Grade B:£15.83

(10.764 = £ per sq. m)

 

CityBroadband speedNumber of student gradsNumber of domicile graduatesCommercial rent cost Grade B (10.764=£ per sq.m)
Aberdeen16.983.40%88.80%£18.00
Belfast33.691.90%78.70%£16.00
Birmingham28.854.70%69.00%£22.50
Brighton33.348.10%64.10%£17.00
Bristol33.848.10%64.1%£25.00
Cambridge23.550.90%55.60%£16.00
Canterbury2143.10%60.10%£13.50
Cardiff30.259.50%73.1%£16.50
Coventry25.354.70%69.00%£11.00
Edinburgh30.383.40%88.80%£20.00
Glasgow23.183.40%88.80%£20.00
Hull14.1 – –
Leeds25.348.50%71.50%£21.75
Leicester23.239.20%61.00%£10.00
Liverpool27.866.00%77.2%£12.50
Manchester2466.00%77.2%£24.50
Milton Keynes21.443.10%60.10%£12.00
Newcastle25.255.10%76.2%£15.00
Norwich1750.90%55.60%£10.00
Nottingham31.439.20%61.00%£12.50
Oxford22.543.10%60.10%£14.50
Plymouth31.848.10%64.10%£11.00
Sheffield20.948.50%71.50%£12.00
Southampton27.843.10%60.10%£13.00
Swansea27.7 – –
*Broadband speed: Average broadband speed (M/bits) (Ofcom)
Number of student graduates and domicile graduates staying in the area (HESCU's Graduate Market Trends report 2016)
Commercial rent cost Grade B (Colliers' Office Rents Map – figures £ per sq.m for each location as of June 2016. Grade B rents apply to second-hand units built during the 1990s.)
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