The best cities for new UK start-ups has been revealed following a study of more than 500,000 data points and external research.
Online local services marketplace Bark.com, which conducted the research, said that Leeds topped its list above ‘business hotspots’ in London and Manchester.
The site tracked price data from the last three years across sectors to identify average business start-up costs, while taking into account talent pool size, broadband quality and rent costs, revealing the best places to start a business.
Price data including accounting, recruitment, IT support, website creation and management, marketing, SEO, and internet and phone providers was including.
The firm used its location price data on each sector to find out the average annual cost of launching a business across the UK’s 69 cities, but did not consider employee wages or corporation tax.
Based on the criteria, the firm believes that Leeds is the best city to start a business, followed by Cardiff and Liverpool.
It has concluded that the top ten best places to begin a start-up, paired with its average annual business launch cost, are:
1) Leeds – £15,550
2) Cardiff – £15,725
3) Liverpool – £15,744
4) Bristol – £16,013
5) Swansea – £16,082
6) Newcastle – £16,150
7) Birmingham – £16,368
8) Manchester – £17,129
9) Edinburgh – £17,174
10) London – £75,990
Conversely, it also names the five ‘worst’ places to start a business in the UK as:
1) Truro – £22,306
2) St.Davids – £8,511
3) Bangor – £8,930
4) Wells – £15,299
5) Stirling – £15,482
“When it comes to starting a business, choosing where to set up shop is always one of your first decisions,” said Kai Feller, co-founder of Bark.com.
“For decades, London has been the obvious choice for new businesses, however, we’re seeing that more and more people are opting to start their enterprise outside of the capital.
“Like Manchester and Birmingham, Leeds is fast becoming recognised as a business hotspot, so it’s not a surprise that it tops our list. It’s great to see the North of England getting the business accolade it deserves.”