- Bromsgrove, West Midlands has seen the biggest growth in startups, with a 171.3% increase in new businesses from 2018 to 2019
- Ballymena, Northern Ireland has the highest startup survival rate in the UK, with a survival rate of 55.56%
- The highest percentage of self-employed workers is found in Greater London, were 18.6% of the workforce is self-employed
- Postal and courier activities is the fastest growing sector for start-ups, seeing a 263.5% increase in startups over a 5 year period
New research from Tide, the UK’s leading business financial platform, has revealed which areas of the UK are currently booming with new businesses, what chances startups have of succeeding, and which sectors have seen the biggest startup growth over the past half-decade.
You can view the research in full here: https://www.tide.co/british-entrepreneurial-index/
The city regions with the highest number of self-employed workers
| Rank | Region | Number of self-employed workers | Total employees | % of self-employed workers |
| 1 | Greater London Authority | 864,000 | 3,778,000 | 18.60% |
| 2 | Swansea Bay City Region | 50,000 | 263,000 | 16.10% |
| 3 | West of England Combined Authority | 74,000 | 422,000 | 14.90% |
| 4 | North of Tyne Combined Authority | 54,000 | 326,000 | 14.10% |
| 5 | Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 183,000 | 1,146,000 | 13.80% |
| 6 | Edinburgh and South East Scotland | 91,000 | 598,000 | 13.20% |
| 7 | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority | 56,000 | 373,000 | 13.00% |
| 8 | West Midlands Combined Authority | 167,000 | 1,133,000 | 12.90% |
| 9 | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 88,000 | 639,000 | 12.20% |
| 10 | Tees Valley Combined Authority | 34,000 | 255,000 | 11.90% |
Greater London has the greatest percentage of self-employed workers, as 18% of Greater London’s 3.8 million workers are self-employed. Following London is the Swansea Bay City Region, which incorporates Swansea, Pembrokeshire and Port Talbot, with a total of 50,000 out of 263,000 workers being self-employed.
The regions with the biggest growth in new startups
| Rank | Local Authority | Region | 2018 new business births | 2019 new business births | Difference |
| 1 | Bromsgrove | West Midlands | 1865 | 5060 | 171.3% |
| 2 | Wyre Forest | West Midlands | 405 | 980 | 142.0% |
| 3 | Redditch | West Midlands | 380 | 880 | 131.6% |
| 4 | Kettering | East Midlands | 455 | 910 | 100.0% |
| 5 | Bournemouth | South West | 1070 | 2095 | 95.8% |
| 6 | Telford and Wrekin | West Midlands | 670 | 1125 | 67.9% |
| 7 | Wychavon | West Midlands | 705 | 1180 | 67.4% |
| 8 | Southampton | South East | 1230 | 1960 | 59.3% |
| 9 | Hinckley and Bosworth | East Midlands | 485 | 735 | 51.5% |
| 10 | St Albans | East | 1135 | 1630 | 43.6% |
The research also looked at the rate at which startups were founded in 2018 and 2019 to see which local authority area has had the biggest surge in new businesses. The top ten was dominated by the South and the Midlands, with the top 3 including Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest and Redditch.
Unfortunately, not every new startup goes on to great success. Of the 350,505 businesses started in 2014, only 148,870 survived five years. Looking at the survival rate of new businesses between 2014 and 2019, the research found that businesses in Ballymena, West Somerset and Torridge have the highest startup survival rates respectively.
Sectors experiencing the fastest growth in new startups
To discover which sectors are growing fastest in the UK, the research calculated the increase in startups in each sector between 2014 and 2019.
| Rank | Industry | 2014 new start-ups | 2019 new start-ups | Difference |
| 1 | Postal and courier activities | 3045 | 11070 | 263.5% |
| 2 | Mining of metal ores | 10 | 25 | 150% |
| 3 | Veterinary activities | 370 | 695 | 87.8% |
| 4 | Other manufacturing | 875 | 1600 | 82.9% |
| 5 | Warehousing and support activities for transportation | 1685 | 3070 | 82.2% |
| 6 | Land transport and transport via pipelines | 10610 | 18395 | 73.4% |
| 7 | Other mining and quarrying | 50 | 85 | 70.0% |
| 8 | Manufacture of beverages | 305 | 485 | 59.0% |
| 9 | Residential care activities | 690 | 1045 | 51.4% |
| 10 | Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas | 50 | 75 | 50.0% |
By far the sector to experience the greatest growth during the past half-decade is Postal and Courier services, with over 100% higher growth than any other sector at a 263.5% increase. Followed by Veterinary Activities, which experienced an 87.8% increase from 370 in 2014.
Most attractive towns and cities to launch a business
By combining data on a number of important factors including the rise in the number of startups, the five-year startup survival rate, and the number of Tide registered businesses as a percentage of the town’s population, the research revealed the best towns and cities to launch a business.
| Rank | Towns/Cities | Increase In Startups % | Five Year Survival Rate | Tide Registered Businesses | Population | Businesses Per People | Overall Score |
| 1 | Bournemouth | 95.80% | 45.65% | 837 | 187,503 | 0.45% | 8.60 |
| 2 | Stevenage | 26.70% | 45.54% | 520 | 87,845 | 0.59% | 7.70 |
| 3 | Watford | 38.10% | 45.45% | 482 | 96,800 | 0.50% | 7.45 |
| 4 | Chelmsford | 3.80% | 47.21% | 917 | 168,310 | 0.54% | 7.26 |
| 5 | Colchester | 27.20% | 44.94% | 534 | 121,859 | 0.44% | 6.77 |
| 6 | Exeter | 21.10% | 43.96% | 618 | 128,900 | 0.48% | 6.63 |
| 7 | Reading | 5.50% | 46.12% | 911 | 218,705 | 0.42% | 6.40 |
| 8 | Peterborough | 9.20% | 40.91% | 1,240 | 202,259 | 0.61% | 6.39 |
| 9 | Preston | 0.00% | 41.91% | 856 | 141,818 | 0.60% | 6.34 |
| 10 | Blackburn | 11.90% | 40.16% | 912 | 148,753 | 0.61% | 6.29 |
Bournemouth is crowned the best city outside of London to start a business. The primary reason for Bournemouth’s high ranking is the 95.8% increase in startups between 2018 and 2019, which is by far the highest of any of the top 50 towns and cities. Bournemouth also has a 5-year survival rate of 45.65% which makes it the fifth-best performing city in this regard. The city also ranks in the top 15 for registered business as a percentage of the population.
Oliver Prill CEO at Tide comments on the findings:
“Taking the step into entrepreneurship is a big one, and I am always impressed by the number of people who are keen to leap into the unknown and give it a go, particularly in the last year, when we have seen an unprecedented number of new businesses emerge. It’s a very difficult step to take though, and as the data shows, not all start-ups make it.
“There are a number of steps that new business owners can take to increase their chances of success.
- Before quitting your day job to start a business, try to run your business alongside your job – this can be exhausting, but it gives you the opportunity to see if the business can generate an income without the financial pressure
- When you’re ready to take the plunge and dedicate all your time to your business, take the time to assess how to use your time most effectively – the admin side of running a business is time consuming, but there are services, like Tide, out there to lighten the burden
- Fail fast – if something isn’t working, don’t waste time and energy trying to make it work, be agile and try something new. The beauty of starting your own business is that you have the freedom to take in the direction you want.”
You can view Tide’s British Entrepreneurial Index in full here.
