Fasthosts reveal the top cities in the UK for start-up businesses by looking into a large variety of regional metrics from business survival rates to the cost of office space.

Luton is the UK’s top city to start a business right now, study finds.

Without a doubt, the pandemic has changed our economy forever; and it may not have felt like the most obvious year to launch a business, but with Britons locked down entrepreneurial spirit seems to be inflated as 2020 saw a 12.3% increase in new businesses, the highest growth on record¹.

But, have you ever wondered where the best places are in the UK to set up a new business or follow your entrepreneurial enterprise? Analysing average download speeds, business birth and death rates, five-year survival rates, office renting costs, and average working productivity across the nation, Fasthosts have conducted a new study to reveal the top 15 cities for business opportunities.

Luton crowned top UK city for start-up businesses.

Luton crowned as the best-all round UK location to start a new business with an overall index score of 3.375 – prove to have one the best rates of production, office prices, and business survival rates out of any other UK city.

Next up is Reading who boasts a super high productivity rate – even higher than Luton – but falls short at office costs and internet speeds. In 3^rd place is Nottingham, a major midlands player that takes third place on the index.

The Bedfordshire town ranks marginally higher than fellow southern start-up hotspot Reading (3.312), which can only claim second spot.

In the battle of the capitals, its pride for Scotland as Edinburgh outperforms Central London by the slimmest of margins, to rank as our 4^th best city for overall enterprise opportunities, while the English metropolis takes 5^th.

The top 15 UK cities to launch a business can be seen below:

Ranking	City	Average download speed (Mbit/s)	Business Death rate	Business Birth rate	5 Year Survival Rate	Cost of Office Space per sq. ft. (£)	Productivity level
1	Luton	63	1040	1455	410	22	102.97
2	Reading	54	930	1145	435	38	126.9
3	Nottingham	69	1410	1510	20	14.88	86
4	Edinburgh	63	2540	2885	1150	35	104.8
5	Central London	51	5750	5190	32895	112	132.3
6	Liverpool	62	2445	3110	805	23	91.7
7	Portsmouth	55	845	1275	320	16.9	94.3
8	Coventry	58	1410	1620	605	18.5	91.6
9	Wolverhampton	61	1110	1245	380	16	84
10	Bristol	60	2370	2895	1140	35	97.6
11	Birmingham	58	5970	7870	2080	34	91.5
12	Newcastle upon Tyne	56	1105	1295	455	24	90.9
13	Stoke-on-Trent	53	810	965	385	16	85.5
14	Northampton	44	1275	2000	520	13.6	93.6
15	Bradford	49	1875	2305	945	14.6	86.2

Michelle Stark, Sales and Marketing Director at Fasthosts comments:

“Even in a vastly increasing digital world, choosing the right city to launch a business is an important decision. And it’s great to see such a variety of cities across the country among the top 15 from Portsmouth to Edinburgh and Bradford to choose from. It’s important to be strategic when deciding in your business location and we urge all start-ups to check out our rankings before choosing their desired location for business.”

The full Fasthosts study can be found here: https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/blog/best-uk-areas-for-startups/