# The British Entrepreneurial Index reveals the most entrepreneurial regions across the UK Published: 2021-07-02 Category: Business Category URL: https://business.express/category/business/ Meta Title: The British Entrepreneurial Index Reveals The Most URL: https://business.express/the-british-entrepreneurial-index-reveals-the-most-entrepreneurial-regions-across-the-uk/ ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qsmfaw001wwirgq3ggueqg/images/immmag-1737030066614-compressed.jpg) - 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](https://www.tide.co/), 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/](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 Authority864,0003,778,00018.60%**2**Swansea Bay City Region50,000263,00016.10%**3**West of England Combined Authority74,000422,00014.90%**4**North of Tyne Combined Authority54,000326,00014.10%**5**Greater Manchester Combined Authority183,0001,146,00013.80%**6**Edinburgh and South East Scotland91,000598,00013.20%**7**Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority56,000373,00013.00%**8**West Midlands Combined Authority167,0001,133,00012.90%**9**Liverpool City Region Combined Authority88,000639,00012.20%**10**Tees Valley Combined Authority34,000255,00011.90% 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**BromsgroveWest Midlands18655060171.3%**2**Wyre ForestWest Midlands405980142.0%**3**RedditchWest Midlands380880131.6%**4**KetteringEast Midlands455910100.0%**5**BournemouthSouth West1070209595.8%**6**Telford and WrekinWest Midlands670112567.9%**7**WychavonWest Midlands705118067.4%**8**SouthamptonSouth East1230196059.3%**9**Hinckley and BosworthEast Midlands48573551.5%**10**St AlbansEast1135163043.6% 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 activities304511070263.5%**2**Mining of metal ores1025150%**3**Veterinary activities37069587.8%**4**Other manufacturing875160082.9%**5**Warehousing and support activities for transportation1685307082.2%**6**Land transport and transport via pipelines106101839573.4%**7**Other mining and quarrying508570.0%**8**Manufacture of beverages30548559.0%**9**Residential care activities690104551.4%**10**Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas507550.0% 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**Bournemouth95.80%45.65%837187,5030.45%8.60**2**Stevenage26.70%45.54%52087,8450.59%7.70**3**Watford38.10%45.45%48296,8000.50%7.45**4**Chelmsford3.80%47.21%917168,3100.54%7.26**5**Colchester27.20%44.94%534121,8590.44%6.77**6**Exeter21.10%43.96%618128,9000.48%6.63**7**Reading5.50%46.12%911218,7050.42%6.40**8**Peterborough9.20%40.91%1,240202,2590.61%6.39**9**Preston0.00%41.91%856141,8180.60%6.34**10**Blackburn11.90%40.16%912148,7530.61%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](https://www.tide.co/) 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._ 1. _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_ 2. _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_ 3. _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.”_ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---