The Best UK Cities for New Business Owners

Plymouth has been revealed as the most attractive city to launch a new business in 2023, according to new research released this week.

With nearly two-thirds of businesses revealing their energy costs have increased compared to last year, many business owners are looking for affordable locations with a thriving high street.

Asset finance brokerage, Approved Business Finance assessed the current market by taking the UK’s top 50 most populated cities and analysed the current commercial retail listings from Rightmove.

Using specific data points such as the average price of rent, cost per square foot, footfall recovery score from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the number of closed banks and the number of empty commercial spaces, the research reveals the cities that are most promising for new businesses in 2023.

Plymouth took the top spot for being the best city to start a business. The city has relatively cheap rent and one of the highest footfall recovery scores of 165, as well as only 38 properties on offer making it a popular choice.

Making the top 5 are Sunderland, Telford and Stoke on Trent all three have low monthly rent and bustling high streets.

Mark Kozo, Marketing Director at Approved Business Finance, said:

“It’s no surprise that the slightly smaller cities are looking more promising with cheaper rent and higher footfall. With the current financial climate, many people have relocated to more inexpensive cities as a way to cope with rising costs and rent prices.

“There is a significant amount of pressure on retailers and as the data reveals the cities that tend to have the higher rental prices will most likely see the biggest increase in vacant retail spaces.

“With the impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, a significant number of businesses across the country are facing financial challenges and data like this reveals the cities that are bouncing back and the ones that aren’t.”

Patrick Hicks, who runs the Container Self-Storage & Traders Association (CSTA), shares the importance of maximising container space to build businesses in expensive cities. Patrick said:

“Container self-storage sites are a proven concept for the customer; for the business owner, it’s a means of quickly repurposing containers and unused land into a profitable business with relatively low overheads.

“Container storage is the ideal “drive up and secure” storage space that requires minimal maintenance and overheads. When used for business premises, the same applies. The containers are immediately available and the site can be populated with additional units to match customer demand for business premises.

“Many of the container suppliers provide valuable help and experience to a business owner when starting up a new site. Small businesses can fund containers through purchase or lease, providing flexible options to a start-up budget.”