The report compared data from 30 of the biggest cities in the UK, across four data sources, namely: number of new business registrations (also known as ‘business births’) per 100,000 people; business confidence score; number of self-employed workers per 100,000 people; and number of business owners on LinkedIn (based on profiles) per 100,000 people.
Bradford came out on top, scoring a total of 238 points.
Chaudhry Mobeen, founder of Bradford-based business MealPro, which offers ready-made healthy meals, said: “Bradford is an amazing place to own a business.
“The togetherness and the support found in the area is unlike anything you’d find in other parts of the UK.
“I can personally attest to this, having grown up in London.
“This culture of togetherness is evident in how businesses here help each other out.
“We ran out of grated cheese on an unusually busy night, and a neighbouring business immediately stepped in to help us out without hesitation.”
Hull and Reading came in second and third place respectively in the report, the full version of which is available to read at https://wildcatdigital.co.uk/blog/entrepreneurial-cities-report-2024-the-uks-most-entrepreneurial-cities-ranked/
For the purposes of the research, population figures came from Word Population Review (https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/united-kingdom); ‘business births’ information came from the Office for National Statistics (https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/businessdemography/2022#business-birth-and-death-rates-2017-to-2022); information on business confidence was sourced from the Federation of Small Businesses (https://www.fsb.org.uk/resource-report/small-business-index-quarter-1-2024.html); and self-employed worker figures were retrieved from Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/318457/self-employment-by-region-uk/).
