Norwich in UK top 10 for business start-ups

Norwich has been named one of the best spots in the UK to start a business.

Data from the Office of National Statistics reveals business openings and closings in each local authority between 2022 and 2024.

The figures were tallied for each area and ranked based on the highest ratio of openings to closures.

The findings, compiled by SME software specialist MRPeasy, reveal that approximately 724,625 businesses opened in the UK from 2022 to 2024, while 800,165 closed during this time.

On average, for every 10 businesses that open nationwide, 11 close. England is the best nation in the UK to launch a business, with a slightly better ratio of openings to closures (0.912:1), while Northern Ireland ranks as the worst (0.808:1).

While Torfaen in Wales topped the study as the best area for corporate start-ups, Norwich enters the chart at number 10.

Exactly 1,500 new businesses have been set up in Norwich since 2022. In contrast, 1,410 businesses shut down during the same period. Around 17 new businesses are built in Norwich for every 16 closures at a ratio of 1.064:1.

Since Q1 of 2022, the ratio in Norwich has jumped by 32.98%.

Mike Lurye, of MRPeasy,said, “Despite Torfaen claiming the top spot on the study, England is the best nation in the UK to start a business (0.912:1), having a higher ratio of openings to closures than Scotland (0.887:1), Wales (0.874:1), and Northern Ireland (0.808:1).

“Just 9.39% of all UK local authorities have a higher rate of business openings than business closures in the last two years. Two areas of London and three spots in the East of England rank among the 10 best areas to start a business.

“Meanwhile, Clackmannanshire was      Scotland’s highest-placed area in the study, at 21st, and Belfast was top in Northern Ireland, taking 29th spot.”

Methodology:

Data was gathered on business openings and closures in each UK local authority between Q1 2022 and Q1 2024.

Totals for openings and closures were totalled for each area.

The ratio of opening to closures was found by dividing the total openings by total closures.

The areas were ranked from top to bottom based on the highest ratio of business openings to closures.

Reference

Office for National Statistics: Dataset: Business demography, quarterly, UK, low-level geographic breakdown, UK