Wolverhampton named as top entrepreneurial city in the UK

The City of Wolverhampton was pinpointed as the most successful city with the highest growth in new small businesses, according to a survey of over 1,000 entrepreneurs.

Using data released by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Superscript analysed the difference in the total number of small businesses (0-49 employees) per town between 2021 and 2022.

They also commissioned Census Wide to conduct a survey over 1,000 entrepreneurs between October 26 and November 10 and results showed that 57 per cent of small business owners said that their local area is a great place to be an entrepreneur.

The results also suggested that wherever a small business sets up, it is most likely to stay there regardless of growth. This indicates that attracting new small businesses to an area is an important factor in long-term economic growth.

Last month Wolverhampton was also recognised as the top location for Bank Start up Loans by the British Business Bank with start-up businesses successfully drawing down 464 loans since 2012, worth £3.3million.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for city economy Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “We are delighted to be named the top city in the UK for entrepreneurs and it’s wonderful to note that a large proportion of start-ups choose to stay in their local city which helps create local jobs in the longer term.

“We recognise that a lot of businesses are still experiencing extremely difficult times and we are constantly looking at ways we can support them and help them through the current economic crisis.

“Our small businesses deliver many different services and products across a range of business sectors, including manufacturing, construction, retail, professional service and digital. We are proud of our independent businesses and the creative local people behind them. They are businesses that help give Wolverhampton its own identity and character and have helped identify us as the best place to start your own business in the UK."

He added: "We want to continue to encourage start-ups into our City and back in July of this year, we officially opened IGNITE, our Free Business Workspace, in partnership with the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and University of Wolverhampton.

"IGNITE is an incredible resource and offers a range of business support for entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. We wanted to join up the business support infrastructure with partners in the city and I would urge start-ups to make it their first port of call for advice and support on their business journey.”