In an effort to zero in on UK’s startup hotspot for 2017, DueDil, the London-based company information platform, undertook an in-depth study into the startup growth in the UK in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of last year.
The results of this study reveal that Salford is the main contender, the up-and-coming star of the startup game, with its turnout of 1,393 new startups in the first quarter of this year. Similarly, Salford also experienced a staggering startup growth rate of 85% for the first quarter of 2016, managing to pull ahead of major UK cities.
Coming in second was Leicester, which experienced a healthy startup growth rate of 34% YoY. Salford and Leicester were joined by Norwich, Liverpool, and Oxford on the top 5 for UK’s startup growth hotspots list.
London, in comparison, witnessed a modest startup growth rate of 5% YoY. Even though it failed to bag a place in the top five for startup growth, London has not given up its track record of producing more startups than any other city in the UK, boasting of 57,235 new companies starting up in the capital in the first quarter of 2017. Justin Fitzpatrick, COO, and co-founder of DueDil said:
Interestingly, just a handful of the UK’s major cities made the overall top 20 for startup growth, with cities such as London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds all absent from the top rankings, suggesting that they are slowly losing their grip on their status as the UK’s startup growth.
Even given the comparatively slower growth, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Leeds are the top producers of startups during the period of January to March 2017. Overall 173,100 new companies started up in the UK between January and March 2017, representing an overall decrease from the same period in 2016. Fitzpatrick continued:
The overall decrease in startup growth across the UK, is perhaps demonstrating a cautious attitude towards enterprise with Brexit looming. Banks and alternative finance providers have an opportunity to play a role in growth through investment.
