The study, complied by Informi -the website offering free practical advice and support for small businesses - looked at data from the last financial year, focusing on eight different criteria across the 63 largest towns and cities in the UK to determine where had the best environment for small and medium-sized businesses to succeed. Categories included the number of new businesses, current business stock, pollution levels and digital connectivity.
Cambridge performed strongly in having a highly skilled workforce, high employment rate and digital connectivity – appearing in the top six in all three categories – and rose three places from the 2018 study.
Brighton took the crown for the third time, having topped the study in both 2016 and 2018 studies, whilst Edinburgh fell one place to third. The 2019 study, which looked at the entire 2010s decade as a whole, saw Reading triumph.
Steven Drew, spokesperson for Informi said: “2020 has been a challenging year for SMEs throughout the UK, due to the ongoing pandemic and uncertainty over Brexit. However, even during a time of uncertainty, there can be great hope that those with a strong, innovative business model and the resilience and flexibility to deal with a variety of economic and social circumstances can have a prosperous future. In that vein, it’s vital that our towns and cities contain the right ingredients for SMEs to thrive, creating thousands of local jobs along the way.
“Small businesses are the heartbeats of local economies, bringing new jobs and prosperity to regions as well as attracting external investment. Cambridge has consistently shown it has a strong environment that is welcoming to entrepreneurs and we hope many others take lessons from what it has achieved.”
Position 2019-20 | Location | Change since 2018* |
1 | Brighton | No change |
2 | Cambridge | +3 |
3 | Edinburgh | -1 |
4 | Reading | +3 |
5 | Southampton | +7 |
6 | Northampton | -3 |
7 | Bournemouth | +23 |
8 | Ipswich | +25 |
9 | London | -5 |
10 | Worthing | +5 |
*no annual study was undertaken for the 2019 year as Reading was named best place to start a small business across the 2010s decade, followed by Brighton and Northampton
An interactive infographic showing the ranking of each city overall and on each criteria used to determine the ranking is available here.