Newport second best place in the UK for new businesses, report says

Research by digital consultants Atos found Newport was behind only Greater Manchester in the number of new businesses being set up for every 10,000 people.

In 2018, 80 new businesses were set up per capita, just eight shy of Greater Manchester.

The report affirms the Argus’ belief that Newport is a great place for business and is full of potential – you can read more about our Backing Newport campaign here. 

The analysis looked at how the local economies of 43 towns and cities across the UK perform on six indicators that influence the success of entrepreneurship and enterprise: self-employment, skills and qualifications, businesses per person, population diversity, business survival rates and new business start-ups.

The top ten areas with the most-new business start-ups were:

1. Greater Manchester

2. Newport

3. Northampton

4. Guilford

5. Reading

6. Brighton and Hove

7. Aberdeen

8. West Midlands urban area

9. Cardiff

10. Southampton

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The report added that in hosting businesses that range from tech start-ups Enjoiva and Hut Six to lifestyle companies such as Welsh Luxury Hampers, Newport is succeeding in encouraging entrepreneurship.

You can read our interview with the woman behind Welsh Luxury Hampers here. 

The British economy would benefit by £34bn a year by 2030 if local economies of towns and cities were to realise “their full entrepreneurial potential” by embracing digital, the report concluded.