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Cheltenham is 3rd best UK location for microbusiness, research finds

14th March 2023, 10:03
People & skills
Strategy
Cheltenham landscape

Cheltenham has been ranked the 3rd best location in the UK for micro-businesses.

BusinessFinanced.co.uk said it set out to find and rank the places across the UK where there was the highest concentration of thriving microbusinesses and self employed people.

"Across the length and breadth of the UK, our nation’s history is marked by the creative and bold people who strived to establish their own business enterprise," said a spokesperson. "But where is that happening now? Which towns and cities are the leading hotspots for entrepreneurs, start-ups and very small businesses? We decided to look at the data and find out."

They said they had drawn up a comprehensive shortlist of 68 locations where microbusinesses were most prevalent and most thriving.

Sarah Danson, Director of Strategic Growth at GFirst LEP and The Growth Hub, said:

“As the Local Enterprise Partnership for Gloucestershire, at GFirst LEP we know Cheltenham is a great place to do business thanks to a wide variety of thriving sectors, supportive clusters and business support from Cheltenham’s Growth Hub. It’s great to hear that Cheltenham has been recognised nationally. At The Growth Hub we support hundreds of local businesses across Gloucestershire, and as Cheltenham is our newest Hub, we look forward to working with more Cheltenham-based businesses in the years to come."

The criteria used by BusinessFinanced.co.uk for a microbusiness was that it employed no more than four people but was large enough to be registered for VAT, PAYE or both.

BusinessFinanced.co.uk said their top 30 UK locations for microbusinesses was headed by Bath, followed by Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Exeter, Chester and then York in sixth place, which was followed by Edinburgh and Maidstone.

Read the full research report here: https://www.businessfinanced.co.uk/microbusiness-study/

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