New report ranks West top for business start-ups
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October 12, 2015
Nick Sturge (left), Sajid Javid & Colin Skellett (right) at Bristol’s Engine Shed
A new report has shown that the South West outranks other region’s in the UK for the number of new business start-ups.
Information agency BankSearch has rated the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership area top of the 39 LEPs across the country for business start-ups.
5.7% more businesses started up in the area the LEP covers during the first eight months of this year; compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to latest data from a BankSearch survey.
The LEP covers North Somerset, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Colin Skellett, Chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, comments on the research: “We know the West of England is a great place to live – this independent evidence shows it is also a great place to start up and grow business and that our strong regional economy continues to benefit UKplc and everyone who lives and works here.”
In the period examined it was found that in the region, 757 new businesses started up in August 2015; with The West of England LEP area accounting for 2.4% of all start-ups across England.
There are an estimated 0.7 million people of working age in West of England LEP; 2.2% of England’s working age population.
In August 2015 there were 10.3 start-ups for every 10,000 people of working age in West of England LEP and this compares with a business start-up rate of 9.2 for the whole of England.
Job Seeker Allowance (JSA) claimant numbers in West of England LEP have fallen so far this year and in August 2015 stood at 11,625.
This equates to 159 job claimants for every 10,000 people of working age in West of England LEP and compares with a JSA claimant rate of 224 for the whole of England.
BankSearch Information Consultancy Ltd is a leading software house and information consultancy specialising in the financial and public sectors. BankSearch collects data on start-ups from the main high street banks and provides comprehensive and timely data on company formations across the country.
