BRIGHTON and Hove has been ranked the best city to start a business this year, according to a recent study.

The City Index for Entrepreneurs, by Total Processing, said that the city is a "great all-round city that ticks all the boxes when it comes to launching a successful enterprise", with the highest number of active businesses per capita and second highest new enterprise survival rate in the UK at 34 per cent.

"Considering it's a city known for its wealth of independent businesses, this comes as no surprise," the report said of Brighton's place in the index.

However, the report pointed out: "Out of all the cities we analysed, it has the highest rent outside of London.

"Despite this, it still offers excellent quality of life and loads to offer in this department to both its business-owners and residents alike."

Also making the top three were Bristol, praised for its range of available business premises and co-working spaces, with Edinburgh and Cardiff tied in third place.

Top ten best cities to start a business in the UK

  1. Brighton
  2. Bristol
  3. Edinburgh and Cardiff (tied)
  4. Glasgow
  5. London
  6. Leeds
  7. Manchester
  8. Belfast
  9. Liverpool
  10. Leicester

London, the financial capital of the UK, placed only fifth in the index, with the report saying that the capital is "often a very expensive place to launch and maintain a startup".

Total Processing's index considered a range of factors to determine its list, including average monthly salary, crime rate, average broadband speed, business closures and the number of universities.

Up to 700,000 startup businesses are estimated to be launched in the UK every year.

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