GLASGOW has emerged as the best city to work for a small business in Britain.
Research by small business lender iwoca ranked areas using ONS data on average wage, commute, job density, house price and SME growth. Greater London does not feature in the Top 25. Areas in the capital fall outside the top 150 for business growth and in the bottom third for house prices.
While workers in the capital can expect higher wages, they also face some of the longest commutes and higher house prices. Glasgow, Manchester and Derby emerged as the top three areas.
Glasgow scored highest on the length of the average commute — 29 minutes, compared to 50 minutes in Richmond upon Thames — and well on the growth of small businesses: an increase of 49 percent.
With burgeoning finance, technology, and industrial sectors — and plans to build Glasgow Metro — the city is a natural centre for small business jobs.
Manchester is thriving for start-ups in tech and media, and ranked second on the list. It scored highly in job density, and ranked fifth for SME growth with a 53 percent increase.
Derby made it into the top 25, boasting a healthy job density — one available job for every person of working age — and an average commute of 20 minutes (the 11th shortest in Britain).
With SMEs accounting for over three-fifths of jobs in the UK — and against a backdrop of the so-called Great Resignation in 2021 — the top towns and cities for SME jobs are found beyond London’s boundaries.
Francesca Cingano, owner of Glasgow-based Italian catering business Cateritaly, said that moving from Italy to Scotland in 2014 was “the best decision I have made”.
“It’s the perfect environment to start and grow the business,” she said. “Strangers have gone out of their way to help us solve problems, commuting around the city is super easy, and the council has been helpful assisting us with health and safety measures and hiring new apprentices.”
Read the full report here: Top 25 Towns And Cities For SME Jobs
