RETAIL is — statistically — the best industry in which to start a business in the UK.
Analysis by cloud accounting company Ember shows that retail trade — apart from vehicles — tops the rankings in a number of key indicators.
ONS data was used to assess Britain’s 15 broad industry groups on factors including the number of businesses started between 2014 and 2019, the number that failed — and the number turning over more than £1m.
Retail came out on thanks to high survival rates (75 percent). And as retail is one of the most common business sectors in the UK, the potential market is large.
Construction — including building and civil engineering —came in second. Wholesale, which is defined by the government as separate from retail, ranks third.
The motor trades industry comes in fourth, but has the best average survival rate. The property industry ranked fifth in the list.
Of the 15 broad industry groups in the analysis, Finance & Insurance is the least favourable industry to start a new business, with one of the lowest survival rates. Health, including social work and residential care, ranked second-last.
The industry category of Production, from paper manufacture to mining, has the highest ratio of businesses turning over more than £1m, with 8.48 percent.
