Birmingham leads the way for entrepreneurs
The number of small business entrepreneurs in Birmingham has leapt by 188 per cent in the past five years. According to information services provider Experian, the city is home to 10,207 entrepreneurs, second only to London.
Experian collected data from across the country and compiled the top ten cities and towns for micro businesses. Birmingham was the only area in the Midlands to make the shortlist.
The data service said that the growth in one or two man band businesses has fuelled a 41 per cent increase in the total number of companies in the UK.
Across the country, Experian spoke to more than 4.3 million UK directors.
Charlotte Hogg, managing director of Experian UK and Ireland, said: “Our analysis reveals that the UK’s smallest businesses have been surprisingly resilient during the economic downturn and have also seen their population skyrocket in the last five years."
She added that the recession would have been “an underlying factor” in the increase of new businesses.
“Many start ups will have been created because of a change of circumstance, where people found themselves unemployed and needed to look at alternatives. Equally, micro-entrepreneurs have also capitalised on their agility to provide great service at the most competitive price during the recession, which is all the more impressive given the UK’s late payment minefield,” said Hogg.
