What is the best UK city to start a business?

The number of businesses to start up in 2024 was 1,400 in the city, compared to 1,005 that ceased trading, according to a study from Local Falcon using Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

This was the best ratio in the UK for new firms opening for businesses versus those that went under last year.

In the capital city, for every 1.39 businesses that start up, one shuts down. The difference of 450 in those that opened compared to closed was the fourth highest in the UK, with London’s 7,040 being the highest.

A separate survey from NI Chamber showed a third of Northern Irish traders said they had performed “well”, while almost half described their firm’s trading in the first quarter of 2025 as reasonable – both are higher than the UK average.

Just a fifth of 11,300 businesses operating in Belfast said they were struggling to cover their firm’s costs.

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The perks of starting a business in Belfast also include its close connection to neighbouring Ireland, which is still in the European Union, according to NI Business Info. A drive over the border can take just an hour and there are opportunities to benefit from major ports in Belfast, as well as Larne and Dublin.

The second-most fruitful city in which to start a business in Local Falcon’s study was Preston, with 820 ‘business births’ compared to 640 ‘business deaths’, leaving a ratio of 1.28:1 for business growth and decline in the city.

In third spot for the most successful place to create a business was fellow Lancashire city Manchester, with 1.24 businesses opening for every one that closes.

Despite its higher-than-average salaries, property prices and rent, London was just the ninth-most likely city out of 54 for an entrepreneur to have a surviving business, having 66,920 firms starting up and 59,880 closing their doors.

Meanwhile, in the top 10 best areas to start a business, Birmingham had the second-most firms closing with 5,545, making it joint 10th of the best places to launch a company.

David Hunter, CEO of Local Falcon, said: “According to Gov.uk, there were 5.5 million private sector businesses at the start of 2024, 1% less than the beginning of 2023.

“Starting a business is stressful enough, but starting a business in an unstable and ever-changing economic landscape adds to the existing pressure of starting a new business.”

Top 10 cities to start a business