Mapped: Where are the UK’s most entrepreneurial regions?
Entrepreneurial activity continues to thrive across the UK, according to research from Barclays and the Business Growth Fund (BGF).
The number of active companies — 'live' businesses or those that are not in the process of liquidation or being dissolved — rose by 3.9 per cent in the six months up to June 2014.
Additionally, the number of early-stage entrepreneurs in the UK has jumped from pre-2011 levels. The number of 18-64 year olds who are in the process of starting or are already running new businesses was 7.1 per cent, compared to between 5.5 per cent and 6.4 per cent from 2007 up to 2010.
The findings will add weight to a report published by think tank IPPR earlier this year, which dubbed the UK as the 'self employment capital' of Western Europe. It cited figures from Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed that in the 12 months to March 2014, the number of self-employed people in Britain jumped eight per cent.
Richard Phelps, managing director at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management said:
"Many people have backed themselves, embraced entrepreneurship and started new businesses.
It is clear that the conscious drive from Government and the private sector to encourage small businesses has truley embedded entrepreneurship into the UK business psyche."
So which part of the UK has the most enterprises? The below maps shows how many enterprises each UK region has.
Note: East Midlands and West Midlands is 329650 for the whole of Midlands region.
While London had the highest number of enterprises it also has the third largest population out of the regions mentioned, with a figure of 8,416.5 thousand in mid-2013 according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
However the less populated South West, which had a population of 5,377.6 thousand in mid-2013 in line with ONS figures, fared particuarly well with 207470 enterprises.