This is where small & medium-sized UK businesses are most likely to succeed
By Scratch Staff | 12 February 2024 | News
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are thriving most in Ceredigion, Wales, and struggling most in Bromsgrove, according to research by finance platform and software company, Qardus.
Data from the Office for National Statistics was analysed to compile the results, with factors including the change in the number of openings and closures of new enterprises and their survival rate across three to five years.
Bromsgrove, in the West Midlands, recorded a 30.22% drop in SME enterprises being registered between 2021 and 2023, with a 5.81% survival rate of SMEs recorded in the last five years. Ranking second for SME struggles is Rochdale, with 1.91 SMEs per 1,000 growing, and third is Worcestershire, with just under a fifth of SMEs surviving for more than five years, followed by Bury in Greater Manchester and Rossendale in Lancashire.
At the other end of the scale, SMEs in Ceredigion had a three-year survival rate of 67.44% and five-year survival rate of 55.81%, closely followed in success by Selby, South Staffordshire and South Hams.
“The findings of this study ultimately indicate that some local authorities are better equipped to host new SMEs than others,” comments Hassan Daher, founder of Qardus. “What is interesting to note is that no London-based local authority ranked in the top 10, suggesting that it is difficult for SMEs to retain success in the capital.”