Derby tops start-up table

Research completed by London online company Quality Formations has declared Derby is the UK's business start-up capital.

Looking at all 69 cities in the UK, criteria included commercial property, energy prices, virtual office services, public transport, broadband service, workforce demographics, access to start-up finance and quality of life.

Derby’s affordable cost of living, cheap virtual office rates and sky-high wages all helped the city to outshine more established business centres like London and Edinburgh. Their findings also highlight Derby as having some of the UK’s fastest internet speeds.

James Howell, compliance executive at Quality Formations, said: “Derby might not make international headlines as a business powerhouse – but we think that’s about to change. It may not be widely known, but Derby is actually the UK's number one tech city – with 12% of its workforce employed in hi-tech industry. As a point of reference, that’s four times the national average, and double that of other hi-tech cities.

“More importantly, fresh, young start-ups are finding a huge level of support thanks to Derby’s grassroots enterprise hub, extensive Creative Industries Network and some of the UK’s biggest industrial clusters.

“When you combine all of these factors, deciding where to start a business in the UK should be a no-brainer – Derby is simply second to none.”

The findings of this report reflect the huge strides made in the last few years in making Derby a business-friendly city with initiatives such as the Connect Derby office schemes, superfast city centre broadband and Business Improvement Districts contributing to the pro-business agenda that the city has pursued.