Bristol creates more new companies during lockdown…

Bristol creates more new companies during lockdown than any other UK city

Bristol created more online companies during lockdown than any other UK city, new research has revealed.

According to website building service Web Eden, the city had the largest number of company website registrations, followed by Leicester, London, Manchester, Gloucester and Birmingham.

Web Eden analysed internal data between March and June 2020 to see where businesses were set up.

Delivery services, mainly in the food and drink sector, were the most popular businesses launched, followed by personal training firms and cleaning companies.

Subscription services were also popular, with almost half (46 per cent) of the new businesses featuring some form of subscription.

The most popular type of business to incorporate subscriptions was food and drink delivery, followed by sustainable product sellers.

People aged between 35 and 49-years-old were the most likely to create a website (36 per cent), followed by those aged 18 to 34 (27 per cent) and between 50 to 65 (21 per cent).

Women were more likely to start a company during the lockdown than men, accounting for almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of registrations.

Web Eden said it saw a 340 per cent increase in web traffic to its site in April, compared to February, with new start-ups being the most popular followed by small hospitality businesses.

Henry Lewington, founder of Web Eden, said: “It is amazing to see Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit persevere through these testing times and especially great to see people turn their hobbies into micro-businesses.

“I really hope their businesses continue to thrive and that more people will be inspired to pursue their passion.

“Even without the impact of a global pandemic, in today’s digitalised world, to thrive as a business you really need to have an online presence.”