Cardiff has the highest positive margin between new start-up firms and failures in the UK. Research by marketing training hub School of Marketing, based on ONS data, shows that in 2021 Cardiff had 72.14% higher business openings than closures.
The capital saw 3,460 start-ups compared to 2,010 business deaths. This meant that for every ten businesses that ceased trading, roughly 17 new ones started.
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Mansfield was ranked second, with 625 new businesses compared to 380 that closed in 2021. Wolverhampton came in third with 50.85% more new businesses than closures, with 1,780 business births and 1,180 deaths in 2021.
Bridgend was ranked ninth with a positive balance of just over 38%.
Rank |
Region |
2021 Business Births |
2021 Business Deaths |
Births/Deaths % Difference |
Number of new businesses born, for every 10 that died |
1 |
Cardiff |
3,460 |
2,010 |
72.14% |
17.21 |
2 |
Mansfield |
625 |
380 |
64.47% |
16.45 |
3 |
Wolverhampton |
1,780 |
1,180 |
50.85% |
15.08 |
4 |
Sandwell |
2,140 |
1,460 |
46.58% |
14.66 |
5 |
Ipswich |
925 |
635 |
45.67% |
14.57 |
6 |
Hull |
1,345 |
925 |
45.41% |
14.54 |
7 |
Broxtowe |
580 |
410 |
41.46% |
14.15 |
8 |
Darlington |
590 |
425 |
38.82% |
13.88 |
9 |
Bridgend |
870 |
630 |
38.10% |
13.81 |
10 |
Newham |
3,570 |
2,625 |
36.00% |
13.60 |
The study also found that UK-wide business openings were 4% higher than pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 with 386,200 new businesses in 2019 and 401,815 new businesses in 2021. Across the UK, 420,135 businesses closed in 2021, nearly 5% higher than the number of new companies formed in the same year.
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