Best UK Locations

[lordbriggs]

I have recently been working on a project for Yorkshire's regional development agency, that is aiming to bring business and investment to the county.

It completely opened my eyes, the information on there is amazing as to the differences in living costs, house prices etc around the country, I never knew that there were such big variations just in the UK.

Anyway, I wanted to get a view from the UKBF members on their local areas... where in the UK is the best place to run a business? Does it depend on what sort of business it is?

(the link is in my signature?"Invest in Yorkshire")

 

[earner]

A lot of that depends on the type of business as any business would have to consider factors like, but not exclusively:
- buildings available for rent / at what cost
- travel issues - would any staff/owners have to travel/often/to where, for looking at the cost/trouble of travelling to do business
- access to the right sort of skilled people, if appropriate
- local economy/issues

I live down in Cornwall and while it would be fantastic for somebody setting up a creative company working entirely over broadband, it would be impractical to base the main furniture warehouse of a company delivering furniture across the country after it has come in from an Eastern port.

etc etc. Others will think of other issues that may determine what they would take into consideration.

 

[Bilzo]

Hi

This has a danger of turning into a Cornish thread as I'm down here too!

I think it's a fantastic place to run a business, but as earner says it very much depends on the nature of the biz. Obviously my web dev business is done 99% online and over the phone, while I have distributors in my network marketing business all over the UK and now in Germany.

I guess that most people would assume this would not be a suitable place for many bricks and mortar businesses but I would disagree. I think that the infrastructure is here now for Cornwall to compete with the rest of the country. My brother's business build industrial oil/water separaters and won an HSBC new business award last year, while my father runs a very successful mens mail order fashion business, both from sunny Cornwall!

Of course Cornwall can't compete with many places on numbers of customers (popultion around 400,000) and I am persoanlly a 1.5hour drive from the motorway, but it's still a great place to run a biz IMHO.

Bill

 

[Gillie]

Im afraid my business although national, would struggle in the density of businesses that is required in your part of the world .... ie Cornwall.

On the whole though, finance is finance, and I am often found driving the motorways of this wonderful place we call mainland GB. Yes some can be done via the internet, but face to face gets better results. So being based in the heart of the North West of England, means I have 100 of 1000's of businesses within a 30 minute drive of me.

Quite like living on the side of a hill too, not a bad place to bring up children (sorry must stop referring to the pennines as hills!) and having a good motorway infrastructure helps too, although yes we try to avoid the places first thing in the morning!

Having spent a lot of years living in the home counties and working in London itself also, and parents with wandering feet as a child, means I have managed to live in most of England, and all parts of it have their various appeals and merits!

 

[mtw]

There's some exciting stuff happening in terms of incubating small businesses right here in sunny Shropshire!

We've got a new thing called the e-Innovation Centre (ropey name, I know) based on the Telford campus of the Uni of Wolverhampton which has little serviced units for fledgling businesses as well as individual desks with a computer/broadband/phone point which can be rented for £12 a day in a shared environment.

It's a nice new glossy building funded by European money but it's really getting a buzz about it. There are great little businesses starting up in there, all with access to support and advice.

Telford's also getting a reputation for high-tech innovation. We've got businesses that are specialists at quick, low cost design prototyping and things like that of which I understand little.

Money is coming into a new 'technology corridor' between Telford and the West Midlands because of the collapse of Rover and other industrial disasters.

With the quick M54 link to the M6 just outside Birmingham, it's a good location and quite exciting times for the area. The place isn't perfect but it's doing business and the cost of living isn't bad.

So that's the picture here. Are similar things happening elsewhere???

Cheers
Mark

 

[creacom]

Scotland. We are based in the Highlands, 20 mins North of Inverness and now as Inverness is the fastest growing city in the UK, we are really seeing a lot of emerging businesses and innovation.

Up here there is a lot of support both administrative wise and financially for start ups.

Jacqui

 

[fastfences]

Hi

This has a danger of turning into a Cornish thread as I'm down here too!


Bill

Oh no!

Wait 'til goldctrsteve sees this thread!!

I agree that many business can't survive in some geographic locations, but to attempt to name the BEST place in UK to start/operate a business would be a truly difficult task. One would speculate that inner London would take the cake, yet others have made their success in the 'wilderness.'

cheers, Nigel

 

[Bilzo]

I guess 'best' is subjective...

Of course, London would mean great contacts and better infrastructure, but higher overheads to go with it. I guess it's going to depend very much on the type of business, and the goals of the business owner... Is the objective simply to make as much money as possible, or to make good money and have the lifestyle to enjoy it? I think if you asked 100 people this one you may well get close to 100 different answers...

Bill

 

[mtw]

Scotland. We are based in the Highlands, 20 mins North of Inverness and now as Inverness is the fastest growing city in the UK, we are really seeing a lot of emerging businesses and innovation.

Up here there is a lot of support both administrative wise and financially for start ups.

Jacqui

Don't you also have the highest number of Tesco's per head (or something like that?!?)

Mark