Research reveals UK cities with cheapest startup costs

The UK’s cheapest cities for starting up a business have been revealed in research from business finance solutions company LDF.

Newcastle upon Tyne has been named the cheapest location in the UK for setting up a new business, costing an average of £17,008.

Highest

The report, which surveyed 850 small businesses across the country, found that the average start-up cost for UK businesses is now £27,520.

Amongst the cheapest cities for starting up a business are Southampton at £17,965, Liverpool at £18,880, Cardiff at £19,569, Leeds at £20,755, Sheffield at £21,490 and Edinburgh at £22,990.

London also appeared on the list, with the average cost of starting up a business in the city coming to a total of £28,742. However, this is still over £10,000 higher than the cost of setting up a business in Newcastle upon Tyne.

LDF’s report also identified the most expensive locations for starting up a business, with the highest costs being in Manchester at £44,733. This was followed by Glasgow at £41,936, Norwich at £39,910, Brighton at £30,901, Bristol at £30,895, Birmingham at £30,817 and Plymouth at £29,784.

Challenges

According to the research, some sectors are more expensive than others for starting up a business.

Leisure was found to be one of the most costly sectors for start-ups, requiring £79,137, along with motoring at £64,948. Marketing, communications and design businesses were revealed to be the cheapest start-ups, costing less than £7,000 on average.

Respondents also revealed the challenges they faced when setting up a business, with a third of SMEs stating that start-up funding was the biggest challenge.