Wakefield is one of the BEST places in the UK to run your business

Having developed the ranking system based on evidence from a variety of metrics linked to setting up and running a business, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) aims to highlight some of the best locations around the country for business leaders to set up shop.

The 10 metrics used to create the ranking system were:

● Price per square foot for commercial rent properties1

● Parking availability and price (£)2

● Number of finance and support schemes available from Government3a & 3b

● Broadband speed (average download speeds Mbit/s)4

● 4G coverage (%)4

● Unemployment rates (%)5

● Quality of life score6

● Young population (ages 18-34) (potential employees for businesses)7

● Number of arts, entertainment and recreation services/professional, scientific and technical businesses per 1000 18/34-year-olds8

● Annual media gross pay (2019)9

The LEP also reviewed population statistics10 in the top ten metropolitan districts, as well as the capital, and ranked each according to the ten metrics

The three best areas for business leaders to pay attention to were revealed as Leeds, Kirklees and London, with Leeds leading the way as the number one location for businesses across all metrics.

The top ten places to run a business from in the UK according to these measures are:

Leeds

Kirklees

London

Bradford

Liverpool

Birmingham

Wakefield

Coventry

Manchester

Sheffield

Other costs to be considered include energy bills, however this is determined by the size of the business rather than location. Large businesses can expect to foot a bill of around £3,139 each year for energy compared to £706 for small businesses.