Edinburgh business: Research shows Edinburgh in top five UK cities for successful businesses

Good chance of new companies thriving in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is among the top five top places in the UK for new businesses to thrive, according to latest research.

The Capital had one of the best survival rates for companies when figures for businesses launched during the past five years were compared with the number of closures. A total 17,372 businesses were started between December 2017 and December 2022 and just 71 closed – a closure rate of just 0.41 per cent.

Reading topped the table for successful businesses with a closure rate of only 0.13 per cent – that’s just nine firms shutting down compared with 6,877 new starts. Edinburgh was in fifth place after Stoke-on-Trent, Plymouth and Cardiff.

Top ten UK cities for successful businesses, December 2017 - December 2022.

At the bottom of the table, Southampton saw 5,337 new businesses opening and 162 closures, a closure rate of 3.04 per cent. Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester were also in the bottom five with closure rates of 1.75 per cent or above.

The study, from CMC Markets, used business intelligence software to analyse how many businesses were incorporated in the UK’s largest 25 cities from December 2017 to December 2022 compared to the number that went into administration, liquidation, or were dissolved.

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