Start up Britain drew on last year’s Companies House data to assess where new companies were started across the UK. Birmingham led the table outside of London with 16,281 companies registered. This compared to Manchester who in second place, saw 4,515 less businesses being traded with 11,765 start ups and Glasgow who saw 8,085 new companies launch in the city. The latest Cities Outlook report from Centre for Cities released today, appears to back these findings by showing a marked increase in private sector job creation in Birmingham since 2010. Birmingham ranks third behind the capitals - London and Edinburgh – with 15,400 jobs created over the period. Neil Rami, Chief Executive of Marketing Birmingham, which operates Business Birmingham, the inward investment agency for the area, comments on the findings:

“Birmingham’s start up success is not accidental. It is our innovative talent, ‘can do’ mentality, tailored support schemes and the fervent backing of our local business community, which combined with our proximity to the capital and affordability, makes Birmingham a start up hotspot.

“There is a real buzz about the city and the businesses that are calling it home at the moment. Some of our digital and tech companies are fast becoming ones to watch in the sector and new investors are being drawn in to find out more. Foreign investment to the area rose by more than 50% last year - that is no coincidence. Today’s start ups are not only tomorrow’s big businesses, they are attractors for investment.

“It’s an exciting time to be in business in Birmingham.” Lucan Gray, Owner of The Custard Factory and Fazeley Studios, which houses a growing cluster of the city’s creative and digital businesses, said:

“We have seen a huge uplift in start up activity in recent months, evident in enquiries across both the Custard Factory and Fazeley Studios. Birmingham offers start ups a strong talent pool and peer network, support schemes, flexible working spaces, affordability and easy access to the capital. It all adds up and we are confident that this is a growing trend that will make Birmingham one of the most exciting and creative cities to be in business in.”

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, comments on the findings from Start Up Britain that Birmingham is the most entrepreneurial region outside of the capital:

“Eighteen months ago we set out to make Birmingham the UK’s enterprise capital. Today’s findings demonstrate that we are well on the way, with Birmingham leading the way by some margin as the UK’s regional start up hotspot. According to Start Up Britain, Birmingham is home to more new businesses than any location outside of the capital. New businesses bring employment and we are seeing that with more jobs being created by the private sector in Birmingham over the last three years than any other English city outside the capital.”

For further information on the start ups research http://www.startupbritain.co/ The full Cities Outlook 2014 can be downloaded http://www.citiesoutlook.org/summary/birmingham   AN EXTRACT FROM BUSINESS BIRMINGHAM

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