NEW high street restaurants, stores and bars are being encouraged to consider Warrington for a prime location as the town is named as one of the most attractive locations in the UK to launch a new business in 2023.
The market assessment from asset finance brokerage, Approved Business Finance analysed the average rental cost for commercial spaces, footfall recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the number of closed banks and vacant commercial units to reveal the locations that are most promising for new businesses in 2023.
Warrington appeared seventh in the rankings with a Business Potential Score of 331 out of 500. Plymouth (381) topped the list with Dundee (348) and Sunderland (346) completing the top three.
With nearly two-thirds of businesses revealing their energy costs have increased compared to last year, many business owners are looking for affordable locations with a thriving high street and these new statistics are encouraging for locations such as Warrington.
The list of top twenty locations to launch a new business in 2023 are as follows:
| Rank | City | Avg. monthly cost of commercial spaces | Avg. cost per sq.ft. | No. empty commercial spaces | Footfall recovery score | No. closed banks | Business Potential Score (Out of 500) |
| 1 | Plymouth | £1,999 | £87.61 | 38 | 165 | 2 | 380.68 |
| 2 | Dundee | £1,750 | £16.98 | 4 | 140 | 4 | 347.96 |
| 3 | Sunderland | £1,981 | £87.78 | 30 | 126 | 4 | 345.71 |
| 4 | Telford | £1,337 | £10.98 | 8 | 116 | 2 | 341.06 |
| 5 | Stoke-on-Trent | £690 | £17.45 | 17 | 110 | 0 | 340.27 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | £1,637 | £14.97 | 53 | 111 | 2 | 339.73 |
| 7 | Warrington | £2,221 | £16.07 | 39 | 114 | 3 | 330.50 |
| 8 | Hull | £1,994 | £87.65 | 25 | 116 | 5 | 328.34 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | £1,938.5 | £88.18 | 23 | 110 | 4 | 325.19 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | £1,956 | £88.01 | 40 | 121 | 6 | 321.11 |
| 11 | Newcastle upon Tyne | £2,449 | £17.91 | 30 | 111 | 4 | 319.15 |
| 12 | Aberdeen | £2,363 | £22.14 | 42 | 110 | 3 | 319.06 |
| 13 | Liverpool | £2,453 | £16.86 | 58 | 102 | 4 | 318.55 |
| 14 | Portsmouth | £2,619 | £21.68 | 26 | 117 | 4 | 317.94 |
| 15 | Sheffield | £1,966 | £87.92 | 73 | 96 | 5 | 316.73 |
| 16 | Cardiff | £2,370 | £20.06 | 60 | 103 | 5 | 315.09 |
| 17 | Peterborough | £1,887 | £20.17 | 17 | 111 | 6 | 314.86 |
| 18 | Huddersfield | £1,712 | £14.23 | 34 | 89 | 2 | 314.60 |
| 19 | Ipswich | £1,975 | £87.83 | 21 | 100 | 3 | 314.54 |
| 20 | Leicester | £2,216 | £9.29 | 44 | 92 | 6 | 313.45 |
Mark Kozo, Marketing Director at Approved Business Finance said: “It’s no surprise that the slightly smaller cities are looking more promising with cheaper rent and higher footfall. With the current financial climate, many people have relocated to more inexpensive cities to start a new business which can be pricey and using asset finance can help with increasing costs in rent and stock.
“There is a significant amount of pressure on retailers and as the data reveals the cities that tend to have the higher rental prices will most likely see the biggest increase in vacant retail spaces.
“With the impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, a significant number of businesses across the country are facing financial challenges and data like this reveals the cities that are bouncing back and the ones that aren’t.”
For further information and the full research, please visit: https://www.approvedbusinessfinance.co.uk/post/best-cities-for-uk-businesses-in-2023
