Paymentsense’s annual Innovative City Report has revealed that Manchester ranks as the second most innovative city in the UK, climbing 2 places up from last year’s report, with 62 new startup businesses per 10,000 people and a 22% increase in searches for ‘how to start a business’.
As businesses start to shift back to a sense of reality, Paymentsense analysed various data points to find out whether the Innovative City ranking for 2022 would differ from the ranking previously in 2021.
The study ranked each UK city on the following:
-
Number of Google patent applications
-
Number of new business registrations
-
RUR World university ranking
-
Average monthly search volume for ‘how to start a business’
-
Number of kickstarters
RANKED: THE 10 MOST INNOVATIVE CITIES IN THE UK 2022
|
Rank |
City |
New startups per 10,000 population |
Change in new startups Per 10,000 population |
Patent records Per 100,000 population |
Number of kickstarters |
Number Of registered businesses per 10,000 people |
Number Of registered businesses In 2021 |
Percentage Change of registered businesses from 2020 to 2021 |
Ave. monthly SV for ‘how to start a business’ |
Ave. 12 month trend for ‘how to start a business’ |
INDEX (out of 100) |
|
1 |
London |
96 |
-10.9% |
12 |
19802 |
661 |
535,000 |
19.3% |
4,400 |
125% |
84 |
|
2 |
Manchester |
62 |
-5.7% |
4 |
1649 |
519 |
271,000 |
9.8% |
320 |
22% |
73 |
|
3 |
Leeds |
52 |
-1.1% |
13 |
865 |
460 |
192,000 |
6.9% |
320 |
22% |
68 |
|
4 |
Bristol |
50 |
-10.0% |
40 |
1136 |
490 |
237,000 |
8.6% |
260 |
-19% |
63 |
|
5 |
Birmingham |
52 |
-8.1% |
9 |
1180 |
387 |
219,000 |
7.9% |
720 |
49% |
62 |
|
6 |
Edinburgh |
42 |
-22.9% |
33 |
1559 |
453 |
175,000 |
6.3% |
260 |
52% |
61 |
|
7 |
Cardiff |
46 |
-2.7% |
30 |
573 |
420 |
107,000 |
3.9% |
110 |
467% |
60 |
|
8 |
Brighton and Hove |
92 |
4.6% |
8 |
265 |
661 |
420,000 |
15.2% |
70 |
0% |
59 |
|
9 |
Leicester |
53 |
-9.5% |
8 |
298 |
506 |
189,000 |
6.8% |
170 |
19% |
51 |
|
10 |
Plymouth |
36 |
8.7% |
10 |
200 |
303 |
237,000 |
8.6% |
90 |
89% |
47 |
Manchester ranks as the second most innovative city in the UK
Manchester now ranks second in the Innovative Cities ranking, climbing up the index from fourth place, knocking Bristol off of second spot. Over the last 12 months there have been 1,649 Kickstarters registered in the city, 276 more registations than the previous year. Likewise, there are 62 new startup businesses per 10,000 people.
London is the UK’s most innovative city in the UK for the second year running
For the second year running, the UK’s capital, London ranks as the most innovative city in the UK. Search trends for ‘how to start a business’ are up by a staggering 125%. As a result of this, there has been a 19.30% change in the number of startup businesses from 2020 to 2021 as budding entrepreneurs set out to start their own small business.
Leeds ranks as the third most innovative city in the United Kingdom
Our 2021 report saw the Yorkshire city of Leeds ranking in fifth place, however, the city now ranks in the top three in the 2022 index as the third most innovative city. There are 865 kickstarter projects in Leeds, as budding entrepreneurs put their ideas forward to become reality. Additionally, there was a 6.9% increase in the number of registered businesses in Leeds, showing the high levels of entrepreneurship in the city.
How small businesses can maximise innovation
Paymentsense have pulled together some helpful tips for small business owners on how they can boost innovation within their business
-
Bring people with different perspectives into the team
Having a diverse team of people who have different perspectives is important for approaching a task from all different angles. Allowing for unique passions, skills, abilities and backgrounds is a great way to ideate fresh ideas using an innovative approach.
-
Have innovation as a core value of your business
Everyone in the business needs to understand that by not stepping outside the box and trying something new, can sometimes be the biggest risk to a business. Encourage your employees to share their ideas, big or small. Allow them to explore their initiatives and be honest and open.
-
Offer training to your employees
Inspire and motivate your employees by offering training that will inspire creativity and approach tasks in a different way. Training doesn’t have to cost money, there are loads of free training courses out there like those offered by the Open University’s OpenLearn initiative.
