According to a 2021 study, Manchester is the best place in the UK to start a new business. In order to come to that conclusion, Capital on Tap examined the number of businesses in each local authority of the UK, and then tracked how they had been operating for more than 100 years.
Overall, Manchester had seven small businesses that had been operating for over 100 years, 35 that had been operating for more than 50 and 101 that had been operating over the last 25 years. This led to it topping the list with a score of 95.91 – while Birmingham was just behind it at 90.91.
If you are starting up a new business and are looking for your own central hub, there is nothing wrong in heeding to this list and choosing Manchester. Before you do, however, there are a few standard things you have to think about in order to know if it is the right city for you.
First Off, Can You Afford It?
One of the biggest priorities is ensuring you find a location that will fit within your budget. Every different location will alternate in cost, but it isn’t just the premises you should be thinking about. You should also keep an eye on the tax rate, minimum wage requirements, utility upgrades and any renovations that may need to take place with your offices.
You don’t want to move to a location, only to find it is sapping more from your business than it is offering. Calculate exactly what it will remove from your budget and then weigh up the pros and cons.
Are Your Customers Actually There?
Before choosing Manchester as a hub for your business, you need to consider whether your customers are actually there first. Finding the right customer is important and not every city will hold the same number of specific consumers.
If you are a B2B company, especially, you might find that your clientele field is more limited in certain places. In order to attain consumers and have a successful B2B customer retention, you need to ensure that Manchester represents a large proportion of your customer base.
Is It Close To Other Like-Minded Businesses?
In the same way, you also need to think about other businesses that offer the same services as you. Will your B2B customer retention scheme be limited if customers are already loyal to other – more long-standing – businesses? On the other hand, is there healthy competition in the area?
If you find that no rival companies are operating in Manchester, perhaps there is a reason they have chosen not to set their base there. You need to find the right balance, ensure there is competition, but so much that the odds are stacked against you before you even begin.
Is It Accessible?
Accessibility is also important when it comes to business location, especially if you are recruiting employees who will be travelling into the office. Likewise, if you have already recruited employees, you need to ensure that they can travel into the city with ease.
When it comes to getting around Manchester, there are good transport links, so attracting new employees should be more than manageable. But all the same, it is best to look into this and make sure the city is right for who you have and who you are looking for.
Is There Room For Growth?
Lastly, you need to ensure that there is room for growth. What we mean by this is your businesses could drastically change over the next few years if Manchester is indeed the correct location. You need to be prepared for the change and ensure Manchester is the right place to be long-term and not just as a stepping stone.
Not only this, but your budget is also going to be affected. A new hire will require an additional 100 square feet per person, so if your business is forecast to grow considerably over the next few years, you need to factor that into your premises now.
