Northampton named in top places for successful new businesses
Northampton has been named amongst the top 10 places in the UK with the most successful new businesses. According to data, only 0.55 per cent of businesses in the town in the past five years have closed. The data, collected by CMC Markets, compared the number of businesses that opened in the UK’s largest 25 cities since 2017 with the number of them that had closed or entered liquidation.
Northampton was named as eighth on the list, beating the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and even London. The local businesses that have opened in Northampton have welcomed the news. One business said its first few months of opening in the town centre “have been phenomenal!”
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8,993 businesses opened in Northampton between December 2017 and December 2022, according to business intelligence software, Endole. This is compared to just 49 businesses closing or entering liquidation, a tiny percentage of just 0.55 per cent. Top of the list was Reading, where 6,877 businesses opened compared to just nine closing down (0.13 per cent).
Behind them is Stoke-on-Trent with a closure rate of only 0.21 per cent, followed by Plymouth in third at 0.27 per cent.. One Northampton success story is bakery and milkshake shop, Butterwicks, who opened their Northampton branch on St Giles Street last September. Store manager Annalise said “The last few months for our store in Northampton have been phenomenal!
Butterwicks bakery and milkshake shop in Northampton (Image: Josh West)
“From our corner spot on St Giles, we love that we get to serve Instagrammable bakes everyday!
We believe it’s a unique addition to the town providing a fulfilling experience, whilst also showing our support to our neighbours building relationships with other independent businesses.” Southampton was named as the worst place in the UK for new businesses, with 162 businesses folding in the last five years compared to 5,337 opening, a rate of 3.04 per cent. Birmingham was third worst with a closure rate of 2.04 per cent, while the City of London was also amongst the areas with the least successful new businesses, seeing 1.38 per cent of closures.
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