How the North is trumping the south when it comes to founding businesses

Data released by GoDaddy showed an increase of 21 per cent in new ventures across the nation.

In Yorkshire this figure rises to 31 per cent, with Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Halifax, York and Huddersfield all cited as being areas seeing a surge in the creation of micro-businesses, a term applied to firms with 10 or less members of staff.

However, the region is lagging behind the North West, with the area spanning from Stafford to Cheshire growing at 65 per cent and the Manchester and Liverpool corridor by 56.8 per cent.

James Eadie, senior director brand marketing at GoDaddy, said: “At a time when the Government is aiming to ‘level up’ the UK and fuel growth outside of London and the South East, our data confirms that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well right across the four corners of the United Kingdom, and is further reflected in the top ten regional hotspots, in particular in the North where we’ve seen a sustained increase in new online ventures.

“Despite the many challenges caused by the pandemic, a ‘second digital revolution’ has emerged and savvy micro-businesses have been able to take advantage of getting online to benefit from the increasing consumer shift to ecommerce. GoDaddy is proud to support these everyday entrepreneurs in their success.”

The British Chambers of Commerce’s co-executive director, Hannah Essex, added: “The stories we’ve heard from around the UK are ones of businesses not just turning to digital adoption for survival in the pandemic, but proactively making moves in ecommerce that will turn into lasting innovations for them.”