Location is always key when picking the right area for your business, and it may seem like a no-brainer to head to large cities such as London and Manchester, but you would be surprised at how many small firms aim to save costs by setting up base in smaller towns and cities. If you have healthy financial backing, it is a worthy initial investment if it means remaining connected with both your client and customer bases.
What more do you need?
The power of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should not be underestimated. According to research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), SMEs represented 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses in the UK and 59.1 per cent of all private sector employment at the start of 2012. Interestingly, with 806,000 private sector firms, London had the most SMEs than any other region in the UK, while the south-east of England followed in second at 768,000. In total, these two areas collectively represented a third of all SMEs in the UK.
There is a reason why so many businesses are flocking to the area. Solid transport links mean regardless of the city’s size, anyone can get anywhere. With around 27 mainline links and the Tube serving around 270 stations, potential customers and clients can reach your business in a matter of minutes. Furthermore, large cities will bring with them comprehensive fiber-optic and telecommunications networks, meaning that all business needs can be supported comprehensively.
As large cities attract more and more small enterprises, these areas are big enough to start establishing sector-specific ‘clusters’. In London for example, you will have the technological hub that is developing in east London, the financial firms of the City, or the new media industry of the West End. As these clusters form, even more businesses come to try and get a slice of the pie.
Finally, large cities of course offer the space you need for potential growth and expansion in the future.
With over 80 million sq ft of office space and five million sq ft of retail potential, it is not surprising that over 6,000 businesses have set up shop in London.
Business needs must come first
Ultimately, you must go somewhere that will benefit your businesses greatly. In regards to SMEs, the FSB data highlights that there were 907,000 businesses operating in the construction sector at the start of 2012, while 25.3 per cent of employment in the financial sector was from small firms.Furthermore, 25.5 per cent of private sector turnover was in the arts, entertainment and recreation activities.
So what does all of this mean? It points to the fact that large cities accommodate the needs for businesses across a variety of sectors. By finding a suitable business place, this drastically improves an organisation’s productivity. With a great customer base, and workers being able to work in a thriving environment, all of these point towards a successful business.
There are many offices to let London so be be sure to weigh up your options carefully if you are heading to the capital city.
