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New record set for business start-ups in Britain in its Brexit referendum year

Xinhua, January 17, 2017 Adjust font size:

Britain's second biggest city, Birmingham, was named Monday as the most entrepreneurial city outside of London.

Figures released by the entrepreneur campaign organisation, StartUp Britain, said 17,473 new businesses were registered in the capital city of the Midlands during 2016, a 25 percent increase over 2015.

Across Britain the figures reveal that in what was the EU referendum year, almost 658,000 businesses started in 2016, setting a new record.

StartUp Britain compiles its chart based on analysis of start-up data from the official registers at Britain's Companies House.

It is the fourth year in a row that Birmingham has topped the chart for the most new business start-ups among all over provincial cities in Britain.

The figures show that the number of new businesses launched in Birmingham is almost double the number started in the northern England city of Manchester.

The 9,416 start-ups put Manchester in second place, ahead of Glasgow which was third with 7,845 new businesses registered.

Data, analysed by the Center for Entrepreneurs (CFE), shows that business formation reached another record high in 2016. The center's figures Monday show 657,790 new businesses were started across Britain in 2016. The previous year also set a new record with 608,110 start-ups, and in 2014 there were 581,173.

CFE director Matt Smith said: "The figures show the continued dominance of the UK's major cities in generating the country's entrepreneurial dynamism."

According to Smith, the combined authorities of London lead with 205,325 businesses registered last year, followed by Birmingham (17,473), Manchester (9,416), Glasgow (7,845) and Leeds (7,645). Edinburgh, Bristol, Liverpool and Brighton also rank among the top 20.

Smith said the half million new businesses registered across Britain show that entrepreneurship continues to reach all corners of the country.

The success in Birmingham was welcomed by Neil Rami, CEO of the city's inward investment agency.

He said:"The city's young, talented workforce, newly developed infrastructure, and range of incubator and accelerator programs, has fostered a strong ecosystem that fuels a culture of innovation."

Steve Hollis from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "These figures are testament to Birmingham's entrepreneurial spirit and its ability to attract, foster and grow early-stage businesses." Endit