The West Country town came out top in a list of the best 20 locations to launch a business, ahead of Dundee in second place and Sunderland in third.
The list was compiled by asset finance brokerage Approved Business Finance (ABF), which assessed the current market by taking the UK’s top 50 most populated cities and analysed the current commercial retail listings from Rightmove.
It considered five data points including average price of rent, cost per square foot, footfall recovery score from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the number of closed banks and empty commercial spaces to reveal the cities that are most promising for new businesses in 2023.
Plymouth was named the best location with a Business Potential Score (BPS) of 381 out of 500, aided by the fact that it has relatively cheap rent and one of the highest footfall recovery scores of 165, as well as only 38 properties, according to ABF. It was followed by Dundee, with a score of 348, and Sunderland (346).
“It’s no surprise that the slightly smaller cities are looking more promising with cheaper rent and higher footfall. With the current financial climate, many people have relocated to more inexpensive cities as a way to cope with rising costs and rent prices,” says Mark Kozo, marketing director at ABF.
“There is a significant amount of pressure on retailers and as the data reveals the cities that tend to have the higher rental prices will most likely see the biggest increase in vacant retail spaces.
“With the impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, a significant number of businesses across the country are facing financial challenges and data like this reveals the cities that are bouncing back and the ones that aren’t.”
Other cities in the top 10 were Telford, Stoke on Trent, Middlesbrough, Warrington, Hull, Edinburgh, and Bournemouth. Leicester props up the table a 20th with a BPS of 313.