London continues to lead the UK in overall start-up and small business activity, according to fresh data from GoDaddy’s Small Business Research Lab. However, rising housing costs in established hotspots like Hackney are prompting more founders to set up shop further east – reshaping the city’s entrepreneurial map.
GoDaddy’s research reveals that Tower Hamlets, Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge are the fastest-growing boroughs for small business density in London across the past 12 months, all outpacing Hackney.
As part of GoDaddy’s study, each borough in London received a ‘Microbusiness Density’ count – which is used to track the rate at which the number of small businesses per 100 people is increasing year-on-year.
GoDaddy’s analysis shows that London is still the UK’s most entrepreneurial city, beating Aberdeen and Coventry in a recent ranking.
Tower Hamlets, spanning much of the East End of London and the London Docklands, is now London’s fastest-growing borough for new start-ups. The area saw a 33% increase in microbusiness density across the past 12 months. Last year, the borough council announced £700,000 investment to support entrepreneurs.
Hackney, known for its culture of small, independent businesses, remains one of the top boroughs for microbusiness density overall, but its growth rate is below those of neighbouring boroughs, increasing 16% year-on-year.
This slowing growth is consistent with soaring property prices, as data from the Office for National Statistics show the average private rental property in Hackney increased by 9.3% year-on-year to £2,550 a month.
