Wigan is a boom town for independent businesses

Looking at the empty units in the town centre, folk might think not everything is going the town’s way, but other statistics show it isn’t all bad news either.

There has been a massive growth in small businesses across the UK over the past five years.

Nore than 800,000 new business registrations have been made since 2018/19 - but this impressive 3.5 per cent increase in growth unfortunately slowed down due to the pandemic and lockdowns began at the start of

2020.

However, as 2022 gets under way and we work our way towards a new normal, business comparison site Bionic has created an index using nine different business metrics to reveal which UK city has the strongest independent economy, where small businesses can thrive - and Wigan earns a high ranking.

Out of all UK cities/towns analysed, Wigan scored a creditable 54 out of 100 which Bionic says proves this town is the place to be for hopeful entrepreneurs!

The data showed that Wigan had 576 active businesses per 10,000 population and a whopping 90.2 per cent active small businesses in the UK.

Wigan is also among the UK towns with the cheapest value for office floor space. Renting a business space locally costs hopeful business owners an average of £98 per square metre: appealing for start ups when money can be a key factor.

Across the UK the rise in small businesses has increased and Wigan is among the UK towns with the highest growth in new business within the past five years, with a 41.8 per cent survival rate.

The table was topped by Southampton, York and Bristol.

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