Council leaders have hailed Stoke-on-Trent as a hotbed for business start-ups, as the city continues to buck national trends and attract new investment.
There were 9.5% more business start-ups in Stoke-on-Trent during the first five months of this year compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to latest data from a BankSearch survey.
While growth in the number of start-ups across England has hesitated so far this year, in May alone 104 new businesses started up in Stoke-on-Trent. This builds on research released in January by European merchant services provider Paymentsense which named Stoke-on-Trent as one of the top 15 best cities to start a business in the UK.
The figures mean Stoke-on-Trent is 71st out of 326 English districts in terms of growth of business start-ups.
Councillor Abi Brown, Leader of the Council said: ““Creating the right conditions for new businesses to start up in Stoke-on-Trent is so important to us, and it’s great to see these figures. We are already home to the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone, which has transformed former industrial land, securing and delivering 2000 jobs to date, and creating one of the most successful Enterprise Zones in the country.
“We also have a dedicated Make It Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire team that provide bespoke support to find the right location for businesses to both start and expand within the city, helping to grow our local economy and create more jobs. Along with our fantastic geographic position and a growing reputation as a confident, ambitious city, it’s great to see that business growth locally continues to confirm that Stoke is on the up.”