Milton Keynes in UK's top 25 places for businesses to set up shop

Milton Keynes has been ranked in 22nd place in a list of the UK's best places for independent businesses.

With a score of 51 out of 100 - MK is dubbed 'a great town for hopeful entrepreneurs'.

The data showed that Milton Keynes had what business experts Bionic describe as a "whopping" 683 active businesses per 10,000 population and 91.2% active small businesses in the UK.

There has been a massive growth in small businesses across the UK over the past five years. More than 800,000 new business registrations have been made since 2018/19 - but this impressive 3.5% increase in growth unfortunately slowed down due to the pandemic and lockdowns began at the start of 2020.

Bionic wanted to help local UK businesses get a running start to 2022.

The firm 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 Milton Keynes takes 22nd place!

Although Milton Keynes is great for new business start ups, this town is on the pricer end of the scale for office floor space out of all UK towns analysed. Renting a business space in Milton Keynes will cost hopeful business owners an average of £114 per m2 - so you will need some money set aside to set up shop in this town!

Across the UK the rise in small businesses has increased and Milton Keynes is among the UK towns with the highest growth in new business within the past five years, with a 42.7% survival rate.

The report says the town is home to some amazing independent businesses and cites the example of ‘Bar Bar’ - "a coffee shop located near a victorian railway town in Milton Keynes, providing a range of coffee and eco friendly packaging, along with hosting a wide range of events and workshops to attend".