Where Are Companies Expected to Grow in the UK in 2025?

• In 87% of the UK cities and towns analysed, at least 70% of businesses are expected to grow.
• Halifax, Nottingham, and Cardiff ranked amongst the top with the highest percentage of local businesses that are likely to grow. 

Halifax, Nottingham, and Cardiff have been named as the places where companies are most likely to experience growth, according to a new study.

The research, from Trade Nation, used growth prediction data from Crunchbase to reveal the cities and towns around the UK with the highest percentage of businesses that are either very likely or likely to experience growth. According to the data, in 87% of the UK cities and towns analysed, over two-thirds (70%) of businesses are expected to grow.

Halifax ranked first in the research, with more than nine in 10 (96.94%) of local companies expected to experience growth. With a total of 229 companies noted on Crunchbase, 222 were listed as “very likely” or “likely” to grow. 

Close behind in second place is Nottingham, 95.14% of companies expected to experience growth. Cardiff ranked in third place with 93.84% of businesses headquartered in the city expected to grow. 

Top 20 Places With Highest % of Companies Expected to Grow

Rank	Place	Total number of Companies	Companies “likely” or “very likely” to grow	% of companies expected to grow
1	Halifax	229	222	96.94%
2	Nottingham	1,953	1,858	95.14%
3	Cardiff	1,526	1,432	93.84%
4	Glasgow	3,444	3,215	93.35%
5	Gillingham	68	63	92.65%
6	Rochdale	266	244	91.73%
7	Edinburgh	3,321	3,039	91.51%
8	Scunthorpe	148	135	91.22%
9	Belfast	1,678	1,530	91.18%
10	Hastings	130	118	90.77%
11	Newcastle	1,537	1,395	90.76%
12	Birkenhead	208	188	90.38%
13	Aylesbury	342	308	90.06%
14	Oldham	353	315	89.24%
15	Cambridge	2,085	1,858	89.11%
16	Eastbourne	255	227	89.02%
17	Rayleigh	100	89	89.00%
18	Worthing	307	273	88.93%
19	Liverpool	1,813	1,612	88.91%
20	South Shields	87	77	88.51%

Places With Highest Number of Booming Businesses

Looking at the cities and towns in the UK with the highest number of businesses expected to grow, to no surprise, London came in first place with 45,783 companies expected to grow. 

Outside of London, Manchester came in second place, with ​​4,878 companies expected to grow. Scotland had strong representation amongst the top, with Glasgow in third place with 3,215 companies expected to grow, and Edinburgh just behind in fourth place and 3,039 companies set for growth.

Top 10 Cities & Towns With Highest Number of Businesses Expected to Grow

Place	Number of companies expected to grow
London	45,783
Manchester	4,878
Glasgow	3,215
Edinburgh	3,039
Birmingham	2,785
Bristol	2,340
Leeds	2,270
York	1,859
Nottingham	1,858
Cambridge	1,858

David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation comments: 

“Although there are many rumours of a recession this year or next, this data paints a positive picture for business growth in the UK with the majority of businesses in cities and towns around the UK expected to grow. This highlights the resilience and innovation in local economies, and the opportunities available for entrepreneurs and established companies alike.”

Trade Nation is an award-winning, globally established fintech and financial services provider.