Location Spotlight: Edinburgh

Looking where to start a business? This city might be the perfect spot!

The Neighbourhood

Home to a UNESCO World Heritage site and the city where the digestive biscuit was invented, Edinburgh has many things to boast about.

The city is the 7th most populous city in the UK and so is relatively small in numbers. A study commissioned by the Royal Mail, however, found Edinburgh to be the number one city in which to live in terms of access to education, healthcare and green spaces.

Although the city is smaller in size, it is competing with larger cities in attracting start-ups and new businesses. 

There is a strong banking sector in the city with four major banks being headquartered in there and it has 13% of all Britain’s banking jobs.

The Trends 

Edinburgh has been able to make itself an attractive place to live and work.

The city has a great record of higher education which creates a large pool of graduates for employers to recruit from. The city is actually the most educated in the UK with 55% of the workforce holding a degree.

When it comes to starting a business, many entrepreneurs are looking to avoid London where the price per square foot of office space is £405 per square foot. In comparison, the average office space in Edinburgh is just £66 per square foot.

The city has also leaned into this profile by offering support for new businesses. There are a host of organisations that aim to help start-ups and new entrepreneurs secure funding. Some of these options are the Small Business Loan Fun, Archangels and Edinburgh Entrepreneur Club.

The University of Edinburgh also has Incubation Centres for start-ups where people can get support and advice and be put in touch with investors while they grow their business.

Starting a business in this city can be a great way to get a leg up.

Event Spotlight: Edinburgh Fringe Festival

The world’s largest arts festival takes place in Edinburgh each year during August. The festival is often known as The Fringe and was established as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947.

In 2017, more than 2.5 million tickets were sold for Fringe Festival shows, a number that has grown consistently throughout the years. The festival brings in a significant number of visitors to the city and local business people have learnt to take advantage of the influx of people.

People that come to the city are from all over the world and the festival alone brings in more than £140 million to the city. Bars, hotels and restaurants see a huge rise in sales over this month. There are also extended opening hours due in order to accommodate the shows that are on later in the evening.

Is This Area for You?

If you are looking to start a business, Edinburgh might be a good choice for you. The high-speed internet, pool of graduates and affordable office rates promise a good environment for your new venture.

This city is also appealing to those who value their quality of life outside of work. The green spaces and relatively smaller size of Edinburgh lends itself to a favourable living environment.

The size of the city can also be beneficial to small businesses because it is easier to make connections with people who could be useful in your business venture. 

The city is, however, far from the UK's capital and this can be a downside to starting a business in this city. Distance from London can also make international access difficult, but an increasing number of international flights are departing from Edinburgh airport and so this is becoming much less of a problem.

The influx of new businesses to the city is creating an environment that becomes increasingly welcoming to start-ups and the city is catering to them more and more.

Entrepreneurs should keep Edinburgh as an option when they are deciding where to set up shop.



Anthea Taylor

About the author

Anthea Taylor is Content Producer at Dynamis and writes for all titles in the Dynamis stable including BusinessesForSale.com, FranchiseSales.com and PropertySales.com as well as other industry publications.

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