Warrington tops for business start-ups

A NEW report has placed Warrington postcode WA1 has the top location in the UK outside of London for new business start-ups.
The report, by chartered accountants UHY Hacker Young ranks Warrington 14th in the 20 elite postcodes, with 1,510 new businesses launched in the 12 months up to March 31.
WA1 was one of only three postcodes in the top 20 outside the capital.
The statistics ratify and reaffirm recently released findings by company formation specialists, Duport Associates.
The Duport Business Confidence Report showed an 80 per cent rise in net company growth in Warrington last year, almost double the UK average of 44 per cent. The number of Warrington start-ups also showed a 24 per cent increase on the number recorded the previous year.
Average UK growth trailed at only nine per cent.
The Duport report commented that: “The past three decades have seen a huge amount of investment in regenerating the Warrington area. The continued regeneration and attempts at social inclusion could be a factor in the growth in business start-ups, as more people gain the confidence and know-how to form their own companies”.
Leader of Warrington Borough Council Terry O’Neill (pictured) said: “This is further good news for the town.
“Warrington is flourishing in terms of business growth. New business is a life blood and these statistics are very reassuring as new business is vital in order to maintain that position in the future.
“It is a great endorsement that new businesses looking to start up make Warrington their number one location of choice”.
Steve Park, managing director of Warrington & Co, the town’s partnership for economic growth, said: “Continually, Warrington’s economic performance tops the tables. This is the sixth set of independent economic stats released this year that show the borough is outperforming the rest of the UK.
“This is a great position for us to be in and the council, working in partnership with businesses through Warrington & Co, has set in place a robust framework – Warrington Means Business – that will ensure that we grow and build upon that position of strength”.