Sheffield is the best UK city for start-ups

A new study has identified the 15 most promising places to start a business in the UK.

The research, conducted by Paymentsense, focused on the economic climate in the UK's most populated cities in order to identify the best places to start a business. Key factors that were assessed included: start-up survival rates, the cost of accommodation, the number of employed adults in each city and the average weekly pay for full-time workers.

Sheffield tops the list, thanks to its relatively low living costs as well as an impressive five-year start-up survival rate of 45%. Other cities with high start-up survival rates include: Bristol (45%), Edinburgh (43%), Nottingham (43%), Coventry (42%), Leeds (42%), Cardiff (42%) and Sunderland (42%).

In contrast, the new business survival rate in London is 39%. Some of the UK's bigger cities have even lower start-up survival rates, including Glasgow (36%), Manchester (37%) and Liverpool (38%).

Overall, the findings show that the best cities for starting a business are:

1. Sheffield
2. Nottingham
3. Sunderland
4. Leicester
5. Bristol
6. Stoke-on-Trent
7. Cardiff
8. Leeds
9. Coventry
10. Edinburgh
11. Liverpool
12. Birmingham
13. Manchester
14. Glasgow
15. London