Norwich is a great place to live and many have found it’s also a great place to start a business. The city, once thought of as a tired backwater, is today a lively, thriving place to launch a business.
Not only is this one of the best places to live, work, study, research has shown Norwich is also one of the places do business in the UK. What’s more, this area has so much to offer from its pristine beaches and closeness to nature, to the arts. It’s also a city filled with great restaurants, entertainment, and more. This is a city that’s perfect for new businesses.
Why Start Your Business in Norwich?
In this section, we’ll take a look at the many reasons that make this city a great place to start your business. It features everything a new company needs. Let’s take a look.
Business Help & Advice
For those just getting their business up and running, it can be challenging to find the right answers to problems and questions about how to run the company. This is where Norwich shines. The city is a place that is filled with like-minded business professionals who can help with their advice and guidance. They’ve created several groups and organisations to help new businesspeople:
- New Anglia Growth Hub
- NWES
- The Institute of Directors (IoD)
- Norfolk Network
- SyncNorwich
- Business Library
- Norfolk Chamber of Commerce
The city also offers a large number of networking opportunities. There you can find people who have the answers you need, meet new clients or partner, and more.
Finance & Funding
New businesses often need an injection of money to get them up and running. Norwich won’t leave you and high dry. Instead, you’ll find there’s financing and funding available. There are grants and other types of funding to help get your business going.
Transport Links
Norwich has excellent transportation links, which is a huge benefit for all types of businesses. There’s an international airport, a large railway station with great connections, as well as a dual carriageway from Cambridge. In addition, the M11 is nearby, making it easy to come and go from the city.
Another nice transport advantage that Norwich has is that a large part of the city centre is only for pedestrians. Why is this good for business? For one thing the city centre makes it easy to be right where your customers are located. For another, pedestrians like to shop.
In addition, the city also offers plenty of car parks, with Park & Rides options, too. You’ll also find Norwich’s bus service fast and efficient, and there are cycle lanes for those who prefer to bike in to work.
No matter the type of transport your business relies on, you’ll find it in Norwich. This is a city that easily accessed from all types of transport.
The Economic Perspective
Norwich is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. In fact, the area is home a higher-than-average working population between the ages of 18-49. Plus, many people are looking to move to the city, which means household density is increasing. In fact, the city’s population has recently expanded to about 230,000 and is set to grow to 280,000 by 2025.
In addition, Norwich is home for more than 8,000 businesses, which employee about 123,000 people. This makes the city home to one of the largest employment centres in the area.
The city is also home to two universities, which are excellent schools. This makes it easy for businesses to hire top talent graduating from either of the universities.
All of these economic facts make Norwich an excellent place for starting a new business.
What Types of Businesses are in Norwich?
Norwich has a mix of startups and large, multinational organisations. In fact, the city is home to Aviva and Marsh, along with plenty of retail shops such as Hugo Boss, Apple, and Jerrold’s.
The centre of the city is a lively business district home to many offices. There are plenty of amenities in the area include restaurants, shops, cafes, and more. It’s also home to many financial advisors, accountants, and consultations.
What are the Stats for New Businesses?
Some cities make it difficult for new businesses; however, that’s not the case with Norwich. This is a city that has some great stats for starting a business.
When it comes to rental costs for business premises and offices, they’re about 45-55% cheaper than Cambridge, with industrial premises even 60-70% less. Turnover is higher, too, with about 14% of companies in the city reporting an annual revenue of £1 million and more. This is about 10.2% higher than the national average. When it comes to survival rates, new businesses have a better than average chance in Norwich.
Each of these statistics make it clear that Norwich is a great place to start your new business.
Additional Reasons Norwich is Great for Starting a Business
If you’re not quite convinced, we’ve put together some more reasons that make Norwich an excellent place to start your business.
For one thing, the city is a popular place—it’s been mentioned many times in large publications. The articles range from naming Norwich one of the 20 best places to live, to the one of the 10 happiest cities in the UK.
In addition, Norwich is a national city, home to national brands that employee many in the area. These national brands include:
- Aviva
- Colman’s
- Macarons & More
- Lotus
- LisaAngel
- Gnaw Chocolate
As you can see, this list contains several types of businesses, which is indicative of why this is a great place for new businesses. Almost any business can thrive in this city!
One more reason to start your business in Norwich is because this is a beautiful place, with plenty to offer almost everyone. This is an area that brings in plenty of tourists each year, making this the perfect place for a small business to call home and thrive.
We hope you’re convinced Norwich is the home for your new business!
