THERE are 5.5 million businesses in the UK, and 5.45 million of them have fewer than 50 employees.

These small businesses are an economic and cultural asset to the country.

But they have faced a tough few years with the double blow of Covid and Brexit disrupting supply chains and adding economic and administrative obstacles to trading with Europe.

Some 20,000 small exporters with fewer than ten employees have ceased exporting to the EU since the new rules came into effect, and the number of small businesses in the UK fell by –1.03% from 2023 to 2024.

However, the UK is in a moment of fresh optimism: the number of small businesses successfully applying for credit is increasing, and one-fifth of small businesses plan to “reboot growth plans” in 2025.

Derk Bleeker, Chief Commercial Officer at Sage, notes that by controlling costs, small businesses have “managed to become more profitable, though many are waiting for a more stable economic and political climate before making major investments.”

To find the UK cities where this optimism is strongest, we analysed Office for National Statistics data for every local authority and city and calculated the percentage growth in the number of small businesses in each area from 2023 to 2024.

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