Cardiff shines as one of UK’s new Business Capitals

Hotspot for growth and tech

A new study of British Business Success and Growth in 2018 by Lloyds Bank has named Cardiff as one of the top five UK city hotspots for growth, with business booming thanks to a large number of entrepreneurs. The bank spoke to businesses across the UK and found that regionally, 75% of businesses in the East of England and 71% in the South West, Wales and the West Midlands are experiencing the fastest growth. Cardiff and Birmingham were joint fifth hotspots after Bristol, London, Brighton and Norwich.

The report named Cardiff as The Talent Capital and said it had a higher proportion of ‘gazelle’ companies which had doubled their revenues over a four year period, than any other UK city. Cardiff is projected to be one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities with 26% population growth over the next 20 years; it has a young and talented population which is driving economic growth. Thanks to its large student population, it also provides an excellent pool of talent in the area, and the good universities and training options are driving growth in local businesses.

Separately, the latest Tech Nation Report shows that Cardiff has a thriving tech innovation scene supporting the city’s startup ecosystem. In 2017 tech business turnover was £641m, supporting 4,600 jobs in Cardiff. Support for tech business in the city is growing, with new offers such as the Development Bank for Wales. Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales said that flourishing new technology companies were ‘discovering that investors wanted to back them in Wales’.