Bournemouth is the best place to start a business outside of London, according to new research.

The finding comes from the British Entrepreneurial Index, by Tide,  the UK business financial platform.

The research combined data on a number of factors including:

• The rise in the number of startups
• The five-year startup survival rate
• The number of Tide registered businesses as a percentage of the town’s population

As a result, Bournemouth was crowned the best town or city outside London to start a business.

The primary reason for the resort’s high ranking was the 95.8 per cent increase in startups between 2018 and 2019, by far the highest of any of the top 50 towns and cities.

Bournemouth also has a five-year survival rate of 45.65 per cent, making it the fifth-best performing town/city in this regard.

It also ranks in the top 15 for registered businesses as a percentage of the population.

Second and third place went to Stevenage and Watford, both in Hertfordshire.

Oliver Prill, Tide’s CEO, pictured, said: “Taking the step into entrepreneurship is a big one.

“I am always impressed by the number of people who are keen to leap into the unknown and give it a go, particularly in the last year, when we have seen an unprecedented number of new businesses emerge.

“It’s a very difficult step to take though, and as the data shows, not all start-ups make it.

“There are a number of steps that new business owners can take to increase their chances of success.

1. Before quitting your day job to start a business, try to run your business alongside your job – this can be exhausting, but it gives you the opportunity to see if the business can generate an income without the financial pressure.
2. When you’re ready to take the plunge and dedicate all your time to your business, take the time to assess how to use your time most effectively – the admin side of running a business is time consuming, but there are services, like Tide, out there to lighten the burden.
3. Fail fast – if something isn’t working, don’t waste time and energy trying to make it work, be agile and try something new. The beauty of starting your own business is that you have the freedom to take it in the direction you want.”

• The full research can be viewed here.