The South East of England is the most profitable region in the UK for business, according to the latest survey from business information providers Dun & Bradstreet.
Top of the table is Brighton & Hove, with 92.3% of companies making a profit in the survey, which analyses the country’s top 50,000 businesses and their latest sets of audited accounts. Three other places in the South East – Fareham (87.8%), High Wycombe (87.5%) and Abingdon (87%) were featured in the country’s top 10 performing towns and cities.
Chief Executive of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Anthony Dunnett, welcomed the news: “It is no surprise that the South East is rated as the most profitable place to do business. We have long been promoting the region as the country’s greatest wealth creator – but we cannot rest on our laurels, and continued investment is required to maintain our competitive edge. We see mainland Europe as our key competition for inward investment, and the South East needs to work hard to benefit UK plc.”
He added: “We are delighted that South East towns have been recognised in this comprehensive survey. The region has the highest proportion of ‘knowledge’ workers and excellent business infrastructure, and we are building on these strengths. Our exciting plans to establish 30 Enterprise Hubs throughout the region are underway. These will stimulate greater wealth creation and dynamism by furthering the business start-up rate.”