Four Reasons Why Reading is the Perfect Place to Launch a Start-Up

According to a recently conducted study, Reading ranks as the seventh-best place in the UK for starting a small business. Reported to have a highly skilled workforce, impressive rates of productivity, and a strong and thriving economy, it offers some fantastic opportunities for those who wish to launch their very own start-up.

It has been recommended over and over by those in the know as a great place to do business, with a particular focus on its potential post-Brexit. Increasingly technology-driven, the experts suggest it’s ideally set up to capitalize on the opportunities that an independent UK could offer.

To break it down, here are just four of the boons that Reading can offer to fledgeling businesses.

Reading has a talented workforce waiting to be tapped into

One of the reasons that Reading frequently scores highly in studies of the best places to start a business is because of its highly skilled workforce. Not only is a large proportion of its population of working age, but almost half of them are educated to degree level, which is good news for ventures that need a team of intelligent and talented applicants to pick from.

It’s a productive place to be

In the world of business, time equals money, which means productivity is something to be prized. That’s why those looking for a base will be impressed to hear that Reading is the second-best in the country for productivity according to 2018’s barometer of economic performance, coming in at 25 percent above the national average. Assuming you want to hire people who won’t waste their days scrolling through social media or kicking back with their colleagues, it might just be an ideal option for your venture.

It’s home to a lot of very successful businesses

We believe one of the best ways to assess a location’s business potential is by taking a look at which other companies have set up shop there, and this is one more area where Reading shines. Big names include Microsoft, Oracle, and P&G, and it also has a lot of successful home-grown start-ups too. Given the right conditions, such businesses can grow at a rapid rate, as enterprises like CMR Surgical in Cambridge and London-based companies Bulb and Lottoland demonstrate. Holding the Guinness World Record for the largest online gambling payout, this latter betting outfit, for example, was able to expand at an exceptionally accelerated speed. The soils of Reading should prove equally fertile for start-ups looking to grow and thrive.

It’s ideally set up to withstand the uncertainty of Brexit

If there is one thing that’s causing many entrepreneurs to pause their plans to launch a start-up, it’s the uncertainty surrounding Brexit but it turns out some locations are better set up to withstand this than others. Reading is one of them. According to those in the know, its labour market is notably resilient (the third least likely to shrink in the UK) due to its highly skilled jobs and the many knowledge-based businesses that call it home.

Tell us; if you’re looking for a place to set up base, is Reading somewhere you’d consider? With a highly skilled force, strong economic potential, and plenty of success stories to inspire you, we certainly think it should offer plenty of food for thought.