Women founders rank Manchester the best UK city outside London to start a business

Manchester is the top UK city outside London in which to start a business, according to research for National Women's Enterprise Week that points to the rise of regional “hidden hubs” for women entrepreneurs.

In a survey of 1,000 female entrepreneurs in the UK, 41% picked Manchester as the best or second-best city outside the capital for a start-up, and 27% put it first. Birmingham came next on 14%, followed by Liverpool on 5%.

The results suggest more women-led businesses are being built away from London, with founders citing lower costs, more flexibility and better regional opportunities.

Alison Cork MBE set up National Women's Enterprise Week as a UK-wide campaign to narrow the gender gap in business ownership. Around one in five UK businesses is currently led by a woman.

London bias

Sapio Research carried out the study, which looks at whether funding, visibility and networks are keeping up with where women are actually building companies. London is still a vital hub for business and finance, but the report argues that assumptions about growth centred on the capital risk putting women who build successful businesses elsewhere at a disadvantage.

Just over half (52%) of the women surveyed agree that starting a business outside London brings greater opportunities, and the same share name lower costs among the main advantages.

Even so, attitudes to growth still lean towards London. Some 58% think London businesses are taken more seriously than those elsewhere, and 61% believe a London address suggests a business is established or successful.

Investors hold that view more strongly. In a separate poll of 200 people who have invested in UK businesses, 78% agreed London-based firms are taken more seriously and 80% said a London address signals an established or successful company. More than half (52%) have at least once required or encouraged a business they back to move to London.

Among women entrepreneurs outside the capital, 37% have felt pushed to relocate there to grow. Most want to stay put, however: 76% say they would keep their business where it is if funding, visibility and opportunity were the same across the UK.

Support gaps

Just 35% say they have all the support and access they need, and 42% have some but would like more. Lack of funding and low visibility tie as the biggest barriers to growing a business from their current location, each mentioned by 27%.

Alison Cork, founder of National Women's Enterprise Week, said: “Manchester topping the list is an important signal, but the bigger story is what it says about the changing geography of entrepreneurship in the UK.”

“Women are building ambitious businesses in cities, towns and communities across the country, not just in London. The opportunity is already there, but visibility, networks and investment have not always kept pace,” she said.

She added: “What this research reveals is a tension between where founders see opportunity and where many people still believe success is supposed to happen. We need to stop thinking of regional growth as an alternative to London and start recognising it as a major driver of the UK’s entrepreneurial economy.”

The British Library's director of business audiences, Isabel Oswell BEM, said: “At the British Library we are committed to supporting businesses across the whole of the UK and two-thirds of our entrepreneurs, of which 65% are women, are based outside of London. Our Business & IP Centres (BIPC) are in 20 cities across the country, including Manchester, where we will be hosting a major event to mark National Women’s Enterprise Week.”

The findings were published ahead of the campaign's Own It: Speed Mentoring for Female Founders event, held in Manchester on 19 June 2026. The event's broader message is about giving women founders across the UK better access to mentoring, networks, practical support and visibility.