Entrepreneurship is clearly thriving in Norfolk as it has just been named as one of the fastest-growing regions for new business creation.
The county saw a 3.9pc rise in business births between 2019 and 2024, moving from 3,110 to 3,230 new enterprises, according to a study by YourBusinessNumber.
This growth places Norfolk seventh among UK hotspots for new business formation, despite a national decline of 12.7pc over the same period.
The study analysed ONS business demography data to identify areas where new business creation is increasing, despite the overall UK figure falling.
Belfast topped the rankings with a 9.1pc increase in new businesses, followed by Kingston upon Hull at 8.6pc and Stoke-on-Trent at 8.1pc.
Dorset, Devon, and Middlesbrough also outperformed Norfolk, each showing strong growth compared to the national average.
George Lineker, co-founder of YourBusinessNumber, said: "What is particularly striking is that these are not the places that usually come up in conversations about British entrepreneurship.
"From Belfast to Hull to Middlesbrough to rural Dorset, growth is happening in areas that sit well outside the traditional start-up map, at a time when the national figure has fallen by nearly 50,000 businesses a year.
"Moreover, the data highlights that cost alone does not explain these figures.
"Dorset, Devon and Norfolk sit alongside post-industrial cities like Stoke-on-Trent and Middlesbrough, which suggests a more complex picture, and one where what a new business actually needs to get started has changed."
In Norfolk, 120 more businesses were launched in 2024 compared to 2019, the same increase as Belfast, although from a much larger existing base.
Across the UK, new business formation fell from 363,825 in 2019 to 317,440 in 2024, representing 46,385 fewer businesses launched each year.
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