Hereford Times - 14th January 2016 - Page 55
Hereford Times - 14th January 2016 - Page 55
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Image Details
| Date | 14/01/2016 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Format | |
| Language | English |
| Area | Hereford Times |
| Collection Holder | |
| Date of Publication | 14th January 2016 |
| Transcription |
55 THE HEREFORD TIMES Thursday, January 14, 2016 herefordtimescom City ‘least attractive’ for business start-up By Ben Goddard 01432 845882 bgoéz‘rherefordtimescom Twitter @HTnewsroom HEREFORD has been named the least attractive city in the UK to start a business in. The study carried out by Company Formation, who register new companies, ranked the county’s city bottom of the league table. Eight key areas were as- sessed in each of the 69 cit- ies as part of the survey, these included: commer- cial property (rent costs and availability), energy, virtual office services, pub- lic transport, broadband service (average download speed), workforce demo- graphics, access to finance (available grants) and qual- ity of life (home rental pric- es, crime and affordable childcare). Reasons for Hereford com— ing out bottom of the study were: a ‘complete lack of business infrastructure’, lack of office space, expen- sive virtual office prices, limited access to grants for start-ups and slow broad- band speeds. . Derby came out as the best city for a start-up business while Worcester came out in 26th place and Glouces- ter was ranked 35th. Despite being branded as the least attractive city for starting a business in the UK Joanie Roberts, area relationship manager for Herefordshire and Worces‘ tershire Chamber of Com- merce said that the survey ignored some key areas. The least attractive city in the UK to start a business in - Hereford She said: “It is disappoint- ing to see such results but I refuse to let it dampen our spirits. “These do not take into account some major differ- ences between large cities, like Birmingham, com- pared to the smaller rural county cities like Hereford. “The survey also seems to ignore millions of pounds of recent investment into business infrastructure, the city centre and sur- rounding areas, which are benefitting local businesses and potential start-ups. “We have Skylon Park, a new university on the ho- rizon, a recently developed city centre shopping ex- perience, new investment from both the University of Worcester and the Uni- versity of Wolverhampton, among other things. “It might not be the city life some businesses are looking for — but that does 'not make it a bad place to start up a business, as 2014 was a record year for com- pany registrations in Her eford, when compared to any year in history" BT Group CEO Gavin Pat- terson said that interact speeds are increasing with‘ in Herei‘ordshire and more than 54.000 properties now access fibre broadband. Harrison Clark Rickerbys Solicitors I WAS struck by Dave Tomlinson‘s words on the BBC Radio Tvso fea- ture Pause for Thought this week Having shared a very moving and personal story. Mr Tomlinson reminded the listeners why it is better to give than to receive and his words struck a chord with me. So with this in mind. i thought that I would use this month‘s column to reflect upon one way it: which local businesses can give back to the lo» cal community and pro- vide support to the next generation of entrepre— neurs. Young Enterprise is the L'K's leading enter- prise and financial edu» cation charity, offering training for pl‘illléll'} and secondary schools as well as universities. its flagship Company Programme offers sec— ondary through to unr versity students the op- portunity to set up and run a business over the course of an academic year Students make all the decisions about their company. from raising the initial share capital through to designing their product or aer‘. :(e to selling dirt. customers. befor‘ ing up the comp ‘ paying their tart-s, l consider In ” ttmate to have sen as a has or to om.- Company er .nts that you it you WQ‘ port HELL; within then terprise Herezortis nu ._ perks . ytaorguk. 00.090000906000006...09009000 BUSINESS NEWS herefordtimes.com heartser‘vices X, All .A :9 tav‘lanagemeo? |
| Newspaper name | Hereford Times |