The UK coastal city home to Britain’s largest port is experiencing a business boom. Felixstowe It is a town in Suffolk coast and has a population of more than 24,000 people. It is the largest container port in the United Kingdom.
It is among the country’s fastest-growing areas for microbusinesses, those with fewer than 10 employees, making it a hotspot for entrepreneurs.
GoDaddy’s Venture Forward report mapped more than 600,000 businesses across Britain to find each area’s “microbusiness density” per 100 residents.
The Suffolk Coastal area saw a 54 per cent growth in its concentration of micro businesses over the past year, more than ten times the national average of 5 per cent.
Catherine Hickman is one of these coastal entrepreneurs and founded her organic skincare business, Fanatical Botanical, last year in Felixstowe.
“Felixstowe has a strong community spirit; “People believe in shopping local and supporting small businesses,” he told the Mail.
“The craft fairs and markets in Felixstowe helped my business take off and in December I launched my website to support the next phase.
“My business continues to grow and I have just secured three local distributors to distribute my range of natural skincare products.”
The number of small businesses hit a record high last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. In 2023, a total of 859,007 companies were registered, an increase of just under 75,000 compared to the previous year.
Andrew Gradon, director of GoDaddy UK and Ireland, said: “The UK small business community is in good health and we have seen growth in micro business density across most of the country.
“Many iconic coastal cities have been at the center of this boom. The trend is particularly pronounced in the south of England, where people have moved out of London afterCOVID-19.”