Revealed: The WELSH areas with the STRONGEST local economies

BOOMING BUSINESSES: Which WELSH local economy is the strongest?

New research from savings platform Raisin UK have revealed which parts of Wales, and the rest of the UK have the strongest local economies and are likely to recover the fastest from COVID-19. Where do they all rank?

Based upon factors such as: 

⭐ Number of large businesses

⭐ Business survival rate

⭐ Net growth of birth and death rates 

⭐ Rate of people in employment 

⭐ Amount of people receiving income support 

⭐ Average government spend per head 

⭐️ CPI Index

The strongest and weakest economies have been calculated throughout England and then into Wales, looking at where the economic recovery may be easier and which ones may be harder to recover from.

WELSH TOP LOCAL ECONOMIES 

#1 Denbighshire

Situated in northeast Wales, Denbighshire has a 42.5% 5-year survival rate when it comes to businesses. The data also showed that there were 385 large businesses here in 2015, and fast forward 4 years to 2019, there were 450 large businesses, a 16.88% increase. 6.3% of residents here are claiming welfare support, but 76% of the city and surrounding areas are employed. Denbighshire rank #1 for Welsh local economies, and are expected to bounce back from COVID-19 pretty quickly.

#2 Monmouthshire 

Coming 2nd in the Welsh strongest economies is Monmouthshire. Situated in the southeast of Wales, Monmouthshire is home to Abergavenny. Here a 5-year survival business rate stands at 45.5%, just 3% higher than Denbighshire. In 2015, there were 340 businesses here, and 380 in 2019 – a good 11.76% increase. Only 3.8% of residents in Monmouthshire are claiming welfare, but 76% are currently in employment.

#3 Isle of Anglesey

Placing third comes the Isles of Anglesey. A stone throw away from mainland’s northwest coast, the Isles have a 48.7% business survival rate. In 2015, the Isles were home to 210 businesses, but fast forward four years to 2019, the Isles has grown its businesses to 230 – a 9.52% increase. 5.2% of the Isles are claiming welfare here, but most of the city is employed, which shows you don’t have to live in a big city to run a business.

#4 Powys

Placing fourth in the top 10 in Powys, straight in the middle of Wales. There is a 45.7% 5-year business survival rate here. In 2015 there were 560 large businesses that called Powys its home, but in 2019 those large businesses only grew by 0.89%, taking the total up to 565 businesses. 4.3% of residents living in Powys are claiming welfare.

#5 Cardiff

Ranking 5th in the index is Cardiff. The capital city has a 41.4% 5-year survival rate. With 1,345 large businesses in 2015, a 4-year increase of 4.88% took 2019 businesses to 1,505. Cardiff is home to Admiral Group, Confused.com and British Airways Engineering.

#6 Ceredigion

Most famous for its exports in the 18th and 19th century, the southwestern side of Wales ranks sixth in the strongest local economies. There is a 51.5% 5-year survival rate with businesses here (one of the highest in the overall index). With 300 large businesses in 2015, this actually decreased over 4 years by 1.67% to 295 large businesses. 4.3% of residents here are claiming benefits.

#7 Rhondda Cynon Taf

Most famous for its Welsh coals, such as steam coal, Rhondda has a 37.3% 5-year survival rate when it comes to large businesses, a lot lower than the others that are stated in the index. In 2015, it was found that here had 590 large businesses, but a 4-year gap to 2019 had a 5.93% increase in large businesses to 625. 6.1% of the population here are claiming welfare.

#8 Gwynedd

Northwest county Gwynedd ranks eighth in the Welsh strongest local economies. With a 47.4% 5-year survival rate here, there were 510 large businesses in 2015, but over 4 years that has increased by 3.92% to 530 in 2019. 5.2% of residents from Gwynedd, claim benefits. Gwynedd is home to Express Motors.

The UK’s STRONGEST local economies 

Londoners rely on welfare more than the rest of the UK

While the capital city might be home to some billion-pound businesses and some of the strongest economies in the UK (it’s boroughs of Havering, Sutton and Hackney), it’s also home to more people receiving benefits than anywhere else in the UK.

Over 7.7% of London’s population receives monthly financial support from the government, more than North East England (7.3%), the North West (6.3%), and the West Midlands (5.7%).

Despite this, London’s employment rate sits at 75.4%, showing the disparity between rich and poor in the city supposedly paved with gold.

The South West has the highest rate of employment: 79.9% of the population there are employed, despite the area seeing a 22% decrease in large businesses throughout 2019.

However, London has also seen an impressive rise, with its boroughs coming together to see a growth of 7% throughout the capital – meaning boroughs such as Hackney and Sutton have some of the strongest local economies in the UK overall.

The full study, including more towns and cities, is available here.

The infographics and images are here for you to use.

Let me know if you have any questions at all about this piece, will be happy to help

Have a lovely day.

All the best,

Paige

ENDS 

Methodology: 

Using multiple data sources from ONS and the Commons Library including:

⭐Businesses 5-year survival rate
⭐CPI index
⭐Employment rate
⭐Govt. spending per head
⭐% of population
⭐Birth & death rates
⭐Growth of large businesses

We created an index to look at which British towns, cities and regions have a strong local economy and the ability to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic

About Raisin UK:

Raisin UK (raisin.co.uk) is the UK operation of Raisin GmbH (raisin.com). A trailblazer for open banking and the leading pan-European one-stop-shop for online savings and investments, Berlin-based fintech Raisin was founded in 2012

Raisin GmbH is a Berlin-based fintech innovator that has quickly grown to become one of the largest financial technology companies in Europe. Since launch, Raisin has brokered 23 billion EUR for more than 260,000 customers in 31 European countries and 92 partner banks. Raisin was named to Europe’s top five fintech by the renowned FinTech50 awards and is backed by prestigious European and American investors such as PayPal, Goldman Sacs, Thrive Capital, Orange Digital Ventures, Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital.

Raisin UK co-founder, Kevin Mountford, who brings over 25 years of experience in the sector and a track record from companies such as MoneySupermarket.com and Halifax Bank of Scotland, is overseeing Raisin’s rapid growth within the UK.

Raisin UK’s partner banks and products can be found on the website’s savings marketplace https://www.raisin.co.uk/marketplace