Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Unless you live there already, Nottingham may not be on your list of possible cities for starting a business.
It’s the land of Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and two football grounds which are unreasonably close together.
But Nottingham is also a rapidly growing city business-wise. It has two universities – Nottingham Trent and the University of Nottingham – that have a real focus on employability. The universities are now working together to provide a strong talent pool through the Universities for Nottingham initiative.
Laurie Hannant, partner at BDO LLP in the East Midlands, said:
“Nottinghamshire has a history of innovation that has yielded inventions as diverse as ibuprofen, the magnetic resonance imaging scanner, HP sauce and traffic lights.
“The region is incubating and nurturing its start-ups and scale-ups well with programmes and initiatives being run out of the universities.
“A recent report we conducted in Nottingham found that companies within the retail and wholesale sector are growing the fastest. Businesses within the manufacturing and industrial sectors are also faring well, growing at an average of 22pc over the past three years.”
If you’re relocating it’s a different matter, so let’s explore the essential lifestyle factors of residing in Nottingham.
Population
ONS mid-year