COLCHESTER is now ranked in the list of the top five places outside London to start a business in.

The town has been hailed as the fifth best place for people to set up a company, according to research by Tide, the UK's leading business financial platform.

The reason for Colchester's ranking is because data shows there has been a 27 per cent increase in start-ups between 2018 and 2019.

Colchester also has a five-year survival rate of 44.94 per cent.

The place which made the top of the list was Bournemouth

The primary reason for Bournemouth’s high ranking is the 95.8 per cent increase in start-ups, which is by far the highest of any of the top 50 towns and cities.

The Hertfordshire town of Stevenage comes second in the rankings.

Watford comes third in the rankings, scoring consistently in the top ten for every scoring factor.

In fourth place was Chelmsford which had a five-year business survival rate of 47.21 per cent and 917 Tide registered businesses

Oliver Prill, chief executive at Tide, said: “Taking the step into entrepreneurship is a big one, and I am always impressed by the number of people who are keen to leap into the unknown and give it a go, particularly in the last year, when we have seen an unprecedented number of new businesses emerge.

"It’s a very difficult step to take though, and as the data shows, not all start-ups make it.

“There are a number of steps that new business owners can take to increase their chances of success.

Tips for starting up a business:

  • Before quitting your day job to start a business, try to run your business alongside your job - this can be exhausting, but it gives you the opportunity to see if the business can generate an income without the financial pressure
  • When you’re ready to take the plunge and dedicate all your time to your business, take the time to assess how to use your time most effectively - the admin side of running a business is time consuming, but there are services out there to lighten the burden
  • Fail fast - if something isn’t working, don’t waste time and energy trying to make it work, be agile and try something new. The beauty of starting your own business is that you have the freedom to take in the direction you want.