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UK climbs 26 spots in easiest place to start a business global league

UK climbs 26 spots in easiest place to start a business global league

Posted: Wed 28th Oct 2015

The UK is now the 17th easiest place to start a business in the world, up from 43rd in 2014, major new research reveals.

According to the World Bank's annual report, which measures ease of doing business in 189 countries, Britain has risen 26 places over the past year.

It now takes 4.5 days to set up a business with four procedures to comply with. This compares to six days and six procedures last year.

The procedures involved are registering with Companies House (less than a day), registering for VAT (less than a day), registering for PAYE (three days) and signing up for employer's liability insurance (one day).

The easiest place to create a new business is New Zealand where you can be up and running in half a day with only one procedure.

When everything is taken into account, the World Bank ranked the UK as the 6th most business friendly country, up from 8th in 2014.

*** UPDATE: The World Bank has adjusted the figures and now say the UK was also ranked 6th last year so there's no change in its position ***

The UK has now overtaken the US which is in seventh place. Germany is 15th and France is 27th. Singapore tops the list.

The UK was praised for comparatively low tax rates, especially profit-related taxes and taxes involved with employing staff, but criticised for the time and cost involved with transferring property which is high compared to other countries.

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation said: "It's incredible to have it confirmed that the UK is not only one of the best places to do business, but one of the best to start a business too.

"There's a huge appetite in Britain for entrepreneurship and the help on offer to self-starters has evolved quickly over the last 18 months. Initiatives like StartUp Loans, Growth Vouchers and the proliferation of advice; accelerators and incubators both inside and outside of London has helped this happen.

"We have more than 12,000 advisers on our marketplace and run events up and down the country. There's absolutely no doubt that access to good support and advice makes starting and growing a business accessible to all."

The UK is not at its highest ever point in the league though; in 2010 it was in 4th place.

The top 10 easiest countries to do business in:

  • Singapore

  • New Zealand

  • Denmark

  • Republic of Korea

  • Hong Kong

  • United Kingdom

  • United States of America

  • Sweden

  • Norway

  • Finland

Enterprise Nation has helped thousands of people start and grow their businesses. Led by founder, Emma Jones CBE, Enterprise Nation connects you to the resources and expertise to help you succeed.

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