Why Sussex is a Great Place to be an Entrepreneur?

Why Sussex is a Great Place to be an Entrepreneur?

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Sussex is one of the UK’s hotspots for business start-ups. The report named Brighton & Hove as the second most entrepreneurial city in the UK, and both Eastbourne and Horsham were ranked among the top 10 towns.

The survey also points towards a fresh boom in entrepreneurship, a trend largely arising out of the pandemic-induced furlough scheme which affected about 11.6 million jobs back in 2020/21. Many employees who were furloughed or lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic took the opportunity to re-evaluate their career options and assess their priorities. The result was that a large number of individuals acknowledged their entrepreneurial ambitions by deciding to set up on their own.

Business support for start-ups is available from many organisations in Sussex including ourselves as the largest business organisation in the county. Sussex Enterprise provides practical business support, training, information and advice to help businesses develop, grow and profit. There’s a useful list of business support and advice for Mid Sussex here.

A key organisation in the county is the Sussex Innovation Centre, located at the University of Sussex in Falmer, which supports start-ups and accelerators with high growth potentials through a range of funded support programmes. Most recently, Sussex Innovation Centre’s Croydon hub has been announced as one of the new London Growth Hubs, bringing together the capital’s business support offer into a single online resource as well as offering in-person support.

The support provided includes consultancy and coaching, coworking spaces and access to investment opportunities such as SEIS and EIS tax relief schemes that reward investment in early-stage start-ups. “Seed-stage companies can raise a maximum of £100K per year which, in the majority of cases proves sufficient to get a business up and running,” explains one expert in the field.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, highlighted the London Growth Hub as “a vital resource for SMEs […] and I urge all entrepreneurs to make use of the brilliant new business advice centres we are establishing across the city.”

In East Sussex, there’s comprehensive advice, mentoring support, workshops and a free Start Your Own Business In East Sussex guide that can be downloaded here, while Business East Sussex has a wealth of valuable start-up services and resources you can find here.

For start-ups in Brighton & Hove, also known as ‘Silicon Beach’ on account of being a growing creative, tech and digital cluster, the city is fast becoming a popular home for exciting new businesses. In terms of start-up help, the Coast to Capital Growth Hub offers free, government funded business support to help ambitious and innovative businesses achieve growth.

We live in challenging times and analysts indicate the UK economy may be heading for a year-long recession. However, all the indicators show that entrepreneurship in Sussex is alive and well in the face of difficult economic circumstances. It’s a great place to start a business.