Why Kirklees is one of the best places in the UK to set up a business

This has been revealed through research conducted by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Only Leeds ranked higher than Kirklees. However, with the average rent per square foot coming in at £30, Leeds is not the lowest cost destination to host a business. Kirklees is, with the average rent per square foot in the borough costing only £13.50.

The three best areas for business leaders to pay attention to were revealed as Leeds, Kirklees and London, with Leeds leading the way as the number one location for businesses across all metrics.

Karl Battersby, Strategic Director for Economy and Infrastructure said this is the result of years of hard work.

“I’m delighted that we rank so highly, but I’m not surprised," he said. "The council, our partners and local businesses have been working hard to make Kirklees a great place to do businesses for many years.

“£70million has been invested in digital infrastructure in Kirklees and £150million in the transport network. We’re also building 10,000 new homes by 2023.

“The council has invested over £45million into regenerating our town centres and in June 2019 launched the £250 million Huddersfield Blueprint vision for Huddersfield, with plans for Dewsbury to be announced in 2020.

“In addition to this, our location and connectivity is ideal for business. We’re at the centre of the Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield City Regions, with easy access to the North's major cities, airports and ports. Via a fast rail connection to Leeds, London King’s Cross is just over two hours away.

“The thriving University of Huddersfield is another valuable asset with around 24,000 students studying there.

“This is further proof that Kirklees is a great place to live, work and do business.”

The top ten places to run a business from in the UK according to these measures are:

Leeds

Kirklees

London

Bradford

Liverpool

Birmingham

Wakefield

Coventry

Manchester

Sheffield