A famous UK seaside town is suddenly booming as dozens of new businesses open.
Sidmouth is a small town in Devon, overlooking the English Channel with a population of just over 12,500.
It is among the country’s fastest-growing areas for microbusinesses, those with fewer than 10 employees, making it a hotspot for entrepreneurs.
GoDaddy’s Venture Forward report mapped more than 600,000 businesses across Britain to find each area’s ‘microbusiness density’ against every 100 residents.
Analysis has found a 23 per cent growth in the density of microbusinesses in East Devon over the past year.
Sidmouth sits on the Jurassic Coast and is surrounded by countryside and Blue Flag award-winning beaches.
Being a seaside resort, the town has lots of Regency charm and was well-liked by Queen Victoria. It has many places to shop, eat and explore – much of which is run by small business owners.
A trend seen in GoDaddy’s research was that constituencies along the coastline in the south of the UK were growing at an especially fast rate, whilst northern coastal constituencies were stagnating or declining.
The number of small businesses reached a record high last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. A total of 859,007 companies were registered in 2023, an increase of just under 75,000 on the previous year.
Andrew Gradon, head of GoDaddy UK & Ireland, said: “The UK’s small business community is in good health and we’ve seen growth in microbusiness density in most parts of the country.
“Many iconic coastal towns have been at the heart of this boom. The trend is particularly pronounced in the south of England, as people have moved out of London post-Covid.”