London No Longer UK’s Best Business Growth Region

When it comes to areas with the highest business growth potential, London has traditionally been top dog. According to new research from Growth Flag, however, the English capital has been toppled by an unlikely rival.

Perth and Kinross in central Scotland pipped more metropolitan areas for business growth potential, surpassing Southwark as the UK’s best. Despite the London region benefitting from its close links and proximity to world-class professional and financial services, the Scottish upstart has taken the top spot.

This isn’t even their first time at the top. “This is the second year in a row Perth and Kinross has been recognised as the best place in the UK for business growth potential” remarked Perth and Kinross Council Leader, Eric Drysdale.

“This tremendous success is a result of the hard work, resilience and innovation of our business community, and the underlying strength and diversity of our local economy.”

The gateway to the highlands…and business growth

Perth’s mixture of strong tourism and successful food, drink, and energy industries have meant that those familiar with the area are unsurprised by the recent accolade.

Managing Director of Forbes Burton, Rick Smith, can see the merits of the area “I think a lot of folk outside of Scotland are guilty of imaging life outside of Glasgow and Edinburgh as many rural and sparse, but cities like Perth show that there’s much more to Scotland in business terms than just those two. Perth alone is home to huge employers such as Highland Spring, Aviva, and SSE” he explained.

Indeed, when looking at Growth Flag’s analysis of the area, you can see that over 11% of Perth companies are expected to generate growth of around a fifth in 2026. This compares favourably to the baseline 9% of all UK businesses.

Scotland becoming a strong option for business

Perth and Kinross isn’t the only Scottish location to be doing well. In fact, there were two others that ended up in the top ten (and they weren’t Glasgow or Edinburgh either).

Aberdeen, long renowned for it’s engineering prowess, came sixth in the list. The city houses over 1,200 high-performing businesses and specialises in energy companies and cleantech.

Meanwhile, in ninth place, Moray is demonstrating great growth potential. The county, which contains several towns such as Elgin and Lossiemouth, is home to several innovative businesses. One of those, Orbex, provides orbital launch services for satellites.

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