Manchester Named Best UK City for Women Entrepreneurs Outside London

Manchester has been named the best UK city outside London for women to start a business, according to new research released this week by National Women’s Enterprise Week. The findings point to a significant shift in where female entrepreneurs are choosing to build their companies, and raise important questions about whether funding and support are keeping up.

What the Research Found

The survey, carried out by Sapio Research and covering 1,000 UK female entrepreneurs, found that 41% named Manchester as either the best or second-best city outside London to launch a business. More than one in four (27%) put Manchester in the top spot outright. Birmingham followed at 14%, with Liverpool at 5%.

Over half (52%) of women entrepreneurs surveyed agreed that building a business outside London now offers greater opportunities than it did five years ago. The reasons cited include lower costs, greater flexibility, and stronger regional networks.

However, the research also highlights a persistent support gap. Only 35% of women entrepreneurs said they have all the access and backing they need to grow their business. A further 42% said they have some support but could use more. The top two challenges for women growing a business from their current location were a lack of funding and low visibility, each cited by 27% of respondents.

Why Manchester?

Manchester’s rise as a hub for female entrepreneurs reflects a broader trend of business activity moving away from the capital. The city has a growing ecosystem of co-working spaces, networking groups, accelerator programmes, and investor communities that actively support women-led businesses.

Organisations like Female Founder UK, which recently expanded its events from Teesside to Manchester and London, and Connect Women in Biz, which runs multiple weekly events across Yorkshire, are part of a growing regional infrastructure that simply did not exist five years ago.

Alison Cork MBE, founder of National Women’s Enterprise Week, said Manchester topping the list was significant, but that the bigger story lay in what it revealed about the changing geography of British enterprise. The findings suggest that London-centric assumptions about where high-growth businesses are built risk disadvantaging founders who are deliberately choosing to build outside the capital.

The Funding Gap Remains

Despite the growing strength of regional entrepreneurship, the numbers on funding remain stark. As Prowess has reported in our Women in Business Statistics, just 2% of UK equity investment goes to female founders, while all-male teams receive over 80% of venture capital. The Invest in Women Taskforce has secured £635 million to address this, but the majority of that capital is still concentrated in London.

The survey’s finding that 27% of women entrepreneurs cite lack of funding as their top barrier to growth echoes the Rise Report published earlier this year by Female Founders Rise and Barclays, which found that 45% of 2,225 female founders named funding challenges as their primary obstacle.

For women building businesses in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, and other regional cities, the challenge is not just accessing capital but being visible to the investors and networks that control it. The research suggests that the infrastructure is improving, but it has not yet caught up with the ambition.

What This Means for Women Starting a Business

If you are considering starting a business outside London, the research confirms what many women already know from experience: the regions offer real advantages in terms of cost, flexibility, and community. Manchester in particular has established itself as a credible alternative to the capital for women-led businesses across technology, creative industries, professional services, and retail.

The practical steps for making the most of regional opportunities include tapping into local women’s business networks and accelerator programmes, applying for regional grants and funding (many Local Enterprise Partnerships and Growth Hubs offer specific support for women entrepreneurs), using co-working spaces and events to build visibility and connections, and registering with the Business and IP Centre at your local library, which offers free business support and has been shown to generate £6.63 for every £1 of public money spent.

The gap between regional ambition and regional support is closing, but it is not closed yet. The women who thrive outside London are the ones who actively seek out the networks, funding, and visibility that are available, rather than waiting for them to arrive.

For more on building your business network, explore our guide to women’s business networks across the UK and grants available for women in business.