Study says South Holland one of the worst places for entrepreneurs to start business - but data is labelled outdated
A Lincolnshire district has been labelled as one of the worst places in the country for entrepreneurs to start a business - but the local authority argues the claims are outdated.
A newly-released study says South Holland sits fourth in the lowest-rated regions in England to start a business.
However, South Holland District Council leader Nick Worth said plenty of business opportunities in the area have been forthcoming since the data for the studies was compiled.
The study, conducted by business energy experts Utility Bidder, analysed factors such as GDP, business survival rates, transport links, education and office efficiency ratings to reveal the best and worst regions for UK entrepreneurs to get to work.
With a score of 2.28 out of 10, only South Tyneside (1.71), Walsall (2.23) and Castle Point (2.24) received a lower overall score.
Across eight categories South Holland suffers from a 52.7mbps median download speed and only 40.4% businesses survive five years. There is a 73.3% for employment rate, GDP per capita is £28,973 and just 16.7% of people have level 4 qualifications or higher (equivalent to a higher apprenticeship).
There are 428.9 for office sector properties per 100,000 people, just one railway stations per 100,000 people and only 28.3% of non-domestic properties have positive energy efficiency ratings (A+, A or B). All of these contribute to a low score — and South Holland is the only area in Lincolnshire and Rutland to be among the worst performing area in the study.
However, Coun Nick Worth highlighted many business positives from his patch.
“In South Holland we are lucky to have a fantastic range of unique and pioneering businesses, looking beyond just the office-based careers assessed in this marketing study to become established national and world leaders in areas like agri-food, logistics, manufacturing and horticulture,” he said.
“Innovation and investment in both industries and our workers is clear to see, with exciting developments like the Food Enterprise Zone in Holbeach, Spalding Gateway, Clay Lake and Wardentree Business Hub continuing to grow, as well as increasing employment levels, up 5% to become the second highest in Lincolnshire since the time of this study.
“As a council we have a clear ‘open-for-business’ stance, and are always keen to hear ambitions and visions for new enterprises, to see if we can help them to become a reality.”
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LincsOnline asked Utility Bidder to clarify what years the data was taken from, and they provided us with the following breakdown: median download speed 2024; five-year business survival rate 2018 to 2023; employment rate 2024; GDP per capita 2022; people with level 4 qualifications or higher 2021; office sector properties per 100,000 people 2024; train stations per 100,000 people 2024; non-domestic properties with positive Energy Efficiency Ratings (A+, A or B) 2024.
With a score of 7.55, nearby Lincoln was named the top business hoptspot in the East Midlands.
Guildford was found to be the best area in England for starting a business in 2025, earning a score of 9.14.
The most energy-efficient region in England is Wokingham, with over 70% of its non-domestic properties earning an energy efficiency rating of A+, A or B while Wyre Forest, in Worcestershire, has the highest employment rate in the country at 88.8% and West Devon saw the highest five-year business survival rate of 59.0%.
Across the UK, only 8.75% of local authorities have a five-year business survival rate of 50% or higher.
Manchester has the most office properties, with 1,426.1 per 100,000 people, while High Peak, a local authority in the Peak District, has the most train stations per 100,000 people at 15.3 per 100,000.