The
Santander Enterprise Index (SEI)shows that all UK regions perform well by EU standards, with London and the South East in particular having a high “aspiration premium”.
The SEI ranks the “entrepreneurial ecosystem” present in the 12 geographical regions of the country, the economic and cultural environment which is provided for entrepreneurs. The more efficient the ecosystem, the more likely it is that entrepreneurship will flourish.
It shows that the London region and the South East perform extremely well relative to other regions, respectively ranked second and ninth of all EU regions.
By contrast, the East Midlands, Wales and the North East don’t score as strongly and are ranked 42nd, 45th and 59th of the 125 across Europe.
The SEI indicates that the success of London and the South East is owing to the strong aspirations of the local population.
Spreading this “aspiration premium” to the rest of the country will help improve entrepreneurial ecosystems and lift the economic performance of the whole of the UK.
Ana Botin, chief executive of Santander UK, said: “Enterprise is a crucial engine of economic growth – enterprise and entrepreneurs drive innovation, productivity growth, and job creation.
“By building partnerships we can develop entrepreneurship ‘ecosystems’ to support today’s successful modern entrepreneurs; and thus enable regional and national economies to thrive.
“The Santander Enterprise Index will help start a conversation on how to unlock potential across the UK; to a point where success becomes inevitable.”
Santander commissioned the world-renowned Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) to develop the Index.
GEDI’s analysis shows that while societal and economic infrastructure in the rest of the UK is strong, entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs do not appear to be displaying the same confidence to take advantage of it as their peers in London; too few are getting new products to market, adopting new technologies, or exporting their products and services overseas.
GEDI believes that this relative weakness in aspirations may be acting as a bottleneck that is preventing UK regions from performing at their maximum potential.
The bank has launched a package of support to nurture entrepreneurship, including the £58m Santander Fin-Tech Fund that targets start-ups in the fin-tech sector, and the Santander Business Incubator in Liverpool.
Santanderis the first UK bank to create a physical environment, which provides early stage SMEs with fast-growth potential access to space, facilities and support. The scheme does not take equity in the start-ups (unlike many other schemes that take 6 to 8%), nor charge for office space.
The new “Santander Passport” also gives customers carrying out business abroad access to the same services at the group’s subsidiaries in other countries, providing them with dedicated local support as in their home market, taking into account their overall relationship with the bank.