Are you starting a new business or looking to relocate? When weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of where to set up your business, Glasgow is a great city to consider. Glasgow is a lively and welcoming city overflowing with character and great experiences. You’ll find world-class visitor attractions, unique neighbourhoods, stunning architecture, phenomenal food and drink scene and legendary nightlife.
Many people default to London as the best place for businesses; however, with costs ever rising, we have six reasons why Glasgow is a much better choice.
Low Cost of Living
Figures show that Glasgow is 20% cheaper to live in than London and up to 10% cheaper than the rest of the UK. With the cost of living in Glasgow far lower than in London, Edinburgh or Manchester, business employees can expect to pay less to sustain a good standard of living, creating happier environments in the workplace.
Happy employees are not the only benefit to a lower cost of living in Glasgow, as businesses can also expect to pay less for office and retail spaces. Finding the perfect space for your business can be challenging, but with experts like stelmain.com on hand, you can’t go wrong.
Whether you’re looking for office or retail space, there’s plenty to choose from in Glasgow. Choosing a stunning, old-fashioned building with huge windows can make a massive impact on your customers, but Glasgow’s modern buildings have their charms too. Like most new buildings, they’re often better insulated and more energy-efficient than their Victorian or older neighbours. Which is something that can help keep overheads down. Newer buildings are also more likely to have been built with business needs in mind, making them more fit for purpose than an older building that has been adapted.
The Shopping Capital of the North
Glasgow has the largest retail space outside of London, with the biggest variety of brands than anywhere in the UK. People from all over Scotland and beyond travel to Glasgow for the shopping. Glasgow’s tourist information even has ultimate guides for newcomers to make the most out of their shopping trip.
If you’re in the retail business, you could be at the centre of the bustling action on Glasgow’s Style Mile, where you’ll find the majority of the city’s stores.
More Access to Talented Graduates
Glasgow is home to four universities, all highly respected across their different areas of education; Glasgow School of Art, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian. Boasting more students and graduates per person than in London, Glasgow has an immense talent pool for any business needs.
Fantastic Transport Links and Ongoing Improvement Schemes
Outside of London, Glasgow has the UK’s best suburban rail network, where passenger numbers have had rapid growth over the last decade. The Glasgow Connectivity Commission, set up in 2017, published a report at the end of 2018 calling for significant changes to Glasgow’s roads, footpaths, and cycle lanes to better serve everyone in the city.
Phase 2 of the plans to improve the city’s connectivity were announced in April 2019, calling for a £10 billion investment into the current public transport infrastructure. Projects included building a new light rail system to utilise disused lines and linking up parts of the city with no fixed transport assets. Improvements to the bus network have been announced alongside these plans, with recommendations to add dedicated lanes on the city’s motorways and reductions in fares.
The congestion on its roads is nowhere near as bad as in other cities. Its proximity to the Stenaline ferry from Cairnryan is a brilliant perk for businesses in need of transporting goods to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. With many more plans yet to be implemented, the city will continuously improve public and private transport.
Access to Business Grants
No matter how well you’re doing or if you’re just starting out, additional funds in business are a fantastic asset to have on hand.
Glasgow City council have a wide range of grants for every business need. The New Business Start-Up Grant awards up to £1,000 to new businesses before opening or in the first six months of trading. The West of Scotland Loan Fund can help start-up SMEs with funding up to £30,000 and many more that can be found on the council website.
Famously Friendly Year after Year
Ranking first in the Rough Guides’ Friendliest Cities in the World’, Glaswegians are famous for their friendly natures. Glasgow is regularly voted as the friendliest city in the world by visitors, but these votes are back up by locals own experiences of living and working in the city centre.
Bright smiles and friendly interactions happen everywhere you go in Glasgow, and this excellent attitude is a perfect addition to the workplace.
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