City Spotlight: A Quick Guide to Franchising in Leeds
Alice Tuffery, writer
Published at 03/01/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min
Looking for the perfect location for your new franchise business? Leeds could be the ideal spot. In this quick guide, we’re covering all the perks of running your own business and franchising in Leeds.
With a highly skilled workforce and growing population of young employees, Leeds is a city with great potential for budding business owners. It has 829,000 residents, but a total of seven million people within an hour’s drive.
Here’s why you should consider franchising in Leeds.
An overview of Leeds
In Leeds, there are more than 1.4 million skilled professionals contributing to a GVA of almost £70 billion.
The region is also home to 126,000 businesses and the highest number of universities of any city outside London. They produce 39,000 graduates every year, and many stay in the area for work.
In fact, Leeds has a population with an average age of 38.1, compared to 40.3 in England and Wales, and more under-24-year-olds than any other area, excluding the South East. Overall, 64.6 percent of the population is of working age, between 16 and 64 - a larger share than in England and Wales as a whole, at 62.3 percent.
The typical Leeds worker can expect to earn around £35,300, just slightly lower than £38,600 in England. On average, homeowners pay £232,000 for property, much less than the £303,000 cost across the UK in general. And households have an average of 2.34 residents.
Leeds residents are spoilt for choice when it comes to airports, as there are three within an hour’s drive of the city. Leeds Bradford, Robin Hood Doncaster and Manchester Airport are all accessible to people living and working in Leeds. The region also has good road links to neighbouring cities; Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield are all connected to Leeds by motorway.
Running your own business in Leeds
Not sure which franchise you’ll join yet? Here are some of the most profitable industries for businesses in Leeds:
Manufacturing - The city has a strong history in manufacturing and currently employs 144,000 people generating 12 percent of Leeds’ economic output. More than 7,300 businesses are operating in the sector, and two thirds of them specialise in advanced processes, product development or R&D. They benefit from several new facilities, including the £5 million Kirklees College New Process Engineering Centre and the £11 million University Technical College.
Digital technology - Leeds is home to 20 of the fastest growing technology companies in the north of England. Sky’s Digital & Technology Services Campus and Sky Betting & Gaming have both established facilities in the region. Channel 4 also chose the city as a base for its headquarters, creating hundreds of jobs for local workers.
Healthcare - Four out of five of the NHS national offices are based in Leeds, as well as more than 196,000 healthcare and science workers. Every year, over 15,000 people graduate in STEM subjects from the nine universities across the region, and many stay on in the city for work. Leeds also has the UK’s biggest cluster of medical device businesses, which make up a fifth of all digital health technology jobs in Britain.
Financial and professional services - Leeds hosts the headquarters of three of the top five building societies in the UK, as well as Lloyds Banking Group’s biggest share of employees outside of London. The city is the UK’s second biggest hub for banking firms, employing more than 28,000 people in major banks and building societies alone.
Law - The legal sector in Leeds is expanding rapidly, and it’s currently the UK’s second largest centre for law firms, after the capital. Every year, its businesses generate around £300 million for the local economy.
>> Read more:
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Franchising in Leeds
Entrepreneurial spirit is strong in Leeds, with new businesses popping up all the time. It’s fast becoming a hotspot for young professionals and, thanks to the nine universities in the region, franchisees have access to a wide pool of skilled workers.
Technology, healthcare and professional services are leading the way when it comes to business in the city, so there’s great potential for entrepreneurs interested in franchising in Leeds. You only have to look at the franchise opportunities available in the IT, care and business services sectors to realise these areas are highly profitable for investors.
Here at Point Franchise, you can narrow down your franchise search to find opportunities in specific locations. Take a look at the franchises looking for new investors in the city of Leeds if you’re interested in running your own business there.
If you choose to start a franchise unit, you’ll be joining an extensive network of successful investors and business owners. There are countless opportunities to meet and mingle with like-minded entrepreneurs across Leeds, both as part of franchise businesses and the wider industries.
To get you started, we can highlight a couple of popular events. The Midlands Business Network Expo welcomes 100 exhibitors and over 1,000 visiting businesses from across the region every year. The organiser also hosts numerous business exhibitions, networking events and online marketing opportunities on a regular basis, to help its community of over 65,000 businesses grow and prosper.
>> Read more:
- 5 Tips for Developing Your Employees into Future Franchisees
- Being a Successful Franchisee Means Adopting an Entrepreneur Mindset
- 7 Common Habits of Successful Franchisees
- Mythbusters: Common Misconceptions About What Makes a Successful Franchisee
- Five Tips for Boosting Your Self-Confidence as a Business Owner
- Traits of an entrepreneur
The South Yorkshire Expo is also a great place to network with other business owners. If you book a ticket, you’ll have the chance to take part in seminars covering key business topics and explore and exhibition promoting a large selection of local organisations.
Start a franchise
If you’re ready to take your next steps along the path to running your own business in the franchising world, you might be interested in viewing more of our helpful franchise guides.
We create data-driven articles every day to help budding entrepreneurs launch and run successful businesses. From finding the perfect franchise opportunity to planning your exit strategy, you can find information on all aspects of the business ownership journey. Use the search box to find specific articles.
*Statistics taken from Plumplot.co.uk and InvestLeedsCityRegion.com
Alice Tuffery, writer