Edinburgh named best city in the UK for coworking

Edinburgh has been named as the UK’s leading city for coworking , according to a study from MoneySuperMarket. The firm analysed 18 cities across the UK against key factors, such as the cost per workstation, business insurance and the number of office spaces available, to see which cities are deemed the most desirable places to co-work. The research found Edinburgh to be the best city for coworking spaces, due to its competitive coworking prices, broadband speeds and low number of insurance claims. Brighton and Hove on the other hand ranked last, due to the limited and costly desk space. Although London has the highest number of coworking spaces, the high costs of working in London ensured it finished near the bottom of the list based on the criteria used in the study.

The top five ranking cities were: :

1. Edinburgh – Surpassing the UK’s capital in terms of its coworking capacity, Edinburgh also fared excellently on coworking prices, local broadband speed, and a low number of business insurance claims.
2. Leeds – With low prices on workspaces and among the lowest volumes of business insurance claims, Leeds only faltered slightly when it came to availability of spaces compared with other UK cities.
3. Bristol – A growing business centre for those looking for opportunities outside of London, Bristol surprisingly had below average numbers of coworking spaces but made up for this with its low costs and high broadband speeds.
4. Northampton – As well as a low number of insurance claims and near chart-topping broadband speeds, Northampton has access to the SEMLEP Growth Hub, which offers advice and an extended reach in seeking out worthwhile finance options.
5. Nottingham – The East Midlands city offers one of the lowest average costs for coworking spaces in the country. The Creative Quarter also makes being a young business in this area even more attractive, offering grants and funding for tech and life science businesses, including a loan between £500 and £25,000 at a 6% interest rate over five years to start-ups in the area.

Despite the highest total number of coworking spaces and decent availability even when high competition for space is factored in, London’s exorbitant workstation prices and high costs on business insurance policies relegated it to 16th position out of the 18 cities analysed. The capital beat only Newcastle, where a lack of spaces contributed to the low ranking, and the aforementioned Brighton and Hove.