Brighton has been named one of the best places to start a business despite office rents being among the UK’s highest.

The city has been heralded as one of the best stomping grounds for small businesses with the highest survival rate of all the cities in the top ten.

However, the region is also among the costliest places to rent an office, with higher prices on average than Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Research by business experts Utility Bidder found that there are currently over 18,500 active businesses in Brighton and Hove. Of businesses in the city, the study also found that around 44 per cent of businesses survive.

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The study into the best places to start a business also took into account average net monthly pay for workers, the monthly cost of broadband and the percentage of the population with an NVQ level 4 qualification or above.

Conversely, Brighton was also found to have one of the highest rents for offices in the country based on cost per square foot of office space.

The research found that these costs ranged from £25 to £35 per square foot, compared to just £12 to £16 in other cities such as Newcastle.