Recent research from Yell has revealed that 31,999 new businesses in the trades sector were founded in 2021, with 20% (6281) of those based around plumbing, heating and air conditioning. New HVAC businesses were second only to electrical firms, which accounted for 6598 new companies, or 21% of trades started.
Yell’s research also revealed the cities where entrepreneurs could find the biggest opportunities within the trades. This was achieved by analysing Google search demand for the likes of ‘London plumber’ versus the actual number of businesses offering these services in each area.
The data shows that key areas to start a heating and plumbing business include Belfast, Milton Keynes and Salisbury.
Demand for plumbers in Belfast was found to far outweigh the supply, with over 31 searches per listed firm, providing an opportunity for a plumber looking to go it alone. Similarly, Milton Keynes and Salisbury also showed significantly higher demand than supply for various trades services, making them equally strong bets for anyone looking to set up a new business.
| Business type | Top three locations based on searches per listing |
| Plumber | 1. Belfast (31.60)
2. Milton Keynes (27.07) 3. Newcastle upon Tyne (25.57) 4. Nottingham (24.75) 5. Oxford (23.17) |
| Heating engineer | 1. Salisbury (3.33)
2. Kilmarnock (2.93) 3. Canterbury (2.79) 4. Kirkcaldy (2.78) 5. Dorchester (2.73) |
Claire Miles, CEO of Yell, comments: “With the challenges of the last two years, we might expect to find that fewer people were deciding to take the leap into the world of starting and running their own business. However, the data clearly shows that it has potentially inspired more people to take ownership of what they do for a living and finally make the dream of running their own business come true.
“With the background of the pandemic and numerous economic and supply chain challenges, it’s really encouraging to see that the entrepreneurial spirit of the UK is continuing to grow year on year. We look forward to working with some of these new business owners in the trades sector in 2022, to help make their venture a success”.
Further breakdowns of these findings can be found in the full report published on: https://business.yell.com/sme-insight/the-entrepreneurial-spirit-of-the-uk
