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Want to give your tech startup the best chance of success? Move to Havering

A new study of the best places to establish a tech startup in London has found that the commonly accepted tech enclaves are no match for Havering when it comes to startup survival rates.

The figures, released by Talentful, analysed a complete list of startups which were founded in 2014 and compared this with data from late 2015 to find out how many had survived their bumpy first year in business.

It found that the Outer London borough of Havering fared best with just over 91% of startups surviving their first year according to the figures despite having a low proportion of graduates (26%) making up its workforce.

Tech startup survival rates in Islington meanwhile were the lowest of the capital’s 33 boroughs, with less than 75% of early-stage businesses surviving the first 12 months followed by Westminster and Lambeth.

The higher average cost of desk space in London’s more fashionable areas plus the greater competition for talent served to offset the benefits of greater connectivity and higher proportion of graduates.

Other boroughs that the study found to provide favourable conditions for tech startups in more off the beaten track boroughs included Hillingdon, which had the cheapest average desk space at £174.49 per month, and Redbridge, where nearly 45% of the workforce had a degree.

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