This is why Crawley is in top 10 list of best places towns and cities to work for a small business in the UK

Crawley is the best place to work for a small business in the South East, according to new research.
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And the town appears seventh overall in iwoca's inaugural Top 25 Towns & Cities for SME Jobs in the UK list.

The list, which ranks areas using ONS data on average wage, commute, job density, house price and growth of the number of small businesses, found that Glasgow, Manchester and Derby are the top three areas to consider if you want to work for a small business.

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Christoph Rieche, co-founder and CEO of iwocaChristoph Rieche, co-founder and CEO of iwoca
Christoph Rieche, co-founder and CEO of iwoca
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Crawley emerges near the top of this year's list, scoring highly on shortness of commute and the number of jobs available per worker and its residents spend on average 23 minutes commuting between work and home, compared to 50 minutes in Richmond upon Thames.

There are also an abundance of jobs available in Crawley with over 1 job available for every person of working age. And Crawley beat Southampton for the title of best town or city in the South East.

Although traditionally seen as the key destination for graduates in the UK and a centre for jobs for the wider workforce, Greater London does not feature in the Top 25. Areas in the capital fall outside the top 150 for growth in small business numbers and in the bottom third for house prices. While workers in Greater London can expect to enjoy higher wages, they are also likely to face some of the longest commute times in the country and higher house prices.

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Christoph Rieche, iwoca’s CEO and co-founder said: “The pandemic has fundamentally changed the life choices we make. It has changed the way we work, where we want to be based and has made many people across the country consider if their current career or company they work for is the right one for them.

“The big corporations grab the headlines and have the profile, but it’s the small businesses who are making this country tick. It's really promising to see so many smaller towns and cities feature so prominently in our research of top spots for SME jobs. Britain’s thriving small businesses can be found in all corners of this country, creating jobs that make a real difference to communities, supporting the growth of local economies.”

iwoca is accredited to the Recovery Loan Scheme, having distributed nearly £400 million to small businesses through the Government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).