Welsh city among worst in UK for business survival, research finds

Nation.Cymru Staff

A Welsh city has been ranked among the worst places in the UK for business survival, with just over a third of new firms still trading after five years, according to new research.

In the wake of reports that 50,000 British firms are in critical financial distress, while 36% of UK small businesses say they are stuck in survival mode, new data from the Liquidation Centre suggests only around two in five businesses established between 2012 and 2019 survived their first five years.

Of the three Welsh cities included in the research, Newport recorded the lowest five-year business survival rate at 34.4%, ranking 82nd out of 84 UK towns and cities analysed.

According to research from Centre for Cities in 2025, Newport’s city centre high street has a shop vacancy rate of 19%, more than double the UK national average.

Although footfall has increased every year since 2021, shops in the centre are still closing, with big names like River Island and M&S shutting their doors.

In the wake of these closures, the city’s council said: “Recent high-profile closures have occurred in many other towns and cities – this isn’t just a Newport problem.”

Older businesses have also felt the strain, with beloved Newport business The Wardrobe, which originally opened in 1989, citing the cost of living crisis as a reason for its closure in January 2026.

In June 2026, weeks before becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham suggested converting empty shops into homes to breathe new life into the city centre.

Burnham told Newport’s council leader: “People say ‘it’ll make us a dormitory town’ – well we’ve got to move beyond that language, because if you build modern living accommodation in the heart of towns, or the city of Newport, you bring a new generation to live in the centre.

“That makes it a 24/7 economy rather than [one where] everything closes at 5pm.

“New life, new places spring up, energy comes through – that’s absolutely what’s happening in Stockport right now, and I can see all of the same happening in Newport.”

Swansea ranked 72nd at 37.0%, while Cardiff performed better, placing 39th with a survival rate of 40.5%.

Elsewhere in the UK, the data suggests a regional divide in business survival rates, with the north west of England recording a five-year survival rate of 39.6%, while the north east stood at 40.2%, compared with 45.2% in the South West.

Two of the four Scottish cities analysed also fell below the 39.8% average.

Richard Hunt, Director at Liquidation Centre, says: “What’s particularly striking about these figures is the scale of the gap between locations. A five-year survival rate of 33.5% in Doncaster compared with 46.7% in Bath shows that businesses are operating in very different local economic environments and that there are clear regional disparities.

“Of course, location is only one part of the picture. Survival will also depend on factors including sector, business model, management, access to finance and the individual financial position of the business.

“But the regional differences suggest that the wider economic environment can have a significant bearing on a business’s ability to survive those crucial first five years.”

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