Entrepreneurial Tide Rising in UK's Historic Shipbuilding Towns and Cities

Three of five fastest-growing small business areas have shipbuilding heritage, research shows.

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / October 14, 2025 /

• Belfast - perhaps the place most famous for shipbuilding in the country - recorded the highest small business annual growth rate (+241%) anywhere in the country, followed by Birkenhead (+63%), and Poplar and Limehouse in London (+50%)

• Other places with historic maritime sectors - Stockton (+32%), Hartlepool (+29%) and Dagenham (+27%) - feature in the top 20

Many former shipbuilding and shipping industry buildings across these locations have been turned into hubs for small businesses and entrepreneurs

UK entrepreneurs are thriving in areas with a strong shipbuilding heritage, new GoDaddy research shows.

The research highlights that Belfast North, Birkenhead, and Poplar and Limehouse are among the top five fastest-growing constituencies for small business density in the United Kingdom over the past 12 months. All three are historically known for their connections to the shipping industry.

Meanwhile, small business communities in Stockton, Hartlepool, and Dagenham - all places with historic shipping sectors - are flourishing, as all feature in the top 20.

The new data comes from the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab, which studies the economic impact of more than 600,000 small businesses in the UK, as well as the attitudes of their owners.

GoDaddy helps entrepreneurs at every stage - from getting an idea off the ground to growing their business online.

Shipbuilding communities reinvented as small business hubs

GoDaddy's analysis shows that Belfast North is the UK's fastest-growing entrepreneurial constituency, and the only area outside of England to feature in the Top 10. Spanning much of the city's famous docklands to the north of the Lagan Estuary, the constituency saw a 241% increase in microbusiness density across the past 12 months.

The growth in the area follows a concerted effort from Stormont, which launched a programme - ‘Go Succeed' - to support entrepreneurs across the region, including one-to-one business support and nearly £2m of funding.¹ The city has also worked to ensure that small businesses can find a home in the heart of the capital. Belfast's ‘Titanic Quarter' is located on the former Harland & Wolff shipyard. This mixed-use redevelopment has become a hub for small businesses and contributes to the city's economic growth.