Overview
Tameside exhibits a diverse economic landscape, with significant activity in wholesale and retail trade, construction, and professional services. Despite no recent IPOs, there’s notable employment growth and business development, indicating a dynamic local economy. Key indicators, such as company formations and scaleups, suggest a robust environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and exporters. The gender diversity in founding and director roles, although skewed towards male dominance, shows potential for improvement.
Employment and Business Growth
- Total Employees: 52,372. The region saw an increase of 281 employees in key sectors, underlining a healthy employment market.
- Employee Growth Percentage: 9.34%. This positive trend signals a thriving business environment, encouraging further investment and development.
- Top Sectors for Employee Growth: Not explicitly provided, but inferred from the number of companies in sectors such as wholesale/retail trade and construction.
Sector Dynamics
- Leading Sectors: Wholesale/retail trade and construction lead, with professional services also prominent.
- Top Sectors by Company Count: Wholesale/retail trade (2,014 companies), construction (1,499), and professional services (1,352).
- Rising Sectors: Educational services, analytics, e-commerce, information services, and SaaS are sectors with emerging company growth, suggesting diversification.
Company Trends
- Total Companies: 11,414, indicating a strong and diverse business community.
- New Companies in Last 2 Years: 3,384, showcasing a significant entrepreneurial spirit and business formation rate.
- Total SMEs: 8,247, a backbone of the local economy.
- Scaleups: 40, highlighting successful growth stories in the region.
- Exporters: 303, underscoring the international reach of local businesses.
- Companies with Foreign Parentage: 94, reflecting international investment and confidence in the local market.
Innovation and Funding
- Fundraisings: 2, a somewhat low figure that suggests potential for increased investment activities.
- Patent Owners: 320, indicative of a focus on innovation and technological advancement.
- Grantees: 4, highlighting a modest level of grant-supported activities.
Diversity in Leadership
- Founders Gender Percentage: 12.5% female, 84.375% male, 3.125% unknown.
- Directors Gender Percentage: 26.22% female, 70.62% male, 3.16% unknown, suggesting a gender gap in leadership roles.
- Age Distribution of Directors: Distribution across various age groups, with a higher concentration in the 50-60 age bracket.
Business Continuity
- Company Cessations: 1,362, which is a normal part of the business lifecycle but requires monitoring for economic health.
Conclusion
Tameside’s economic landscape is characterised by a strong SME presence, diverse sector activity, and positive employment growth. While there’s room for improvement in innovation and gender diversity in leadership roles, the local economy shows resilience and potential for future growth.