South Lakeland in Cumbria has emerged as one of the top UK areas for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to thrive.

The region was received an index score of 31.81 out of 100, placing it ninth in the country, according to a new study by Qardus.

The study, which utilised data from the Office for National Statistics, analysed various factors to calculate where SMEs are flourishing most.

These factors included changes in the active enterprises from 2021 to 2023, data on the birth and death of new enterprises from 2020 to 2022, changes in high growth enterprises, and the survival rates of SMEs over three to five years.

A scoring system called minimum to maximum normalisation was applied to the metrics, assigning scores ranging from zero to 10.

Zero represented the worst score, while 10 indicated the best score.

Qardus founder Hassan Daher said: "The findings of this study ultimately indicate that some local authorities are better equipped to host new SMEs than others.

"What is interesting to note is that no London based local authority ranked in the top ten, suggesting that it is difficult for SMEs to start out successfully in the capital."

Ceredigion in West Wales emerged as the top local authority for SMEs growth, notching a score of 29.03 out of 100.

Other areas with scores below 30 and ranking among the SME thriving regions included Selby, South Staffordshire, South Hams, and South Derbyshire.

SMEs are facing the most struggles in Bromsgrove, which recorded a score of 80.75 out of 100.

This is largely due to a 5.8 per cent five-year survival rate and a -30.22 per cent decrease in SME registrations between 2021 and 2023.

Other struggling regions included Rochdale, Worcestershire, Bury, Rossendale, Leicester, Cheshire East, Somerset West and Taunton, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Buckinghamshire.

They all recorded scores above 60, indicating challenging conditions for SMEs in these areas.