Northern towns are the fastest growing areas for businesses and are outstripping the south when it comes to attracting new firms, according to latest findings from Royal Mail’s Business Barometer, which tracks data from the UK’s top 100 towns and cities.

Middlesborough, which finished a lowly 100 in the last such survey, has jumped to the top of the table. Carlisle and Belfast have also been identified as some of the fastest-growing areas for businesses.

‘The latest findings highlight the ever-changing business environment throughout the UK. Companies can also assess which are the prime areas for their own re-location as they grow in size,’ commented Shaun Randles, head of data development at Royal Mail.

A third of businesses surveyed moved out of an area to locate somewhere new. Exeter is the only southern town to make the top ten, achieving a 0.9 per cent growth in its business population.