London has been named the best city in the UK to start a beauty business according to a new report.
According to ONS figures, the number of businesses offering ‘hairdressing and other beauty services’ has steadily increased over recent years, reaching a staggering 49,295 last year.
The research comes from the team at Money.co.uk Business, who looked at which cities in the UK offer the best opportunity for beauty business owners based on demand, competition and disposable income.
The best UK cities to own a beauty business
Hair Salon – London tops the list, perhaps unsurprisingly, as the country’s largest and highest-earning city. Despite having low searches for hair salons (4,936 per 100,000 people), the capital scores well for every other factor.
For example, its average review score for hair salons (4.78 out of 5) is among the lowest, meaning there’s ample opportunity for new salons to impress. It also has a relatively low number of hair salons per 100,000 people, suggesting lower competition, and high disposable income, meaning customers have more to spend.
Makeup Artist – For makeup artists, London is again the top city.
This is mainly due to the city’s high disposable income and large population, which means that its makeup artists per 100,000 people are the lowest.
Nail Salon – Regarding nail salons, London came out on top again, scoring 9.74 out of 10. As is the case across each section of our rankings, London has the highest GDHI, at £31,094 per person, meaning people have more money to spend on beauty treatments.
But it also scored well for every other factor, with a low density of salons (given its vast population), low average review scores, but high search demand.
Lash Technician – London takes the top spot again regarding the best cities for lash technicians, scoring 8.95 out of 10.
As well as its high disposable income, London has just 6 lash techs per 100,000 people, meaning competition is low. It also has 479 searches per 100,000 for lash techs.
Skincare Clinic – As with all other beauty businesses, London leads the ranking, this time with a score of 8.82.
The capital has the highest number of searches for skin care experts, with over 1,000 per 100,000 people and the highest disposable income.
Waxing Salon – Lastly, London leads the ranking again for waxing, with a very high score of 9.08 out of 10.
As well as its high disposable income, it scores well for each factor. In particular, there are just 4 waxing salons per 100,000 people in the capital, suggesting low competition.
Kyle Eaton, money.co.uk business insurance expert, offers insight into what type of business insurance beauty businesses need and what these policies cover:“For businesses in the beauty industry, having the right insurance coverage is essential to protect against potential liabilities and risks associated with their services“.
