Worthing is recognised as having the most ‘dynamic economy’ across the Coastal West Sussex region, a recent report commissioned by the Coastal West Sussex Partnership found.
Photo by Freedom Works
The report showed that while Worthing has an equally high rate of business closures over the last 5 years, it also had an equally high rate of business start up (business births averaged at 11.2% compared to business closures at 11.1%).
Economists believe business creation rates are a good measure of an economy’s dynamism. High rates of start ups as well as a high rate of business closures (business churn) is a sign of a dynamic economy.
Adur & Worthing’s Economic Strategy 2018-2023, also reported on Worthing’s active economy.
It found the town’s business creation rate for 2015 was 12.5% of its stock – outperforming the West Sussex and Coastal West Sussex average rates.
While the Coastal West Sussex Partnership report found that business closure in Worthing was highest within the Coastal West Sussex area, the Economic Strategy saw that Worthing’s five-year survival rates for new businesses are better than the average for Coast to Capital; five-year survival rates for businesses born in 2010 were 43.2% in 44.3% in Worthing compared to 42.9% for the LEP area – another a positive sign.
Add to this, growth in the business base; (during the period between 2010 and 2016, as we came out of the economic downturn of 2008/9), Adur and Worthing saw a 17% net increase in the number of businesses, and it’s easy to see that Worthing’s economy is vibrant.
Of course, while the town is undergoing a rapid renaissance fuelled by entrepreneurial small businesses and independent retailers, Worthing is home to long-standing businesses too. Plastic manufacturing company Nordell LTD who were founded in Worthing in 1968, is a great example of this, having just celebrated their 50th anniversary.
While Worthing’s performance for business creation, survival and growth is positive, to continue to grow, it’s vital that the town’s businesses services do too.
“It’s fantastic to see Worthing’s business economy being so dynamic,” Caroline Wood, Director of the Coastal West Sussex Partnership says. “But to compete with coastal neighbours, like Brighton and Hove, we need to ensure that the town offers businesses all they need.
“From having a range of good quality premises, an efficient transport infrastructure, ultrafast and reliable digital connectivity, plus access to people with the right skills, this is something that we at the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, Adur and Worthing Councils and other organisations are working towards, to make sure Worthing continues to attract a variety of businesses.”
Read more about how we’re doing this here: https://coastalwestsussex.org.uk/about-us/.