Britain's top 100 Entrepreneurs 2009: Regional Analysis
Despite City woes, the South East stays in the lead. Industrial heartlands do well and the South West is on the up, but Wales sorely needs a Dragon
LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST
For sheer force of numbers, the South East can't be beat, with getting on for a third of our Top 100 based in and around London. Despite the carnage wreaked throughout the City - and the attendant dramatic reduction in the number of finance entrepreneurs on our list this year - it seems that the bottom right-hand corner of the nation can still lay claim to being the wealth-generating, as well as the geographical, capital of the UK. The entrepreneurial economy of this region is also diverse, with everything from service industries to high-tech, and from retail to food, well represented. The region boasts five of our overall top 10, more high-flyers than any other area. The 'average' south-eastern entrepreneur on our list is ranked 43rd, the second highest of any region (behind East Anglia), and their combined wealth is around £3.7bn. So although the downturn is set to hit this area hardest, thanks to the City's ongoing travails, it should nonetheless be resilient enough to take the blows and remain standing - bloodied, perhaps, but unbowed.
NORTH WEST