Argyll shows it is the business

ARGYLL and Bute towns are among the most entrepreneurial in Scotland, according to new data issued by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Figures collated by FSB in Scotland show the proportion of people who work for themselves in 479 Scottish towns, cities and suburbs.

Fourteen out of 15 Argyll and Bute towns included in the national data have higher than the 6.4 per cent average figure for self- employment.

The top performing Argyll and Bute towns are Tarbert and Kilcreggan where there is 15.44 per cent and 13.39 per cent self- employment respectively. In Oban, one in 10 people are self- employed.

The villages are among Scotland’s top 10 most entrepreneurial towns, while Ullapool in the Highlands has the highest self- employment figure of 17.9 per cent.

Hisashi Kuboyama, FSB’s development manager, said: ‘Argyll and Bute is a small business economy and these figures on self- employment support that view.

‘This data shows the most successful local communities have high numbers of people who are their own boss.

‘Unsurprisingly, popular tourist destinations are awash with smaller firms. Scotland’s market towns still have thriving business communities too.

‘ While it is pleasing that almost all of the local towns included here are above the national average for entrepreneurship, the wide gap between top and bottom towns shows where our business support agencies can focus their attention.

‘There are now more than 200,000 Scottish people who are self- employed – more than the number of people who work for the NHS or Scottish local authorities.’