Study maps out UK business gaps

The is no shortage of bookies or health clubs in Cheltenham.

If you are looking to buy a house in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea - and can afford the whopping property prices - then you should have no trouble finding a firm to help you out.

The area has more estate agents for every resident than any other part of England and Wales - according to a report by Barclays - one for every 173 people who live there.

However there could be trouble should you need your pipes lagging, an extension building or even just fancy picking up a paper and having a pint: the borough has a lower concentration of plumbers, builders, newsagents and pubs than anywhere else.

BUSINESS TYPES AND TOWNS WITH HIGHEST/LOWEST CONCENTRATION Accountants: Camden / Great Yarmouth B&Bs: Blackpool / Brent Builders: Ealing / Kensington Dentists: Exeter / Islington Doctors Surgeries: Doncaster / Hackney Electricians: Basildon/Kensington Estate agents: Great Yarmouth/Kensington Gambling & Betting: Hartlepool/Camden Golf clubs: St Albans/Ealing Hairdressers: Barnsley/Slough Health clubs: Cheltenham/Harrow Hotels: York/Hounslow Lawyers: Manchester/Cornwall Newsagents: Liverpool/Kensington Restaurants: Great Yarmouth/Bury Off licenses: Coventry/Shropshire Petrol stations: Sheffield/Ealing Plumbers: Doncaster/Hammersmith Pubs: Gateshead/Kensington Second hand cars: Doncaster/Hammersmith Takeaways: Middlesborough/Kensington Travel agents: Slough/Cornwall Source: Barclays

The Barclays trade map details how various types of business are spread out around the country.

Among its findings are that Liverpool has the most newsagents while Barnsley has the most hairdressers - with one for every 725 people.

And although St Albans' has the largest number of golf clubs per resident, it is easiest in Darlington to bet on Tiger Woods winning a tournament.

The town in north-east England has the widest choice of betting shops, followed by Hartlepool and the horse racing capital of the UK, Cheltenham.

Stereotypes shattered

Not all the data is particularly surprising.

In tourism, for example, Blackpool has the highest concentration of bed and breakfast businesses while, as a small town drawing many tourists, York tops the hotel league table.

But the research also goes some way to breaking stereotypes, for while Essex has a reputation as the home of second-hand car dealers, that honour in fact goes to Doncaster.

The survey suggests a dearth of tradespeople in inner London - with Westminster and Camden joining Kensington and Chelsea in having the lowest proportion of plumbers and electricians.

All three areas have about one plumbing firm per 6,000 of the population, compared with Norwich which has one plumber per 500 people.

Meanwhile towns in Essex have more electricians than elsewhere.

"Most of us have had experiences of trying to track down a plumber or electrician and this analysis highlights where different business types dominate" said John Davis, marketing director of Barclays Local Business.

The study showed the importance of small businesses - which make up more than 50% of the UK's GDP, he added.

"Whether it is going to the local for a pint, on holiday to a B&B or to the newsagent for a paper, all these services which we take for granted are provided by small business people up and down the country. Without them the country would just grind to a halt."