LAST week, the digital marketing company Yell Business published a report that revealed Llandudno is the start-up capital of the United Kingdom.

During 2021, more businesses formed in the town per capita than anywhere else throughout the UK.

Highlighting the report during a debate in Parliament on Tuesday (February 22), Aberconwy MP Robin Millar said: “Last September, Llandudno in Aberconwy was identified as having the fastest economic recovery in the UK and, last week, an analysis of Companies House filings identified it as the start-up capital of the UK.

“I pay tribute to the entrepreneurs and businesses for making that happen.

“Will my honourable friend the minister join me in Llandudno with some of those entrepreneurs to see how we can nurture those green shoots, secure the growth and turn Llandudno into a growth and enterprise hub for North Wales?”

George Freeman MP, the UK Government minister for science, research and innovation, responded by saying: “With pleasure.

“My honourable friend makes an important point: the Welsh dragon is roaring, not just on the rugby pitch and in tourism, where Llandudno is the queen of Welsh resorts, but in the science, research and innovation economy.

“With the North Wales energy corridor, the South Wales life sciences cluster and plant health at Aberystwyth, Wales is a science and innovation engine that we intend to support.

“I pay tribute to his work in the area and look forward to visiting the Llandudno cluster as part of our work on supporting clusters around the UK.”

Following the debate, Mr Millar said: “I welcome this report, but its findings will not be a surprise to anyone who is familiar with the entrepreneurial dynamism of Llandudno and, of course, that of communities throughout Aberconwy.

“Throughout the pandemic, the UK Government has provided unprecedented levels of financial support to businesses to manage their response to COVID-19.

“Tourism and hospitality, sectors that have been severely impacted by the pandemic, are central to our local economy, so the UK Government’s financial support has been particularly important to us here in Aberconwy.

“I will always wholeheartedly support the north Wales tourism industry but in the aftermath of the pandemic it is clear that to strengthen our local economy we must leverage our strengths in tourism and also diversify with complementary sectors that bring new high skilled and well-paid jobs.

“We have a superb quality of life offer to attract hi-tech and other innovators.

“I am determined to bring improved high speed broadband access to Llandudno and to communities throughout Aberconwy to enable the technology that everyone from hospitality to web services needs.

“I look forward to working with the UK Government and with businesses and stakeholders to fully unlock our entrepreneurial potential and to bring more high skilled, well-paid jobs to Aberconwy.”