Northumbria and Newcastle universities in UK Top Three for graduate start-ups

Newcastle’s two universities have taken two of the top three slots in a national table ranking businesses started by its graduates.

The city’s reputation as a breeding ground for budding entrepreneurs has been boosted after Northumbria University topped the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey (HEBCIS) for the third year running, while Newcastle University was ranked third.

The survey said businesses started by Northumbria University start-ups had a combined turnover of £81.5m, while Newcastle’s were worth £40.3m. They were separated only by Edinburgh University, with Northumbria maintaining top spot from last year and Newcastle moving up from fifth.

Graduates from the two universities have started award-winning businesses that include Noveltea, which turned down investment from Dragons’ Den and then made four times as much through crowdfunding, and the Teashed, whose MD Jules Quinn was named on Forbes’ list of top European young entrepreneurs.

Lucy Winskell, pro vice-chancellor for employability and partnerships at Northumbria, said: “Northumbria has now been ranked the top university in the UK for graduate start-ups for five out of the past six years, which is an exceptional achievement.

“We are extremely proud of our entrepreneurial students and graduates and the significant contribution their businesses are making to employment and economic growth.