How to Start a Business in Hull & East Yorkshire

Hull and East Yorkshire has a long tradition of people having a go. The region's economy now takes in ports and logistics, offshore wind and renewable energy, food manufacturing, chemicals, digital and creative businesses, and a visitor economy that runs from Hull's Old Town out to the coast at Bridlington, Hornsea and Withernsea. Alongside the large employers, much of that economy is made up of small firms, sole traders and family businesses.

If you are thinking of joining them, this guide sets out the steps in a sensible order, with links to our more detailed guides along the way. It applies whether you are planning a café in Hull city centre, a trades business in Goole, an online shop run from a spare room in Cottingham or a consultancy in Beverley.

Step 1: Test the idea before you spend money

The biggest risk for any new business is building something people won't pay for. Before you spend on stock, premises or branding, find cheap ways to prove that the demand is there.

• Talk to the people you hope will buy from you. Ask what they do now, what they pay and what frustrates them.
• Make a handful of real sales, even informally, through friends of friends or a simple online listing.
• Take a stall at a local market or event, where you get instant feedback on the product and the price.
• Look hard at your competitors, including online businesses that already sell into the area.

For desk research, the Business & IP Centre at Hull Central Library offers free business resources, workshops and one-to-one sessions, and it has local centres in Beverley, Bridlington and Goole. It can also help if you have a name, design or invention you want to protect.

Step 2: Write a short business plan

Once you are confident there is demand, put the idea on paper: who your customers are, how you will reach them, what you will charge, what it will cost to run and how much money you need to get going. Give the cash-flow forecast the most attention, because running out of cash is what tends to sink new businesses, even ones that are selling well. Our step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan takes you through each section.

Step 3: Choose your legal structure

Most new businesses start either as a sole trader or as a limited company. Being a sole trader is quick, free and simple, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A limited company is a separate legal entity that offers limited liability and can be more tax-efficient at higher profits, in exchange for more admin and public filings. If you are starting with someone else, a partnership or a company with more than one shareholder are the usual choices. We compare tax, National Insurance and paperwork for the 2026/27 tax year in our guide to self-employed vs limited company in the UK.

Step 4: Register with HMRC and Companies House

• Sole traders register for Self Assessment with HMRC by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which they started trading. Trading income of £1,000 or less a year is usually covered by the trading allowance.
• Limited companies are registered with Companies House, which has cost £100 online since the fee rise in February 2026. Directors must verify their identity with Companies House, and the company then needs to register for Corporation Tax.
• VAT registration becomes compulsory once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, although some businesses choose to register earlier.
• Employers need to register for PAYE before the first payday.

Since April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 have also had to follow Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and the threshold is due to drop to £30,000 in April 2027. Pick your bookkeeping software with that in mind.

Step 5: Sort out your money

Open a separate bank account for the business from day one. Limited companies need a business account. Sole traders can legally use a personal one, but keeping the money apart makes bookkeeping, tax returns and any future loan application far easier. Set up a simple record-keeping system early, and put aside a share of every payment for tax.

Most start-ups are funded through the founder's savings, early sales, family support or a small loan. The government-backed Start Up Loans scheme offers personal loans of up to £25,000 for business purposes, repayable over one to five years and backed by free mentoring. For new applications from 6 April 2026 the fixed interest rate is 7.5%, and businesses that have been trading for up to five years can apply. Local funds and grants do exist, but they open and close regularly and some are only available to incorporated businesses, so check what is live before you plan around one.

Step 6: Licences, insurance and the legal basics

Which permissions you need depends on what you do. The common ones are:

• Food businesses, including home bakers and mobile caterers, must register with their local council at least 28 days before trading: Hull City Council in the city, or East Riding of Yorkshire Council elsewhere.
• Alcohol, entertainment, street trading, taxis and some personal care services such as tattooing and piercing need a licence or registration from the council.
• Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement once you employ staff. Public liability and professional indemnity cover aren't compulsory for most businesses, but they are often worth having and some clients will insist on them.
• Data protection: if you hold details about customers or staff, you need to handle them in line with UK GDPR, and most organisations that process personal data must pay a data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office unless they are exempt.
• Health and safety: once you have employees or premises, you need to assess the risks, and with five or more employees the risk assessment must be written down.

The guide to regulations and compliance and the health and safety risk assessment template in our Start-up Toolkits cover these in more depth.

Step 7: Decide where you will work

Plenty of businesses start at the kitchen table, and there's nothing wrong with that. When you need more, Hull has co-working space, serviced offices, market stalls and small industrial units, and the larger East Riding towns have business premises of their own. Avoid signing a long lease until you know what you need. Our guide to co-working spaces and premises for Hull start-ups compares the options and explains how small business rate relief works.

Step 8: Plug into local support

You don't have to work it all out alone. A few starting points in Hull and East Yorkshire:

• The HEY Growth Hub, which moved under the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority in April 2026, keeps a directory of business support and funding programmes across the area.
• Business & IP Centre Hull, for market research, workshops and help with intellectual property.
• Council business teams in Hull and the East Riding, such as Invest Hull, which can help with premises, investment and local regulations.
• Humber Business Week, usually held in late spring, with events, workshops and networking across the region.
• Networking groups and co-working communities, including the events programme at C4DI for tech and digital businesses.

Programmes and funding change, particularly while responsibilities move across to the Combined Authority, so check the current details before you rely on any one scheme.

Your first-month checklist

• Speak to at least ten potential customers and write down what they say.
• Draft a short plan and a 12-month cash-flow forecast.
• Choose your structure and register with HMRC or Companies House.
• Open a business bank account and set up your bookkeeping.
• Check which licences, registrations and insurance you need.
• Decide where you will work for the next six months.
• Book yourself onto one local workshop or networking event.

Starting a business takes work, but the path is well trodden. Take it one step at a time, get the basics right early and make use of the free help available locally. The guides and templates in our Start-up Toolkits are a good place to begin.