New research shows that the UK entrepreneurial sector is in rude health, growing at its fastest rate since the credit crunch in 2008, while the private sector created 400,000 jobs on a net basis last year alone.

A study by the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC), incorporating the views of academics from five leading UK business schools, looked at patterns of business growth around the country and revealed surprising facts about the strength of regional economies.

In a one finding, start-ups in Belfast were statistically most likely to hit £1 million turnover within three years. London was found to have the highest rate of start-ups overall, although for high growth firms Leicester shared the top spot with the capital.

Lanarkshire in Scotland is another strong entry into the report, fuelled in part by the prosperous city of Glasgow. It registered annual employment growth of 20% and was third on the list of regions with high a proportion of fast-growing businesses. The finding further hints at the link between entrepreneurs and job creation.

The report added that the entrepreneurial economy had regained lost ground since the ‘great recession’, with new jobs, start-up rates and business growth indicators all returning to pre-crisis levels.

Since 2008 13.4 million jobs have been lost and 13.4 million created in the private sector, giving a net balance of 400,000 new jobs in 2014. The figure had entered positive territory for the first time after the financial crisis.

The data was drawn from Local Enterprise Partnership areas (LEPs) and Primary Urban Areas (PUAs, or, put more simply, cities) in England, as well as local authorities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The researchers said start-ups rates, survival and growth metrics revealed a picture of mixed economic successes across the UK, not just in London.

Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire had the highest ratios for job creation. In Scotland, Lanarkshire, the Orkney Islands, Glasgow and Edinburgh all have above average proportions of fast-growth businesses.

Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of start-up businesses that survive three years and the highest proportion to achieve more than £1 million in sale during that time. Middlesbrough businesses with a £1 million turnover in 2011, were most likely of any city to have reached £3 million by 2014.

Professor Mark Hart, deputy director of ERC, said: “It shows us that small businesses in every corner of the UK are growing at their fastest rate since the recession, while more and more entrepreneurs have the confidence to take the plunge. Overall, the UK now has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in Europe.

“Nevertheless, there remain big regional disparities in entrepreneurship and small business growth. Equipped with the up-to-the-minute information contained in the Dashboard, we can see that some areas appear better at breeding success. At a policy level, this insight can help us create an environment for business to thrive throughout the country.”