The area of East London known as Tech City or, more colloquially, Silicon Roundabout created 15,620 new businesses in the 12 months to March 2014.

That’s according to a study by chartered accountants UHY Hacker Young. It makes the EC1V postcode the best engine for start-ups in the UK.

The figure is almost five times greater than the London’s Canary Wharf area of E14, which saw 3,180 new businesses launch.

But parts of South London such as Borough, Bankside and Bermondsey – covered by the SE1 postcode – registered accelerated numbers of start-ups with 5,850 compared with 5,190 the previous year.

Colin Jones, partner in Hacker Young’s London office, explains: “Silicon Roundabout has maintained its position as the epicentre of the UK’s technology industry.

“With so many start-ups and established businesses in the area, it is no longer hype to compare it to Silicon Valley, or TechHub Berlin.

“However, rising rents in the Silicon Roundabout area mean that many start-ups are now choosing areas south of the River Thames, or East London as their first base.”