East Anglia commuter towns could evolve into mini-cities by 2020 as the number of new businesses grows, says a report by Bibby Financial Services. With the number of SMEs iin the UK set to rise by around 20 per cent, firms will start working outside conventional business hours and premises with people splitting time between their home and ‘hub’ centres in nearby towns.

The ‘2020 Vision – the Future of Business’ report predicts a sharp rise in the number of ‘semi-detached’ firms which will group-share their expertise. They will form small and medium-sized enterprise ‘hubs’, rather than congregate in major towns and cities, relying on IT and mobile commerce as access points at high connection speeds. The report says it could lead to the transformation of commuter towns across the region such as Peterborough, Spalding and the areas along the A14 near Ipswich which could host more ‘semi-detached’ firms. The report says the trend can be seen in the US and here with the shift of financial back offices to towns around London and New York.