With news that should give Gloucester and Cheltenham builders a Friday feeling, they've been ranked in the top five best UK places for their sector to make a decent living.

According to new data on the best trades to pursue, Gloucester, with an average builder turnover of £149,624, was fourth in the UK league, beating Cheltenham's result of £149,624 by a tiny margin.

Meanwhile Sutton and Dartford were not far ahead – though Oxford took the crown with average turnover in the city emerging at a standout £221,311.

The findings come among research into incomes across 2023 compared to the previous year and are compiled by the insurance giant Simply Business. 

The firm crunched financial details given by its policy applicants to build a picture of trends across the UK - and the results suggest that buying a white van and some tools may not be an easy income solution unless you've researched both your specific choice of trade and location for setting up.

Overall, drylining proved to be the standout choice of trade that's on the rise.

A spokesman said: "Annual average turnover for dryliners in the UK was £105,832, up 12% from £94,559 in 2022."

At £114,353 though, builders had the highest annual average turnover among UK tradespeople in 2023.

They said: "After builders, the top earning trades in terms of turnover earned in 2023 were dryliners, groundworkers, glaziers, and flooring contractors."

Overall, UK trades businesses received an average turnover of £68,474 in 2023, down from £82,821 in 2022.

The insurer added: "However, it's important to remember that turnover doesn't equal profit. Tradespeople all over the country have suffered supply chain problems in recent years, as well as higher material costs.

"While in 2022 we saw large jumps in average annual turnover recorded, this latest data tells a different story. Of our top 20 top earning trades, only eight saw an increase in average turnover between 2022 and 2023."

Bricklayers also saw the biggest fall in average turnover, down 17% from £80,933 in 2022 to £67,465 in 2023.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average UK annual earnings now stand at £34,963, which is a 5.8% increase over the previous year's figure of £33,061.

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) recently reported that the solo self-employed sector contributes an impressive, estimated figure of £278 billion to the UK economy per year.

Although the association welcomed NI changes in the last budget, Andy Chamberlain, IPSE's director of policy, said: "The self-employed make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, but it could be even greater if the government were to grasp the nettle of IR35 and address the forthcoming impact of Making Tax Digital for Self Assessment."