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The Joy of Enterprise Management Incentives
Read our free guide to the UK's most tax-efficient share scheme.
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The CEO Approval Index

Our study of Glassdoor and LinkedIn data reveals where the best leaders in the UK can be found.

Approval 300A great CEO has the ability to engage their team, foster an unbreakable company culture, and power a business's success. 

By the same token, a poor CEO can disillusion staff, create a toxic working environment and shackle commercial performance. 

The vital role that a CEO plays in a business got us thinking about where the best leaders can be found and inspired us to create the CEO Approval Index. 

Our analysis looked at three key metrics for a successful CEO to build and retain a great team:

  • The approval rating from employees.
  • The proportion of staff that would recommend their company to a friend.
  • The average median employee tenure. 

Using data from Glassdoor and LinkedIn, we compared 500 businesses from 25 towns and cities across the UK - incorporating multinational giants, household names, and regional heavyweights from a range of sectors.

The findings

Friends 300This analysis found that London was home to the best CEOs overall - with leaders scoring an average approval rating of 80%, being recommended to friends of 74% of staff, and retaining employees for an average of 5.7 years. 

While the capital finishing on top of the rankings might not be hugely surprising - our CEO Ifty Nasir is based there after all - smaller towns and cities from across the UK dominate the top half of our league table. 

Northampton, Belfast and Hull were closely behind London - followed by Reading, Leeds and Bradford. 

City Average CEO approval rating (% based on Glassdoor) Average recommend to a friend score (% based on Glassdoor) Average median employee tenure (in years, based on LinkedIn) Overall CEO score
London
80%
74%
5.7
280.8
Northampton
83%
73%
5.1
248.3
Belfast
82%
72%
5.1
235.0
Hull
83%
71%
4.4
192.4
Reading
73%
65%
5.7
187.3
Leeds
76%
69%
4.9
186.9
Bradford
74%
65%
5.4
176.0
Plymouth
77%
64%
5.1
167.4
Brighton
76%
75%
4.0
167.3
Luton
74%
61%
5.5
159.8
Edinburgh
74%
67%
4.8
153.6
Birmingham
70%
62%
5.5
146.3
Manchester
73%
63%
5.1
141.5
Nottingham
75%
62%
4.9
134.3
Coventry
71%
67%
4.6
129.6
Glasgow
74%
62%
4.9
126.2
Cardiff
73%
63%
4.8
124.4
Leicester
76%
65%
4.3
123.0
Newcastle
75%
66%
4.0
105.4
Sheffield
73%
63%
4.4
104.6
Southampton
71%
61%
4.9
104.3
Portsmouth
70%
65%
4.4
99.6
Derby
70%
62%
4.6
97.3
Bristol
63%
59%
4.9
60.2
Liverpool
62%
61%
4.6
50.7

When it comes to CEO approval ratings on Glassdoor, Hull and Northampton are top of the pile - with an average rating of 83%, followed closely by Belfast on 82%. 

CEOs in Brighton are most likely to be recommended to their employees’ friends - with three-quarters of staff recommending their boss to their mates, despite ranking in ninth place overall. 

The cities with the longest-serving staff are London and Reading - with workers staying with their employer for an average of 5.7 years. Luton and Birmingham are among the other cities with the strongest employee longevity. 

Explaining the findings Ifty said: 

“Although London and the south east often dominate when it comes to attracting businesses and investments, our rankings highlight the huge range of leadership skills across the UK. 

“Towns and cities like Northampton, Hull and Reading prove that, while bigger cities may take the headlines, there is an abundance of talented business leaders spread across the country.”

Which sectors have the best CEOs?

Years 300As well as comparing how CEOs compare across the UK’s towns and cities, our CEO Approval Index looked at how leaders ranked across a range of sectors. 

CEOs in the banking sector were found to be the highest performing, with an approval rating of 84%, recommend to a friend score of 75% and an average employee tenure of 6.2 years. 

The legal and education sectors closely follow with the most highest ranking CEOs. 

Logistics, travel and retail were found to be the lowest ranking sectors for CEO performance.

Sector CEO approval rating (% based on Glassdoor) Recommend to a friend score (% based on Glassdoor) Median employee tenure (in years, based on LinkedIn) Overall CEO score
Banking
84%
75%
6.2
295.7
Legal
85%
71%
4.5
225.6
Education
73%
73%
4.9
204.6
Insurance
73%
65%
5.9
204.5
Automotive
76%
65%
5.3
199.0
IT
80%
71%
4.2
197.2
Financial services
76%
71%
4.5
192.9
Recruitment
82%
75%
3.3
190.5
Manufacturing
70%
64%
5.5
177.7
Utilities
75%
62%
5.1
174.1
Construction
73%
63%
4.7
158.3
Healthcare
74%
59%
4.9
151.7
Hospitality
75%
61%
4.1
134.2
Retail
69%
61%
4.4
124.9
Travel
64%
58%
5.2
118.2
Logistics
59%
48%
5.1
61.6

How can CEOs engage employees?

All of these metrics help to demonstrate how engaged staff are. 

No two leadership styles are the same and CEOs have a variety of tools available to them to get the best out of their teams. At Vestd, we work closely with business leaders to give them the tools they need to align teams, improve employee retention, and improve levels of productivity. 

Our research shows that giving teams skin in the game through employee share schemes can help to keep your whole team focused on your company’s goals. 

A survey of Vestd customers found that 95% say that their scheme has increased employee retention and 56% report that sharing ownership has increased productivity.

Ifty added: 

“More CEOs are choosing to give their staff a slice of the pie through Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), growth shares, or unapproved options.

“Our belief in the ‘ownership effect’ shows that owning equity in a business makes staff more inclined to contribute to its success and, while our research is directly focused on CEOs, the evidence shows the role employee ownership can have in helping business leaders to achieve their goals.” 

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