Ambitious Brits are taking control of their careers by planning to ditch their jobs in favour of starting their own business, with youngsters based in Leeds the keenest to become entrepreneurs.

In a survey of 2000 young adults aged between 18-30 for the launch of video game Saints Row, the city of Leeds was found to be home of the most ambitious young people in the country (59%). Bristol, Edinburgh and Leicester were also hotspots for aspiring go-getters looking to make a name for themselves and become self-made bosses.

Reasons for wanting to branch out on their own included a lack of flexibility (40%), wanting to be in charge (36%) and experiences with horrible bosses (26%).

When it comes to the perfect boss, billionaire business magnate Elon Musk was ranked top of well-known faces respondents would want to work for, while only seven per cent rated Boris Johnson as an appealing leader – the same number who voted for fictional paper merchant supervisor David Brent of The Office.

The research has been commissioned by PLAION, to mark the launch of video game Saints Row, where a group of young friends embark on their own criminal venture, as they rise to the top in their bid to become self-made.

To celebrate Leeds being crowned top of the league, Plaion commissioned street artist Captain Kris to design a Saints Row inspired mural. Situated on Sackville Street (in between the Meanwood and Little London areas), and next to Kingfisher Lubricants – a business that sounds like it’s come straight out of Saints Row, the mural will be in place for a month.

Simon Turner, UK Marketing Director, Plaion: “The research was inspired by the themes of the game where you and your three friends take on lawless factions in a fight for power and embark on a journey to make your own way in the world as your own boss. We think Captain Kris has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit, attitude and tone of Saints Row with his design.”

As well as more young people wanting to take charge of their own career, side hustles are also on the rise, with 61% saying they had one to supplement their income, with those struggling to start their own business citing high costs (26%) and the current economic climate (23%) being the biggest barriers.

The survey found the Top 10 most ambitious cities for under 30s were:

Leeds
Bristol
Edinburgh
Leicester
Oxford
Brighton
Chelmsford
Newcastle
Manchester
York
Birmingham fared less well, coming in as the home of the least ambitious in the UK, with many of the under 30’s polled having no intention of starting their own empires in the future.

It emerged of the 28 per cent of under 30s who are business owners, their companies fell within accountancy, banking and finance, consulting and management or healthcare. And of those who have yet to create their own, 21 per cent intend to and have plans in place, with 51 per cent wanting to get it up and running in the next three months. While 34 per cent have an idea in mind but have yet to get proposals in the works.

Those who don’t reside within the top ranked cities have nothing to fear, Santo Ileso welcomes all as a haven for the hungry and the ambitious to be your own boss and become self-made. Taking your Saints from a startup to an empire, there are no borders to power in Saints Row.

Saints Row will launch 23rd August, 2022 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, the all-in-one games and entertainment systems from Microsoft, the PlayStation® 4 and the PlayStation® 5 computer entertainment systems and on Epic Games Store for PC.