Our tenth in a series of thought leadership reports, Tech in the UK 2023 – Innovation Nation, has been published in partnership with Beauhurst and funded by the UK Government, to provide a detailed view of the growth trends and opportunities, within the UK tech sector.
The UK stands strong as a hub for technological innovation and continues to grow and develop numerous high-growth businesses and tech enabled companies with great future potential. There are a number of prominent tech hubs outside of the capital; London – such as Edinburgh, Cambridge, Manchester, and Bristol amongst others. The widespread locations of these tech hubs, allows for regional specialisation and the development of local company clusters.
We surveyed 2,500 individuals within the tech sector, some of whom were C-suite employees and above, or the direct founders of existing tech companies. Key topics that were reviewed include: access to capital, talent, suitable facilities, and international markets. In addition to government support networks and industry regulation.
A considerable portion of respondents (46.6%) agree that there is a disparity in the availability of tech financing between London and other regions, compared to 15.0% who disagree. This perception was particularly strong amongst businesses located outside of London and the South-East. Nonetheless, most participants (65.4%) agreed that public or local grant funding schemes are supportive of the tech ecosystem, illustrating a positive sentiment overall, amongst tech businesses.
There have been four tech unicorns produced in the UK across the past year, with each of these companies generating a $1b+ evaluation, benefiting from the support available through the UK’s robust tech infrastructure and regional networks. Continuing that positive trend, the population of UK based tech companies across the four nations grew within 2023 – England specifically saw a 1.60% increment in company population. Wales experienced a 1.50% increase; Scotland grew by 0.87% and Northern Ireland by 0.32%.
Although investment and grant figures saw an overall drop in comparison to the highs of 2021 and 2022 – due to increased government stimulus offerings, 2023’s investment totals still surpassed annual pre-pandemic levels, indicating positive signs towards the recovery of equity investment and wider funding channels into tech. Upon reflection, the UK has significantly improved its position as a nation that enables technological innovation.
In addition to the main flagship report we have also produced eight regional reports, deep diving into company population stats, investment levels, support nodes and wider information on the most prominent regions within the UK’s tech ecosystem.
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