COMMENT In the fields of technology and innovation, Bristol has a rich and impressive history of technological achievement that is well-documented. It has now entered a new era of technological progress, with home-grown companies looking to write the next chapter for Bristol’s success, which will drive the real estate markets.
The 2022 Tech Nation People and Skills Report places Bristol third in the UK, excluding London, in terms of tech vacancies. The city accommodates many high-growth and creative industries – it has a diverse mix of businesses that have chosen Bristol for its lifestyle and access to London, as well as to the South West coast.
Tech-led growth
Until the mid-2010s, the tech sector had been growing in line with the wider rate of UK economy growth. But the official figures show that in 2015 the tech sector’s growth started to outstrip the economy as a whole and has continued on an upward trajectory since.
Growth in the tech sector is nearly six times greater than growth across the whole economy, employing 8,000 people – more than any other industry in Bristol – and offering higher-than-average salaries, according to Tech Nation.
To put this into context, over the past five years the technology sector has been responsible for almost a third (30%) of all office take-up, and the city has seen significant growth in the number of tech companies starting small and growing big very rapidly in the city, such as Huboo, Ultraleap and Cookpad.
The quality of premises is one of the most important things to today’s young workforce. Consequently, today’s occupiers expect a workplace that puts people first to help them perform to the best of their ability. Pivotal to the emergence of start-up and scale-up technology companies in the city are innovation hubs such as the Engine Shed, Future Space and Unit DX. However, with the tech sector in Bristol maturing at a significant rate, creating desirable prime grade-A stock is also essential.
A review of the venture capital raised during the past three years provides an indication of the business sectors that are likely to dominate the Bristol market in the medium term.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning and big data take the top two spots in terms of percentage share. The AIML sector plays nicely to the historical dominance of the semiconductor sector in Bristol.
Entrepreneurial universities
Bristol punches well above its weight in terms of being the home to future growth companies. Despite Bristol accounting for less than 1% of the UK population, excluding London, it has accounted for more than 3% of the total capital raised by companies in the past decade.
Universities play a unique role in business start-up support. They not only finance incubators to support start-ups and contribute to their survival and growth, but these incubators are also managed by the university alongside spin-outs with other local businesses.
Universities are becoming more and more entrepreneurial in their outlook, and companies now have a greater appreciation for the expertise of academic researchers and how they can contribute to their business success.
This can be achieved through initiatives such as UWE Bristol’s Launch Space, which offers free desk space and business support to aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses, and business incubation programmes such as SETsquared, a long-standing enterprise partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey that specialises in growing technology start-ups.
However, all eyes are on the University of Bristol’s relaunch of its pre-incubator programme in a bid to help create more deep-tech start-ups in the UK. The QUEST programme will be run by the university’s Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre, which provides training, skills and support to researchers to commercialise their businesses.
The six-month scheme will support the rapid generation of new quantum, engineering and scientific technology companies. Selected founders will receive skills and training for the creation of deep-tech companies, plus mentoring from industry leaders, regular road-mapping sessions with a team of entrepreneurs in residence and the potential to pitch for capital from a network of UK and European angel investors and VCs.
Christopher Meredith is director of office agency at Savills Bristol
