Manchester is the fastest growing tech city in Europe, with tech companies securing an almost fourfold increase in investment, according to research from BNP Paribas Real Estate and Tech Nation.
Total VC funding into tech companies based in Manchester increased from £48m in 2018 to £181m in 2019 – an increase of 277%, the research found.
In London, tech companies dominated the office market, accounting for 19% of all take-up in 2019.
Tech companies were the most active occupier in the London market last year, signing for 2.3m sq ft of space out of the total 12.4m sq ft that was taken up in the capital city.
This is explained by rapid growth in the sector’s workforce. Since 2017, the number of people employed in the tech sector has grown by 40% and they accounted for 9% of the nation’s workforce last year.
The sector grew six times faster than any other industry in the UK last year, and in 2018 accounted for 7.7% of UK GVA, contributing £149bn to the economy.
Outside of the US, the UK has the highest number of high-value tech scale-ups and is home to 95 companies, 45% of which are based outside of the capital. France is home to 61 scale-ups, Germany 46, and Israel also 46.
The UK also ranks third globally for producing tech unicorns (eight of which were created last year), and is home to 77 of these companies.
Commenting on the research, Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said: “The tech sector is at the heart of our economy and creating jobs and wealth across the country.
“We are determined to create the conditions digital businesses need to succeed and are investing heavily in gigabit-speed broadband, 5G, cyber security, digital skills and research and development.”
Gerard Grech, chief executive at Tech Nation, said: “These are truly extraordinary times. Over the coming months, technological involvement will be essential, impactful and exponential.
“Across the piece, UK tech companies are offering radical solutions. We need to stay responsive. Every effort we put in now will repay many times over, as the past few years have already shown.”
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