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Five Reasons Why the UK’s Tech Scene is the Best in the World

Technology is at the heart of the UK economy – whether it’s artificial intelligence, blockchain, cyber security or data analytics, the UK is spearheading some of the world’s most exciting tech developments.

The statistics bear this out: according to the Tech Nation Report 2018, the UK digital tech sector now brings nearly £184 billion to the economy while turnover of digital technology companies has grown by 4.5% between 2016 and 2017; significantly higher than the 1.7% growth in UK GDP during the same period. Undoubtedly, this is why the UK continues to attract R&D investment from tech giants – including Google, Cisco, and Microsoft.

The UK is one of the world’s most exciting technology hubs, here are some reasons why:

  1. The UK’s start-up scene is flourishing

For almost two decades, the number of digital tech companies born in the UK has boomed. This sustained growth has continued, and as recently as 2017 the region saw a jump of almost 60% in the number of newly launched tech companies.

  1. The UK continues to attract significant investment

Year after year, the UK’s tech sector continues to vastly out-perform the rest of its European rivals. 2018 was no different, with UK firms attracting over $7.9 billion USD (£6.3 billion) in venture capital investment.

During the same period, the UK produced sales, IPOs and mergers worth $40 billion USD (£31.5 billion), placing higher than every other country in Europe. This is no one-off: the UK has consistently placed as the biggest source of successful company exits in Europe for the past five years, worth a total of $119 billion USD 2013.

  1. The UK doesn’t just have smart cities – it has digital suburbs

While London is seen as the tech capital of Europe, it is not the limit of the UK’s expertise. Outside of the city, businesses are thriving – in Bournemouth and Poole, for example, there are over 15,000 tech jobs, while in Liverpool, digital tech businesses had a combined turnover of over £305 million in just one year.

Investment has been made to encourage this growth – Scotland saw the creation of a fintech hub backed by the UK and Scottish governments aimed at bolstering its profile in that market. Elsewhere, Manchester was ranked the highest for start-ups focusing on IoT tech by research from the Open Data Institute.

Similarly, the 2018 Tech Nation report revealed that digital tech is also powering many local economies, with digital suburbs now up and running across the UK, from Basingstoke to Burnley, Livingston to Southend.

  1. The UK is set up to support tech success

The UK government has done all it can to remove any barriers to innovation and business expansion – helping to increase the number of tech enterprises in the UK private sector by nearly a third (31%) since 2010.

What’s more, companies expanding to or setting up in the UK can expect the lowest corporation tax in the G7, as well as a range of free services from the Department for International Trade. Similarly, companies engaging in research and development in the region can pay a lower rate of corporation tax.

Furthermore, the introduction of the ‘start-up visa’ – first announced during the 2018 London Tech Week and coming into force from April 2019 – will make the visa process faster and smoother for entrepreneurs coming to the UK.

  1. The UK is already home to some of the world’s brightest tech talents, and continues to produce even more

The best tech companies need the best tech talent. Whether it’s access to experts in AI, IoT, or cyber security, the UK workforce has a wealth of skills: in London alone, there are 240,000 digital technology employees.

Even better, the UK is set up for a bright future in tech. With 170 universities and higher education institutions – including four of the world’s top ten best institutions – the UK has the highest number of graduates of any Western European nation – with 14 million emerging from higher education in 2017 alone.

Crucially, technology is now at the core of education system, with children as young as five now being given lessons in coding as part of the standard curriculum. The UK was the first G20 country to formally recognise the importance of teaching children computing and since September 2014 schools have offered students access to the tech they need to become code-ready for employment in a world where coding will be a key skill.

It should come as no surprise that the UK was once again named TechNation’s ‘digital capital of Europe’ – ranking as one of the world’s best countries for its approach to innovation and technology.

Today, the UK is the go-to hub for expert knowledge, innovative application, and flawless execution; it has more than earned its sterling reputation as a powerhouse of technology excellence.

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