Image Credit: Pavel Ignatov/Shutterstock“Where are the UK tech companies that can become the next Google or Facebook?” goes the cry. Well, I think the UK has plenty of what it takes to grow a tech titan or two, or three.
Britain consistently punches above its weight when it comes to digital innovation and technology. In a recent OECD/McKinsey 2016 report, the UK was ranked top in its digital share of overall GDP (10 percent), beating the USA (8 percent) and Sweden (7 percent).
Meanwhile, PwC has just placed London number one, for the second time, on its bi-annual list of Cities of Opportunity. London’s status as a world financial center, conveniently positioned halfway between Asia and the US, has helped it foster a strong tech innovation community over several years.
Six years ago the UK government decided to get behind its burgeoning tech talent, and the result is one of the most generous tax-relief systems anywhere in the world for starting a business. With supportive regulation, lots of available finance, and politicians keen to bring jobs into their neighborhoods, you can see why tech companies like Deliveroo and Shazam are thriving across the country. Indeed, over 40 percent of all European tech unicorns are based in the UK.
Then there’s culture. The UK’s economic liberalism and cultural variety – engendered over centuries not decades – have played a crucial part in its digital success.
For those considering investing in or starting up a UK-based tech business, here are a few things you should know:
1. The UK is the second biggest destination in the world for VC money, on a per capita basis
Venture capitalists invested a record $3.6 billion in the UK’s tech scene last year, up 70 percent from the year before. The country has consistently attracted more than 30 percent of all European VC funds for several years. On a per capita basis, the UK is the second biggest destination for VC money in the world, after the US, counting all investments made between 2009 and 2015, according to EY.
According to Pitchbook, the VC database, 2015 was the fifth consecutive year of growth for the UK’s tech sector. In fact, tech investment in London in 2015 was almost 20 times what it was in 2010. And in June 2016, the UK was already on track to exceed last year’s funding level yet again.
via venturebeat.com