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Across the UK, tech start-ups are thriving in major hubs outside of the M25. Although London remains the VC capital of Europe, the industry boom is certainly not confined to the Silicon Roundabout, in fact the boom is spreading to various towns and cities across the country, including several Northern locations.

Big northern cities like Leeds and Manchester have enjoyed a considerable slice of this growth with an increasing pressure on tech brands to invest in lower-profile Northern towns from Middlesbrough to Preston. Much of this pressure is linked to the need for long-term investment from local authorities and the requirement for thriving businesses to work with local education providers, enabling talented students to fulfil their potential.

A wealth of start-ups

VC funding is at record highs with £2.6bn deployed in the UK in the first two quarters of 2018 alone. According to Tech Nation, the UK’s digital tech sector is worth nearly £184bn, and start-ups provide a vital pipeline for this.

There has been a surge in start-ups all over the country, last year the North East saw an increase of 78%, Scotland saw a 77% rise and the South West 40%. In the past, the vast majority of start-ups have been launched in London and the South East, however the rising cost of doing business in the capital has seen more tech businesses seek new bases elsewhere as the expense of living and working in London is soaring.

E-commerce and tech growth

The skills of Magento developers are in higher demand than ever before, with record numbers of retail sales being made online. The UK is home to a number of tech hotspots offering a base for skilled Magento specialists, including Shoreditch’s tech-synonymous Silicon Roundabout, Manchester, Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh. Reasons for the continued success of such areas include the ease of recruiting suitable personnel, strong investor networks, close-knit communities, face-to-face communication opportunities and links with prestigious universities. As the costs of merely surviving in London continues to rise, it’s no surprise to see ambitious young tech experts venturing elsewhere.

Growing confidence amongst employers

Even within London, the geographical focus is moving away from Shoreditch, with fast-growing areas such as Croydon and Canary Wharf continuing to woo investors from elsewhere. It’s said that 70% of the UK’s digital economy is now based outside of London, with cities like Leeds retaining scores of tech-literate students from around the world once their studies come to an end. The number of tech opportunities outside of London is rising all the time, with growing numbers of employers confidently basing themselves elsewhere, safe in the knowledge that local talent can be easily sourced.

Collaboration over competition

Transport has also improved considerably, with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) investing over £280m on transport in 2017 and the government spending £10 million on boosting Manchester’s tech industry. Games hub Liverpool has been named by Tech Nation as the second-fastest growing area in the digital tech sector, with the city seeing a 119% growth in terms of new tech start-ups. This is 27% higher than the growth seen by London. Meanwhile, new co-working spaces are regularly appearing across the north, Midlands and south-east, highlighting the focus of collaboration and networking over competition amongst tech start-ups.

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